The conquest of Isfahan under the command of al-Nu'man bin Muqarrin (may Allah be pleased with him) and the practice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for victory in battle

It is narrated from Muhammad bin Umar that al-Nu'man bin Muqarrin bin A'idh bin Mija bin Hujayr bin Nasr bin Hubshiyyah bin Ka'b bin Thawr bin Hudhmah bin Latim bin Uthman bin Muzaynah (this is his lineage); his kunya was Abu Amr. He and six of his brothers took part in the Battle of the Trench (Khandaq) with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Al-Nu'man was among the fortunate ones who carried one of the banners of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he was the bearer of the banner of the tribe of Muzaynah which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had tied for them on the day of the Conquest of Makkah. Al-Nu'man was the commander (general) of the army on the day of the Battle of Nahawand, and he was martyred in that very battle in the year 21 AH.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ma'qil bin Yasar (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) consulted al-Hurmuzan about (the conquest of) Isfahan, Fars and Azerbaijan. He said: O Commander of the Faithful, Isfahan is the "head", and Fars and Azerbaijan are its two "wings". If you cut off one wing, the head will stay up with the other wing; but if you cut off the head, both wings will fall by themselves. So begin with Isfahan. Then Sayyiduna Umar entered the mosque and found al-Nu'man bin Muqarrin praying. He waited for him to finish his prayer and then said: I want to appoint you as governor (of a region). He replied: If it is for collecting taxes, then no; but if it is for jihad, then yes. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You are indeed a ghazi (fighter). So he dispatched him and sent word to the people of Kufah to reinforce him and join him. Among them were Hudhayfah bin al-Yaman, al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah, al-Zubayr bin al-Awwam, al-Ash'ath bin Qays, Amr bin Ma'dikarib and Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them). When al-Nu'man reached them, there was a river between them and the enemy. He sent al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah to them as an envoy. Their king was "Dhu al-Hajibayn" (the one with two bands). He consulted his companions: Should I sit before them (the Arabs) in the awe of war or in royal splendour and majesty? Then he sat on his throne in royal pomp and splendour, placed the crown on his head, and around him were two rows of courtiers wearing silk garments, earrings and bracelets. Al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah (may Allah be pleased with him) came with a spear and a shield in his hand, and people held him by his arms (to force him into these royal manners), while rows were lined up all around. He came piercing the carpet with his spear so that they would take it as a bad omen. Dhu al-Hajibayn said to him: O people of the Arabs, severe hunger and hardship have driven you to come here. If you wish, we will give you provisions and you can return to your land. Then al-Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with him) spoke; he praised and glorified Allah and said: We, the people of the Arabs, used to eat carrion and dead animals; people used to trample us and we could not trample anyone. Then Allah sent among us a Messenger who is the most honourable of us, of the noblest lineage and the most truthful. He promised us that this land would be conquered for us, and we have found all his promises to be true. Now I see here such goods and splendour that I do not think my companions will go back from here without taking it. Al-Mughirah said: I thought I would leap up at once and sit with him on the throne, but they rebuked me and shoved me. I said: If you consider me a fool, then do so, but envoys are not treated like this, and we do not treat your envoys like this when they come to us. Then he said: If you wish, you cross the river to us, or we will come to you. I said: We will come to you. So we crossed the river and formed our ranks. The enemy had bound seven men and five men together in single chains so that no one could flee. They shot arrows at us until many of us were wounded. Al-Mughirah said to al-Nu'man: The enemy has wounded us; now you should attack. Al-Nu'man said: You are a man of great merit and you took part in battles with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but I have seen the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): when he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not fight at the beginning of the day, he would delay it until the sun had passed its zenith, when the winds blew and the help of Allah descended. Then al-Nu'man said: O people, I will move the banner three times. At the first, let every man finish relieving himself; at the second, let every man check his weapons and his sword; and when I move it the third time, I will charge, so you charge too. If anyone is killed, let no one turn towards anyone, and even if I am killed, do not turn towards me. And I am making a supplication to Allah, to which all of you must say Amin. He supplicated: "O Allah, grant al-Nu'man martyrdom today along with the victory of the Muslims, and open the doors of success for them." Everyone said Amin. Then he waved the banner three times and charged, and he was the first to fall (be martyred). I remembered his instruction, so I did not turn towards him, but I marked his place. Then whenever we killed one of their men, they would become busy dragging him away and be distracted from us. Dhu al-Hajibayn fell from his white mule and his belly burst open, and Allah granted victory to the Muslims. Then I came to al-Nu'man, and there was still some breath left in him. I brought water and began pouring it on his face, washing away the dust. He asked: Who is this? I said: Ma'qil bin Yasar. He asked: What happened to the people? I said: Allah has granted them victory. He said: Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah); write the news of it to Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Then his soul departed. The people gathered around al-Ash'ath bin Qays. The narrator said: We went to his wife (umm walad) and asked: Did he leave any instruction? She said: No, except a small basket (sufayt) of his in which there is a document. We read it, and in it was written: If so-and-so is killed, then so-and-so will be commander after him, and if he is killed, then so-and-so.