According to another report, Rustam commanded 120,000 men, followed by a further 80,000. He had with him 33 elephants, one of which was a white elephant that had belonged to Sābūr; it was the largest and oldest of them, and the other elephants were accustomed to it.
Saʿd then dispatched a number of nobles—among them al-Nuʿmān ibn Muqarrin, Furāt ibn Ḥayyān, Ḥanzalah ibn al-Rabīʿ al-Tamīmī, ʿAṭārid ibn Ḥājib, al-Ashʿath ibn Qays, al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah, and ʿAmr ibn Maʿdīkarib—to invite Rustam to Allah—exalted is He.
Rustam asked them, “What has brought you here?” They replied, “We have come in fulfilment of Allah’s promise to us: the seizure of your lands, the capture of your women (and your children), and the taking of your property. We are certain of this.”
Rustam had indeed seen in a dream an angel descend from heaven, place a seal upon all the weapons of the Persians, and hand them to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who in turn passed them on to ʿUmar.
Saif ibn ʿUmar (1) related that Rustam delayed engaging Saʿd for four months—from the time he left al-Madāʾin until he met Saʿd at al-Qādisiyyah—hoping thereby to wear down Saʿd and those with him (2) so that they might withdraw. Had the king not pressed him, Rustam would not have confronted Saʿd, for he was convinced of the Muslims’ superiority and their impending victory: because of what he had seen in his dream, what he intuited, what he had heard from them, and because of the astrological knowledge in which he was experienced and whose accuracy he trusted.
When Rustam’s army drew near, Saʿd wished to obtain precise information about them, so he sent out a detachment to bring him back a Persian captive. Among that party was Ṭulayḥa al-Asadī, who had once claimed prophethood but then repented. Al-Ḥārith advanced with his men and returned. As soon as the detachment set out, Ṭulayḥa cut through the ranks and columns, made his way past thousands, killed several champions, captured one of them, and brought him back helpless. Saʿd questioned the prisoner about the enemy, but the man began praising Ṭulayḥa’s bravery.
Saʿd said, “Leave that aside and tell us about Rustam.” He replied, “He commands 120,000 men, with an equal number in support.” The man thereupon embraced Islam—may Allah have mercy on him.
[Rustam and al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah]
Saif (3), quoting his teachers, reported: When the two armies faced each other, Rustam sent word to [Saʿd] asking him to send a sensible man, well-informed enough to answer the questions he wished to pose. Saʿd therefore sent al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah (may Allah be pleased with him).
When al-Mughīrah arrived, Rustam said to him, “You are our neighbors, and we have treated you well (4) and refrained from harming you. Return to your land, and we will not prevent your trade from entering ours.”
Al-Mughīrah replied, “We do not seek the life of this world; our concern (5) and our pursuit is the Hereafter. Allah has sent to us a Messenger, to whom He said, ‘I have empowered this community over anyone who does not follow My religion; through them I shall exact vengeance, and I shall grant them…’”