It annihilated their rear-guard and laid their backs bare—
a day they were herded on and a day they were pursued.
Just so, our chargers are plump and sleek,
while war blazes beneath the gusting dawn wind.
Our bright-edged swords strip away
iron coats of mail and the helms of the daring.
God laid hold of them for violating His Sanctuary,
by the might of the Compassionate among the mountain passes.
They had lived in ease within their dwelling place,
yet the days of Dhū Qarad turned them into obstinate foes.

Ibn Isḥāq said: Saʿd ibn Zayd, the commander of the cavalry detachment that rode ahead of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, became angry with Ḥassān and swore never to speak to him again. He said, “He went off with my horses and my horsemen and credited them to al-Miqdād.” Ḥassān excused himself, explaining that al-Miqdād’s name had simply suited the rhyme, and then composed the following lines in praise of Saʿd ibn Zayd:

If you would seek the toughest, most resolute man,
the one whose aid truly counts, then choose Saʿd!
Saʿd ibn Zayd—no onslaught can lay him low.

Yet the verses failed to placate him.

Ḥassān ibn Thābit also recited on the day of Dhū Qarad:

ʿUyayna imagined, when he paid it a visit,
that he would raze its lofty palaces;
What you believed was proved a lie,
though you boasted, “We shall seize a mighty prize.”
The city remained untouched when you entered it,
and within it you heard the roaring of lions.
They fled in haste like startled ostriches,
not even lifting a tattered mat.
Our leader is the Messenger of the Sovereign King—
how dear he is to us as commander!
A Messenger whose message we hold to be true,
who recites a shining, radiant Book.

Kaʿb ibn Mālik likewise said about the day of Dhū Qarad, praising the Muslim horsemen of that day:

Do the sons of the foundling woman imagine
that mounted, we are not their equals in chivalry?
We are a people who count killing no disgrace,
nor do we flinch when thrusting lances clash.
We honor the guest upon the highest peaks,
and crush the proud head of the piebald steed.
We drive back the marked champions when they rally,
with blows that cool the pride of every laggard.
With every youth defending the truth—noble and generous,
like a lean wolf springing fiercely on its prey.