184 — Muhammad ibn Sālih al-Qurashī related to me, saying: Suhaym ibn Hafs related to me; Waddāh ibn Khaythama related to me, saying: Ubayd Allah ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Mamar related to me, saying:

“The Muslims campaigned against Kabul under the command of Abd al-Rahmān ibn Samura. They reached a breach that could be held by only one man. He said, ‘Find someone who can hold it.’ They said, ‘Umar ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Mamar.’ They summoned him and said, ‘Take your position there.’ He did so, but then a projectile struck him and he fell, and he was carried back to his people.

“They asked, ‘Who can hold it?’ They replied, ‘Abbād ibn al-Husayn.’ They summoned him, and he took his position there. We had never seen anyone like him. They continued fighting him and shooting at him, while he fought them and proclaimed Allah’s greatness. At some point during the night, his voice fell silent, and we could no longer hear him. We said, ‘Indeed, to Allah we belong. Abbād has been killed.’

“When morning came, we found that he had charged them and stormed the breach against them. They turned and fled, and the rout ensued. It turned out that his throat had grown hoarse from shouting and his voice had failed.”

He added, “Al-Hasan ibn Abī al-Hasan witnessed that battle and said, ‘I had never seen a horseman better than a thousand men until I saw Abbād ibn al-Husayn.’”