Among those killed by their own mules was Khalid, the son of ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, may God be pleased with him. Khalid was at a spot called al-Suqya when he said: "Today is Friday! If I don't join the community for midday prayers behind the Commander of the Faithful, it will be a terrible offense." He had a mule unmatched for speed, and for seventy miles he rode it to Medina, falling dead on arrival at the hour of prayer. But the mule survived.
Another man killed by his mule was al-Mundhir ibn al-Zubayr, who was called Abu ‘Uthman. He rode a mule with a sorrel coat into battle against a battalion of Syria [in the Second Civil War of Islam], after his brother ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr harangued and goaded him into it. When his mule heard the clash of arms, it bolted for high ground, carrying al-Mundhir wide of his companions. And the Syrian fighters went after him. "Run, Abu ‘Uthman!" cried ‘Abd Allah. "My father and mother be your ransom!" But the mule stumbled, and the Syrians caught up to him and killed him.
Yazid ibn al-Mufarrigh referred to this event in his invective against ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad (meter: kāmil):
On any given day, Ibn al-Zubayr was the better fighter,
but on the day he urged al-Mundhir into war,
what distinguished him was the patient endurance
of a meanfisted man holding short on a sale
The [indigent] poet ‘Abbas al-Mashuq rode mounted on a mule behind a young man who promised him a donation of clothing. Then the mule balked, and the man was thrown to the ground and broke both femurs. At this, al-Mashuq said (meter: ramal):
I would give hand and foot
for your injury [to have befallen me instead of you].
It wasn't the mule's fault!
The fault was my own penury.
Another man thrown by his mule was the poet al-Bardakht, by name ‘Ali ibn Khalid, who showered Jarir ibn ‘Atiyya with invective verse. "What invective poet is this?" Jarir asked. "Al-Bardakht," they told him.
"And what, pray tell, is a bardakht?" he asked. "It means someone with free time," they said.
"Well I'm not the first to put him to work," Jarir said.
The mule that threw Bardakht was granted him by Zayd al-Dabbi, on whom Bardakht said (meter: basīṭ):
To the mule that almost killed me, I say:
"No thanks to Zayd and his donations!"
Gold and shining silver he kept back when I came asking,
gifting me instead a portion of death
It was Bardakht who satirized Zayd for the newness of his wealth. At a celebration of Zayd's reign [as governor of Khorasan], he came up to him and said (meter: wāfir):
As long as I live, I'll never greet Zayd
with the greeting reserved for a ruler.
"I could care less, by God!" said Zayd. Bardakht said:
Do you remember when a sheep's hide was your blanket
and for sandals you had camel hide?
"So what, by God!" said Zayd. Bardakht said:
Praise be to Him Who made you regent,
and assigned you a throne for your seat
"Yes! Praise be to Him," said Zayd, and Bardakht took his leave, having distinguished himself at the encounter.
From The Book of Mules by al-Jahiz
