now a force of one thousand men (1) and were charged not to repeat their former habit of flight and rout.
When news reached Shabīb of the troops and detachments al-Ḥajjāj had dispatched against him, he gave them no weight whatever. Instead he rose to address his own followers, exhorting them, reminding them of Allah, and urging them to stand fast at the moment of encounter and to meet the enemy head-on.
Shabīb then marched with his men toward ʿAttāb ibn Warqāʾ. They met late in the day, just as the sun was setting. Shabīb ordered his muʾadhdhin, Sallām ibn Yasār (2) al-Shaybānī, to give the call for Maghrib, after which he led his companions in a full Maghrib prayer, complete in its bowings and prostrations.
ʿAttāb, meanwhile, had drawn up his men—having dug a trench around himself and his army since early morning. When Shabīb had finished the Maghrib prayer he waited until the moon rose and shone bright; he then surveyed the right and left wings (3), charged the standard-bearers of ʿAttāb, and cried, “I am Shabīb, Abū al-Mudallah; judgment belongs to Allah alone!” He routed them, killing their commander Qabīṣah ibn Wāliq and a number of other officers. Wheeling upon the right wing and then the left, he scattered each of them. He next pressed the center and did not desist until he had slain the commander ʿAttāb ibn Warqāʾ together with Zuhrah ibn Ḥawiyyah. The greater part of the army turned in flight, trampling ʿAttāb and Zuhrah beneath the horses’ hooves. ʿAmmār ibn Yazīd al-Kalbī was also killed in the engagement.
Shabīb then said to his men, “Do not pursue a fugitive.” The entire host of al-Ḥajjāj broke and fled as one man, retreating toward Kūfah. Having taken possession of the camp, Shabīb required those who remained to pledge allegiance to him as their commander, saying, “How long will you keep running?” He seized the money and stores in the camp, summoned his brother Miṣād from al-Madāʾin, and then set out for Kūfah.
At this time Sufyān ibn al-Abrad al-Kalbī and Ḥabīb ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ḥakamī of Madhhij arrived to reinforce al-Ḥajjāj with six thousand cavalry, accompanied by a large contingent from Syria. With them al-Ḥajjāj no longer needed help from the people of Kūfah. He mounted the pulpit, praised Allah, extolled Him, and said:
“O people of Kūfah, may Allah grant no honor to whoever seeks honor through you, and no victory to whoever looks to you for victory. Leave us; do not witness with us the fighting of our enemy. Go to al-Ḥīrah and settle there with the Jews and Christians. None shall fight alongside us except those who are in our employ, those who did not take part in the battle with ʿAttāb ibn Warqāʾ.”
Al-Ḥajjāj resolved to confront Shabīb in person, while Shabīb advanced until he reached al-Ṣarāt. Al-Ḥajjāj came out against him with his Syrians and others.
When the two forces faced one another, al-Ḥajjāj saw that Shabīb had six hundred men with him. He addressed the Syrians:
“O people of Syria, you are the people of obedience, patience, and certainty. Let not the falsehood of these impure men overcome your truth. Lower your gaze, go down on your knees, and meet them with the tips of your lances.” They did so.
Shabīb advanced, having arranged his force in three divisions: one with him, a second under Suwayd ibn Sulaym, and a third under al-Muḥallal ibn Wāʾil. He ordered Suwayd to charge; Suwayd charged the army of al-Ḥajjāj. They held firm until, when he drew near, they leapt at him in a single rush, and he was put to flight.