At the beginning of this year, Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ had settled in the city of Nahrashir. This was one of the two cities of Kisrā (the Sasanian king) on the western side of the Tigris. Saʿd had arrived there in the month of Dhu al-Ḥijja of the fifteenth year of the Hijra, but even as the sixteenth year began, he continued to reside there. He had dispatched detachments and cavalry in all directions, but they were unable to capture any Persian soldiers. Instead, they had gathered and imprisoned about 100,000 peasants. Saʿd sent a letter to ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) to ask how he should treat these peasants. ʿUmar replied in a letter as follows:
"If these peasants have not aided the Persians against you and have remained in their own towns, then this is a guarantee of safety for them. As for those who have fled, you may deal with them as you wish when you capture them!" Upon receiving this letter, Saʿd invited the peasants to Islam, but they did not accept this invitation. They agreed to pay the jizya (poll tax). Thereupon, Saʿd released them. Thus, all the peasants living from the western side of the Tigris up to the Arab lands became liable to pay jizya and kharāj (land tax). The city of Nahrashir was fiercely resisting Saʿd. He sent Salmān al-Fārisī to them. Salmān invited them to iman (faith) in Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, or to pay the jizya, or to fight. They accepted nothing except fighting and rebellion. They set up mangonels and battering rams. Saʿd also ordered the construction of mangonels. Upon this order, twenty mangonels were built and set up against the city of Nahrashir. The siege intensified. The people of Nahrashir came out to fight, clashed, and swore that they would never flee. But Allah, Exalted is He, rendered their oaths void and proved them false. Zuhra b. Ḥawiyya, after being struck by a spear, defeated them. Even after being wounded, he killed many Persians. They fled before him and took refuge in their towns, where they were subjected to a severe siege. The townspeople, being besieged, began to eat dogs and cats. One of them leaned over the walls and called out to the Muslims:
– The king says to you: Will you make peace with us on the condition that the part of the Tigris on our side up to our mountainous regions remains ours, and the mountainous region on your side remains yours? Are you still not satisfied? May Allah never satisfy your bellies."
Thereupon, Allah, the Exalted, inspired Abū Muqarrin al-Aswad b. Qutba to speak with knowledge he did not possess and was not present with him. Upon this, the infantry who had come returned and crossed to eastern Madāʾin, where Kisrā's palace was located. Those who were with Abū Muqarrin asked him:
– O Abū Mufazzizī, what did you say to this envoy? Abū Muqarrin replied:
– By Allah, Who sent Muḥammad as the True Prophet, I do not know what I said; I hope I said what was good.
Saʿd and others also asked him what he had said, but Abū Muqarrin did not know. Thereupon, Saʿd ordered the Muslims to attack the enemy. They began to fight, but no one was seen in the city except for a man who came out to ask for amān (safe-conduct). This man, to whom they granted amān, informed them:
– There is no one left in the city who can resist you.
Indeed, when they entered the city, they found nothing and encountered no one; they saw that everyone had fled. This event occurred in the month of Ṣafar in the sixteenth year of the Hijra. We also asked the man who sought amān and some of the captured prisoners why the townspeople had fled. They replied:
– The king sent an envoy to make peace with you, but your man (that is, Abū Muqarrin) replied to him: "There will be no peace between us unless we eat Afridun honey with Kusa oranges together." Upon this, our king said:
– Woe to us! The angels are speaking with their tongues and answering us on their behalf.
The Muslim soldiers were then ordered to proceed from there to Madāʾin. They boarded boats and crossed the Tigris. The city was nearby. When the Muslims entered Nahrashir, the white palace of Madāʾin, the seat of kingship, became visible. Indeed, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) had already foretold that Allah would grant this place to his community. It was near dawn. The first Muslim to see it was Dirār b. Khattāb. Upon seeing it, he said: "Allāhu Akbar, this is the white palace of Kisrā. This is what Allah and His Messenger promised us." The people looked at it, and they continued to proclaim the takbīr (Allāhu Akbar) until dawn.