He replied, “Do not strike them down! You did not capture them with your sword or bow, so what gives you the right to strike them down? ¹  Give them some food and water, so they can eat and drink and then go back to their master.”

The prophet ¹  got angry at him and said, “If you had struck the ground five or six times, you would have annihilated Syria! ²  But now, you will defeat Syria only three times.”