 'Ali ibn Muhammad was also encouraged by his astrologers' predictions that a lunar eclipse would occur on September 4; he began speaking to his followers, declaring that he had prayed to God and heard a voice which said that the eclipse heralded the imminent destruction of Basra.Within Basra, the inhabitants were poorly prepared for an attack, having been significantly weakened by the blockade.Mansur ibn Ja'far himself was not in the city, and he did not participate in the battle.