169 — Hārūn ibn ‘Abd Allāh narrated to us, saying: Sa‘īd ibn ‘Āmir narrated to us, from Juwayriya ibn Asmā’, from Nāfi‘, that al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwām (may Allah be pleased with him) encountered the enemy as part of an army. They said, “O Abū ‘Abd Allāh, charge!” He replied, “Leave me be. Had I seen an opening for a charge, I would have charged.”

They said, “O Abū ‘Abd Allāh, charge, and we will charge with you.” He replied, “I can almost see it now: I charge and you charge, but then I press forward and you fall back, and I am taken captive.”

They said, “Never, by Allah! That will never happen. If you charge, we shall certainly charge; and if you advance, we shall certainly advance.” Al-Zubayr charged, and they charged with him; then he pressed forward, but they fell back.

Al-Zubayr said, “A cloud of dust rose, and before I knew it, I was between two burly foreign soldiers. They had closed in on me and seized my mount’s reins, one on my right and the other on my left.”

Nāfi‘ said, “What do you think Abū ‘Abd Allāh did? By Allah, they found that he had not lost his nerve. He slipped his sword beneath the rein and cheek strap, cut both, and then struck the horse’s belly with his legs.” He continued, “Thus Abū ‘Abd Allāh escaped, while the bridle remained in the hands of the two foreign soldiers.”