The Nile flows. At this time, the mercenaries had only Kordofan, which was a barren land, incapable of allowing the gathered multitude to pass through. Thus, he was forced to choose one of two paths to escape this situation: Either he risks himself (which is highly unlikely) and attacks the armies of Abd al-Qadir Pasha, which are entrenched on the river with their cannons and artillery, and strike a fatal blow. Or he remains as he is, besieged in Kordofan (which is more likely), and his elimination is certain. With the passage of time, hunger will inevitably attack these rabble, weakening their resolve and scattering them, and the revolution will perish on its own. This is in addition to the fact that the supporters of the Mahdi would have realized that this man's government was less kind to them than the government of Egypt, and would turn away from him and abandon him as soon as the initial spark of enthusiasm that had ignited within them subsided.

Suleiman Pasha said in his book, "The Sword and the Fire," page 232, in this regard: If the advice of Abd al-Qadir Pasha had found a listening ear, matters in Sudan would have taken a different course than they did, and the results would not have been these dire results. He saw no need to send a large campaign to re-open Kordofan, and to leave the rebels who were there now, and to keep the Egyptian army and its reinforcements stationed in strong forts along the course of the White Nile. The military forces under his command were sufficient to suppress the rebellion in the island located