She did so because she loathed letting an idolater gain any hold over her (1), even if that idolater was her own grandfather.

And even if the chronicles were to forget every other stance taken by Asmaʾ bint Abi Bakr, they would never forget her clear-headedness, her firm resolve, and the strength of her faith as she met her son ʿAbd Allah for their last encounter.

Her son, ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, had been given the oath of allegiance for the caliphate after the death of Yazid ibn Muʿawiyah, and the Hijaz, Egypt, Iraq, Khurasan, and most of Greater Syria submitted to him.

Yet the Umayyads soon dispatched against him a massive army (2) led by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi.

Bitter battles raged between the two sides, during which Ibn al-Zubayr displayed feats of heroism befitting a bold knight (3) of his stature.

However, his supporters began to slip away (4) from him, little by little;