“Place it on the noblest of these men, then drive him on until he has passed beyond the dwellings (1) of al-Mada’in. Return to your commander and tell him that I am sending Rustam against him to bury him (2) and his army in the trench of al-Qadisiyyah, to punish him—and you—afterwards, and then to press on into your own lands so that I occupy you with troubles far worse than those Shapur ever brought upon you.

He then asked, “Which of you is the noblest?” The delegation kept silent, whereupon ʿĀṣim ibn ʿAmr stepped forward (3) to take the soil and said, “I am the noblest among them; I am the leader of these men—put it on me.”

“Is that so?” the king said.
They answered, “Yes.”
So he loaded the soil upon ʿĀṣim’s neck. ʿĀṣim left the audience hall and the palace carrying it until he reached his mount, set it on the saddle, and rode off. The rest of the envoys followed (4) toward Saʿd, but ʿĀṣim outpaced them, passed through Bāb Qudays (5), covered the distance swiftly, and said (6), “Give the commander glad tidings of victory; God willing, we have prevailed!” He continued until he placed the soil in al-Ḥijr; then he returned, entered upon Saʿd, and told him what had happened.

Saʿd replied, “Rejoice, for by Allah, He has handed us the keys of their kingdom!” They regarded this as a good omen of taking their country. Thereafter the standing of the Companions rose each day in honour, nobility and eminence, while the fortunes of the Persians declined in abasement, humiliation and weakness.

When Rustam returned to the king, the latter questioned him (7) about the Muslims he had seen. Rustam spoke of their intelligence, eloquence and sharp replies, saying that they were pursuing a matter they were about to attain. He also related how their “noblest” had been ordered to carry the soil and how the king had thought him foolish for bearing it on his own head when, had he wished, he could have shifted the burden to someone else without the king noticing.

Rustam said to him, “He is not a fool, nor is he their noblest; he wished only to ransom his people with himself. But, by Allah, they have gone off with the keys to our land.” Rustam was an astrologer, so he sent a man after them, saying, “If you overtake them and bring the soil back, we may yet recover our affairs; but if it reaches their commander, they will conquer our land.”

The messenger spurred on after them but did not catch them; they had already reached Saʿd with the soil. This distressed the Persians, who became furiously angry and disparaged the king’s judgement.

[Section]
The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah was a mighty encounter—the like of it had never been seen in Iraq. When the two lines stood facing one another, Saʿd—may Allah be pleased with him—was suffering from sciatica and from boils over his body, so that he could not ride. He remained in a fortress, lying on his chest upon a cushion, watching the army and directing its movements, having entrusted the conduct of the fighting to Khālid ibn—