It is also reported that, when Hārūn al-Rashīd dispatched him to wage war against al-Walīd, he handed him Dhu al-Faqar and said, “With this sword you shall be granted victory.”
Muslim ibn al-Walīd recited:
“Have you recalled the sword of the Messenger of Allah, its noble Sunna—
and the valor of the very first who prayed and fasted? (1)”
He meant ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him.
Al-Aṣmaʿī relates: “I once saw al-Rashīd girt with a sword. He said to me, ‘Shall I show you Dhu al-Faqar?’ I replied, ‘Indeed.’ He said, ‘Draw my sword.’ I unsheathed it and found along its blade eighteen notches.”
Mansūr ibn al-Walīd said:
“If the clan of Shaybān had no claim to distinction
save Yazīd, they would still surpass all people in nobility. (2)”
It is said that Yazīd once noticed a man whose enormous beard was dyed with henna. He remarked to him, “That beard of yours must cost you a good deal.” The man answered, “Indeed, and for that very reason I say:
‘Each night a dirham goes for perfume, another for the henna—both racing to be spent;
and were it not for the largesse of Yazīd ibn Mazyad,
the pages would be crying out as they clipped its edges.’ (3)"