Abu Mahjan al-Thaqafi

Abu Mahjan al-Thaqafi, a poet held by Sa'd at the foot of the fort of al-Udhayb. Al-Mas'udi says he was imprisoned for his poetry about wine. ¹

When the fighting grew fierce he heard the clash of iron and asked Sa'd's permission to go out, but Sa'd refused. He asked Salma daughter of Hafsa, Sa'd's wife, to unfasten his shackles and lend him Sa'd's grey mare, and promised her that he would return and put his leg back in the shackles. ¹

He rode out, took the takbir, charged the right wing of the enemy, then the left, then turned them. The report says that people thought he was al-Khadir, and that Sa'd, looking down from the top of the palace, said that were it not for the imprisonment of Abu Mahjan he would have thought it was him. ¹

He returned to his prison at midnight and put his leg back in the shackles. When Salma told Sa'd, he released him and said he would not hold him to account for anything he said. Abu Mahjan replied that his tongue would not speak any ugliness after that. ¹

Note: the museum has an entry for Abu Muhjan ibn Habib al-Thaqafi who may be the same person; whether they are is a question that needs an additional source.