It is narrated from Abu al-Wadi' Abbad bin Nusayb that we were travelling towards Kufah with the Commander of the Faithful, Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him). When we reached a distance of two or three nights' journey from Harura', some people separated from us. We mentioned this to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and he said: "Do not let their affair trouble you; they will soon return." We saw that on the next day twice as many people as before separated. We mentioned it again to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and he said: "Do not let their matter frighten you; their affair is insignificant." And Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) instructed (the army): "Do not be the first to start fighting them until they begin fighting you." Then they (the Khawarij) knelt on their knees, and we protected ourselves with our shields. They began to shower us with arrows, then they came close to us and attacked with spears, then they used their swords, until they were about to fall upon us with their swords. Then a man from Banu Abd al-Qays named Sa'sa'ah bin Suhan went out towards them and called out three times. They asked: What do you want? Sa'sa'ah said: I remind you of Allah, that you should not go out in a land that becomes a reproach for the people of the earth; and I adjure you by Allah that you should not pass out of the religion as an arrow passes through the game. When we saw that they had turned their swords upon us, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Rise up (in defence) with the blessing of Allah." Only a short part of the day had passed when we had struck down those we struck down, and those who fled had fled. Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) praised Allah and said: "My dear friend (peace and blessings be upon him) informed me that their leader would be a man with a deficient hand (born stunted or short), and on the tip of his breast there would be a few hairs 'like the tail of a jerboa' (a desert rat). Search for him." The people searched for him but did not find him. We came and said: We did not find him. He said: "Search for him. By Allah! I have neither lied, nor have I been told a lie." We kept searching for him until Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) himself reached the far end of the battlefield. He kept saying: "Turn this one over, turn this one over," until a man from Kufah came and said: Here he is! Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Allahu Akbar! By Allah, no one will come to you who can tell you who his father is; this is Malik!" The people began saying: This is Malik, this is Malik. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "Son of whom?" The people said: We do not know. Then a man from Kufah came and said: I know more about him than anyone. I was breaking in a filly belonging to so-and-so; I had loaded light sacks on its back and was walking it back and forth, when suddenly the filly bolted. That old man called out to me and said: O boy! Look, the filly has bolted. I said: I see a shadow, as if it were a crow or a goat. Just then this man appeared before us. The old man asked: Who are you? He said: A man from the people of Yamamah. The old man asked: How have you come here in this dishevelled state? He said: I have come to worship Allah in the prayer place of Kufah. Then the old man took him by the hand, and Allah is witness that there was no fourth one there besides us, until he took him home and said to his wife: Allah has sent good to you. His wife said: By Allah! I am in need of it; what is it? He said: This is a dishevelled man, as you see; he has come from Yamamah to worship in Kufah. So he kept worshipping there and calling people until people gathered around him. Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Take heed! My dear friend (peace and blessings be upon him) informed me that they are three brothers from among the jinn. This one is the eldest of them; the second will have a large following, and there will be weakness in the third." Imam Muslim has recorded the hadith of the man with the deficient hand in abridged form, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it with this wording, and this hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration.