I was with my master ʿAli bin Abi Talib ؓ when the people of an-Nahrawan were killed, and it was as if the people were upset about their being killed. ʿAli ؓ said: O people, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ told us about people who would pass out of the faith like the arrow passes through the prey, then they will never come back to it until the arrow comes back to the string of the bow. And the sign of that is that there would be a black man among them who had a deformed arm: one of his arms would be like the breast of a woman, with a nipple like the nipple on a womanʿs breast, around which are seven coarse hairs. Look for him, for I think he must be among them. So they looked for him and they found him on the bank of the river, lying beneath the slain. They brought him out and ’Ali ؓ said: Allahu Akbar! Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth. He was holding an Arabian bow of his; he took it in his hand and started poking the manʿs deformity with it and said: Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth. The people said Allahu Akbar when they saw that and they rejoiced and no longer felt upset.  

فَكَأَنَّ النَّاسَ وَجَدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ مِنْ قَتْلِهِمْ فَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُإِنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ قَدْ حَدَّثَنَا بِأَقْوَامٍ يَمْرُقُونَ مِنَ الدِّينِ كَمَا يَمْرُقُ السَّهْمُ مِنَ الرَّمِيَّةِ ثُمَّ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ فِيهِ أَبَدًا حَتَّى يَرْجِعَ السَّهْمُ عَلَى فُوقِهِ وَإِنَّ آيَةَ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ فِيهِمْ رَجُلًا أَسْوَدَ مُخْدَجَ الْيَدِ إِحْدَى يَدَيْهِ كَثَدْيِ الْمَرْأَةِ لَهَا حَلَمَةٌ كَحَلَمَةِ ثَدْيِ الْمَرْأَةِ حَوْلَهُ سَبْعُ هُلْبَاتٍ فَالْتَمِسُوهُ فَإِنِّي أُرَاهُ فِيهِمْ فَالْتَمَسُوهُ فَوَجَدُوهُ إِلَى شَفِيرِ النَّهَرِ تَحْتَ الْقَتْلَى فَأَخْرَجُوهُ فَكَبَّرَ عَلِيٌّ فَقَالَ اللهُ أَكْبَرُ صَدَقَ اللهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَإِنَّهُ لَمُتَقَلِّدٌ قَوْسًا لَهُ عَرَبِيَّةً فَأَخَذَهَا بِيَدِهِ فَجَعَلَ يَطْعَنُ بِهَا فِي مُخْدَجَتِهِ وَيَقُولُ صَدَقَ اللهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَكَبَّرَ النَّاسُ حِينَ رَأَوْهُ وَاسْتَبْشَرُوا وَذَهَبَ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَجِدُونَ