al-Tamr, where Mālik ibn Kaʿb al-Arahbi was in command of one thousand fully armed horsemen on ʿAlī’s behalf. When they heard of the approach of the Syrian troops they melted away (1) from him, so that only one hundred men were left with Mālik ibn Kaʿb. He thereupon wrote to ʿAlī to inform him of what had happened. ʿAlī called the people to set out in support of Mālik ibn Kaʿb, but they were slow to respond and shirked the task, refusing to go forth.
At that ʿAlī addressed them, saying in a sermon:
“O people of Kūfah! Whenever you hear of a raiding party (2) from the forces of Syria, each one of you crawls into his house and bolts his door—like a lizard shrinking into its hole, or a hyena into its den. By Allah, only the man whom you deceive is truly deceived, and whoever parts company with you walks away with the most barren lot (3). No free men answer the call, no trustworthy brothers stand firm when deliverance is at stake. We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return! What a calamity I have been tried with because of you—blind who do not see, dumb who do not speak, deaf who do not hear! We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.”
Al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr then fell upon them, and a fierce battle broke out while only one hundred men remained with Mālik ibn Kaʿb. They broke the scabbards (4) of their swords and fought with desperate courage. While they were in that state a relief party of fifty men arrived from the direction of Mukhnaf ibn Sulaym, led by his son ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mukhnaf. When the Syrians saw them they supposed it to be a great reinforcement and fled head-long (5). Mālik ibn Kaʿb pursued them, killing three men, while the rest scattered in disarray, so that nothing came of their expedition on that front.
In the same year Muʿāwiyah sent Sufyān ibn ʿAwf with six thousand men, ordering him to march to Hīt and raid it, and then proceed to al-Anbār and al-Madāʾin. He advanced to Hīt but found no one there, then moved on to al-Anbār, where a detachment for ʿAlī about five hundred strong was stationed. They dispersed until only one hundred remained, yet they fought on resolutely until their commander—Ashras ibn Ḥassān al-Balawī (6)—fell together with thirty of his companions. The attackers carried off (7) the wealth that was in al-Anbār and withdrew toward Syria.
When the news reached ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) [about what had befallen the people of al-Anbār], he mounted in person and camped at al-Nukhaylah. The people said to him, “We shall spare you that trouble, O Commander of the Believers.” He replied, “By Allah, you will spare neither me nor yourselves.” He then dispatched Saʿīd (8) ibn Qays in pursuit. Saʿīd followed the raiders as far as Hīt, but failed to overtake them and returned.
That same year Muʿāwiyah sent ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿadah al-Fazārī (9) at the head of one thousand seven hundred men to Taymāʾ, instructing him to collect the ṣadaqah (10) from the people—