outcome will determine every day that follows. I have resolved upon a course of action (1); so listen, answer, speak briefly, and do not quarrel, lest you lose heart and your strength depart. I have decided to march with those who are with me until I camp at a position midway between these two garrison cities, where I shall summon the people to arms; I will then serve as their support until Allah grants them victory.

ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, Ṭalḥah, al-Zubayr, and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, together with a number of men of sound judgment, thereupon rose. Each spoke separately, and each spoke well and eloquently. They all agreed that he should not leave Madinah; instead, he should send out detachments and encompass the enemy by means of his counsel and his supplication.

Among the words of ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) were: “Commander of the Believers, victory and defeat in this affair have never been determined by numbers, whether many or few. It is His religion that He has made manifest and His army that He has honoured and supported with the angels until it reached its present stage. We stand upon a promise from Allah, and Allah will fulfil His promise and give victory to His army. Your place among them, Commander of the Believers, is like the string that holds a necklace of beads together: when it snaps, the beads scatter and are lost, never again to be gathered whole. The Arabs today, though few, are many and formidable through Islam. Remain where you are and write to the people of Kufah—for they are the standards and leaders of the Arabs—so that two-thirds of them go forth while one-third stays behind. Write also to the people of Basra that they should reinforce them (2).”

ʿUthmān had proposed in his speech that they be reinforced by armies (3) from Yemen and Syria. ʿUmar had agreed to go to the area between Basra and Kufah, so ʿAlī responded to ʿUthmān regarding that agreement, and he rejected ʿUthmān’s suggestion of seeking aid from Syria—fearing for their lands were their forces there reduced against the Byzantines—and from Yemen, fearing for their lands vis-à-vis the Abyssinians. ʿUmar admired ʿAlī’s counsel and was pleased with it.

Whenever ʿUmar consulted anyone, he would not conclude a matter until he had also consulted al-ʿAbbās. When the words of the Companions pleased him on this occasion, he laid the matter before al-ʿAbbās, who said, “Commander of the Believers, take things calmly; these Persians have only gathered so that retribution may descend upon them.”

ʿUmar then said, “Advise me about the man to whom I should entrust the command of the war; let him be an Iraqi.” They replied, “Commander of the Believers, you know your troops best.” He said, “By Allah, I shall appoint a man who will be the first to meet the spear-points tomorrow.” They asked, “Who is he, Commander of the Believers?” He answered, “al-Nuʿmān ibn Muqarrin.” They said (4), “He is fit for it.”

Al-Nuʿmān had earlier written to ʿUmar from Kishkar (5) asking to be relieved of that post and assigned to fight the people of Nahavand; therefore, ʿUmar granted his request and appointed him. He then wrote to Ḥudhayfah, ordering him to march from Kufah with its troops, and to Abū Mūsā, instructing him to march with the forces of Basra. He also wrote to al-Nuʿmān—who was in Basra—commanding him to set out with the troops there for Nahavand. When the armies gathered, each commander would remain over his own force, while overall command of all the troops would lie with al-Nuʿmān ibn Muqarrin; if he were killed, then Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān would take command; if Ḥudhayfah were killed…"}