Attack on the Flag-Bearer of the Idolaters at the Battle of Hunain

In the Battle of Hunain, a man on a red camel was carrying a black flag ahead of the ranks of the idolaters. This flag was tied to a long spear. The people of the Banu Hawazin were stood behind him. If anyone came within his reach, he would strike them and kill them, but if that person evaded his attack, he would raise his spear to indicate to the people behind and they would launch a sudden attack and they continuously remained behind the man on the red camel.

This man continued to attack in this manner. All of a sudden, Hazrat Ali (ra) and a person from the Ansar turned to him and went forward to kill him. Hazrat Ali (ra) came from behind him and struck his camel on the hip [joint] as a result of which the camel fell down backwards. Instantly the man from the Ansar attacked him with such force that his leg was severed from the middle of his calf. At this moment the Muslims launched a fierce attack against the idolaters.

(Ali bin Burhan al-Din al-Halabi, Al-Sirah al-Halabiyyah, Vol. 3, Bab Dhikr Maghaziyah [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2002], 158)