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 their land will one day be ours, and we will take possession of it." Finally, they presented themselves before the king and invited him to Islâm. The king became angry and ordered them to leave, saying, "Had ye not been envoys, I would have put you to death!" He also wrote and rebuked Rustam for sending them to him.

. Later, a forage expedition of the Moslems, headed by Zuhrah ibn-Ḥawîyah ibn-ʿAbdallâh ibn-Ḳatâdah at-Tamîmi—later as-Saʿdi—(others say it was headed by Ḳatâdah ibn-Ḥawîyah ), came across some Persian cavalry, which was the occasion for the final conflict. The Persians rallied to the succor of their cavalry, and the Moslems to those on their expedition; and a fierce battle raged between the two. The time was an afternoon. ʿAmr ibn-Maʿdikarib az-Zubaidi rushed forward and, seizing a Persian chief by the neck, lifted him to the saddle in front of him, saying [to his men], "I am abu-Thaur! Do ye as I do!" He then stabbed the nose of one of the elephants, saying, "Apply your swords to their trunks; the vulnerable point in the elephant is his trunk."

. Saʿd ibn-abi-Waḳḳâṣ had, for a special reason, appointed Khâlid ibn-ʿUrfuṭah-l-ʿUdhri, an ally of the banu-Zuhrah, to be commander of the army and director of the affairs of the Moslems. Saʿd lived in Ḳaṣr [tower] al-ʿUdhaib. His wife, Salma, daughter of Ḥafṣah of the tribe of the banu-Taimallâh ibn-Thaʿlabah, and formerly the wife of al-Muthanna ibn-Ḥârithah, often repeated, "O, Muthanna! But there is no more Muthanna to aid the cavalry!" Hearing that, Saʿd slapped her on the face; upon which she said, "Is it jealousy or cowardice, Saʿd?"