Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 36056 — The sending of al-Numan bin Muqarrin

Sayyiduna Ma'qil bin Yasar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) consulted al-Hurmuzan about Fars, Isfahan and Azerbaijan. He said: "Isfahan is like the head, and Fars and Azerbaijan are like the two wings. If you cut off one wing, the head will remain with the support of the other wing, and if you cut off the head, the wings will fall of themselves. So begin with the head." Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) went into the mosque and saw Sayyiduna Nu'man bin Muqarrin (may Allah be pleased with him) praying. He sat down near him, and when he had completed his prayer, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "I intend to appoint you as a commander." He said: "If it is to be as a collector of revenue, I do not agree, and if it is to be for sending me on jihad, I accept." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "You will go as a commander for jihad." He dispatched him and told the people of Kufah: "Reinforce him." With him were Sayyiduna al-Zubayr bin al-Awwam, Sayyiduna Amr bin Ma'dikarib, Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) and Sayyiduna al-Ash'ath bin Qays. (2) Sayyiduna Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Sayyiduna al-Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with him) to their king, whose name was "Dhu al-Janahayn". He crossed their river to them. Dhu al-Janahayn was told that the messenger of the Arabs was here. He consulted his companions: "Shall I sit with him in the manner of kings, or in the manner of a warrior?" They advised: "Sit in the manner of kings." So he sat on his throne and placed his crown on his head. His princes also sat around him, with earrings in their ears and gold bracelets on their arms, and silk garments on their bodies. Sayyiduna al-Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with him) was given permission for the audience. He was brought under the guard of two men, with his sword and his spear in his hand. Sayyiduna al-Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with him) pierced holes in their carpets with his spear so that they would take it as a bad omen. He stood before the king. A man acted as interpreter between the two. The king said: "O people of Arabia, hunger and hardship have afflicted you and you have rushed to us. If you wish, we will give you wealth and send you back." (3) Sayyiduna al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah (may Allah be pleased with him) began to speak; he praised and glorified Allah Almighty and then said: "We Arabs were a humiliated people. People oppressed us, but we oppressed no one. We ate dogs and carrion. Then Allah Almighty raised among us a Prophet who was among the noblest of us; he was the best of us in lineage and the most truthful of us in speech. Allah Almighty gave His Prophet the religion, and all the things he said proved true. One of the promises he made to us was that we would come to possess what is here and prevail over it. I see great adornment and finery in this land of yours, and those who are behind me will never leave these things until they obtain them." Then I said to myself: "If I leap up and sit on his throne, they will take it as a bad omen." So I leapt and sat down with the king on his throne. They began to strike me with their legs and to drag me with their hands. I said: "We would not do this to your messengers. If I have acted foolishly, do not punish me, for this is not done to messengers." (4) The king said: "If you wish, we will cross over to you, and if you wish, you may cross over to us." I said: "We will cross over to you." So we crossed over to them. They chained themselves together, five, seven, six and ten men to a chain, so that they could not flee. We advanced towards them and stood in ranks facing them. They showered us with arrows until they had quickly inflicted losses among us. Sayyiduna al-Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him): "They have quickly inflicted losses among the people; the people have gone out, and they are quickly inflicting losses among them. It would be better if you charged." Sayyiduna Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "You are a man of many virtues and merits, and you took part in many campaigns with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). But I was with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and saw that when he did not fight in the early part of the day, he would wait until the sun had passed the meridian, the winds began to blow and help came down." (5) Then Sayyiduna Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I will wave my banner three times. When I move the banner the first time, let every man relieve himself and perform ablution. When I wave the banner the second time, let every man look to his sandal strap and put his weapon in order. And when I wave the banner the third time, charge. Let no one turn to anyone else; even if Nu'man is killed, let no one turn to him. I am going to make a supplication to Allah, and I adjure every Muslim to say Amin to it." Then he said: "O Allah, grant Nu'man martyrdom today, with victory and conquest over them." The people said Amin. Then he waved the banner three times, then took off his coat of mail and charged, and the people charged. He was the first to fall. Sayyiduna Ma'qil said: I came upon him, but I remembered his firm instruction, so I did not turn to him, and I set up a marker so that I would recognise his place. Whenever we killed a man, his companions became occupied with him and were diverted from us. Dhu al-Janahayn fell from a grey mule of his and his belly split open, and Allah gave the Muslims victory. I came to the place of Sayyiduna Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him) and a trace of life remained in him. I brought him a water-skin and washed his face. He said: "Who is this?" I said: "Ma'qil bin Yasar." He said: "What has become of the people?" I said: "Allah has given them victory." He said: "Praise be to Allah. Write of this to Umar." And his soul departed. The people gathered around Sayyiduna al-Ash'ath bin Qays, and they sent word to the mother of Nu'man's child (umm walad): "Did Nu'man leave any instruction with you, or do you have a document?" She said: "There is a basket with a document in it." They brought it out, and in it was written: "If Nu'man is killed, then so-and-so; and if so-and-so is killed, then so-and-so."