…cease to stand firm until he was killed there.

The Emigrants then said to Sālim, the freedman of Abū Hudhayfah, “Do you fear that the enemy will break through on your side?” He replied, “Then what a worthless bearer of the Qur’an I would be!”

Zayd ibn al-Khaṭṭāb cried out, “People, clench your teeth and strike at your foe—press on!” He added, “By Allah, I shall not utter another word until Allah routs them or I meet Allah and argue my case before Him,” whereupon he was martyred (may Allah be pleased with him).

Abū Hudhayfah said, “O people of the Qur’an, adorn the Qur’an with your deeds!” He charged at the enemy, drove them back, and was struck down (may Allah be pleased with him).

Khalid ibn al-Walīd also charged, cutting through the ranks and heading straight for Musaylima, watching for a chance to reach and kill him. He then wheeled about, halted between the two lines, and called for single combat, declaring, “I am the son of al-Walīd, the seasoned fighter (1); I am the son of ʿĀmir and Zayd!” He shouted the Muslims’ battle cry—on that day it was, “O Muḥammadāh!”—and no one who came out against him survived; nothing that approached him escaped his blade.

The millstone of the Muslims began to grind. Khalid drew near Musaylima and offered him an-naṣaf (2)—a just settlement—and a return to the truth, but Musaylima’s devil twisted his neck so that he accepted nothing. Whenever Musaylima inclined toward agreement, his devil drew him away, so Khalid left him.

Khalid had meanwhile separated the Emigrants, the Helpers, and the Bedouin contingents, placing every clan beneath its own banner so that the people would know from which quarter they were being attacked. In that position the Companions showed a steadfastness the like of which had never been witnessed; they kept pressing upon the throats of their enemy until Allah granted them victory. The disbelievers turned their backs, and the Muslims pursued them, striking at their napes and laying swords upon their necks wherever they wished, until they herded them into the Garden of Death.

They had entered it on the counsel of Muḥakkam al-Yamāmah—Muḥakkam ibn al-Ṭufayl, may Allah curse him—and inside was the enemy of Allah, Musaylima, may Allah curse him. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Bakr overtook Muḥakkam ibn al-Ṭufayl and shot an arrow into his neck while he was haranguing his men, killing him. Banū Ḥanīfah slammed the garden gate shut behind them, and the Companions ringed them round.

Al-Barāʾ ibn Mālik said, “O Muslims, hoist me over them into the garden!” (3) They lifted him on shields, raised aloft on spear-shafts, and flung him over the wall. He fought them at the gate until he opened it, and the Muslims stormed the garden through its walls and doors, cutting down the apostates of al-Yamāmah within.

They pressed on until they reached Musaylima—may Allah curse him—who was standing in a breach in the wall, looking like a dapple-grey camel (4), frothing at the mouth and leaning for support, his reason gone from rage; whenever his devil seized him he would foam until the spittle ran from the corners of his mouth.

Wahshī ibn Ḥarb, the client of Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim—the slayer of Ḥamzah—advanced, hurled his spear, and pierced Musaylima so that it came out the other side. Abū Dujānah, Simāk ibn Kharshah, rushed up and struck him with his sword, and Musaylima fell.

A woman in the fortress cried out, “Alas for the prince of handsome visage! The black slave has killed him!”