“Truly, the calamity—the disaster, the grievous blow—was the day of Maskin;
it struck the son of the Disciple, the one whom no day of battle had ever outpaced.
Mudar of Iraq betrayed him, and Rabiʿa were given free rein against him;
you have taken your long-sought vengeance, O Rabiʿa, quick to hear and obey.
Alas, had he but possessed at the Monastery, on that fateful day, a loyal following,
or had the people of Iraq—the sons of treachery—not broken their pledge to him,
then you would have found him, when he pressed forward, never tarrying in a desolate waste.

Musʿab, meanwhile, whenever he said to one of the officers at the head of his army, “Advance,” found that the man would not obey him.
It is related that when ʿAbd Allah ibn Khāzim al-Sulamī, the governor of Khurasan, was informed of Musʿab’s march against ʿAbd al-Malik, he asked, “Is ʿUmar ibn ʿUbayd Allah al-Taymī with him?”
He was told, “No; he has appointed him over Fars.”
He asked, “Then is al-Muhallab ibn Abī Ṣufrah with him?”
They replied, “No; he has put him in charge of Mosul.”
He asked, “Is ʿAbbād ibn Ḥuṣayn with him?”
They answered, “He has made him governor of Basra.”
So he exclaimed, “And here I am!” and recited:
“Carry me off and drag me away, O hyenas, and rejoice
in the flesh of a man whose champion has failed to appear today!” (1)

Al-Ṭabarī (2) said: Musʿab then said to his son ʿĪsā, “Ride with those who are with you to your uncle.”