The aged but battle-hardened sultan intuitively knew that Jhain was now primed to receive the message of Islam, which he would deliver through sword and fire. He formed a troop of a thousand men, dividing it among Malik Khurram Ariz Malik, the chief Karibak, Malik Katlagh-tigin, Azam Mubarak, Ahmad Sarjandar, Mahmud Sarjandar, the chief huntsman Ahmad, Anku and Abaji Akhurbeg.
The army of Islam left the next morning, advancing at full speed to within two parsangs of Jhain, and entered a narrow pass in the hills.
