He then engaged in several battles (1) with the armies of Ibn Tāshfīn (2), the ruler of Marrakesh. On one occasion he slew nearly seventy thousand of them, acting on the advice of Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Wansharīshī (3).

It was also reported that an angel descended to al-Wansharīshī, taught him the Quran and al-Muwaṭṭaʾ, and that other angels bore witness to this in a well whose name he specified. When he later passed by the spot—having already stationed men inside the well—he asked them about the matter while the people listened. They testified in his favour, whereupon he ordered the well to be filled in (4) over them, and they all perished to the last man (5). Hence the saying: “Whoever helps an oppressor will be placed under his power” (6).

Ibn Tūmart, who styled himself “the Mahdī,” next dispatched an army under Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Wansharīshī and ʿAbd al-Muʾmin to besiege Marrakesh. The townspeople sallied out against them, and a fierce battle ensued (7); among the dead was Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Wansharīshī—the very man who claimed the angels spoke to him. When his followers could not find his body among the slain, they declared, “The angels have carried him off,” whereas ʿAbd al-Muʾmin had already buried him during the fighting. A great many of the Mahdī’s supporters were also killed (8).

At the time he sent out that army, Ibn Tūmart was already gravely ill. When the news reached him, his sickness only worsened, and the death of Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Wansharīshī caused him deep sorrow. He therefore committed authority after him to ʿAbd al-Muʾmin (9) ibn ʿAlī, conferring upon him the title “Amīr al-Muʾminīn” (Commander of the Faithful). ʿAbd al-Muʾmin was a handsome, intelligent, and resolute young man.

Ibn Tūmart died thereafter at the age of fifty-one, and the duration of his rule (10) was ten years (11).