193 — Al-Abbās ibn Hishām informed me, from his father, from Awāna ibn al-Hakam, who said: Abd al-Malik ibn Marwān asked his companions, “Who was the bravest of the Arabs?” They replied, “Umayr, Shabath,” and proceeded to name a number of Arab horsemen. Abd al-Malik said:

“The bravest of the Arabs was a man who had as wives both Sukayna bint al-Husayn and Aisha. His mother was Ahmad, daughter of the chief of Kalb. He governed Iraq and acquired a million, and a million, and a million. Then the people of Iraq deserted him. We offered him safe-conduct, but he refused to accept it and pressed on until he was killed: Musab ibn al-Zubayr—not one who cut the bridges once here and once there.”

Then he said, “When will the women of Quraysh ever rear another like Musab?”