They attacked them fiercely until the time of the afternoon prayer. They said: "O Amir Almuminin, the prayer!" He said: "Kill them as they approach and as they retreat; if they ask you for safety, do not grant it; finish off the wounded and slaughter the slain." This remained their practice until the sun set and the time of sunset prayer (Maghrib) arrived. They said: "O Amir Almuminin, the prayer!" He said: "We are in prayer," and he commanded them as before until the time of the late night prayer (Atama). They said: "The prayer, O Amir Almuminin!" He said: "We are in prayer."

It is related from Qanbar—peace be upon him—who said: I said to myself, "My Master kills the people of the Qibla while the time for prayer passes and he does not pray. By God, I shall kill him." Qanbar took a sword and buried it at the door of the tent. Then the war laid down its burdens, and our Master had killed every last one of them except for four men. None of his companions were killed except those remaining from the Kharijites. Our Master—exalted be his glory—approached, walking among the slain with his hand upon Qanbar's shoulder, saying: "This is so-and-so, killed by so-and-so," until he reached the bridge. Hidden beneath it was Qatari ibn al-Fuja'a, who used to say:

Ali, before his judgment, was Like the skin between the eye and the brow.

Our Master—exalted be his glory—stood upon the bridge and said: "If I willed, I could have killed whoever is beneath this bridge." He crossed the land of the Shurat, which is of the earth that God caused to swallow its people; for this reason, he did not pray there. He returned to his camp and said: "Establish the prayer, O Qanbar." Qanbar asked: "Which prayer, O my Master?" He said: "The afternoon prayer." Qanbar said: "What afternoon, when a third of the night has passed?" Our Master said: "Establish the prayer and say: 'The afternoon prayer, may God have mercy on you.'" Qanbar said: I had not even cleared my throat for the call when I heard the sound of the celestial sphere rising from the west; the sun had a roar like crashing thunder.