Sweet, cool is the drink it offers,
And the Byzantines—their own Byzantines— their doom draws near;
It is my charge, if I confront them, to strike them clear.

When Jaʿfar was slain, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥah seized the banner.

Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn al-Zubayr narrated from ʿUrwah: Ibn Rawāḥah took the standard, swung it about a little, then urged his horse forward, coaxing his soul and hesitating at the same time.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr told me that Ibn Rawāḥah recited on that occasion:

I swear, O soul, you shall dismount—
descend you will, whether willingly or forced;
Though men may rally and raise their war-cry’s sound,
why do I see you shunning Paradise?
How long you have lived at ease!
What are you but a drop of fluid in a skin?

He then dismounted and fought until he was killed.

Ibn Isḥāq adds that he also declaimed:

O soul, if you are not slain, you still must die;
behold, the cup of death—you have already sipped it.
What you longed for has been granted;
if you act as those two have acted, you are rightly guided;
but should you hold back, misery is yours.

When he had come down from his mount, a cousin brought him a joint of meat, saying, “Brace your back with this.” He took a single bite, but then heard the clash of arms nearby and exclaimed, “And you are still in this world?” He flung the meat from his hand and fought on until he fell.

Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar relates from ʿUrwah: Thābit ibn Aqram next grasped the banner and called out, “Agree, O Muslims, upon a commander.” They replied, “You are the man for it.”