Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim!
With the destruction of Haasa, Sultan squashed but a bug in the nest of vipers. The venom of heresy still flowed freely in the land of Arabia poisoning the minds of Muslims, and its source was Oman. This time however, there was no usurper to divide the heretic forces, no clever trick that he could employ - so the great Malik acted with humility and prayed to Allah to give him an opportunity to strike. And the opportunity presented itself during the wedding when Sheikh Watban took the eldest daughter of the Omani Sultan Mahzum Nabhan, the beautiful and virtuous Fatima as his second wife...
Abbas the chronicler tightened his grip in a fit of rage, breaking the quill he was using. He knew too well what happened during this wedding, even though it happened before he was born, and Allah did not have any part in it. And yet marvellous stories started circulating about the whole affair between the common people, where the marriage plans of Watban Sa'ud were threatened by warlocks wielding power over evil spirits and controlling winds blowing in the four corners of the world. Before they could release poisonous vapours that could kill the soon-to-be bride, the brave Sultan stormed their fortress in the middle of the desert with only the help of a camel, monkey and donkey that were saved by him during the journey there. And - after slaying the warlocks - he found great quantities of weapons that they wanted to arm an army of evil spirit with along with a magic pearl that granted the owner one wish at the time of great peril. When the Sultan arrived in Muscat, he was presented with a whole fleet of silver ships carrying coins and gemstones. The Omani sultan hoped that Watban could not match his generosity, which would shame him enough to cancel his marriage, but the brave Sheikh gave the magic pearl in return - which everyone decided was a gift surpassing all the gold he had received. The evil Mahzum decided for one last attempt - he showed Watban his younger daughter and told him that she was his bride, but one look into her eyes made the Sultan realize that - although no less beautiful - she was not the virtuous virgin he was promised. Only after this he was presented with Mahzum's elder daughter, which he married. But his opinion about his bride's younger sister was proven true, as in the night after the wedding, she felt envious of her sisters pleasure and invited
shaitan, the devil, to her chamber...
The truth was, of course more prosaic. When agreeing about the terms of the alliance their countries would make, the sultans of Oman and Najd decided that for the price of 20,360 dirhams Watban would end the policy of persecutions against Shiites. He fulfilled this promise by ordering the most radical imams to be killed - which he benefited from, as their possessions were confiscated and used to buy Damascus steel for his troops. And on the wedding a scandal happened: a younger daughter of the Omani sultan was deflowered by someone, as bloodstains on her bed demonstrated, although the offender could not be found. Using this as a pretext, Watban declared that a man shamed this way by his own daughter was not fit to rule an Islamic country, and decided that as the husband of his only virtuous daughter left - he was destined to rule Oman. And this marked the beginning of war.
... 9 months later the disgraced girl gave birth to a bastard son, dying in the process. This time Allah showed mercy, as only the ongoing war prevented her painful execution. And the son was
Abbas ibn mafi. Abbas, son of nobody. Of course the chronicler guessed the truth, when one of the councilmen started helping him in his career. It was Khalid ibn Saadik, the spymaster.
The war raged on, with the nation of Jalarids declared readiness to fight with the heretics, however the armies of Watban armed with Damascus steel and the clear words of the Koran faced the vile Shiites, who have offended Allah long enough. The battle raged on the dunes of Liwa and Allah showed once again who was the righteous one. Out of three thousand Omani soldiers, no man with sword was left alive. Some say that seeing the slaughter of his army, Mahzum Nabhan pulled the pearl that was given to him by Watban from under his robe and wished that he was safe in his capital, and the genie which transported him advised the Omani lord to surrender. The truth is that no evil spirits would save the villain from the victorious Sultan Watban - Mahzum was captured and escorted to Muscat, where he renounced his power and went on to live a life thanking the Najdian Malik for his mercy. The petty sheikhs of the Omani forts decided that they were Maliks or Sultans in their own right, with Akhmad of Suhar even usurped the title of Caliph, before being brutally and rightfully executed for this heresy. Yet it was the Jalarids and not Najd which took the forts, as before finishing a war that would break a lesser men - Sultan Watban was forced to start an even greater campaign in the West...
Omani Sultan Mazhum Nabhan alone, facing the armies of Sultan Watban after his army was destroyed, just before using the magic pearl to be transported by genies to safety
