His son, Abu Zayyan, son of Sultan Abu Sa'id Matar, may God have mercy on him, and his cousin, Mazjabal bin Abd al-Jabbar, son of the Caliph, may God grant him victory, trapped him there. And there, the notables of the city of Biskra, the capital of Zab in Ifriqiya, came to his noble gate, selling their people for his high station. May God grant him prosperity. And how much they suffered at the hands of the townspeople, and they were certain of the portents, were it not for the abandonment of the people and their fleeing together when the Amir al-Mu'minin was betrayed that day. They fled, and he followed them, wandering on the day of Mina, after overseeing the conquest of the city. The people turned their backs, not for battle against a powerful foe, nor against a capable enemy, nor for any reason other than the apparent glory. And the matter is entirely in the hands of the Destroyer, as He wills among His servants, and everything is measured by Him. He knows the unseen and the seen, and no one is privy to His unseen. And there, the Amir al-Mu'minin, may God strengthen him, was compelled to be patient. And his noble wife, may God have mercy on her, rode with his women and the women of his mother until the enemy, the accursed one, overtook them. They attempted to stab, but they opened a way for him, not long after they had closed one on him. So they killed most of his baggage. And the two dark ones, the two armies, intervened. There is no power nor strength except in God. So the Amir al-Mu'minin, may God strengthen him, set out.