355 — ‘Abd Allāh narrated to us: Abū ‘Amr al-Hārith ibn Miskīn al-Misrī narrated to us: Ibn Wahb narrated to us, from Yahyā ibn Ayyūb, from Ibn ‘Ajlān, from Nāfi‘, from ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Umar, that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb dispatched an army and appointed a man named Sāriyah as its commander.

He said: One day, while ‘Umar was addressing the people from the pulpit, he began shouting, “Sāriyah, to the mountain! Sāriyah, to the mountain!”

He said: A messenger from the army arrived, and ‘Umar questioned him. He replied, “Commander of the Faithful, we met our enemy and defeated them. Then suddenly someone cried out, ‘Sāriyah, to the mountain! Sāriyah, to the mountain!’ So we positioned ourselves with our backs to the mountain, and Allah defeated them.”

‘Umar—meaning Ibn al-Khattāb—was told, “You were shouting those very words.”

Ibn ‘Ajlān said: Iyās ibn Mu‘āwiyah ibn Qurrah also related a similar account to me.