But a river lay between them; the horse veered, tearing off his foot, shin, and thigh, while the rest of his body remained hanging from the stirrup. (1)
Muslim ibn ʿAwsajah rushed at him and struck, severing his right leg. The horse bolted, and every stone it passed smashed against his head until he died.
Abu Mikhnaf relates—on the authority of Abu Janab—that there was among us a man called ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmayr (2) of the Banu ʿUlaym. He had settled in Kufah and built a house beside the Jaʿd well of Hamdan, and he was married to a woman from Namir ibn Qasit. When he saw the people preparing to march out against al-Husayn, he said, ‘By Allah, I have always been eager to fight the idolaters, and I hope that my striving alongside the grandson of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ against these men will be better than fighting the unbelievers and lighter to earn a reward with Allah.’
He went in to his wife and told her what he intended. She said, ‘You have done well; may Allah, through you, guide affairs to their best end. Do it, and take me with you.’ So he set out with her by night until they reached al-Husayn.
The narrator then recounted ʿUmar ibn Saʿd’s shooting of the first arrow, the killing of Yasar, the freedman of Ziyad, and Salim, the freedman of Ibn Ziyad, and that ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmayr sought permission from al-Husayn to confront them. Al-Husayn looked at him and saw a dark-complexioned, tall man, thick-armed and broad-shouldered. Al-Husayn said, ‘I reckon him a slayer of equals. Go out if you wish.’ So he went.
They asked him, ‘Who are you?’ He gave his lineage. They replied, ‘We do not know you.’
He retorted, ‘You sons of an unchaste woman! Do you imagine that anyone is reluctant to duel with you? Is there anyone who comes out to face you (3) who is not better than you both?’ He then charged at Yasar and felled him as swiftly as yesterday had passed. While he was still occupied with him, Salim, the freedman of Ibn Ziyad, closed in. A voice cried, ‘The slave is upon you!’ He did not notice until Salim reached him and struck his left hand, severing his fingers. Then the Kalbi turned on him and killed him. (4)
Advancing, he chanted:
If you deny me, I am the son of Kalb;
Enough for me is my household in ʿUlaym, enough indeed.
I am a man of mettle (5) and sinew,
Never a coward when calamity falls.
I pledge to you, O mother of Wahb,
That I shall thrust and strike them boldly—
The blows of a youth who believes in the Lord.
Umm Wahb then seized a tent-pole and came toward her husband, saying, ‘May my father and mother be ransomed for you! Fight in defence of the pure offspring…’