Then ʿAbd Allah b. Saʿd b. Nufayl seized the banner and fought with equal ferocity, repeating, “May Allah have mercy on my brothers: among them are those who have fulfilled their pledge, and among them are those who still await it, and they have never altered in the least.” (1)

At that moment Rabīʿah b. al-Mukhāriq launched a furious charge against the Iraqis. He and ʿAbd Allah b. Saʿd b. Nufayl advanced for single combat, grappled with one another, and then Rabīʿah’s nephew struck ʿAbd Allah b. Saʿd and killed him; he afterwards carried his uncle away from the field. ʿAbd Allah b. Wāl thereupon took up the standard, urged the people to jihad, and kept proclaiming, “Our evening destination is Paradise!”—this being after the ʿAsr prayer. He led the men in an assault that scattered those around him, but he was killed—he had been one of the jurist-muftis—by Adham b. Muḥriz al-Bāhilī, the commander of the Syrian forces at that time. Rifaʿah b. Shaddād then grasped the banner; night had already fallen, so he withdrew with the troops while the Syrians returned to their encampments. Rifaʿah quickly departed with the survivors, heading for his homeland. When morning came, the Syrians discovered that the Iraqis had already turned back toward their own country, and they sent no one in pursuit. [Rifaʿah and his men crossed the Khābūr, passed by Qarqīsiyā, and Zufar b. al-Ḥārith sent them food, fodder, and physicians. They stayed three days to recuperate and then resumed their journey.] (2)

When they reached Hīt they encountered Saʿd b. Ḥudhayfah b. al-Yamān approaching with those of al-Madāʾin who had answered his call, intent on supporting them. After they told him what had happened and what hardships they had endured, and informed him of their fallen comrades, they prayed for mercy upon them, sought forgiveness for them, and wept for their brothers. The people of al-Madāʾin then returned home, and the remnant of the Kufans likewise went back to Kūfah, although a great multitude of them had been slain. Al-Mukhtār b. Abī ʿUbayd was still in prison and had not yet been released. He wrote to Rifaʿah b. Shaddād, offering him condolences for those who had been killed, invoking mercy upon them, and congratulating them on the martyrdom and immense reward they had attained,

[writing: “Welcome to those whose reward Allah has magnified and with whom He is well pleased. By Allah, not one of them took a single step but that the reward Allah grants for it is greater than the world and all it contains. Sulaymān has discharged what was incumbent upon him; Allah has taken him and placed his spirit among the spirits of the prophets, the martyrs, and the righteous.

Thereafter: I am the trustworthy commander, the slayer of tyrants and corrupters, if Allah so wills. So prepare yourselves, be ready, and rejoice! I summon you to the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, and to seek retribution for the blood of the People of the House…” and he wrote at length in this vein.] (3)

Even before their arrival he had foretold their destruction on the authority of his familiar spirit (4) that came to him from among the devils; a shayṭān would visit him and inspire him much as the devil of Musaylima used to inspire Musaylima.

The army of Sulaymān b. Ṣurad and his companions was known as the Army of the Penitents—may Allah be pleased with them.

Sulaymān b. Ṣurad [al-Khuzāʿī, Abū Muṭarraf, of Kūfah] (5) was a distinguished Companion, noble and devout. He transmitted from