When the Syrians approached, Sulaymān stood up and addressed his companions. He directed them toward the afterlife and encouraged them to renounce attachment to the world. Urging them to engage in jihad, he said: "If I am killed, your commander will be Musayyab b. Najiyya. If he is killed, your commander will be ʿAbdullāh b. Saʿd b. Nufayl. If he is killed, your commander will be ʿAbdullāh b. Wāl. If he is killed, your commander will be Rufāʿa b. Shaddād." After saying this, he sent Musayyab b. Najiyya ahead with 500 cavalry. They attacked the Syrian soldiers under the command of Ibn Zilqilā, killed some, and wounded others. They drove their animals ahead of them and returned to Sulaymān. Upon hearing this news, ʿUbaydullāh b. Ziyād sent Husayn b. Numayr at the head of the vanguard with 12,000 soldiers. Sulaymān b. Surad and his troops encountered the Syrian soldiers on a Wednesday morning, eight days before the end of the month of Jumādā al-Awwal.
The Syrian army was led by Husayn b. Numayr, and both sides were ready to attack each other. The Syrians invited Sulaymān's soldiers to pledge allegiance to Marwān b. al-Ḥakam. Sulaymān's soldiers, in turn, demanded that the Syrians hand over ʿUbaydullāh b. Ziyād so that they could kill him in retaliation for the blood of al-Ḥusayn. However, neither side accepted the other's invitation. Thereupon, they clashed. They fought fiercely until evening that day. On that day, the battle went in favor of the Iraqis, and the Syrians were on the verge of defeat. In the morning, Ibn Zilqilā received reinforcements of 8,000 cavalry. Ibn Ziyād rebuked him and spoke harshly. Both sides fought fiercely until evening that day. Neither young nor old had ever seen such a battle. They only paused fighting at the times of prayer.
The fighting continued until nightfall. On the morning of the third day, another reinforcement of 10,000 men under the command of Adham b. Muḥarrish arrived for the Syrians; it was Friday. Both sides fought fiercely until mid-morning. Then the Syrians encircled the Iraqis, surrounding them from all sides. Sulaymān b. Surad delivered a speech to his men, urging them to jihad. Both sides fought a truly great battle. Then Sulaymān b. Surad dismounted. Breaking the scabbard of his sword, he called out:
– O servants of Allah! Whoever wishes to enter Paradise, repent of his sins, and fulfill his covenant, let him come to me.
Many soldiers dismounted and joined him. They broke the scabbards of their swords and charged. They plunged into the ranks of the Syrians, advancing to the center of the military formation. They killed many Syrians, to the point that they were drenched in blood. The Iraqi commander, Sulaymān b. Surad, was also killed. A Syrian named Yazīd b. Ḥusayn threw a spear at him; when it struck, Sulaymān fell to the ground, then stood up again, fell again, stood up again, and fell once more. As he was falling, he said: "By the Lord of the Kaʿba, I have succeeded." Then Musayyab b. Najiyya took up the banner and fought fiercely, saying as he fought:
"Those with drooping forelocks, their chests and necks exposed, they wished that,
In the morning of fear and victory, I am braver than a charging lion.
I break horns and spread fear around me."
After saying this, he fought fiercely and surrendered his soul. May Allah have mercy on them all. After him, the banner was taken by ʿAbdullāh b. Saʿd b. Nufayl. He too fought fiercely. That day, Rabīʿa b. Muḥāriq made an unprecedented assault on the Iraqis. He fought hand-to-hand with ʿAbdullāh b. Saʿd b. Nufayl. The two then joined forces. Rabīʿa's nephew attacked ʿAbdullāh b. Saʿd, then charged at his uncle. After this, the banner was taken by ʿAbdullāh b. Wāl. He encouraged his soldiers to jihad, saying: "Come, let us go to Paradise." It was past the afternoon prayer. ʿAbdullāh b. Wāl attacked the Syrians, scattering the enemy soldiers around him. Then he too was martyred. He was among the jurists who issued fatwas. He was killed by the Syrian military commander Adham b. Muḥarrish al-Bābilī. At that moment, the banner was taken by Rufāʿa b. Shaddād.
He withdrew the Iraqi soldiers as darkness fell. The Syrians also left the battlefield and returned to their belongings. Rufāʿa gathered the remaining Iraqi soldiers and returned to his homeland. In the morning, the Syrians saw that the Iraqis had returned to their homeland. They did not send any military unit to pursue them, for many of their soldiers had been killed and most were wounded. When they reached the region of Hayṭ, Saʿd b. Ḥudhayfa b. al-Yamān arrived with soldiers from al-Madāʾin. They had come to aid Sulaymān b. Surad and his men. When they heard of the calamity that had befallen Sulaymān and his men, they prayed for mercy for the dead, sought forgiveness, and wept for their brothers. Then the people of al-Madāʾin returned to their homeland, and the people of Kūfa returned to Kūfa. Many men had been killed. Mukhtār b.
Abū ʿUbayd, being in prison, could not come out, but he sent a letter of condolence to Rufāʿa b. Shaddād for the slain soldiers, prayed for mercy for the dead, and expressed his envy for the great reward and martyrdom they had attained, saying:
"Greetings to those who have been greatly rewarded by Allah and with whom Allah is pleased. For every step they took, Allah granted them a reward greater than the world and all it contains. Sulaymān surely fulfilled his duty. Allah has taken his soul and joined it with the souls of the prophets, martyrs, and the righteous. Henceforth, I am the trusted leader. I will, God willing, kill the tyrants and corrupters. Prepare yourselves. Gather men and weapons; rejoice! I invite you to the Book of Allah and the sunnah of His Messenger. I want you to avenge the People of the House..."
Before the defeated soldiers of Sulaymān b. Surad reached Kūfa, Mukhtār b. Abī ʿUbayd had already informed the people of Kūfa of their defeat. He had learned this news through a shayṭān (devil); a shayṭān would come to him and whisper to him about things that would happen in the future.
The army of Sulaymān b. Surad was called the "army of the tawwābūn (those who repent)." May Allah have mercy on them. Sulaymān b. Surad al-Khazrajī was a noble and highly esteemed Companion (ṣaḥāba), as well as an ascetic who engaged much in worship. He narrated hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that are found in the authentic collections of Bukhārī and Muslim and other hadith books. He participated in the Battle of Ṣiffīn, siding with ʿAlī. He...
...had abandoned al-Ḥusayn and not helped him, and so al-Ḥusayn was martyred at Karbalāʾ. Sulaymān believed that they were responsible for al-Ḥusayn's coming to Iraq. He thought that they had left him unsupported, and that this was why he and his family were killed. He regretted this and repented for his actions. For this purpose, he gathered an army, and as its commander, he was called "the amīr of the tawwābūn (commander of those who repent)." Sulaymān b. Surad was martyred in this battle at ʿAyn al-Warda in the sixty-fifth year of the Hijra. There is a weak report that he was martyred in the sixty-seventh year, but the first report is more authentic. He was ninety-three years old when he was martyred. May Allah have mercy on him.
After this battle, the heads of Sulaymān and Musayyab b. Najiyya were severed and taken to Marwān b. al-Ḥakam. The Syrian commanders wrote to Marwān, informing him that Allah had granted them victory and made them triumphant over their enemies. Marwān then delivered a sermon to the people, announcing the army's victory and the killing of the Iraqis, saying: "Allah has destroyed Sulaymān b. Surad, the leader of the misguided, and his men." After this, the severed heads were displayed in a certain place in Damascus. Marwān b. al-Ḥakam decided that after him, his sons ʿAbd al-Malik and then ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz would be his successors, and in this year he received allegiance from the commanders and leaders for this. Ibn Jarīr and others have reported this.
Also in this year, Marwān b. al-Ḥakam and ʿAmr b. Saʿīd al-Ashdaq entered Egypt. They took it from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Jahdam, who had been appointed governor by ʿAbdullāh b. al-Zubayr. The conquest of Egypt happened as follows: Marwān went to Egypt, where Governor ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Jahdam confronted him. While Marwān was engaged in battle with him, ʿAmr b. Saʿīd entered the city from behind with a group of soldiers and seized it. Governor ʿAbd al-Raḥmān then fled Egypt, and Marwān entered and took control. He appointed his son ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz as governor there.
In this year, ʿAbdullāh b. al-Zubayr assigned his brother Musʿab to conquer Syria and set him in motion. Marwān also sent ʿAmr b. Saʿīd to Syria. When the two met in Palestine, Musʿab b. al-Zubayr was afraid of him, fled, and returned without achieving anything. Thus, both Syria and Egypt came under Marwān's control.
Al-Wāqidī said: Marwān besieged Egypt, and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Jahdam had a trench dug around the city. He went out with the Egyptians to fight Marwān. They fought in turns and rested in turns. That day was called the day of tarāwīḥ, meaning the day of rest. Many of the city's leading figures were killed. On that day, a nobleman named ʿAbdullāh b. Yazīd b. Māḍī Karīh al-Kilāʿī was killed. Then ʿAbd al-Raḥmān made peace with Marwān on the condition that he could take his property and family and go to Mecca. Marwān accepted this request and wrote a letter of safe conduct for the Egyptians, and the people dispersed. The soldiers on the front parted from each other. Everyone began to bury their dead and mourn over them. After this battle, Marwān executed eighty people who refused to pledge allegiance to him. He also executed Uqaydir b. Ḥamla al-Lahmī, one of the killers of ʿUthmān. This event occurred in the middle of the month of Jumādā al-Thāniyya. At that time, ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ also died. They could not bring out his funeral, so he was buried in his house. Marwān occupied Egypt, stayed there for a month, then left his son ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz as governor. He also appointed his brother Bishr b. Marwān and Mūsā b. Nuṣayr as viziers. He advised ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz to show kindness and do good to the elders, then returned to Syria.
In this year, Marwān formed two armies. He sent one under the command of Hubaysh b. Dulja al-ʿUbaydī to take control of Medina in his name, and it encountered the situations described earlier. The second army was given to ʿUbaydullāh b. Ziyād and sent to Iraq to seize it from Ibn al-Zubayr's governor. On the way, they encountered the army of the tawwābūn under Sulaymān b. Surad, and the previously described events occurred. The Syrian army went to Iraq. When they reached the Jazīra, they received news of Marwān b. al-Ḥakam's death.
Marwān b. al-Ḥakam died in the month of Ramaḍān in the sixty-fifth year of the Hijra. The cause of death was as follows: He had married Umm Hāshim bint Hāshim b. ʿUtba b. Rabīʿa, the wife of Yazīd b. Muʿāwiya. Marwān wanted to marry this woman to humiliate Yazīd's son Khālid in the eyes of the people, because many people desired to make Khālid ruler after his brother Muʿāwiya. Marwān married his mother to humiliate him. After the marriage, one day Khālid went to Marwān. Marwān was speaking about Khālid to the men in his assembly. When Khālid sat down, Marwān addressed him: "O son of a woman with a wet back!" Khālid then went to his mother, Umm Hāshim, and told her what Marwān had said. Umm Hāshim said: "Do not tell anyone this, nor what you have told me."
When Marwān came to Umm Hāshim, he asked her: "Did Khālid say anything bad about me to you?" Umm Hāshim replied: "Why would he speak against you? He loves and respects you." Then Marwān lay down beside Umm Hāshim and fell asleep. Umm Hāshim took a pillow and pressed it over Marwān's face. She and her slave girls pressed down on the pillow, and Marwān was suffocated to death. This event occurred on the third of Ramaḍān in the sixty-fifth year of the Hijra in Damascus. Marwān was sixty-three years old when he died. There is a weak report that he was eighty-one. He ruled for nine months. There is also a weak report that he ruled for ten months minus three days.