While he was delivering a sermon from the pulpit of Kufa, al‑Ash‘ath ibn Qays objected that some of his words were against his own interest. He fixed him with a look of anger and cursed him, calling down Allah’s wrath and the curses of those who curse, describing him as the son of Ju‘lah, raised in the lap of unbelief and hypocrisy. He reminded him that he had twice been captured—once by unbelievers and once by Muslims—and that neither his wealth nor his lineage had saved him from that disgrace. One who brings the sword upon his own people, inviting death and destruction upon them, deserves that his near ones loathe him and the distant ones never trust him. The commentator notes that this alludes to Ash‘ath’s treachery with his tribe in the battle against Khalid ibn al‑Walid at Yamama, after which his people nicknamed him ‘Urf al‑Nar (Banner of Fire), their term for a traitor.