al-Malik was shaken, and al-Ḥajjāj was at a loss about him, saying, “This man has worn me out.” He mustered a massive army for the task—about fifty thousand men (1).

Shabīb reviewed his own forces; they were one thousand strong. He declared, “My people, Allah granted you victory when you were a hundred, and today you are in the hundreds.” Six hundred of them then remained firm. With two hundred he charged the enemy’s left flank, routed it, and killed the vanguard commander, ʿAttāb ibn Warqāʾ al-Tamīmī.

When Shabīb saw him lying dead, he felt sorrow for him. A fellow Kharijite protested, “Commander of the Believers, do you mourn for an unbeliever?!”

Shabīb thereupon called for the sword to be drawn, summoned the people to obey him, and they gave him their pledge—only to flee in the night (2).

Reinforcements then arrived from Syria, and al-Ḥajjāj himself confronted them. A battle the like of which had never been witnessed ensued; both sides held their ground. Shabīb’s brother Muṣād was killed, as was his wife Ghazāla. Night fell, Shabīb withdrew—his head drooping—while the pursuers stayed close behind.

The chase eventually slackened. They made for Ahwāz, whose governor, Muḥammad ibn Mūsā ibn Ṭalḥah, came out and challenged Shabīb; Shabīb killed him. He then moved on to Kirmān (3), stayed two months, and returned. Sufyān ibn Abrad al-Kalbī and Ḥabīb al-Ḥakamī met him at the Dujayl Bridge, and they fought until nightfall.

Shabīb crossed the bridge, but it collapsed beneath him and he drowned. Some said rather that his horse bolted and threw him into the water—in the year 77 AH—while he was still clad in armor. He exclaimed, “That is the decree of the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing” (Q 36:38).

The Dujayl cast his corpse onto the bank. His body was brought to al-Ḥajjāj, who slit open his belly, removed his heart, and found within it yet another heart (4).