Then the Muslims mounted in pursuit of the routed enemy, killing them at every ambush (1) and along every road. Those who escaped—indeed, most of them—fled by sea to Darīn (2), taking ship to the island.

When that was done, al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Ḥaḍramī set about distributing the booty and moving the baggage; once he had finished he said to the Muslims, “Let us go to Darīn and attack the enemy who are there.” They agreed at once, and he marched with them until they reached the seashore, intending to embark. He saw, however, that the distance was too great and that they would not overtake the enemies of Allah by ship before they slipped away.

So he plunged his horse into the sea, calling out, “yā arḥama r-rāḥimīn (O Most Merciful of the merciful), yā ḥakīm, yā karīm (O All-Wise, O Most Generous), yā aḥad, yā ṣamad (O One, O Self-Sufficient), yā ḥayy, yā muḥyī (O Ever-Living, O Giver of life), yā qayyūm, yā dhā l-jalāl wa l-ikrām (O Lord of Majesty and Honour). lā ilāha illā anta yā rabbunā (There is no deity but You, our Lord).” He ordered the army to repeat these words and to follow him, and they did. By Allah’s permission he led them across the gulf, treading on what felt like soft sand covered by water; the water did not even wet the camels’ hoof-pads or reach the horses’ knees, though the crossing would have taken ships a full day and night. He reached the opposite shore, fought the enemy, defeated them, and seized their spoils; then he turned back, crossed the gulf again, and returned to his original camp—all in a single day. He left not one foe alive to carry news, and he drove off their women and children, livestock, and wealth. The Muslims lost nothing in the sea except an ʿalīqa (3)—a fodder bag that belonged to one of the men—and even that al-ʿAlāʾ went back and retrieved for him.

He then divided the booty among the Muslims: each horseman received two thousand and each foot-soldier one thousand, despite the large number in the army. He wrote to al-Ṣiddīq to inform him, and al-Ṣiddīq replied with a letter of thanks for his deeds.

One of the Muslims who crossed the sea, ʿAfīf ibn al-Mundhir (4), composed these verses in the ṭawīl metre:

Have you not seen how Allah made the sea submit,
And loosed upon the unbelievers a mighty sign?
He called us to cleave the waters, and He granted us
A marvel surpassing the ancient parting of the sea.

Sayf ibn ʿUmar al-Tamīmī (5) relates that among those present at these encounters—and the marvels Allah manifested through al-ʿAlāʾ—was a monk from the people of Hajar who embraced Islam on the spot. He was asked, “What moved you to accept Islam?” He replied, “I feared that, if I did not, Allah would transform me because of the signs I had witnessed.” He added, “At the time of the pre-dawn stillness I heard a supplication in the air.” They asked, “What was it?” He answered, “O Allah, You are ar-Raḥmān, ar-Raḥīm; there is no deity but You—the Originator, before Whom nothing existed; the Everlasting, never heedless; the One who never dies; the Creator of what is seen and what is unseen; each day…”