When you pass the palm-groves of Najd
and the valleys of al-Yamāmah, mourn me;
and say, “Jaḥdar has become a captive
who dreads the stroke of a keen Yemeni blade.”

When the lion arrived, al-Ḥajjāj ordered that it be starved for three days, then had it led out to the ḥāʾir—an enclosed garden—and summoned Jaḥdar. Still in irons, his right hand chained to his neck, Jaḥdar was brought forward; they placed a sword in his left hand and left him alone with the beast, while al-Ḥajjāj and his companions watched from a pavilion.

Jaḥdar advanced toward the lion, reciting:

“A lion and a lion in a straitened arena:
proud-spirited both, each a testing stone;
strength in their breasts and ruthless force—
if Allah lifts the veil of doubt,
let the worthier be the one who stays.”

When the lion saw him it gave a mighty roar, stretched itself, and charged. Once it was a spear’s length away it leapt; Jaḥdar met it with his sword and struck a blow that split its gullet. The lion toppled like a tent flattened by the wind, and Jaḥdar himself was hurled to the ground by the violence of the attack and the weight of his fetters.

Al-Ḥajjāj and those with him cried “Allāhu akbar,” and Jaḥdar declaimed:

“O camel, had you witnessed my ordeal
on that fearful, murky, dust-filled day;
seen me move toward a lion, shackled and hobbled,
so that I might grapple with him in his very lair—
a beast with thick claws and fangs like blue pick-axes or shards of glass;
he rose, two eyes blazing like flames,
each keener than the beam of a lamp;
and it was as though a speckled cloak, or strips of brocade,
had been sewn upon his hide—
then you would know that I am a man of noble valor,
a scion of people who dwell in lofty towers.”

Turning to al-Ḥajjāj he added:

“Though I have walked deliberately toward death,
I still hope for your goodness, son of Yūsuf.
Women know that I never turn back—
they trust not in the jealousy of husbands—
and I know that had I shrunk from his assault,
I should never have escaped al-Ḥajjāj.” (1)

Al-Ḥajjāj then offered him the choice: if he pleased he could remain with him, or if he wished he could return to his homeland. Jaḥdar chose to stay; al-Ḥajjāj rewarded him generously and bestowed on him great wealth. (2)

On another occasion al-Ḥajjāj denied that al-Ḥusayn was among the descendants of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, saying that he was only the son of the Prophet’s daughter. Yahyā ibn Yaʿmur retorted, “You have lied!”