People imagine that the two kings have closed ranks, yet whoever hears of their disgrace knows that the crisis has only become more severe.

We slew the Qayl Masrūq and drenched the dune in blood; he was indeed a Qayl among men, and Wahriz swore a solemn oath to go on tasting bright wine until the captives and the spoils were restored.

Afterward, Arab delegations from the Ḥijāz and elsewhere came to Sayf, congratulating him on the return of the kingdom and praising him. Among the envoys of Quraysh was ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim. Sayf gave him glad tidings of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and told him what he knew of his affair. This will be set out in detail in the chapter on the heralded signs of his coming, peace be upon him.

Ibn Isḥāq said: Abū al-Ṣalt ibn Abī Rabīʿah al-Thaqafī—though Ibn Hishām transmits it ascribed to his son Umayyah—recited:

Let men like Ibn Dhī Yazan go forth to seek requital,
sailing the seas and bringing ever-shifting disasters upon their foes.

He first sought out Caesar when the time for his journey arrived,
but found with him none of what he had requested.

After ten years he turned toward Chosroes,
humbling both his person and his wealth to win his favor,

until he returned bearing freeborn warriors in his train.
By my life, you have hastened a mighty commotion!

Marvellous, by Allah, is that band who went forth—
I see no equals for them among mankind:

stalwart marzbans, bright-armed horsemen,
lions rearing their cubs in the forest thickets,

hurling missiles from litters that resemble hill-crests,
with roaring shafts that speed the target to a swift end.