I strike at them with the sword—a hacking, cleaving blow,
Never shrinking from them, never slackening. (1)

He and Zuhayr ibn al-Qayn then fought with unrelenting fury. Whenever one of them charged so deeply that he was nearly overwhelmed, the other would rush in and rescue him. They kept this up for a time, until a band of men closed in on al-Ḥurr ibn Yazīd and killed him. Abū Thumamah al-Ṣāʿidī also slew a cousin of his who had long been his enemy. (2)

Al-Husayn next led his companions in the noon Prayer of Fear; once the prayer was finished, the battle flared up again with renewed intensity. (3) The stalwarts among his followers shielded him, while Zuhayr ibn al-Qayn fought fiercely in front of al-Husayn. Some of his companions were struck by arrows until one of them collapsed at al-Husayn’s feet, and Zuhayr began to chant:

I am Zuhayr, the son of al-Qayn;
With this sword I drive you back from Husayn. (4)

He would tap al-Husayn on the shoulder and say:

Advance—rightly guided, yourself a guide!
Today you will meet your grandfather, the Prophet,
Hasan, the Chosen ʿAlī,
The two-winged youth, the valiant champion,
And the Lion of Allah, the ever-living martyr.

Then Kathīr ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Shaʿbī and Muhājir ibn Aws charged at him and killed him.

Among al-Husayn’s companions was Nāfiʿ ibn Hilāl al-Jamali. He had inscribed his name (5) on the nocks (6) of his arrows, and he loosed these poisoned shafts while proclaiming:

I shoot them with arrows whose nocks bear my mark;
A soul gains nothing through division.
I am al-Jamali; I stand upon the faith of ʿAlī.

He killed twelve of ʿUmar ibn Saʿd’s men, not counting those he wounded. He fought on until both his arms were broken; then they captured him and brought him before ʿUmar ibn Saʿd.

ʿUmar said to him, ‘Woe to you, Nāfiʿ! What drove you to do this to yourself?’

He answered, ‘My Lord knows the purpose I sought’—while blood streamed over him and his beard. He then added, ‘By Allah, I have killed twelve of your soldiers, apart from those whom—’