and urging him to dispatch troops to his aid without delay. Al-Ḥajjāj himself then advanced until he encamped in Basra. When news of Ibn al-Ashʿath reached al-Muhallab, he wrote to the rebel inviting him to desist, but Ibn al-Ashʿath rejected the appeal and forwarded the letter to al-Ḥajjāj. Al-Muhallab next addressed Ibn al-Ashʿath in another missive:

“Son of al-Ashʿath, you have set your foot in a very long stirrup. Spare the Community of Muḥammad—Allah bless him and grant him peace. Take thought for your own soul and do not destroy it; do not shed the blood of the Muslims; do not break up their unity; and do not violate the pledge of allegiance. If you say, ‘I fear the people for my life,’ then Allah is more worthy that you fear Him than that you fear the people. Do not expose yourself before Allah by shedding blood or by declaring the unlawful to be lawful. Peace be upon you.” (1)

He also wrote to al-Ḥajjāj:

“To proceed: the people of Iraq are coming at you like a rushing torrent; nothing will stop it until it reaches its bed. The Iraqis fight with fierce resolve (2) when they first sally forth, yet their hearts yearn for their sons and their womenfolk. Nothing will turn them back until they have reached their families, relaxed with their wives, and breathed the scent of their children. Engage them then, for Allah will grant you victory over them, if He wills.”

When al-Ḥajjāj read the letter he said, “May Allah deal with him as He wills! By Allah, he shows no concern for me, but for his cousin he gives sincere counsel.”

When the courier arrived with al-Ḥajjāj’s letter to ʿAbd al-Malik, the caliph was alarmed. He rose from his throne, summoned Khālid ibn Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya, and had him read the letter. Khālid said, “Commander of the Believers, if this upheaval has arisen in Khurāsān, then fear it; but if it is in Sijistān, do not fear it.”

ʿAbd al-Malik then began outfitting troops from Syria to march to Iraq in support of al-Ḥajjāj and preparing to set out himself against Ibn al-Ashʿath. He ignored al-Muhallab’s advice, though in it were honesty and true counsel. Nevertheless, al-Muhallab’s dispatches to ʿAbd al-Malik did not cease, morning and evening, informing him where Ibn al-Ashʿath had halted, whence he had departed, and which people were flocking to him.

Men continued to rally to Ibn al-Ashʿath from every side, until it was said that he marched with thirty-three thousand cavalry and one hundred and twenty thousand infantry.

Al-Ḥajjāj left Basra with the Syrian forces and advanced toward Ibn al-Ashʿath, halting at Tustar. He placed Muṭahhar ibn Ḥayyī al-Kaʿbī (3) in command of the vanguard, together with another commander, ʿAbd Allah ibn Rumayth. When they reached the Dujayl they found Ibn al-Ashʿath’s advance party—three hundred horsemen under ʿAbd Allah ibn Abān al-Hārithī. The two forces met on the Day of Sacrifice beside the Dujayl River. Al-Ḥajjāj’s vanguard was routed, and Ibn al-Ashʿath’s men killed a great many of them, about one thousand five hundred, and seized everything in their camp [horses, textiles, and money].

News of his troops’ defeat [and the capture of their baggage and chests] reached al-Ḥajjāj while he was delivering the sermon. He said, “People, return to Basra; that will be easier on the army.” He withdrew with the men, but Ibn al-Ashʿath’s cavalry pursued them, killing every straggler they caught and destroying all who lagged behind.

Al-Ḥajjāj fled on without looking back until he came to al-Zāwiyah, where he encamped, continually saying, “May Allah bless al-Muhallab! What a master of war he is—he advised us aright, yet we did not accept.”

There al-Ḥajjāj spent one hundred and fifty million dirhams on his army, and he dug a trench round his camp.

And the people of