their footing, strike terror into their hearts, send down tranquillity upon us, bind us to the word of piety, endear the encounter to us, and make us content with the decree.

Bāhān then advanced and ordered the commander of the Roman left wing—al-Dayrijān, an enemy of Allah who affected monastic devotion among them—to attack. He charged the Muslim right flank, where al-Azd, Madhḥij, Ḥadramawt, and Khawlān were stationed. They stood firm until they repelled the enemies of Allah, but reinforcements from the Romans, towering like mountains, descended upon them. The Muslims of the right withdrew toward the centre; a group of men bolted for the camp, while a large formation (1) of believers held their ground, fighting beneath their banners, and Zubayd fell back. They rallied one another, wheeled round, and charged again until they checked the Romans before them, distracting them from pursuing those who had broken.

The women, meanwhile, confronted the first fugitives, striking them (2) with sticks and stones, and Khawlah (bint Thaʿlabah) kept chanting:

O you who flee from devout women—
before long you will see them led away as captives,
no longer guarded, no longer content!

The men then returned to their positions.

Saif ibn ʿUmar (3) relates, through Abū ʿUthmān al-Ghassānī from his father, that ʿIkrimah ibn Abī Jahl said on the Day of Yarmūk, “I fought the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in many engagements—shall I flee from you today?” He then cried, “Who will pledge to die?” His uncle al-Ḥārith ibn Hishām and Dirār ibn al-Azwar, together with four hundred of the leading Muslims and their horsemen, pledged themselves. They fought in front of Khālid’s pavilion until every one of them was cut down with wounds, and many were killed, among them Dirār ibn al-Azwar—may Allah be pleased with him.

Al-Wāqidī and others report that when they lay disabled by their wounds they asked for water. A drink was brought; when it was offered to one of them he looked at another and said, “Pass it to him.” When it reached that man he in turn gazed at another and said, “Pass it to him.” Thus they kept passing it from one to the next until they all died, none having drunk—may Allah be pleased with them all.

It is also said that the first Muslim to fall as a martyr that day was a man who came to Abū ʿUbaydah and said, “I have readied myself for what awaits me; do you have a message for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?” He replied, “Yes: convey my greetings of peace to him and say, ‘O Messenger of Allah, we have found what our Lord promised us to be true.’” The man then advanced until he was slain—may Allah have mercy on him.

They narrate that every contingent held fast beneath its banner until the Romans began to wheel around like a millstone. On the Day of Yarmūk nothing was seen but brains spilled, severed wrists (4), and hands flying through the air. Khālid then led the cavalry under his command in a charge against the Roman left—the wing that had struck the Muslim right—drove it back toward the centre, and in that single assault killed six thousand Romans.