I said [to myself]: "Where does my Master intend to go?" Suddenly, we were in a meadow (Marj) 1 , wherein there was a tree. My Master dismounted by a spring next to the tree and commanded me to dismount, so I did. When we had settled in that place, my Master said to me: "O ‘Ammar!" I replied: "At your service, O my Master." He said to me: "Do you not see "the mountain pass (al-Shi'b) 2 ?" I replied: "Indeed." He said: "Unsheathe your sword and stand at the mouth of the pass, for a people will emerge toward you seeking Me—prevent them from reaching Me."
‘Ammar said: I did as my Master commanded me; I went to the pass and stood within it, continuously observing what my Master had said. It was but a brief moment before four thousand horsemen emerged toward me from the mouth of the pass. They stood at a distance from me as if they were a mountain of iron.
A horseman from among the people advanced toward me, wearing three Saburian coats of mail, and upon his head was an ancient helmet (Baydah ‘Adiyah). He was girded with three