𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐡 𝐚𝐥-𝐌𝐮’𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐦 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬
In the City of Amorium, a Muslim woman was taken captive by the Romans, and one day a Roman soldier publicly slapped her on the face
In that moment, she cried out “O Mu’tasim! Where are you?”
The Roman laughed and mockingly said to her “He will not come to you except on a piebald horse”
When the news of this incident reached Caliph al-Mu’tasim, his face turned completely red from anger
He then sealed his cup that he was drinking from and handed it to his cupbearer, saying:
“By Allah, I shall not drink it until I free that noble woman from captivity and kill that Roman”
He then called upon the Muhammadan armies to march against Amorium and ordered that none of the soldiers should ride except on piebald horses
They marched out alongside him on roughly seventy thousand piebald horses
When Allah granted him victory with the conquest of Amorium
He entered answering her call:
Labayyki, Labayyki
At your service! At your Service!
He then sought out the Roman who had held the noble Muslim woman as a captive, struck off his head, and freed the woman from her chains
Then he said to the cupbearer:
“Bring me my sealed cup”
He broke the seal, and he drank from it, saying:
“Now drinking is pleasant”
May Allah forgive him and reward him with goodness
~ Ibn al-Imaad al-Hanbali