Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

93. THE BATTLE OF SIFFIN

Syria was the cradle of Ommayad power and the capital of Muawiya ibne Abu Sufian. He was occupying the region since the times of the second caliph. Because of this long period in the position of the governor he had entrenched himself and was ruling from Damascus like an autocratic monarch. When the Ameer al Momineen (a.s.) assumed the office of the caliph, he wanted to bring about a total change in the administration. Hence he put all the governor under notice of change. Therefore Qais ibne Saad was sent as the governor to Egypt, Obaid Allah ibne Abbas to Yemen, Othman ibne Hanif to Basra as the new incumbents. They took charge of the provinces without any problems. The Imam (a.s.) sent Amara ibne Shahab towards Koofa and Sahl ibne Hanif to Syria. While going to Koofa, when Amara stopped at Zabala, Talha ibne Khawilad Asadi intercepted him and asked him to return from there or else he would be killed. Therefore he returned back from there. When Sahl ibne Hanif reached the valley of Tabuk on his way to Syria, a unit of men appointed by Muawiya stopped him and asked who he was and where he was headed to? I am the governor for Syria appointed by Hazrat Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a.s). They said that besides Muawiya they wouldn’t accept anyone as the ruler of Syria. They warned him to return to the place from where he came, or else their swords will settle the matter! Sahl couldn’t have fought with the patrol consisting of a large number of men. Therefore, he was forced to return back. He returned to the presence of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s.) and reported the matter to him. Hazrat Ameer (a.s) knew from the outset that Muawiya wouldn’t vacate the position easily. He also knew that one day the flames of battle would rise between the Syrians and Koofans. But he didn’t want to precipitate matters and wished to make all possible efforts for a peaceful settlement. Therefore he sent Hajjaj ibne Ghazia Ansari with a letter to Muawiya and asked him to come with a delegation of Syrians to Madina to owe his allegiance to the Imam (a.s). Muawiya read the letter but didn’t give it any importance and asked Hajjaj to go back. He gave one package to Qabisa Absi and sent him to Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s). When he opened the package, it was having a small note saying,“From Muawiya ibne Abu Sufian to Ali ibne Abi Talib.” The Imam (a.s) asked what was the meaning of the note? Qabisa put a glance around and asked,“Amongst you is there anyone belonging to the tribe of Bani Abs?” The people replied, Yes!” He said, “Now! Listen to me with care! And think over the consequences! I have left behind in the Jama Masjid of Damascus 50,000 persons, sheikhs and elite, crying over the bloodied cloak of Othman. Their beards are wet with tears. and the sounds of wailing are emanating from the place. They have taken an oath that till they don’t color their swords with the blood of the killers of Othman, they wouldn’t take rest! At this Khalid ibne Zafr Abasi said:

“By Allah! You are a very bad emissary of Syria! Do you want to frighten the Mohajirs and Ansar with the army of Syria and the wailing over the cloak of Othman! By Allah! Othman’s cloak is not Yusuf’s raiment nor their wailing the cries and laments of Yaqub (a.s).”

Ref: Akhbar al Tawal, Page 142

When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s.) saw this attitude of Muawiya, he thought of going to Damascus to admonish the person. He got together an army to start on the campaign. He hadn’t even commenced the journey when the news of the mischief of Talha and Zubair reached him. Instead of going to Syria he had to go to Basra and crush the rebellion of the Ashab e Jamal. When he returned to Koofa after that campaign, he decided to send another messenger to Muawiya. The deposed governor of Yemen, Jarir ibne Abd Allah Bijli offerted his services for the task and said that his long standing relationship with Muawiya will help him in convincing Muawiya for the Bai-at. Malik e Ashtar opposed this idea and said that the person was secretly a friend of the Syrians. He expressed his fear that instead of mending the fences, he might harm the interests of the Imam (a.s.). The Imam (a.s) said that the person be allowed to go and see what results he achieves. Therefore, he was given a letter and sent to Syria. The contents were:“The Mohajirs and Ansaar have owed their allegiance to me.Now you don’t have any justification to refuse allegiance to me. You must adopt the same attitude as was done by the people of Madina. As far as the matter for the Qasas of Othman is concerned, you can broach the subject with me after owing your allegiance to me.I shall decide about it in the light of the Quran and Sunnat.” When Jarir went with this letter to Muawiya, he read the letter and told to him:

“You ask Ali (a.s) to give the territory of Syria to me , then I shall do the Bai-at.”

Ref: Tareeq al Islam Dahabi, Vol 2, Page 168

After thinking for a while he asked Jarir to wait there for a few days so that he would discuss the matter with the people of Syria and take their opinion. Therefore he called his brother Otba ibne Abu Sufian to take his opinion. Otba asked him to call Umro ibne Aas to his place and make use of his wisdom. Certainly he said, Umro will give good advice. Muawiya liked this suggestion. He wrote a letter to Umro ibne Aas,“You must have learned what treatment Ali (a.s) has given to Talha, Zbair and Umm al Momineen. Now he is turning towards me. He has sent Jarir ibne Abd Allah Bijli to me seeking my Bai-at. I don’t take any step without consulting you. Therefore, come immediately to me. ” Umro read the letter and understood that Muawiya didn’t need any advice about the Bai-at because the consequence of owing his allegiance would mean the loss of the Governate of Syria and at any cost he wouldn’t like to give up the post. Certainly the consultation he wants to make is for opening up a front to fight against Ali (a.s).

Umro must have decided whether to go or not to go. But to get further opinion on his decision he called his two sons , Abd Allah and Mohammed, and asked for their advice. Abd allah said that he had no chance of becoming the caliph, it would be better for him to sit quirtly at home and don’t compromise the Faith for a little worldly benefit. Contrary to this, Mohammed opined that he should not miss such a golden opportunity.He said that such opportunities don’t come every day. He added that he was not an unknown person in Arabia.and that his opinion has certain weight. A new establishment is taking shape and his opinion would be of great help in the process. He insisted that when decisions are made about the caliphate, his being away from action was unimaginable. After hearing both the sons’ opinions Umro said:

“O Abd Allah what you have said is beneficial for my Hereafter and my Faith too will remain firm! O Mohammed! What you have suggested is best for me from the worldly point of view and not for the Hereafter!”

Ref: Akhbar al Atwal, Page 141

After taking the opinions of Abd Allah and Mohammed, Umro asked his slave Wardaan about his opinion. He said,“You are on such a croos-road where there is the world on one side and the hereafter on the other. The world is with Muawiya and the Hereafter with Ali (a.s). Sometimes you bend towards the world and at others think of the Hereafter. It would be better if you sit quietly at home and not sided with any one. But I have a feeling that there is a turmoil going round in your mind and you will , in the end, opt for the world and prefer Muawiya over Ali (a.s)” Hearing this Umro said,“Only Allah will appreciate the vision of Wardaan. He has exposed the hidden fact!”

Umro ibne Aas was very desirous of the governorate of Egypt and there wouldn’t be a better opportunity to fulfill this long standing wish. Therefore he prepared to visit Muawiya and reached Damascus with his two sons and Wardaan. After exchange of pleasantries Muawiya said,“I am having several matters troubling my mind and, therefore I have called you to take your advice. I hope you will be able to help resolve my troubles. Umro asked, “What are the problems?” Muawiya replied,“One problem is that I have been informed of Mohammed ibne Abi Huzaifa has escaped from the jail with his men. I fear danger from him and his men. The second problem is that the Caesar of Rome is planning to attack Syria to annex this territory. The third problem is that Jareer ibne Abd Allah Bijli has brought a message from Ali (a.s) that I must owe my allegiance to him or prepare for battle.” Umro said,“If Ibne Abi Huzaifa has escaped, you must not have any fear from him. Send some riders to chase him. If he is held, it would be fine. Even otherwise he cannot cause any harm to you. About the possibility of attack by Caesar, release all the Romans in captivity with you. And send to him some slave girls and handicrafts of gold and silver as gifts along with an offer for peace. He wouldn’t turn down this gesture! However, the problem of Ali ibne Abi Talib (a.s.) is different. The world knows that he is an experienced general. He is capable of the position that he is holding. There is no comparison between him and you.” Muawiya said,“I don’t deny his capability. But he has given air to mischief and encouraged the killers of Othman in their heinous deed.Therefore it is our duty to claim Qasas from him. I have called you to discuss about the matter of claiming the Qasas” Umro said,“You have called me to gather people under your flag , but you have yourself started tricking me! Who will trust you that you want to fight a war for avenging the blood of Othman? The world knows that during the siege Othman had pleaded for help and you , on purpose, didn’t pay any heed to his call! Even I moved away to Palestine leaving him to the mercy of the rebels! If you really want me to cooperate with you, then you must talk straight to me. We know each other very well! The truth is that Ali (a.s.)’s services to Islam, his superiority in learning , his precedence in accepting the Faith and Migration are such that I don’t have the courage to fight with him. It will be the work of a person with great courage.” Muawiya understood that Umro was just making an excuse. If he had no intention of cooperating, he wouldn’t have come all the way to Damascus. The purpose in dilly dallying was certainly that he would claim a huge compensation for his cooperation. Therefore after taking a little more time, Umro said:

“If I cooperate with you and you succeed, what will be my share in that?”

Ref: Akhbar al Atwaal, Page 158

Muawiya knew that Umro will not agree to cooperate without tough bargaining. He asked what price he would have to pay to him?

Umro said:

“Till you rule, the state of Egypt must be under me!”

Ref: Akhbar al Atwaal, Page 158

When Muawiya heard this claim, he was nonplussed. The price asked was far more than he expected. Neither he was in a position to turn down his demand nor he wished to accept it. He stared at Umro and said,“I can make a false promise, but I don’t want to take you up the garden path!” Umro,“Try to cheat me. I have the means of handling every trick!” Muawiya said,“Come a little closer to me. I want to whisper something to you in confidence!” Umro went closer and put his ear near the lips of Muawiya. Muawiya said ,“What do you say about my cunning! I did trick you!” “How?” asked Umro. Muawiya said,“Here ! And just now! We are both alone here and there is no third person in the hearing distance. Then what was the need of whispering into your ear!When you can be tricked being so alert, then you can be tricked later on as well! I would only suggest to you to reconsider your demand.If you remain insistent, people would say that to grab the emirate of Egypt you have taken the step.” Umro said,“Leave aside what people would say. No excuses will work with me. If you agree to the demand I have made, I shall support you wholeheartedly. Otherwise, you do what suits you.” Saying this Umro got up and went towards his residence.

When Otba ibne Abi Sufian heard about this conversation, he told to Muawiya:

“We are not willing to buy Umro by parting with Egypt.”

Ref: Akhbar al Atwaal, Page 158

Muawiya said,“I haven’t made any decision as yet. Tonight I shall think over it. “Therefore he spent the night in deep thought and decided that to make use of the cunning and shrewdness of Umro he will have to promise parting away Egypt to him. Therefore he called Umro and finalized the deal with him. He wrote out a formal agreement and handed over to him. Taking the document, Umro came back to his residence happily and mentioned about it to a cousin of his. The cousin knit his brows and said, “I wonder what face you will show to the Qureish? How will you spend an honorable life with your tribe when you are already infamous for your habit of selling your Faith?” Umro said,“If I was with Ali (a.s.), the four walls of my house would be sufficient for me. Now I am with Muawiya and cannot sit content with the four walls of my house! “His cousin said, “Muawiya has certainly bought your Faith! You are after him for worldly gains!” When Muawiya heard of this talk, he was very upset. He ordered Umro’s cousin to be arrested that he wasn’t able to misguide more persons. When he heard about the plans for his arrest, he quetly slinked away and safely arrived in Koofa to meet Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s). Through him the news of Umro’s agreement with Muawiya was known by all and sundry.

After the agreement Umro gave to Muawiya the farsighted suggestion that it was better not to broach the matter of the caliphate for the time being and the efforts be made to convince the people of Syria that the responsibility of the assassination of Othman rested on Ali (a.s.) and that he had instigated people to commit the act. Once he was assassinated, then he gave protection to the killers. When this propaganda sank into the minds of the people, then a formal war could be declared against him. After the war, the question of authority would automatically resolve. However, to win the public opinion there will be need for the support of the prominent persosn. For this Ibada ibne Samit Ansari was present in Syria who had great influence over the people there. First he will have to think their way. If they were able to influence his thinking, then every individual in Syria would be with Muawiya. Muawiya appreciated this suggestion very much and sent out a messenger to call Ibada. When Ibada came to Muawiya, himself and Umro were sitting shoulder to shoulder. Seeing Ibada, they stood up respectfully. Ibada went forward and sat between them. To gain his favor, Muawiya praised him very much. And then described the good qualities of Hazrat Othman. After this preamble he said that they wanted that his blood should not go waste and, therefore, they wanted his support for claiming Qasas for his blood. Ibada said that whatever they had said, he had heard. But he wanted to know from them that, contrary to the custom, why he was sitting between them? Muawiya said that the requirement of his superiority was that he sat in the center and they on either side of him. He said that was not the reason. The reason is that during the Ghazwa e Tabook, the Prophet (s.a) was traveling when he saw both of you together talking, he said:

“When you find them sitting together, separate them!Because they will never be together for any virtuous work!”

Ref: Aqd al Fareed, Vol 3, Page 117

Therefore, Ibada said, he wanted them not to come together and sat between them. As far as supporting their cause was concerned, he said, he wasn’t willing to do it.

Now Muawiya , on the advice of Umro, made one move that on the way to Sharjeel, posted Yazeed ibne Asad, Basar ibne Artat, Sufian ibne Omer, Makharaq ibne Harit, Hamza ibne Malik, habis ibne Saad and some elite of Yemen with instructions that when Sharjeel passed that way, they should give an impression that it was a chance meeting and try to create an impression on his mind that the responsibility for the assassination of Othman rested on none other than Ali ibne Abi Talib (a.s). Therefore, at every stage, wherever he halted, they were repeating the story. When he entered the precincts of Damascus, Muawiya sent the elites of the city to receive him. They too gave him an impression that Hazrat Ali (a.s) was responsible for the killing of Othman. When he reached Muawiya along with the reception group, he received him warmly and after exchange of pleasantries, he told him that Ali (a.s) was seeking his Bai-at. He said that although he was not against this in principle, but has reservations that he is the killer of Othman. Sharjeel asked him about his decision in those circumstances. Muawiya replied that he was willing to owe allegiance to Ali (a.s) if the people of Syria want me to. If they wanted him to refuse, he shall abide by their opinion even in that event. He said that he had invited Sharjeel only to seek his opinion. He said that he wanted some more time to go round and gather information on the people’s opinion about the killing of Othman. Muawiya said that it would be the right thing to do. He went round the city and every person, he met, said that Ali (a.s) was responsible for the killing of Othman. What else would they say. Their mouths were locked with the oppressive pressure of Muawiya. Everywhere there were spies of Muawiya..When Sharjeel came back from his rounds, his emotions were fully charged. Immediately on arrival he told to Muawiya:

“No one can deny that Ibne Abi Talib has killed Othman. If you owe your allegiance to him, we shall chase you away from Syria.”

Ref: Akhbar al Atwal, Page 159

When Muawiya saw that Sharjeel was totally under his spell, he matched his tone with his and said that if his opinion was so strong, his own opinion too was that Othman was killed for no fault of his and they should not owe allegiance to his killers. Their first duty, he said, will be to avenge the killing. But for this revenge, they needed the public opinion solidly behind them. This was possible only if they show to them that Ali (a.s) was the killer of Othman. This task can only be accomplished by Sharjeel, Muawiya added.stressing that none else had such influence on the Syrians as he did.He asked Sharjeel to travel to all parts of Syria and build the public opinion. Sharjeel was highly emotional at tha time. He immediately agreed to take up the journey.

When the people of Koofa heard that Muawiya was creating doubts in the minds of the people and egging on to agree to fighting a war, they asked Hazrat Ali (a.s) to make a preemptive attack on Syria before Muawiya was ready with his war machine. But the Imam (a.s) said that till Jarir didn’t return with a decision for war or peace, it wasn’t advisable to start hostilities. It was already four months since Jarir reached Syria. Ameer al Momineen (a.s) was repeatedly writing to him to get a final word and return urgently. But Muawiya was delaying him with some excuse or other to gain time and prepare the people of Syria for going to war. When he was assured of the support of Sharjeel, and the events were shaping the way he wanted, he called Jarir and said:

“Go to your Emir now and tell him that the people of Syria wouldn’t owe their allegiance to him.”

Ref: Akhbar al Tawal, Page 160

Sharjeel went from town to town, and village to village announcing that Ali (a.s) had killed Othman and they should rise to seek Qasas for his blood. Those who claimed Qasas, Ali (a.s) attacked and killed them.and occupied their cities and their properties. He told them that only Syria was remaining. Only people from Syria must join hands and fight with him for the Qasas. He appealed to them to join under the flag of the emir of Syria. Sharjeel was very influential in the territory. People gathered in large numbers and assembled to join the forces of Muawiya.

In addition to the people of Syria, the Bani Omayya and those who supported them too assembled in Damascus. The chief of these persons were Mughira ibne Shauba, Abd Allah ibne Saad, Marwan ibn al Hakam, Saeed ibne Aas, Abd Allah ibne Aamir, Walid ibne Uqba, Obaid Allah ibne Omer, Saeed ibne Othman, Abu Huraira, Abu Huzaifa, Abu Amama Bahali and Noman ibne Bashir. The first to arrive among them was Noman ibne Bashir. With him he brought the bloodied cloak of Othman and the severed fingers of his wife, Naila binte Farafsa. Muawiya fixed the cloak and the fingers over the pulpit of the Jama Masjid of Damascus to upbraid the feelings of the people. After the men assembled in Damascus, the paraphernalia of war was arranged.

When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) heard of this activity, he decided to advance his armies towards Syria. On a Friday, giving the Sermon from the pulpit, he said:

“O People! Move towards the enemies of the Quran and Sunnat! Go to meet the killers of Ansaar and the Mohajirs! Go to face those mean and impertinent people who had accepted Islam out of fear! They were admitted to the fold just to humor them. Rise that they refrain from killing and destroying the Muslims!”

Ref: Akhbar al Atwal, Page 164

One person from the tribe of Fazara, Arbad by name, stood up and said,“Do you want that, the way you took us to Basra to kill our own brothers, we attack our brothers in Syria and kill them.By Allah! We are not ready to do this!” Malik e Ashtar understood that this was an agent of Muawiya and was trying to create a bad heart in the ranks of Hazrat Ali (a.s.)’s army. He shouted asking people to catch him. But the man ran away. Some people chased him. He had reached the neighborhood of Kanasa when they caught up with him. He was trampled under their feet so much that he died at the spot. Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) decided that his killer cannot be identified and therefore ordered paying the Deet for his life from the Bayt al Maal. The Imam (a.s) was upset with this happening. Malik e Ashtar said that the people were solidly behind him and that he should not give any credence to the episode. He said that they were obedient to him and would fight for him till they died. Similarly other people too came up with their assurances.

When all the fighters of Koofa assembled under his flag, the Imam (a.s) selected Uqba ibne Umro Ansari as his representative and declaring Nakheela as the cantonment ordered Malik ibne Habib Yarboyi to stay in Koofa so that he could direct the late arrivals to go and join the army. The Imam (a.s) left Koofa with the army and camped at Nakheela. He sent letters to the functionaries in the different provinces to mobilize men and materials and immediately report. Therefore Abd Allah ibne Abbas from Basra, Makhnaf ibne Saleem from Isfahan, Saeed ibne Wahab from Hamadan and functionaries of other territories reached with their men and materials. Among them there was a group of Ashab e Badr and also those who took part in the Bai-at e Rizwan. Hakim writes:

“In the Battle of Siffin there were 80 veterans of the Battle of Badr with Hazrat Ali (a.s) and also 250 of those Companions who were present at the Bai-ate Rizwan!”

Ref: Mustadrak, Vol 3, Page 104

The Valley of Nakhila was overflowing with fighting men and Hazrat Ameer al Momineen was arranging them in order when information reached that the Syrian army was moving towards the Iraqi borders. The Imam (a.s) sent an advance guard of 8,000 men under Ziyad ibne Nazar Hariti and another of 4,000 men under Sharih ibne Harit for patrolling the borders and to reconnoiter the strength and dispositions of the enemy troops. He gave them strict instructions that unless they received the Imam (a.s)’s orders, or the enemy attacked, they should’nt start fighting.

For better management of the troops, Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) divided the army into 7 groups. There was a commander for each of these groups. On the fourth day of the dispatch of the advanced guards, 5 Shawwal 36 H, he started with his huge army from the Valley of Nakhila. When, after crossing the river Euphrates, they came outside the limits of Koofa,.he announced about the Duhr Prayer and said that those who had come that far to send away their relatives, should offer all he four genflections prescribed for the prayer. Those who were traveling should offer the Qasr prayer. The Imam (a.s) too offered Qasr. After the prayer the journey was again commenced. At a distance of 6 miles from Koofa, Dair abu Moosa, the Asr Prayer was offered. Moving from there, at Baras, a place lying between Koofa and Hilla, the Maghrib and Asha Prayers were offered. The army halted there for the night. After the morning, Fajr, prayer they crossed the Canal of Qabeen and halted at a place called Beah so that the men had their midday meal. While starting from there, they set feet on the land of Babylon, and seeing the ruins of the city, the Imam (a.s) asked his men to ride fast and leave the accursed land as soon as possible. The reason was that the place had a curse over it and had sunk into the ground many a time. Therefore left the reins of the horses loose and spurred the horses to speed. Then they crossed the Canal of Sarat on boats and, on the other side offered the Asr Prayer in congregation. After the prayer they commenced the journey again and via Dair Kaab arrived at the place of Karbala. Seeing this land, signs of sadness appeared on the face of the Imam (a.s) and his eyes were wet. Some people asked the reason for his sadness. He told them about the sad events of Karbala that were to happen years hence. He also indicated the spots that were to be soaked with the blood of Syed al Shohada and others. Proceeding from there, they halted at Saabat for the night. The people of Saabat offered provisions for the men and fodder for the animals. But the Imam (a.s) didn’t accept their offer and said that they shouldn’t be burdened with the expense. On the banks of Dajla, near Saabat, there is the city of Madaen. The people of Madaen hadn’t yet joined the army of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s). He ordered Harit ibne Abd Allah Aiwar to tell the people of Madaen that their strong young men must join the Asr Prayer. When the men came, the Imam (a.s) said,“I am surprised that you are keeping away from our army! The enemy forces are advancing towards us !” They said,“Ya Ameer al Momineen! We were awaiting your orders. We shall abide by whatever orders are given to us!” He asked Adi Ibne Hatim and his son Zaid to recruit men from Madaen. Adi mobilized 800 men in a stay of three days and Zaid ibne Adi recruited 400 men. They went and joined the advancing army. From Madaen, the Imam (a.s) sent a contingent of 3,000 men under Maaqal ibne Qais ahead of the army and told him that the army was proceeding to Riqa and he should go with the contingent to Moosal that was a halting place for caravans those days and also asked him to come to Riqa via Nasibain. Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) left Madaen and halted at Bahr Sair. This was the picnic spot of the kings of Persia where pleasant gardens grew and also palaces for the kings were constructed in the past. The cruel hands of time had destroyed everything. In place of the palaces there were mounds of rubble. When Hareez ibne Sahm saw these ruins , he recited Ibne Yaqub Tamimi’s couplet:

“Jarat ar riyah ala makaan diyar hum

Faka annama kaanu ala mead

“Where there houses were, winds are blowing,

It appears they were inhabited for a limited period of time!”

When the Imam (a.s.) heard this couplet, he said, instead of the couplet he should have recited the following Verse of the Holy Quran:

“Kam taraku man janat wa ayoonwa rzara wa maqam karim wa nemat kaanu feehafakeheen wa awrasna qauma aakhareen fama bakat alaihim as sama walarz wa maa kaanu manzareen.”

“Those people have left behind gardens, lakes, farms, beautiful houses and things of luxury that they used happily. It is so; and We made others owners of those things. On them neither the sky cried nor the earth! The were not given any respite!”

From Bahr e Sair they arrived at Anbaar. The Ajami inhabitants, Bani Khushnushak, started jumping and running when they saw the Imam (a.s) with the army.The Imam (a.s) asked why they were behaving in that strange manner? They said that it was their custom to welcome the rulers in that manner. The Imam (a.s) said that the custom would neither benefit their ruler nor them. He asked them to stop that futile practice. After the customary welcome, the people offered supplies of horses, mules and fodder and wanted to arrange food for the men. The Imam (a.s) didn’t agree to have food there. But he accepted the horses and mules provided their value was adjusted against the tribute they paid. After spending two days at Anbaar the army proceeded towards Hait and from there they went to Aqtaar. and halted there. Now they crossed the Euphrates and reached ard e Jazaer. Here Namr ibne Qasit along with the tribe of Bani Taghlab gave a grand reception to the Imam (a.s) and his army. When they proceeded from there, they reached near Qarqeesa where they saw that the advance guards under Ziyad ibne Nazr and Sharih ibne Hani were arriving from different routes. The Imam (a.s) said,“It is a very interesting advance guard that is arriving after the main army!” Ziad and Sharih were apologetic and they said, “when we started from Nakhila, we reached Aanaat along the river bank. Reaching there we learnt that you had crossed over to Arz Jazaer. We had a fear that if our small contingent came across Muawiya’s army, our small contingent wouldn’t be able to contend with them and also because of the river being between us, it wouldn’t be possible to get immediate relief from you. We thought of crossing over the river from Aanaat but the people there removed the bridge and locked themselves up in the fort. We were therefore forced to retrace our steps and from Hait we have reached here. “The Imam (a.s) considered their excuse admissible and proceeded further. When they reached near the town of Riqa, they established camp near the Baliq Canal. Maaqal ibne Qais, whom the Imam (a.s) had sent with a contingent of 3,000 men from Madaen, via Nasibain, too reached Riqa. Riqa is situated on the Eastern bank of the River Euphrates and the army had to cross over to the Western bank. But the population of Riqa consisted of Othmanians, and Samak ibne Makhrama Asadi, who was staying there with 800 of his tribesmen, too was a supporter of the Syrians. These people had started from Koofa to join Muawiya and under an instruction from him were trying to create hurdles in the way of the Imam (a.s)’s movement. Therefore, they removed the bridge from the river and hid themselves in their homes. Despite this mischief, Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) didn’t want to have any conflict with them. and, with his army, proceeded further along the bank of the river.to cross it at the next bridge enroute. Malik e Ashtar was very disturbed with this mischief of the Asadis. When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) went further, Malik challenged and threatened the Asadis and warned them that if they didn’t erect the bridge by joining the boats, he would burn down the entire habitation. This threat was effective. The people came out of their homes and agreed to erect the bridge. Malik sent word to Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) that he must return back for the bridge was being erected. The Imam (a.s) came back with his men and crossed to the Western bank of the river

From here Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) sent, once again, Ziyad ibne Nazr and Sharih Ibne Hani, with small contingents, as advance guards towards Syria. When they reached Sur Rome they saw that Abul Aiwar Salami , with 25000 Syrian troops, was camping there. They immediately sent a letter with Harit ibne Hambahan to the Imam (a.s) alerting about a sizeable contingent of the Syrians camping at Sur Rome. After getting this information Hazrat (a.s) sent Malik e Ashtar with 3,000 men and asked him to take command of the situation in his hands. He was also instructed not to commence fighting till the enemy commenced it. In the event of fight starting, he was asked to be at the center of the formation., keep Ziyad on the right flank and Sharih on the left. He was also asked not to go very close to the enemy formation that they think that he was very keen to fight., nor he should be at such a long distance that they thought he was scared of the fight. The Imam (a.s) added that he would follow them with the rest of the army. Malik started immediately, and with the contingents of Ziyad and Sharih, he halted at a reasonable distance from the Syrian force. Although both the armies were face to face, Malik took care not to give the impression that he had any immediate intention of hostilities. Abul Aiwar too gave an impression that he didn’t want immediate clashes. When day was over and night fell, Malik, and his men, started to prepare for sleepThey were still half asleep when Abul Aiwar took advantage of the darkness and made a surprise attack. Malik and his men woke up, took their swords in their hands and forced the enemy to retreat.

The enemy had already commenced the fight. With the dawn, Malik e Ashtar and Hashim ibne Otba took a group of Mirqal cavaliers and footmen and advanced towards the enemy troops. For somethime intense fighting took place. Then the Syrian’s famous warrior, Abd Allah ibne Manzar Tanukhi, was killed along with some of his accompanying riders. Abul Aiwar withdrew and stopped at a safe distance. Malik wanted to teach him a lesson for the breach of the norms of war that he had made. Therefore he asked a youth of his tribe, Sanan ibne Malik Naqyi, to go to Abu Aiwar and challenge him for a man-to-man fight. Sanan asked,“Should I ask him for a fight with me or with you?” Malik asked,“If I order you, will you be ready to combat with him?” The youth replied,“By Allah! If you order me, I shall break their ranks, attack and kill him!” Malik smiled and praised the youth’s bravery and said,“You are not any less in bravery and status. But you are still a youth and he may not like to combat with a youth. You must go and challenge for a fight with me!” Sanan got up and reaching near the camp of the enemy shouted,“I am a messenger, give me protection!” The Syrians agreed with his demand. He went to Abul Aiwar and gave to him Malik’s message. At first Abul Aiwar remained thoughtful with bowed head. Then he said,“Is it the same Malik who attacked the house of Othman and was involved in his assassination? He is a mischief monger and all the problems are because of him!” Sanan said,“Now listen to my reply to what you have said.” Abul Aiwar said,“I am not willing to hear anything from you nor will I give any reply to the message you have brought.” When Sanan wanted to say something, the Syrians jumped at him and pushed him out of their camp. This challenge of Malik left such fear on the heart of Aiwar that in the darkness of the night he slinked away from there with his men and reached Afih where Muawiya was camping with his army.

When Muawiya heard about the arrival of the Iraqi army and the skirmishes, he told to Abul Aiwar and Sufian ibne Omer that they should go forward and select a suitable battlefield and immediately inform him of the selection. They went and selected Siffin for the purpose that lies on the western bank of Euphrates between Riqa and Balus.. They selected a strategically suitable place and established camp. Muawiya reached the place along with his army. He ordered Abul Aiwar:

“Stand with 10,000 men at river face and obstruct the Iraqis who come to draw water.”

Ref: Akhbar al Atwal, Page 168

Malik e Ashtar too kept advancing with his men. When they reached Siffin, they were taken aback seeing the huge army of the enemy and established camp at a distance from them. The following day, Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) too arrived with his army. He noted that the Syrians had established camp on the level ground and had blocked the approaches to the river. Whenever any Iraqis went for water, they were pushed back. He asked his men to look for some other bank to draw their requirement of water. Despite the search they couldn’t find any suitable spot for their requirement. Even if any spot was there, the approach was very difficult because of morasses on the way and dense thorny bushes. When there was no source of water in sight, the Imam (a.s) sent word to Muawiya with Sasa ibne Sauhan that he didn’t wish to commence the fight before Atmam e Hujjat ( placing the facts before the enemy). He had occupied the source of water. It would be better if he removed the obstruction and discuss with them the cause of the differences between them. He made it clear to him that if he, Muawiya, instead of sorting out the issue, wanted to fight over water, they were ready even for that. But then, who ever is able to dominate, will be controlling the source of the water. When Muawiya got this message, he consulted his advisers. Walid ibne Uqba said:

“Deny them the water and let them die of thirst. May Allah kill them! They had given the same treatment to Ameer al Momineen Othman!”

Ref: Akhbar al Atwal, Page 168

Abd Allah ibne Abi Sarah said:

“Keep them away from the water the whole night. When they fail in getting suppy of water they will retreat. This retreat will be their defeat. Ban water for them. May Allah keep them thirsty on the Doomsday!”

Ref: Tariq e Kaamil, Vol 3, Page 145

At this Saasa ibne Sauhan was angry and he said:

“May Allah deny quenching of your thirst! You evil drunkards! Allah’s curse on you and on the evil (Walid)”

Ref: Tariq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 145

Umro ibne Aas said,“O Muawiya! You should know that Ali (a.s) and his companions, as far as there are shining swords in their hands, they will never remain thirsty. It is better if you give them the water Otherwise they will force you to remove the vigil from the bank of the river!” Muawiya said:

“By Allah! Water shall not be given to them till they die ! The same way that Othman was forced to die thirsty!”

Ref: Murawwaj al Dahab, Vol 2, Page 38

Although the stoppage of water was advantageous to the Syrians because men cannot physically fight in a thirsty state, but from the point of view of morality it was a heinous act. Even some troops of the Syrian army spoke against this act. Therefore one person from their army, Mairi ibne Aqbal hamadani, expressed his displeasure over the ban and told to Muawiya,“O Emir! We have occupied the source of water. What would have happened if they had arrived here earlier and imposed a ban on us! In their army there are slaves, workers, aged and weak persons. Denying water to such innocent persons is very cruel!Withdraw your orders and let them take the water!” Hearing him Muawiya shouted at the man. Umro ibne Aas too said a few harsh words to the man. The Hamadani, hearing these invectives, kept quiet and in the darkness of night he left Muawiya’s army and crossed over to the side of Ameer al Momineen (a.s). he expressed his feelings in the following couplets:

Al Allah darak ya ibne Hinda!

Laqad dahab al haya fala hiya

O son of Hinda! What to say of your virtues!

When shame departs, what use is shame!

Athamoon al Furat ala rijaal

Wa fi aidiyahim al asalal zama

Do you want to stop the youth from Furat?

Those in whose hands are shining, swirling lances!

Wa fil ainaaq asyaaf hadad

Kaan al qaum indakum nisa!

In their necks hang shining swords!

You thought they aren’t men and are women!

Fatarju an yajawar kum ala

Bala maa wa lil ahzaab maa

Do you expect Ali (a.s) will remain thirsty near you!

And others will drink their fill?

Euphrates was in the control of the Syrians and the Iraqis looked with sadness on the gushing waters of the river. On one side there was pride and prejudice, and on the other there was the spirit of peace that was controlling the emotions of the thirsty men. However, when they didn’t get water for a full day and night, the Iraqis couldn’t control themselves any more. They came to the presence of the Imam (a.s) and said,“Ya Ameer (a.s)! How long could we see the Syrians quenching their thirst and keep us deprived of water?” The Imam (a.s) replied,“Now a battle for water is inevitable! Rise and, at the strength of your swords, acquire water!” When permission was received from Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s), Malik e Ashtar and Ashas ibne Qais announced to the men to prepare themselves to push the enemy away from the source of water on the river bank. At this call 12,000 troops , with their swords in their hands and the bows on their shoulders, went forward. Malik e Ashtar gave the standard in the hand of Harit ibne Hamam Naqyi. Ashas gave the flag of his tribe to Muawiya ibne Harit. Both the commanders, leading their units rushed against the Syrians who were guarding the water front.and asked them to move away from there. They said that they wouldn’t leave the place till their swords quenched the thirst for blood. On this side too there were no cowards to be cowed down.by the Syrian swords. Malik shouted and lunged forward. The Syrians took up their spears and swords and stood up to prevent the Iraqis advancing. One of their cavaliers, Saleh ibne Firoz, came forward to fight. Malik struck his chest with the spear and the man died instantly. Then Malik killed , one after another, Malik ibne Adham, Riah ibne Ateek, Ibrahim ibne Wazah Hajmi, Zamil ibne Obaid Khazai, Ajlah ibne Mansour Kindi and mohammed ibne Rauza Hajmi. After these casualties, when others had no courage to come forward, Malik made a thrust on the enemy with his men. From the other side too the bows twanged and the arrows were flying. But the valiant Iraqis were not deterred. They kept moving forward. When swords started swinging over their heads, the Syrians started running for shelter. The Iraqis went further forward and occupied the source of water.

When the water changed hands, Muawiya thought they might give the same treatment to his men as he gave to the troops of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s). His face reflected this worry when Umro ibne Ass asked him,“What do you think? Will Ali (a.s) ban water for you and your men? The way he fought and took over the Euphrates, can you do the same?” Muawiya retorted in anger,“Don’t be sarcastic! Tell me if Ali (a.s) will really give us the same treatment that we gave him and his men? Or will he permit us to take our requirement of the water?” Umro said:

“I have a strong feeling that what you did to him, he may not retaliate the same way. Because his purpose for coming here is not water but something else!”

Ref: Akhbar al Tawaal, Page 169

The Iraqi’s were already very angry on Muawiya. As soon as they had control of the source of water, they declared that they wouldn’t give a drop of water to the enemy. When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) heard this, he said,“If the people of Syria took that barbaric step, it is not fair for you to forget your own norms of Faith and morality!” He sent word to Muawiya immediately that although the control of the source of water was in the hands of his men, all will be free to draw water from there. After this declaration the Syrians came freely to the river and took as much water as they wanted.

The troops of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) established camp near the river and became busy with their dutiws. In the meantime an arrow came from the side of the Syrians on which there was a note saying,“I am your well-wisher! I warn you that Muawiya has decided to cause a break in the river that the water gushes and submerges you!” The arrow fell in the hands of one Koofan. The note traveled from hand to hand and in the end it reached Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s). The Imam (a.s) immediately understood that it was a trick of Muawiya. The purpose was to scare the Iraqis away from the source of water. Already there was panic amongst the Iraqis. They were fast gathering their belongings. The Imam (a.s) said,“This is a trick to move you away from where you are! Don’t leave your stations and remain steadfast.” Some of the men were convinced, and others shouted that Muawiya’s men have already reached the river with their implements.and have already started breaching the embankment. They said that if they didn’t move away swiftly, they will all be washed away. The Imam (a.s) asked them not to worry. He said that it wasn’t in the power of Muawiya to divert the flow of the river. But there were many cowardly persons in the army. Once they moved, others followed suit. Despite best efforts to convince them, they didn’t listen. When Muawiya saw the place vacant, he moved into the breach with his men. When the Iraqis saw the Syrians take their vacated place, they understood Muawiya’s cunning trick. Those who were insisting on vacating the position came shame-faced to the Imam (a.s) and apologized for their behaviour. Now, Ashas ibne Qais and Malik e Ashtar went with their men and forced the Syrians away from the source of water.

The fight for control over Euphrates was over. Two days had gone by since the Iraqis got control of the water source. In these two days there was no talk between the contesting parties. The morale of the Iraqis was very high and they were ready to fight. But Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s)’s quiet was disturbing them. They started thinking whether the Imam (a.s) was trying to avoid war. Or he had some doubts about going to war with the Syrians. When the Imam (a.s.) learned about these doubts, he said that neither he was avoiding the war nor did he have doubts about the need for fighting with Muawiya. The real reason for the delay was that in that interval better sense prevailed and , at least, from his side all possible efforts were made to convince the other party of their faulty stand. After all the waiting, on 1 Zihijja 36 H , for Itmam e Hujjat, he called Bashr ibne Umro Ansari, Saeed ibne Qais Hamadani, and Shabas ibne Rabee Tamimi and asked them to go to Muawiya and explain to him that he shouldn’t break the Islamic unity and abstain from divisive action and peacefully owe his allegiance. Bashir ibne Umro said that he had no hope that the person would give any cognizance to the suggestion. The Imam (a.s) asked him to go and make his efforts. The three of them rose and went to M<uawiya. Bashir ibne Umro started the discussion. He said, “O son of Abu Sufian! This world doesn’t side with anyone for all time! It will not also be with you for ever! You will have to die one day or the other and have to go to the Presence of Allah! There your deeds will be accounted for. Then reward or retribution will be given on the basis of your deeds in this world! I ask you in the name of Allah to refrain from mischief and not to create dissensions in the Ummat with your negative attitude” Muawiya interrupted saying, “Why don’t you give this advice to Ali (a.s)?” Bashir said, “Where he stands, and where are you! He has precedence in embracing Islam and the nearest of kin to the Prophet (s.a). He has all the superiority and felicity. There is none equal to him and deserving of the caliphate!” Muawiya asked, “What does he want?” Bashir said, “He wants you to recognize the Truth and be with it. This way you will be successful in this world and in the Hereafter as well. Muawiya said:

“Do you want us to forego our claim of Qasas for the son of Affan? By Allah! That shall never happen.”

Ref: Tariq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 146

Then Shabas ibne Rubaee addressed Muawiya and said,“O Muawiya ! Your real purpose isn’t hidden from us. You have only one weapon to misguide the people that you tell them that their caliph was killed cruelly and that his Qasas must be demanded. With this slogan you have gathered some ignorant people around you. This, despite the fact that you refrained from helping Othman when he was crying hoarse asking for help! You wanted him to be killed so that you have an opportunity to start a fight in the name of Qasas and usurp power. Remember! There are some people in this world who wish for certain things but Allah gives them no success. There are also people who succeed much more than their own expectations. But for you, in success or in failure, there is no virtue! If you fail in your efforts, there will be none more shamed than you in Arabia. If you succeed in your schemes, your Hereafter will be only intense Retribution! O Muawiya! Fear Allah Give up your stubborn attitude and refrain from conceit. Don’t challenge the one who is the true claimant of the caliphate!” Muawiya was disturbed with the frank talk of Shabas. Instead of refuting what he said, he spoke angrily:

“Get away from my presence and now only the sword will decide the matters between us.”

Ref: Tariq e Kaamil, Vol 3, Page 146

At this point Saeed ibne Qais Hamadani said:

“Do you want to frighten with your swords? By Allah! We shall soon advance towards you with our swords!”

Ref: Tariq e Kaamil, Vol 3, Page 146

After the return of the delegation, some Qaris and Huffaz, came to Muawiya and asked him why he had mobilized the big army of men? He said that his purpose was to claim Qasas for the blood of Othman. They asked from whom he was demanding the Qasas. He replied that he wanted the Qasas from Ali (a.s). They asked,“Did Ali (a.s) kill Othman? Muawiya said, “He is the killer of Othman.” They went to Hazrat Ali (a.s) and repeated the accusations of Muawiya. The Imam (a.s) said,“It is a false accusation.!” They went back to Muawiya and related what Hazrat Ali (a.s) had said. Muawiya said ,“He had not killed Othman with his own hands but had encouraged others to do the deed!” They came to the Imam (a.s) and mentioned this to him. He replied,“This too is a false accusation.” They reported the Imam (a.s)’s reply to Muawiya. He said,“If Ali (a.s) is telling the truth, he should hand over the killers of Othman to us. They are present amongst his troops and are source of his strength!” The men came to Hazrat Ali (a.s) and conveyed this to him. Hazrat Ali (a.s) said,“Othman’s killers prove their justification for the act from the Verses of the Quran. The killing that has taken place under an interpretation ( Taweel) of the Verses of the Quran doesn’t call for Qasas.” When Muawiya was told this he said,“If it is like this, then what right has Ali (a.s) to become the caliph without even consulting us.” Hazrat (a.s) said in reply,“The Mohajir and Ansaar who are the people of authority ( Hal wa Aqd) unanimously decided on the caliphate and all the Muslims abide by their decision.” Muawiya said,“Those Mohajirs and Ansaar who are with us never owed their allegiance to him nor have agreed to his accession to the caliphate.” Thus he went on making such excuses and wasn’t able to give any positive reason for denying to owe allegiance to Hazrat Ali (a.s). He knew that if he did the Bai-at then he wouldn’t be able to blame Hazrat Ali (a.s) for involvement in or supporting the killers of Othman. He had only this weapon to justify his plan to fight a battle with Hazrat Ali (a.s) for his ulterior motive of coming to power.

In this regard Abu Amama Bahali and Abul Darda too spoke to Muawiya and told him,“You are fighting with Ali (a.s) while he is more deserving of the caliphate than you!” He said,“I am fighting just to claim the Qasas for the blood of Othman.” They both said,“Is Ali (a.s) his killer?” He said,“Although he has not killed him with his own hands, he has given refuge to the killers. If he hands them over to us, I shall be the first to owe my allegiance to him!” This talk appealed to the two persons. They went to Hazrat Ali (a.s) and repeated Muawiya’s words. The Imam (a.s) understood that Muawiya wanted to trick him by raising something that was impossible to be done. He took the two persons to the rows of his troops and asked,“Amongst you, who are the killers of Othman?” The 20,000 men shouted in unison:

“We have all killed Othman!”

Ref: Akhbar al Atwaal, Page 170

Abu Amama and Abul Darda thought that for the blood of one person, the blood if 20,000 cannot be shed.and there wasn’t also any justification of handing over anyone to Muawiya for this purpose. Instead of going to Muawiya they retired to a quiet coastal place and preferred not to side any of the two parties.

Ameer al Momineen (a.s) tried all the time to avoid fighting and settle the matter through negotiations. But Muawiya knew that the final result of peace was Bai-at and that would be abject defeat for him. Therefore he avoided all efforts at negotiations.He termed the efforts of Hazrat Ali (a.s) to maintain peace as his weakness and started posing threats to him. Atlast, the hidden flames were ignited and the preliminary clashes commenced. From the Syrians, Abd ar Rehman ibne Khalid ibne Walid, Abul Aiwar Salami, Habib ibne Maslam Fahri, Ibne Zil Kalah Hamiri, Obaid ibne Omer, Sharjeel ibne Samat Kindi and hamza ibne Malik.used to come to the battlefield in turns. Similarly from Hazrat Ali (a.s)’s army malik e Ashtar, Hajr ibne Adi, Shabat ibne Rubyi, Khalid ibne Maamar, Ziyad ibne Nazar Hariti, Ziyadibne Khasfa Teemi, Saeed ibne Qais Hamadani, Mauqal ibne Qais Riyyahi and Qais ibne Saad Ansari came out in turn to face the opponents and sent them vanquished. Although they were all men of valor, but Malik e Ashtar was a warrior of such caliber that big champions used to be scared of facing him. Therefore, during the first few days of the battle of Siffin, Sahm ibne Abil Ghairar came out of Muawiya’s army and challenged for a combat. He was a well known fighter from the Syrian army and had a huge and imposing physique. He used to frighten people away just through his physical appearance. Malik e Ashtar decided to match strength with him. People tried to stop him. But he didn’t listen to them. He went away and challenged the giant. The person was proud of his strength and prowess. He jumped his steed and came forward and attacked Malik. Malik avoided his strike and gave him such a blow that he fell flat from his horse and died at the spot. One person from the Syrian troops saw Sahm dying and resolved that he would kill Malik e Ashtar. Therefore he challenged Malik for a combat. Malik attacked him with his sword and he fell down near the hoofs of his horse. Malik was about to kill him when the Syrians rushed in a crowd and carried him away alive. Thus the month of Zil Hijja was spent in these skirmishes. Everyday they had a couple of combats but wholesale fighting hadn’t yet commenced.

When Moharrum 37 H commenced, respecting the sanctity of the month, fighting was stopped. Taking advantage of the halt to fighting, Ameer al Momineen (a.s) again tried for peace and sent a few representatives across to the enemy. Adi ibne Hatim, Yazid ibne Qais, Shabat ibne Rubyi and Ziyad ibne Khasfa were sent to Muawiya to prepare him for peace. Therefore they went to him Adi ibne Hatim started the talks. And told to Muawiya,“We have come to you with a message of peace. If you listen to our voice, the fighting can be stopped.and differences sorted out. You know that Hazrat Ali (a.s) has the leadership of the Muslims in his hands. There is none equal to him in superiority and precedence in embracing the Faith. Excepting you, and your cohorts, all the Islamic territories have accepted him as the caliph. Give up your stubbornness and change your attitude. Otherwise you might fall into troubles as did the Ashab e Jamal. Muawiya said, “You want to frighten me! I am the son of Harb! I cannot be cowed down by such threats. By Allah! You are one of the persons who instigated the killing of Othman. I am certain you will be killed for that crime.” At this Shabat ibne Rubyi and Ziyad ibne Khasfa said,“Forget all that talk! That will neither benefit you nor us! Say something that is advantageous to both the parties. Let us come closer than moving away from each other” Yazid ibne Qais said,“We are the messengers! Our duty was to give the message; that we have done. Now, whatever you say, we shall communicate to Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s). However we shall make efforts to convince you ( Atmam e Hujjat) and invite you not to create schisms in the Ummat. As far as the superiority of Ali (a.s) is concerned, it is neither hidden from you nor from us! There is no question of equating you with him. Therefire, fear Allah and abstain from warlike activities against him. By Allah! We haven’t found anyone better than him in piety, superiority and capability.”Muawiya said, “You people have invited me to attach myself to the Jama-at. I must trell you that the Jama-at is with me! As far as obeying your Emir is concerned, it is beyond me! The reason is that he assassinated Othman, created rifts in the Jama-at ( the Ummat) and gave refuge to the killers. I have no doubt that the killers of Othman are present in his army.He must hand them over to us so that we kill them as the Qasas for the blood of Othman. Then we shall obey him and abstain from fighting as well.” Shabat said,“If Ammar Yassir is handed over to you, would you mind killing him? ‘ Muawiya said, “What is coming in the way of my killing him? What to talk of Othman, Even for his freed slave, Naaqal, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill him!” Shabat said,“By the Creator of the earth and the sky! You are flying very high! You cannot reach Ammar till the battlefield is full of cadavers and there are piles of heads! “In the end when they found that the talks were not reaching anywhere, they stood up and started back for their camp. They might have gone half the distance when Muawiya sent a messenger to call Ziyad ibne Qasfa and told him that he had summoned him for a special purpose. He said, “You know it pretty well that Ali (a.s) got Othman assassinated.and is giving shelter to the killers. If you agree you and your tribe can cooperate with me in claiming the Qasas. With Allah’s witness I swear that if I succeed, I shall give you the governorate of Koofa or Basra.” When Muawiya finished talking, he looked expectantly at Ziyad, who said:

“With Allah’s help I have proof and conviction that I cannot bear to become supporter of the criminals!”

Ref: Tariq e Kaamil, Vol 3, Page 148

Hearing this reply Muawiya put down his head and and told to Umro ibne Ass,“May Allah destroy them! Their heart beats and movements of the lips are all similar!”

The failure of these embassies gave one impression that the Imam (a.s) wanted to settle the matters through negotiations, but Muawiya wanted to get his way through war! To remove this impression, Muawiya sent Habib ibne Maslima Fahri, Sharjeel ibne Samat Kindi and Maan ibne Yazid Aslami to Hazrat Ali (a.s). When they came to the Imam (a.s), Habib ibne Maslima said, “O Ali (a.s)! Hazrat Othman was the caliph, pious and follower of the Quranic precepts. But you people didn’t let him live and killed him for no fault of his. Hand over his killers that we kill them in Qasas!Hand over the caliphate to the Shura and stay awayThen we shall select a caliph with unanimity. When the Imam (a.s) saw his style of speaking, he said:

“Who are you to ask me to demit the caliphate? You are doing this when you don’t qualify to talk such things!”

Ref: Tarikh e Tabari, Vol 4, Page 4

Habib stood up uneasily and said,“When we are face to face,you will see how I behave!” The Imam (a.s) said,“Even if you attack with a large army of men, I would consider you as nothing! Go and do what you wish to do!” Sharjeel said,“I too wish to say the same that my companion has said. Will I get the same reply that was given to him? “The Imam (a.s) said, “The reply I gave him, suited only him!But a different reply can be given to you!” Then Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) related the events from the Annunciation of the Prophet (s.a), the periods of the First and the Second caliphs and then he said,“When Othman became the caliph he commited such acts that people didn’t like themThey criticized him and tried to correct him. But when no result was achieved from their efforts, they surrounded and killed him. Then people gathered and came to me. And wanted to owe their allegiance to me. I thought it advisable to refuse. Therefore in very clear terms rejected their offer. But their insistence increased and they said that other than me they wouldn’t do Bai-at with anyone else. They expressed the fear that if I didn’t accept their Bai-at people will get divided and the peace in the realm will shatter. They felt that in that event Islam would face a major crisis. In those circumstances I had to agree for the Bai-at. When the Bai-at was over, two persons, Talha and Zubair, became disobedient and rebellious, although they had happily swore their allegiance to me. Then Muawiya brought out the banner of rebellion against me, although he neither has any precedence over me in the Faith nor does he have any status in Islam. He is a freed son of a freed father! His father, and himself, had always been the enemies of Allah and His Prophet (s.a)! If they embraced Islam, it was out of fear in defeat! I am surprised you have moved away from the Ahl al Bayt and got attached to the lapel of Muawiya and started moving in the direction he wanted you to! You should, in fact, have been with the Aal e Nabi(a.s) and none else. I invite you to follow Allah’s Book and the Sunnat of the Prophet (s.a) and to do Jehad against the evil.” Sharjeel listened to this talk but didn’t take any effect and said,“Do you believe that Othman was killed mercilessly as an oppressed person? “The Imam (a.s) replied , I neither term him as an oppressed person nor an oppressor himself!” At this Sharjeel and Maan ibne Yazid got angry and said,“One who has the belief that Othman was not assassinated as an oppressed person, we have nothing to do with him.” Saying this they got up and left.The Imam (a.s) wasn’t expecting them to be impressed. However, he tried to convince them. When he saw them departing, the Imam (a.s) recited the following Verse:

“Innaka la tasma al mauta wa la tasma al samma ad dua iza lau mudbereena wa ma anta behadi al umi an zalalatehim an tasma ala man yaman ba aayaatena fahum muslemoon”

“You can neither make the dead hear you nor can you take your voice to the deaf, nor can you bring the blind from waywardness to the right path. You can only get your words accepted by those who have faith in Our verses and only these are the believers.”

After this the Imam (a.s) turned his attention towards his companions and said:

“Let it not happen that their efforts at deviation and waywardness surpass your efforts, while your efforts are for Truth and in obedience of Allah.”

Ref: Tareeq e Tabari, Vol 4, Page 5

When the month of Moharram was over and the crescent of Safar was sighted on the horizon, the Ameer al Momineen (a.s) who had exhausted exploring all the avenues for possible peace, sent Marsad ibne Harit to the other side where he announced to the Army of Syria:

“O people of Syria! Ameer al Momineen (a.s) conveys to you, ‘ I had given you respite to think and turn towards the Right Path. I had made it clear to you through Allah’s Book and invited you to follow it. But you have not abstained from your mischief and stubbornness nor responded to the voice of the Truth. Now I have terminated all negotiations and Allah, certainly, doesn’t befriend the unfaithful.”

Ref: Tareeq e Tabari, Vol 4, Page 5

As soon as this announcement was made, preparations were started for the war. They lighted fires and beacons were lighted. Men were arranged in order overnight and the Ieaqis and the Syrians occupied their own entrenchments. Ameer al Momineen (a.s) gave special attention to the orderly arrangement of his men. On the cavalry he appointed Ammar ibne Yassir as the commander and on the footmen, Abd Allah ibne Badeel Khazae. On the riders from Koofa, Malik e Ashtar was given the command and Sahl ibne Hanif was incharge of the riders from Basra. Qais ibne Saad was given the command of the footmen from Basra. The right flank was under Ashas ibne Qais and the left flank was commanded by Abd Allah ibne Abbas. The footmen of the right flank were put under Suleiman ibne Sarad and of the left flank under Harit ibne Maro Abadi. The men from every tribe were under a chief from the same tribe. The standard of war was given to Hashim ibne Otba Marqal. The Imam (a.s) addressing the men said:“Till the time they don’t attack, you shouldn’t attack them. Because you are , By Allah’s Grace, fighting for a Cause. Your leaving it to them to start the fight will be another proof of your being on the side of theRight. Beware! When the enemies start running away, don’t kill anyone who has shown his back! Don’t attack the injured and the maimed. Don’t attack women even if they shout invectives against you.”

Muawiya appointed Obaid Allah ibne Omer as the commander of his right flank and Habbe ibne Maslama for the left flank. Cavalry Umro ibne Ass was the commander and on footmen Muslim ibne Uqba. For the men from different cities and areas, persons from the same places were in command. The standard of war was given to Abd ar Rehman ibne Khalid ibne Walid.

On 1 Safar, Wednesday, early in the morning, men in both the armies stood in formation with enthusiasm and regular warfare commenced. The Iraqi unit was under Malik e Ashtar and the Syrian unit under Habib ibne Maslima. Both the armies gauged each other’s strengths and weaknesses.and then attacked flailing their swords. The entire day the swords were clashing. And till the dusk the fighting continued. When it turned dark, both the armies returned to their respective camps.

The next day Hashim bin Marqal took groups of cavaliers and footmen and entered the arena. From the other side, Abul Aiwar Salami came with a large number of cavalry and footmen from the Syrian army. Both the sides flailed their swords and attacked each other with intensity. Swords kept clashing and spears piercing the chests.

On the third day, Umro put a black flag on a spear and came out with a unit of men. People started whispering when they saw the black flag. Some said it is the same piece of cloth that the Prophet (s.a) had given to Umro attaching to the wooden staff of the standard and gave him the honor of being the standard bearer. When Ameer al Momineen (a.s) heard this, he said the truth about the cloth is that “the Prophet (s.a) took the flag in his hands and said, ‘ who amongst you will lift the standard and justify the honor (by his deeds)’ Umro ibne Aas said, ‘ Ya Rasool Allah (s.a)! What are the conditions that will qualify one for the honor’ The Prophet (s.a) said, ‘ Taking the Standard he will not run away from fighting the infidels and will not fight with the Muslims!’ But he has justified the honor in this manner:

“During the lifetime of the Prophet (s.a) he took the flag and ran way from the battle with infidels. And this day he has come with the flag to fight against the Muslims.”

Ref: Akhbar al Tawal, Page 174

The intention of Umro ibne Ass was to make a show of the standard to impress on the people that during the time of the Prophet (s.a) he had the honor of being given the standard by him.and was coming to the battlefield now with the same standard. Then he would do the publicity that his stand in the confilict was just. But Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s), before any misunderstanding spread, clarified the position and proved that only getting the standard from the hands of the Prophet (s.a) is not the proof of one’s superiority till the person fulfills the requirements of that honor in totality. Therefore, if any minds were confused seeing the standard, they were removed. The men didn’t give it any importance.

When Umro came into the battleground, Ziyad ibne Nazar came out with cavalry and Ammar ibne Yassir with footmen among whom were Mohajirs, Ansaar and Ashaab e Badr. Ammar went dessimating the rows of the enemy troops and told to his companions:

“O People of Iraq! Do you want to see the person ( Muawiya) who is an enemy of Allah and His Prophet (s.a) and fought battles with them, gave air to rebellion against the Muslims and sided with the polytheists. When he saw that Allah had given strength to Islam and gave control to the Prophet (s.a), he came to him and embraced Islam. We know that he has embraced Islam out of fear and he had no interest in Islam.When Allah took away His Prophet (s.a) from the world then, By Allah, he became the enemy of the Muslims and friend of the infidels. Therefore remain steadfast in fighting him and battle with him. He wants to extinguish Allah’s radiance and strengthen the enemies of Allah.”

Ref: Tabari, Vol 4, Page 8

Then taking his companions, Ammar, attacked with such intensity that the Syrians lost their footing and Umro, who had come proudly waving his black flag,left his position and disappeared in the back rows.

Ziad ibne Nazar, with his men, attacked the Syrian horse-men. One rider advanced to combat with him. Ziad asked who he was? He said that he was Muawiya ibne Omro Aqeeli. Hearing his name, Ziad was hesitant to attack him.because he was his mother’s son. Their mother was a woman, Hinda, from the tribe of Zabeed. He thought it not proper to fight and withdrew taking permission from Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s).

On the fourth day Mohammed ibne Hanafia came with his men to the arena. From the other side, Obaid Allah ibne Omer came with a large patrol. Both arranged rows of men opposite one another. The hands advanced towards the spears , the swords came out of the sheaths. And the sparks of fighting started flying.Obaid Allah ibne Omer challenged Mohammed ibne Hanafia for a combat. Hearing this, he advanced swiftly. Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) asked who was that? They said that it was Mohammed ibne Hanafia fighting with Obaid Allah ibne Omer. The Imam (a.s)’s filial emotions arose. He put his foot in the stirrup of his steed and moved near Mohammed ibne Hanafia. He dismounted, gave the reins to his son, and telling that he would come to him soon went away. Then he went near Ibne Omer. When he saw the Imam (a.s) instead of Mohammed ibne Hanafia, the color of his face fled. He said that he wouldn’t fight with him and went to the back rows. Hazrat Ali (a.s) returned, and when he came near his horse, Ibne Hanafia said,“O Baba! Why did you stop me from fighting. If you had allowed me, I wouldn’t have returned without killing him.” The Imam (a.s) said,“I expect the same from you! But I wasn’t fully sure if you would kill him and come back. That is the reason I had to go myself.” Mohammed said,“Baba! I had no courage to stop you. Otherwise I wouldn’t like your going to fight with that accursed person!”

On the fifth day Abd Allah ibne Abbas went with his men to the arena. From the other sideWalid ibne Uqba came with his horsemen and footmen. When he saw Ibne Abbas he shouted invectives at bani Abd al Mutallib. He told to Ibne Abbas:

“O Ibne Abbas! You have done injustice! You have killed your Imam ( Othman) and failed in fulfilling your vows!”

Ref: Akhbar al Tawaal, Page 175

Ibne Abbas asked him to stop making false accusations and fight with him. But he had no courage to come forward. He shouted invectives for sometime and then sat quietly. Ibne Abbas attacked the Syrians along with his men and the fight went on till the time of Duhr prayer.

The same day Samra ibne Abraha Hamiri, along with a group of the reciters of the Holy Quran, left the ranks of the Syrian army and joined the army of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s). Muawiya was very upset with this because it was a proof of the unfairness of his stand.

On the sixth day from the Iraqi side Qais ibne Saad Ansari and from the Syrian army Ibne Zilkalah Hamiri came to the arena and the fight continued till Duhr.

On the seventh day Malik e Ashtar from Hazrat Ameer al Momineen(a.s)’s army and from the other side Habib ibne Maslima stood opposite each other in the arena. Hajr al Shar Kindi from the Syrian forces came astride a horse and challenged for a combat. The person who came in response too had the same name, Hajr ibne Adi who was known as Hajr al khair. Both attacked each other. But suddenly one person from the Syrian army, Khazima ibne Tabit Asadi jumped in the arena and broke the spear of Hajr al Khair. Seeing this, the Iraqi troops killed Khazima Asadi and Hajr al Shar escaped saving his life. After some time he once again came to the arena shouting for combat. Hakm ibne Azhar came forward to fight with him. The fight went on for some time and then Hakm was killed. After Hakm, Ibne Am Rafa-aa Zalim Hamiri, seeing Hakm fall, came angrily and attacked Hajr al Shar and killed him. When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) saw this, he thanked Allah that the killer of Hakm ibne Azhar was killed.

The swords were clashing in the arena and the Iraqis and Syrians were attacking each other when an Iraqi soldier Abu Ayoob attacked the Syrians and came out of their rows when he noticed a Syrian was returning after attacking the Iraqis. When they came near to each other, both raised their swordsand attacked each other. Abu Ayoob hit at the Syrian’s neck with such intensity that the sword cut through it and the head was severed.but it remained on the body. People thought that th attack went futile. But when the horse moved, the head fell to the ground. When the Iraqis saw this, they shouted slogans and praised the swordsmanship of Abu Ayoob. When he returned back Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s), recited the following couplet:

“Wa alamnal darab aabaauna

Wa nahnu naalam aida banina

Our ancesters have taught us swordsmanship,

And we shall teach this to our sons!”

In the midst of this gory conflict, it was always the wish of the Imam (a.s) to bring it to an end as soon as possible and some way to establish peace was found. Although seeing the stubbornness of Muawiya there was little chance of peace without a major conflict, even then the Imam (a.s) took a copy of the Holy Quran and addressed his troops,“Who is there amongst you who will take this Book to the Syrians and invite them to accept the verdict of the Holy Quran?” One youth came in front of the Imam (a.s) and offered to go. The Imam (a.s) announced once again, but none other than the youth came forward. Then he gave the Book to the youth and sent him forward. The youth reached the rows of the enemy troops and said,“O people! Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) invites you to follow the teachings of the Holy Quran! Come, let us resolve our conflicts on It’s Verdsict and avoid the unnecessary bloodshed!” But none paid any heed to what he said. He met the same end as did Muslim Majashaee during the Battle of Jamal. Some Syrians surrounded the youth and killed him.

Hazrat Amneer al Momineen (a.s) thought that the war of attrition would continue and the blood of Muslims will continue to be shed. Therefore, to bring the battle to an end, he announced that he was challenging Muawiya for a person-to-person combat. He stood between the two armies and told at a high pitch,“Where is Muawiya! “When Muawiya heard this, he asked his men to ask what the Imam (a.s) wanted. The Imam (a.s) added, “Ask him to come in front of me. I want to talk with him!” Muawiya took Umro Ass with him and came to the front. Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) said,“O Muawiya! You are shedding the blood of people unnecessarily! Come on, we both shall fight and the one who wins shall be deemed to have won the battle and occupy the seat of the caliphate! “Umro said, “Ali (a.s) has said the truth. Both of you are the nucleus of the conflict! You may fight and come to a decision yourself!” Muawiya told to Umro:

“You have not tried to be just! You know it pretty well that whoever came to combat with him, he killed the person!”

Ref: Tareeq e Tabari, Vol 4, Page 29

Umro said, “I don’t want that you avoid combat and fall in the estimation of the people! “Muawiya said, “Do you think that you will tempt me to lose my life!Do you wish that I get killed and you become the ruler?” Saying this, Muawiya turned back and slowly went towards the last row of his troops.Muawiya was already angry at the impertinence of Umro. He called the person and shouted at him. To cool his temper Umro said, “If you don’t want to fight with Ali (a.s), I shall do that! Therefore he decided to go for the combat. At one point of time he went to the arena and challenged Hazrat Ali (a.s) for a combat. The Imam (a.s) spurred his horse and came fast to the arena. When he raised his sword Omar e Ass purposely fell down from his horse and put his legs up. Thus his private parts were exposed. When the Imam (a.s) saw this contemptible act of Umro, he turned away his face. Umro got up dusting his cloak and ran towards his people. When Muawiya heard about this episode, he told to Umro:

“O Umro! Thanks to Allah that you saved your life because of your private parts!”

Ref: Akhbar al Atwaal, Page 77

One commander of the Syrian army, Abraha ibne Sabah Hamiri also was affected with the destruction of the war and said that the best way to stop the unnecessary bloodshed was to have a man-to-man combat between Hazrat Ali (a.s) and Muawiya. Therefore he addressed his tribesmen saying,“O people of Yemen! For how long we should expose ourselves to the swords and arrows! Do something to stop this war! Insist on Ali (a.s) and Muawiya that they fight themselves and bring about a conclusion! Whoever comes out the winner between the two, we shall join with him!” When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) heard this, he said,“By Allah! For me nothing could be more welcome than both the armies uniting and Muawiya and me fight to come to a final decision!” When Muawiya heard about the suggestion of Abraha, he was scared and slowly, step by step, he went backwards and reached the back rows of his army! He told to his sychophants,“It seems Abraha has lost the balance of his mind!” The people said,“It is not like that! He is wise and intelligent! Nor is he behind anyone in bravery and valor. Why don’t you say that you don’t have courage to fight face-to-face with Ali (a.s)!” Muawiya kept quiet but Urwa ibne Dawood got angered. He said,“If the emir doesn’t want to fight with Ali (a.s), I shall combat with him!” He then stood between the two armies and shouted his challenge to Hazrat Ali (a.s) for personal combat. The Imam (a.s) came forward to punish the impertinent challenger.Some people asked him not to fight with that impertinent person and ask someone else to fight. But the Imam (a.s) personally went and with one strike of his sword the person’s body was cut vertically into two! The people who witnessed this shivered in their footwear! When Urwa was thus killed, a cousin of his attacked the Imam (a.s) in anger.He avoided his attack and hit him with his spear. The spear was stuck in the person’s chest and he fell dead.

When Muawiya saw two of his men die like this, he was in a state of utter confusion. He asked,“Who among you will fight with the killer of Urwa and his cousin or kill him at any opportunity?” Walid ibne Uqba said,“It would be better if you yourself go and personally fight with him.” He replied,“He has already challenged me! But what use this army that I have to go and fight in place of my fighting men?I need not go personally to fight!” Uqba ibne Abu Sufian said,“Your decision is right. Even if he challenges, you shouldn’t go to fight!” When after repeated calls by Muawiya there was response from none to go and fight with the Imam (a.s) he asked Basar ibne Artat if he would go and fight with Ali (a.s). Basar said,” It would be better if you yourself fight with him. But if you insist, I shall go to fight.” A close relative of Basar told to him,“If Muawiya dies, he will have some successor for his kingdom! Why do you want to get killed” He said,“I have given my word and I must go for the fight now!” When the person heard this he recited the following couplets to Basar:

Tanaz lahu ya Basar an kunta masla

Walafaan al lais lil sha-aa akal

If you were of his caliber , you should certainly fight with him,

Otherwise, remember the tiger eats away the sheep!

Kaanak ya Basaribne Artatjaahil

Ba aasaara fil harb aw mutajaahil

O Basar! It seems you are ignorant of Ali(a.s)’s exploits of valor

or on purpose you pretend ignorance!

Basar said ,“I shall have to die one day! Why I should die the death of a coward! I shall certainly combat with him!” Therefore he proceeded towards the arena. Hazrat Ameer (a.s) holding the hand of Malik e Ashtar was going round in search of a promontory when Basar , in full armor, came near him and challenged him for a combat. The Imam (a.s) coolly went near him, pierced his spear in the armor and pushed him down. When Basar saw that he would be killed, he exposed his private parts in emulation of Umro Ass! Hazrat (a.s) turned his face way. Malik e Ashtar recognized him and said,“Ya Hazrat (a.s)! This is the enemy of Allah, Basar ibne Artaat!” The Imam said,“Allah’s curse on him! After he has done the shameful act, let him go!” Basar got up swiftly, hiding his private parts, ran away. Muawiya, knowing of his misadventure, told him,“You needn’t be ashamed! Umro ibne Ass too saved his life the same way!”

Muawiya rarely came out in the field because he was scared tha if the Imam (a.s) came face to face, he will find it difficult to save his life. Whenever he came out, he ensured that Hazrat (a.s) not in the place. Once he came out and attacked the right flank. The Imam (a.s) chanced to be in that area. When he saw Muawiya, thinking that he might escape sseing him, he exchanged his armor and the horse with another person and came out of the row. Muawiya advanced with the intention of attacking when he recognized the Imam (a.s). He turned his horse back, spurred it and ran away! Ameer al Momineen (a.s) chased him for sometime, but Muawiya disappeared in the maze of his troops!

Muawiya used to send his slave Harith in his disguise to the arena to give an impression that he was actively participating in the proceedings of the war! Therefore, when he used to be out in Muawiya’s armor and guise, people used to think that it was Muawiya himself! Muawiya had warned him that his life was precious and at any cost he should not take the risk of fighting with Ali (a.s). At that time Umro told to the slave that Muawiya didn’t want him to fight Ali (a.s) to deny him the singular honor of matching his strength with the champion of the Qureish! He added that if he was Qarshi, Muawiya would willingly have allowed him to go and fight. Harith was angered when Umro told this. And said that he wouldn’t miss the opportunity of fighting with Ali (a.s). Therefore he went forward and challenged the Imam (a.s) to combat with him. The Imam (a.s) was advancing with a troop of men. He heard the challenge of Harith and put his hand on the scabbard of his sword. Without giving him any respite, he struck the slave such a blow that he was cut into two pieces! When Muawiya learnt about the killing of Harith, he was very sad and chided Umro Ass that because of his tempting him the slave lost his life. Now people also knew that Muawiya, in his cowardice, used to send Harith in his own disguise to the front.

Muawiya’s practice was that he sent others to the front disguised as himself. On the other side, Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s), used to enter the arena in the guise of Abbas ibne Rubiah and others, to ensure that the enemy fighters didn’t get scared and ran away without combating. Therefore once Abbas Ibne Rubiah himself came out to the arena , with full armor, riding on a horse. Gharaz ibne Adham invited him for a combat. Abbas said that he would dismount from the horse and asked the opponent to dismount as well therefore the chance of either of them running away from the fight will not be there! Therefore they both dismounted and the fight started. The swords were clashing with swords, with the shields and with the armors. Both were trying hard to overwhelm the adversary, but neither succeeded. In that time Abbas noticed that the armor of Gharaz was loose at one place. Cleverly he pierced the tip of his sword at that point and sliced the armor apart. Then he attacked with such dexterity that Gharaz fell to the ground face down with his sword piercing the ribs of the Syrian. As soon as he fell, he was dead..The Iraqis loudly shouted the slogan of“Allaho Akbar” ! When Hazrat Ameer (a.s) heard this slogan, he asked whose valor the men were praising? The people said it was Abbas ibne Rubiah. Hazrat (a.s) was angry and he asked Abbas that he was asked not to leave his post. He said,“Ya Ameer al Momineen (.s)! How could I resist the call to combat when it was addressed to me?” The Imam (a.s) said,“Fighting the enemy was not so essential as is the obedience of the commands of the Imam (a.s)!” Then he added,“O Allah! Bless Abbas for his good deed! I have forgiven him, You too forgive him!”

When Muawiya learned about the killing of Gharaz, he was very angry and asked his men if there was someone amongst them who could kill Abbas. At this two swordsmen of the tribe of Lakham rose and challenged Abbas for a fight. When he heard the challenge, his blood boiled. But he couldn’t have left his post without the permission of the Imam (a.s). He asked the challengers to wait for a while so that he will take the permission of his Ameer (a.s) for the fight. He then went to the presence of the Imam (a.s) and sought his permission. The Imam (a.s) said,“By Allah! Muawiya wants not a single soul of Bani Hashim to remain alive on the face of the Earth! He wants all those beacons of knowledge and learning and the world sank in the morass of ignorance! Notwithstanding all this, Allah will keep His Noor radiant for all time!” Then he asked Abbas to remove his armor and give to him. The Imam (a.s) wore his armor and rode on his steed.to the theatre of the battle. Seeing him the two Lakhmi swordsmen thought that it was Abbas because the Imam (a.s) was using his armor and the horse. They asked, Have you taken your Ameer (a.s)’s permission to fight with us?” The Imam (a.s) recited this Verse in reply:

“Izn lillazeena yaqateloona be anhum zalamu an Allah ala nasrahum lqadeer”

“Against whom ( the Muslims) the infidels fight, they too have permission to battle because they are the oppressed and Allah certainly has power to help them.”

Now one of them came forward and attacked with his sword. The Imam (a.s) evaded his attack and struck him so hard that the person was divided into two. Then the other, in acute anger, rushed to attack. The Imam (a.s) killed him as well. He returned the armor and the horse to Abbas and asked him to inform whenever he was challenged for a fight!

Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) felt that the arrogance of the Syrians was increasing by the day. As long as their evil designs were not crushed with full force, the battle of attrition would go on for very long. Near sunset the Imam (a.s) addressed a sermon to his men:

“See! You will have to battle with the enemy tomorrow! Therefore, spend tonight in prayer and supplication. Recite the Holy Quran and pray for Allah’s succor Pray to Allah for patience and steadfastness. Clash with the enemy with full vigor and sense. Then you will be really on the Straight Path!”

Ref: Tareeq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 151

Ameer al Momineen (a.s) was busy the whole night in preparation for the battle and arranging the rows of the men. He organized the right and the left flanks. And the men too checked their arms. They sharpened their swords and put the tips of the spears to order. By dawn they were all ready to attack the enemy.

With this announcement of Hazrat Ali (a.s), Muawiya was really scared. He ordered the commanders to arrange their formations and to report to him thereafter. Therefore, Abu Aiwar Salami with the contingent from Hamas, Ibne Umro Salami with men from Jordan, Zafar ibne Harit with the contingent from Qansareen and Zohak ibne Qais Fahri with the fighters from Damascus reported to Muawiya. Then contingent after contingent was arriving.and in no time a crowd of Syrians was occupying the horizon. They assured the Amir e Sham to fight with bravery and valor.

With the dawn both the armies had their flanks fully organized. The Imam (a.s) gave the command of the right flank to Abd allah ibne Badeel. The left flank was given to Abd Allah ibne Abbas. The Imam(a.s) stayed at the heart of the formation. He took the sword in his hand, sat on the horse and spurred it on and in no time reached the rows of the enemy formations.and ordered Abd Allah ibne Badeel to attack. Ibne Badeel wearing double armor, having two swords hanging from his girdle, took the right flank of the army and attacked the left flank of the enemy. army and destroyed row after row. With this heavy onslaught the right wing of the Syrian Army was totally dislodged. When Ibne Badeel saw the right flank of the enemy getting defeated, he attackled the heart of their formation.Where Muawiya was stationed with all the protection. Although around him there were five units of men like a steel wall, They were scared of the army advancing towards them. They left their positions and moved backwards. With them the heart of the formation to went backwards. Then the right flank of the Syrians reorganized after the first defeat and along with the men in the heart of the formation attacked the right flank of the Iraqis. This attack was so severe that it uprooted the feet of the troops. They ran helter skelter for shelter. With Ibne Badeel only three to four hundred men remained steadfast. They stood back to back with each other and like a wall impregnated with lead they fought the enemy. Ibne Badeel, with this limited force, moved towards the tent of Muawiya. From that side the bows started twanging. And there was a barrage of arrows. But these valiants were not deterred with the intense attack. They kept moving cutting across the hordes of enemy troops. In the end they were surrounded by the enemy on all the sides.

When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) saw his right flank getting dislodged, he felt the gravity of the situation. He asked Sahl ibne Hanif to go ahead and help the right flank.But the Syrian cavalry pushed him back. Now, with the disorganization of the right flank, the heart of the formation where the Imam (a.s) was located, was badly exposed to the enemy onslaught. When the Imam (as) saw this predicament of the heart of the formation, he moved towards the left flank of the army. He was neither wearing the armor nor had a helmet on his head. He only had a spear in his hand. Imam Hassan, Imam Hussain (a.s) and Mohammed ibne Hanafia were shielding him. The arrows were flying on all the sides. The shining swords, the vibrating spears and the flying arrows couldn’t stop his movement. At that time one freed slave of Bani Omayya , Ahmar, came up. He was known as an expert swordsman. The Imam (a.s) wanted to attack him.when one of his slaves, kaisan, rushed towards Ahmar. He fought with him for sometime and was martyred. Now Ahmar wanted to attack Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s). Before he could attack, the Imam (a.s) lunged forward, put his hand under the armor of the slave and pulled him off the horse with force. He hit him to the ground with such force that his bones shattered and he died at the spot.

With unconcern for the huge numbers of the enemies and the danger lurking around him, the Imam (a.s) moved fast forward. Sensing the increasing onslaught of the enemy, Imam Hassan (a.s) said,“Baba! Would it not be better if you stayed with the heart of our formation instead of rushing on in their direction?” The Imam (a.s) said:

“Son! By Allah! Your father doesn’t care whether he is moving towards death or death is moving towards him!”

Ref: Tareeq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 152

When the Imam (a.s) reached near the right flank, he saw the fluttering flags and asked as to whose flags they were. He was told that the flags belonged to the tribe of Rubaiah. The Imam (a.s) said that the flags belonged to the party of Allah! The party whose feet didn’t shake in adversity and despite the hardships of the battle they remained steadfast. Then the Imam (a.s) called close to him the youth, Hazeen ibne manzar, who carried a red flag and asked him,“With this flag you don’t move forward the distance of a hand!” The youth said,“Yes! What is the distance of one hand! I can move the distances of ten hands as well!” Saying this the youth came forward. When he was going dangerously forward, the Imam (a.s) asked him to stay back. He prayed to Allah for Blessing the youth! Seeing the Imam (a.s) amidst the people of the tribe of Rubaiah said,“O people! Even when only one of you survived and the Imam (a.s) suffered the slightest hurt, you will be shamed in the entire Arabia!” Then they stood up and continued to attack the enemy formations with spirit and gusto.

After the right flank and the heart of the formation was disturbed, the Imam (a.s) was in the left flank. Then he saw Malik e Ashtar coming towards him. When he came near, the Imam said,“O Malik! You give a call to those who have left their positions and tell them that if the days of the transient life are over, then the flight will not save them from death!” Malik went forward and announced,“O people! I am Malik e Ashtar! Where are you running away leaving the field of operation? The enemy is fighting you only because he is against the Faith! He wants to obliterate the Sunnat and bring back the days of ignorance! He wants you to revert back to the beliefs that you had abandoned with vision and guidance! Prepare to give your life for the Faith! Remember! Flight will bring you shame in this world and Retribution in the Herefter!” At this call of Malik, the tribe of Mazhaj returned back and said that they would do whatever they were asked to. Malik said that they had shamed themselves by running away and must make amends for that.and give him support to hold his head high before the Ameer al Momineen (a.s)! These persons, in the company of Malik moved towards the left flank. Which had almost disintegrated with the onslaught of the enemy. Although everyone was shaken up in the left flank, the tribe of Hamadan remained steadfast in their positions. They were the last to leave and 800 of their men fought with great bravery. When180 of their men were martyred and 11 standard bearers too perished one after another, their feet too shook. Among those standard bearers were Kareeb ibne Sharih, Sharjeel ibne Sharih, Martad ibne Sharih, Habira ibne Sharih, Harim ibne Sharih and Sameer ibne Sharih. These were six real brothers who valiantly held their standard and fought till the end of their lives. Then the other standard bearers who sacrificed their lives were Safian ibne Zaid, Abd ibne Zaid and Kareeb ibne Zaid. These three brothers too laid down their lives fighting for the cause of the Faith. After them Omera ibne Bashar and Harit ibne Bashar werte the standard bearers and both brothers were martyred. After them when Wahab ibne Karib took hold of the standard, one of their tribesmen said,“Under this standard many persons are perishing. You must take this standard and move away from the arena.and save the lives of your tribesmen and your own life. Otherwise, none of you will go living from here!” He felt that with the truncated unit, the onslaught of the Syrians couldn’t possibly be stopped. He withdrew and with him the remaining men too started moving away. They said that if they got a group who pledged that they would die fighting , and not leave the arena at any cost, they too would join such a group. When they passed near Malik e Ashtar, he heard their talk. And said,“Come! We make a pledge that we shall not leave the arena till we get killed or finish the enemy!” After making the pledge they joined the group of men with Malik. Malik arranged the flank afresh and a new spirit came about in the men.

Malik was busy fighting when he saw men carry an injured trooper. He asked who he was. They informed that the person was Ziyad ibne Nazar Hariti who was in the division of Abd Allah ibne Badeel. When Ibne badeel was badly surrounded by the enemies, he raised the standard and was badly injured. Then they saw that another person was brought by men. They said that it was Yazid ibne Qais who had raised the standard after Ziyad ibne Nazar. Malik said,“By Allah! This is their patience and courage and a proof of their valor!People who run away from the battle to save their lives, instead of giving their lives fighting are cowards.” Saying this he moved forward and breaking the enemy rows he reached the place where Abd Allah ibne Badeel was lying semi conscious with his companions having suffered many severe injuries. When Ibne Badeel and his companions saw their own men. Their hopes and courage revived. They got up like fresh persons and started towards the camps of Muawiya. Malik tried to stop them, but they didn’t. The Syrian troops tried to obstruct them, but they advanced like a flood. Whoever came in front of them, they killed him. Killing seven persons they reached the entrance to the tent of Muawiya. When Muawiya saw them he told to his men that if they were unable to stop them with swords, lances and arrows, they must throw stones at them to prevent their coming closer. Therefore, stones started raining at them.With the injuries from the stones, Ibne Badeel and his men were very tired. The Syrians then tried to come closer to them and finish them with the swords. But these men got up to fight. However, they couldn’t contain the increasing onslaught of the enemies Abd Allah Ibne Badeel and some of his men were martyred fighting and some saved their life and ran away. The Syrians tried to chase those who were escaping. But Malik sent one group under Jamhan Jaufi who fought with the Syrians and chased them away.The survivors went and joined the contingent of Malik e Ashtar.

Malik e Ashtar attacked from the other direction and under his banner were Bani Mazhaj and Hamadan. They were raining the swords over the heads of the enemies. When they jointly attacked, the Syrians ran in such a manner as the flocks of sheep and goats run helter skelter. Then they went after the group that was encircling the camp of Muawiya. Malik and attacked the rows that had formed a circle to protect the camp of Muawiya. When only one protective circle, of the five, remained , Muawiya put his feet in the stirrup of his horse and planned to escape from the theatre of war. But again he gathered some courage and gave up the idea of flight!

When the men of the tribe of Rubaiah came flailing their flag, from the side of the Syrians Zulkalah Hamiri of the Hamiri tribe and Obaid Allah ibne Omer with 4000 Reciters of the Holy Quran from Syria came to attack. This was such a severe attack that people with weak hearts couldn’t bear it. Those who were steadfast, kept fighting but became weak in comparison with the enemy troops. When Ziyad ibne Khasfa felt that the Syrians were dominating the fighters from the tribe of Rubaiah, he told to the people from the tribe of Abd al Qais that Zulkalah and Obaid Allah Ibne Omer were dessimating the men from the tribe of Rubaiah. He asked them to rise and help, otherwise all of them would perish. The men of the tribe of Abd al Qais took up arms and spurring their horses fast came to the help of Rubaiah. In no time they dominated the proceedings of the battle. With the coming in of Abd al Qais, the morale of the men of Rubaiah got a boost and they fought with redoubled courage. Zulkalah and Obaid Allah ibne Omer were fighting with great vigor. But with this new onslaught, their morale nose-dived! The tribe of Hameer too was crestfallen. In this battle, from the army of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s), Abu Shuja Hamiri addressed the tribe of Hameer,“O group of Hameer! May Allah put you to shame and blacken your faces! What has happened to you that in support of the traitrous rebel you came to fight with Ali (a.s)! You thought that Muawiya is better than Ali (a.s)” Then he addressed Zul Kalah and said,“O Zulkalah! We thought about you that you had spirit of the Faith, But do you too think that Muawiya is superior than Ali (a.s)? “He said, “I don’t consider Muawiya superior to Ali (a.s) but I have to fight with him for the Qasas of Othman’s blood. I don’t want that Othman’s blood goes waste!” Zulkalah did acknowledge Hazrat Ali (a.s)’s superiority but the craze for the Qasas took him away so much from sensible thinking that even after hearing the Prophet (s.a)’s tradition about the depravity and mischief of the Ommayads his vision and thinking didn’t guide him aright.Therefore, during the battle he heard the tradition from Umro Ibne Ass, and earlier too he heard the tradition, that the killer of Ammar would be from a rebellious group. Because of this tradition he was confused for some time and wanted to know the stand of Ammar about the battle. Therefore, in the army of Hazrat Ali (a.s), he was searching for a person from his tribe , Fardabu Nooh Hamiri, to inquire from him about Ammar. When he met Fardabu, he asked,“I wish to ask you something, though you are from the opposing army, because I have faith in your truthfulness.” “You may ask!” the man said. He asked,“Umro Ass narrated this tradition during the time of Hazrat Omer that two groups of Syria and Iraq will clash with one another and the group in which Ammar Yassir was there will be the righteous group. Is Ammar there in your army??” The man replied,“By Allah! Ammar Yassir is in our army! He is determined to kill each and every person of the Syrian forces!” He asked Farabu,“Can you take out a little time and come with me to the tent of Omro ibne Ass and tell him that Ammar is in your army. Perhaps the fight could possibly stop because of this” Farabu said,“I can certainly go. But I have doubt that I might become victim of your treachery and deceit!” Zulkalah said,“In the name of Allah and the Prophet (s.a)! I promise that no harm will come to you! You just tell to Umro that Ammar Yassir is in your army!” Now both of them proceeded to the tent of Omro. When he saw a stranger with Zulkalah, he asked,“Who is this person? To me he looka an Abu Turabi!” Farabi said ,“My face radiates the felicity of the Prophet (s.a) and the friends of the Prophet (s.a) and your face reflects the images of Abu Jahl and Pharoh.” At this Abul Aiwar Salami put his hand on the scabbard of his sword and said,“This person is abusing us on our face. We shall teach him a lesson!” Zulkalah said,“He is my cousin and I have given him my protection. If you lift your hand I shall break your nose! I have brought him here to tell you about Ammar.” Umro ibne Aas asked,“Is Ammar there in Ali (a.s)’s army?” Abu Nooh said,“Why are you asking about him?” Umro said,“I have heard the Prophet (s.a) say, ‘ un Ammar ataqtalhu al fiaytal baghia - Ammar will be killed by a rebellious group” Abu Nooh said,“By Allah! Ammar is in our army and he will destroy you and your army!” When Zulkalah was convinced about the presence of Ammar and the veracity of the tradition, he said,“You are that rebel group!” Umro said,“What if he is in Ali (a.s)’s army! In the end he will come to our side!”

This reply was only to appease Zul kalah. Superficial minds might accept such talk, but not convincing for a person with vision. What was the reason that made Umro say that Ammar would change sides and come to them in the end? Did they establish any communication with him? Were they carrying on some secret parleys with him? Or his actions gave any indication of such intention? When all this wasn’t there, then what Umro said was nothing but one of his tricks! Allah knows whether what Umro said was convincing for Zulkalah or not. But in practice he continued to be with the forces of Syria. Although one person from the Syrian Army, Abd Allah ibne Omer Anasi, hearing about the incident, advised Zulkalah to move away from the Rebellious Group. But he didn’t follow the advice. Perhaps, he might have convinced his heart that Ammar would ultimately join their group. However, Abd Allah ibne Omer Anasi left Muawiya’s army and joined the forces of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s). At that time he composed a few couplets. A couple of them are mentioned here:

La la aqatal Ammar ala tamah

Behir riwayet hatta yanfaq at toor

After this Tradition I shall not fight with Ammar till the Soor is sounded

Tarakat Omro ashia lahu nakada

Ani batrakhum ya sah maazoor

I have left ibne Aas and his releb group. O friend! I can’t help leaving them!

When Muawiya heard of this event, he was very angry on Umro ibne Aas. Umro said,“I had only recounted the Prophet (s.a)’s Tradition. It is not my responsibility if someone goes away.”

Zulkalah kept looking for Ammar and in the battlefield he was killed fighting with Farad Khandaf Bakri of the tribe of Bakr ibne Wael When Zulkalah’s son learned of his father’s death, he sent word with someone to Ashas ibne Qais seeking permission to remove his father’s remains. Ashas said that if he gave permission, Hazrat Ali (a.s) would become suspicious of him. He asked him to request the permission from Saeed ibne Qais Hamadani who was present in the right flank of the formation. He said that if Saeed gave the permission, no one can make any objection. Ibne Zil Kalah sent a person to Saeed for the permission. He said that Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) doesn’t object about who comes and who goes. He said they may come and take away the remains of Zulkalah. Ibne Zulkalah went to the right flank of Hazrat Ali (a.s)’s army and searched for his father’s cadaver. While searching his eyes fell on one tent. He saw that Zulkalah’s body was lying there tied to the rope of the tent. He asked the people in the tent to allow him to take away his father’s body. They said he was permitted to take it and apologized with him and sought Allah’s forgiveness. They said if his father wasn’t traitrous to the Imam (a.s), he wouldn’t have been lying there in that state. Ibne Zilkalah and his slave tried to lift the body. But it was very heavy. They asked the people in the tent to give a helping hand. Khandaf Bakri asked them to move backwards. They said that if they moved backwards, how would he lift the body all alone? He said that the one who rendered him to that state can also lift him. Therefore Khandaf put the body on the mule and tied it with a rope.

With the killing of Zilkalah, the Hamiri’s desire for revenge increased further. And they joined with Obaid Allah ibne Omer. At that time Obaid Allah played a trick. and gave a message to Imam Hassan (a.s) that he wanted to tell him something. When the message reached him, he crossed over to the enemy camp and asked Ibne Omer what he wanted to say? He said,“The Qureish had received many hardships from Ali (a.s). They might accept you as the Emir but cannot bear to be under him. Cooperate with us to remove him from the caliphate. We promise that the caliphate will be transferred to you!” Hearing this, Imam Hassan (a.s) looked at Ibne Omer with contempt and said,“O Obaid Allah! You are bound to be killed. If not today, it will be tomorrow! Satn has tempted you to come to this state! Is it possible that I take part in a conspiracy against Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s)? You have given an example of your evil nature by making the suggestion to me!” When Ibne Omer heard this, he went away with a crestfallen face.

Now Ibne Omer organized his forces and attacked at the rear of right flank of Hazrat Ali (a.s)’s army. The fighters of the tribe of Rubiah were alert in that flank. They raised their swords and penetrated into the enemy forces. From Zuhr till Maghrib severe fighting took place. The Iraqis fought with such bravery and intensity that the flank of the Syrian army got scattered. But in the darkness of night they all reassembled. The tribe of Rubiah again attacked and scattered them. Only a thousand men remained under the Syrian flag and came forward for a last ditch effort. The whole night the fighting continued and piles of dead bodies were created. In this fighting the times for prayer came and went. Instead of the prayers, they just recited the“Takbeer” . When the dawn arrived, the Adhan. Was sounded in the Imam(a.s)’s army. Hazrat Ali (a.s) hearing the Adhan said:

Ya marhaba bil qaaeleene adla

Wa bis salat marhaba wa ahla

In this fight Obaid Allah ibne Omer was killed at the hands of Hani ibne Khattab or Mahraz ibne Sahsa or Jabir ibne Hanafi. The Syrians offered 10,000 Dirhams for handing over the cadaver of Ibne Omer. But the Imam (a.s) turned down this offer and said:

“These are the remains of a dead dog and it is not legitimate to sell it!”

Ref: Muarwwij al Dahab, Vol 2, Page 24

In the end his two wives, Bahria binte Hani and Asma binte Atarad, came to take his body. Some persons told them that they were incapable of carrying away the body and , if they wished they would tie it to the tail of the mule and push it to your tents. At that moment Ziyad ibne Khasfa came out of his tent and Bahria binte Hani requested him for taking away the body. He got it loaded on a mule and the two widows took it along.. The body was hanging on the mule in such a manner that his hands and feet were touching the ground.

After the killing of Zulkalah and Obaid Allah, Muawiya was under a spell of fear. He told to Umro ibne Aas,“Allah knows what the Iraqis are planning to do now.” Umro said,“You have already seen the attacks of the tribe of Rubiah. If they gather around Ali (a.s) and attack, the Syrians wouldn’t be able to hold on against them. “Muawiya said, “Instead of giving me courage, you are frightening me.” He said,“I am telling you what I am foreseeing.” When Muawiya saw no hope of success., he sent word to Khalid ibne Maamar who was commanding the forces of the tribe of Rubiah that if he withdrew from the conflict, he would give him the governorate of Khorasan after the war was over. He promised that he will be in that position for life. Therefore , when the forces of Rubiah were advancing with ferocity, he pulled them back. Overwhelmed with greed, Khalid turned his face away from the Hereafter.But even the world was not in his fate. When Muawiya sent him the edict for appointment as the governor of Khorasan, he died while traveling to take charge of the position.

During the heat of the fighting, a swordsman of the Syrian army, Kareb ibne Sabah hamiri came to the arena and challenged for a combat. From the troops of Iraq martaza ibne Wazah Zabedi came to fight with him. But he was defeated and martyred. Kareb once again challenged for a fight. Now Harit ibne jalah came to fight with him. He too was martyred. When he challenged the third time, Ayed ibne Masrooq Hamadani came to the arena. He was also killed. After martyring the three persons, pride went to the head of Kareb. He piled the dead, one over the other, and sitting over them threw a conceited challenge once again. Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) saw this demonstration of conceit and he thought it better to go himself to combat with the person instead of sending anyone else. Reaching near him the Imam (a.s) said, “O Kareb! Remember! The son of Hinda, the cannibal who chewed the human liver, will consign you to the flames of the Hell. I invite you to the Book of Allah and the Sunnat of the Prophet (s.a).” He replied, “We have been hearing such talk since long! You have seen my prowess at the use of the sword. If you have the courage, fight with me!” The Imam (a.s)’s visage changed. He went forward and attacked Kareb. The blow was so fierce that Kareb.fell to the ground, rolled, and died. After killing him, the Imam (a.s) asked for another combatant from the Syrian army. Harit ibne Dawaha Hamiri came to the arena. Hazrat (a.s) threw him dead on the ground. He challenged for another combatant. This time Matah ibn al Mutallib Abasi came to fight. The Imam (a.s) dispatched him as well. He then spoke to the Syrian troops, “If you had not started the fight, we wouldn’t have followed suit! Then he recited the following Verse:

Al Shahr al haram bil shahr al haram wal haramat qasas faman aatadai alaikum fa aatadu alaihi bemisl ma aatadi alaikum wattaq Allah wa aalamu an Allaha maa al muttaqeen.

The month of ‘hurmat’ is the same as the month of ‘hurmat’. And in things with ‘hurmat’ there is equality. Therefore when one commits excess on you, the same excess you can commit against him. But remember, Allah is with the pious.”

When we consider about this incident, a picture of rights and justice comes before us. There is hardly any such example in the history of warfare. After killing three swordsmen the Imam (a.s) held his hand. Generally, in such circumstances, when a warrior has achieved so much success, he goes overboard and challenges the opponents with conceit and pride as if he is invincible in the manner Kareb behaved earlier. After settling the score with the Syrians, the Imam (a.s) could have continued asking for more combatants. But he never let the norms of right and justice escape his attention. He killed the same number of opponents as the lives he lost from his group.

During this episode, Ammar Yassir couldn’t have remained a silent spectator. He was a well known warrior. He had participated in Badr, Ohod, Khandaq and other campaigns. Although his limbs had started shaking on account of old age, he had wrinkles on his face, his back was bent and had already seen 93 summers, but he was as active as a youth could be. He had a wheatish visage and a wide chest. His eyes were large, he was tall of height. Ever since he got the news about his impending martyrdom from the Prophet (s.a), he was keenly looking forward to the day. Seeing the rebels of Syria he remembered tha Prophet (s.a)’s saying that he would be martyred by a rebellious group. He came to the presence of the Imam (a.s), with the sword in his shaky hand, to seek permission for Jehad. The Imam (a.s) looked at him and said,“Wait! May Allah be kind on you!” When Ammar felt that the Imam (a.s) was hesitant of allowing him to go for Jehad, he said,“The Prophet (s.a) has already given me the tiding of martyrdom! Now I am in the twilight of my life. I have the arena of martyrdom in front of me! Give me your consent !” When the Imam (a.s) saw Ammar’s determination, he reluctantly allowed him to go and do Jehad. Ammar wore the armor, took his arms, mounted his horse and spurred it on to the arena. He lifted his head towards the sky and said:

“O Allah! You know it well that if I know you want me to jump into the sea, I would do that! O Allah! You are aware that if I know you want me to keep the tip of the sword on my chest and bend so much that it pierced through my body, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it. I don’t consider any act more worthy of your pleasure than doing Jehad with the hypocrites. If I had known that any other act would bring more pleasure to you, I wouldn’t have hesitated doing that!”

Ref: Tareeq e Tabari, Vol 4, Page 26

Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) prepared a group of men to fight under Ammar. The standard was given to Hashim ibne Otba Marqal. The Imam (a.s) told him smiling,“O Hashim! For how long you will keep breaking the bread! Rise and do Jehad with the traitors!”

After taking the Standard in his hand, Hashim looked at Muawiya’s army and pointing towards one unit of troops he asked who they were. He was told that they were the people from the tribe of Zulkalah. He pointed towards another unit of men and inquired about them. He was told that they were a mix of the Qureish. and people of Madina. Then he turned in the other direction and asked who were the people around the dome shaped tent? He was told that was Muawiya and the men guarding him. He asked that even in the rear of the tent there were some people. He was told they were Omro, his sons and retainers. When the armies were ready, Ammar Yassir addressed them and said,“O valiants! Rise and fight with those mischief mongers.who have started the war on the pretext of seeking Qasas for the blood of Othman. To hoodwink the people they say that Othman was killed as an oppressed person and that they are claiming the Qasas. This was just a ploy to start the war. They took hold of this excuse and tricked people into mobilizing for the battle. The purpose for this war for them was to grab power. They were interested neither in the Faith nor they cared for the Truth. They wanted to enjoy material benefits and luxuries” After this talk by Ammar, Hashim waved the standard and both of them started together towards the rows of the enemy formation. Whichever side Ammar went, the Companions followed surrounding him. When Muawiya saw this crowd moving towards his formations, he sent fresh troops under the command of Abul Aiwar Salami. Ammar saw Umro Aas in the Syrian army. He told to him,“Shame on you! For the governorate of Egypt you have sold your Faith. But this is nothing new. You had always rebelled against Islam.” Umro said,“We are avenging the blood of Othman!” Ammar retorted.,“You haven’t taken this step to please Allah! I had fought against you earlier on three occasions as a part of the Prophet (s.a)’s army. The aim with which you participated in the earlier battles, you have the same even now. O Umro! Have you forgotten the Prophet (s.a) saying, ‘ O Ammar! You will be martyred by a rebel group. You will be calling them towards the Heaven and they will invite you towards Hell’. Look at me and recognize me! I am Ammar!” What reply could Umro give. He just kept mum.

When both the armies were in readiness, they flailed their swords and spears and advanced against each other. The flames of battle started rising. Swords clashed with swords. In this acute fighting no one has cared for the others. In the melee Ammar and Hashim were separated from each other. Despite his old age and shaky hands, Ammar was fencing his sword and kept moving forward killing the enemy troops. After sometime he noticed that Hashim was standing in front of him. He said,“Hashim! Why are you standing here! Move forward and fight with the enemy Today the doors of the Heaven are open and it is under the shadow of swords and spears! Even if they push up to the oasis of Bahrain, we shall have the conviction that we are on the side of the Truth and they are the supporters of Evil.” Hashim waved his sword and like a lightening and attacked the rows of enemy men. Swords were waving over and severing the heads and the spears were entering the chests of the enemies. Cadaver after cadaver was falling. When Umro Aas saw this he said,“If this person with the black flag kept fighting like he is now, he will finish the entire population of Arabia.” With the continued onslaughts of Hashim and Ammar, three of the five rows of the enemy troops were scatterd. When they were about to attack the fourth row, the Syrian army woke up to the reality. From their units, the tribes of Azd and Bahila attacked the men from Hamadan with intensity. They were forced to climb up a hillock to take shelter. But Bahila and Ard chased and forced them down the hillock. Now the youths of Hamadan made a concerted attack and killed 3,000 enemy men. The remainder of the enemy units were forced to withdraw. Ammar Yassir, with his men, moved forward and reached near the groups that were guarding Muawiya. When Muawiya saw him advancing, he asked his men to push him back. Therefore, they advanced ,.swords in hands. Among those persons was Omro’s son Abd Allah too was there. He had one sword in hand and another hanging on his girdle. When Ammar turned in the direction of Abd Allah, Omro shouted,“O My son!” Muawiya asked him to be courageous and not to worry. Omro said ,“This is my son! If it was your son, Yazid, I would have seen how patient you would be!” Alas, with the shouts of Omro, some Syrians went forward and brought back Abdallah. Ammar Yassir kept on making attack after attack and in the end he was injured by a Syrian. His strength had totally sapped. One of his slaves, Ghulam Rashid, gave him a mix of milk and water. He drank a little of it and said:

“Every word of Allah and his Prophet (s.a) is true. I shall meet my friends today. I shall meet Mohammed Mustafa (s.a) and his Companions. The Prophet (s.a) had said that my last food in the world will be milk mixed with water.”

Ref: Tareeq Abul Fida, Vol 1, Page 176

With milk , his feeble body got some energy. He again rose to continue the fighting. In his heart was the spirit of fighting and laying down his life for the Truth! At every step he saw the coming martyrdom. One person from the rebel group, Abul Ghavia Fazari, hit him with a spear and Ibne Jaun Saksaki. came forward and cut away his head.

When Ameer al Momineen (a.s) heard of the martyrdom of Ammar, he was very sad and tears dropped from his eyes. He went to the body and recited the following couplets:

Ala ayyuhal maut allazi huwa qaasidi

Arhani faqad afnait kul khalili

O death come and give me tranquility and comfort

You have finished my friends, you will not spare me.

Arak baseera bil deenahbaham

Kaanak tazhu nahu hum ba daleel

It seems you know each of my friends

As if someone is pointing them out to you

Then the Imam (a.s) said,“Inna lillahi wa inna ilaih rejeoon. One who is not saddened with Ammar’s death is not conversant with the norms of Islam!” Then the funeral prayer was offered and Ammar was buried at the same place in the clothes that he was wearing.

The martyrdom of Ammar created doubts in the minds of the Syrians and one aspect of their attitude, rebelliousness, became evident in light of the saying of the Prophet of Islam (s.a):

“He will be killed by a rebellious group that will be astray from the Right Path. His ( Ammar’s) last meal will be milk mixed with water.”

Ref: Tareeq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 158

On the basis of this tradition, Zulkalah Hamiri was emotionally disturbed but Umro Aas convinced him saying that ultimately Ammar would be in their group. If Zulkalah was alive, he would have asked Umro as to what happened to his claim.He might have also exposed the treachery of Umro in this matter. He might have also moved away from the rebel group with the men of his tribe after the martyrdom of Ammar. Therefore Umro made the following observation on the killing of Ammar:

“I don’t know if I am more happy with the killing of Ammar or that of Zulkalah. By Allah! If Zulkalah lived after the killing of Ammar, he would have moved to Ali (a.s)’s side with the Syrians.”

Ref: Tareeq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 158

Khazima ibne Tabit Ansari too was in doubt before Ammar was martyred. And he wasn’t able to distinguish between virtue and vice. When Ammar was martyred, he said that he had no doubt after the incident that the rebel group was one headed by Muawiya. Then he came to the arena for Jehad and was martyred fighting with the Syrian forces.

Abd Allah, the son of Umro ibne Aas, too had some doubt and told to his father, “Today we have killed a person whose face the Prophet (s.a) cleaned of the dust with his own hands and said:

“O son of Sumia! People are lifting one brick each and you are lifting two at a time for the sake of felicity and Reward. You will be killed by a rebel group.”

Ref: Tareeq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 158

Ibne Aas told to Muawiya,“Have you heard what Abd Allah has said.” Muawiya, to dispel the fears of Abd Allah and other men said:

“Have we killed him? Killing has been done by the one who has brought him here!”

Ref: Tareeq e kamil, Vol 3, Page 158

When Muawiya said this, every Syrian was heard saying, “Innama qatl Ammara man ja-aa behi ---Ammar’s killer is one who has brought him here.” When Hazrat Ali (a.s) heard this interpretation he said, “Then Hamza’s killer was the Prophet (s.a) because he had brought him to the Battle of Ohad.

Hashim bin Otba was still in the battlefield. When he saw his men stopping for a respite he chided them saying, “Those of you who want Allahs pleasure and Blessings in the Hereafter, they should move forward to clash with the enemy!” The contingent now moved and advanced with their lances poised towards the enemy troops. In that time a Ghasani youth came out of the Syrian army and recited the following couplet:

“Ani atani khabar fa shajan

Un alaina Qatl ibne Affan

I have heard this saddening news

That Ali (a.s) has killed Ibne Affan”

Then using invectives against Hazrat Ali (a.s) he came forward with the intention of attacking. Hashim understood that the youth was misguided and was under a misapprehension and totally ignorant of the circumstances of the assassination of Othman. Fulfilling the duty of Amr bil maroof nahi an il munkar, he told him,“O young man! Reconsider your opinion and fear Allah! Tomorrow you will be accountable before Allah!” The youth said,“Fighting with you, and killing you people, I consider my Religious Duty because you neither pray nor your Emir prays. And it was your Emir who, with the cooperation of your people, killed Othman!” Hashim said,“What have you to do with Othman! He was killed by the Sahaba, sons of Sahaba, Tabaeen, and reciters of the Quran. These people know the Shariah and have a vision of the Faith. I am sure you neither know anything about the Faith nor do you know what is good and what is bad for the Ummat” The youth said,“I consider lying as taboo and what you have said is true!” Hashim said,“What you don’t know, leave it to those who have the knowledge!! Don’t grope about in the darkness When you say that our Ameer (a.s) doesn’t pray, the world knows that he was the first ever in the world to offer prayers with the Prophet (s.a)! On the face of the Earth there is none who has a better understanding of the matters of Faith and the follower of the Shariah than him! He had the special privilege and honor of the nearness to the Prophet (s.a) that none else had. You have blamed us of not offering prayers. Don’t you see that our men spread the prayer mats in the nights , offer prayer and recite the Holy Quran. You have been misguided by some evil persons and therefore you are terming vice as virtue and virtue as vice. You are blindly following their ill advice and going astray!” When the youth heard this, curtains of darkness were raised from his mind and he said,“You seem straightforward and virtuous to me. If I repent, will my repentance be accepted by Allah? “Hashim replied, “It is Allah who accepts rpentence.and forgives mistakes.” Convinced, the youth decided to abstain from fighting, turned back to return. One Syrian told him that he was misled by the Iraqi. The youth said,“Misleading is something and the attraction of the truth is something else! By advising me to refrain from vice, he has proved his kindness and concern”

Hashim was standing in the battlefield when a patrol of the Syrian troops from the tribe of Tanookh came forward. Hashim went with his men and attacked them. For sometime swordsmanship went on. 9 or 10 Tanookhis were killed by Hashim. During the same fight, Harith ibne Manzar Tanukhi hit his spear on the stomach of Hashim. He fell down to the ground. The advance of his troops stopped. And the men were disheartened. When Ameer al Momineen (a.s) saw the men losing heart, he sent word with a person to Hashim he must take the standard in his hand and move forward. Hashim asked the messenger to look at his stomach. When the person looked at the stomach he saw that it was cut asunder and the blood was coming out copiously. Hashim was for some time in the pangs of death and then he breathed his last. With Hashim a group of Huffaz ( the memorizers of the Quran) from the tribe of Aslam too were martyred. When the messenger returned and conveyed the information about the martyrdom of Hashim, the Imam (a.s)) came to the mortal remainms of the martyrs and recited the following couplets:

Jazi Allah khaira asbat Aslamia

Sabah alwajooh sar au ahwal Hashim

May Allah Bless this Aslami group who were

Radiant of face and died fighting along with Hashim

Barid wa Abd Allah minhum wa manqaz

We Arwat abna Malik fil akarim

In that group were Bareed, Abd Allah and Malik’s sons Arwa and Manqaz

They were those who were counted in the nobility of the Arabs.

At that moment Ameer al Momineen (a.s) noticed a group under the Syrian flag. He asked who the people were. He was informed that they were the people from the tribe of Ghasan. He observed these people were still in the field of battle. He added that till they were attacked ferociously, they will not budge from their place! He turned toward his men and said,“Who amongst you are those who can fight with courage and an eye on the blessings of the Hereafter?” At this call a group of men came forward. He called Mohammed ibne Hanafia to take the group with him slowly holding the spears raised towards the enemy force stand near them and await his orders..After sending Mohammed he asked Malik e Ashtar to go with another group to the aid of Mohammed and ordered them to attack. Mohammed ibne Hanafia and Malik e Ashtar’s groups jointly attacked the enemy formation. When they attacked the Ghasanis with sheer ferocity, their feet were uprooted. They left their station, suffering lots of casualties, and withdrew from the arena.

In the heat of this battle 1,000 Iraqis wer cut away from their formations and were surrounded on all sides by the enemy. This encirclement was so severe that the men were rendered helpless. When the Ameer al Momineen (a.s) saw this predicament, he asked his companions to volunteer to go to the rescue of their men. Abdul Aziz ibne Harit Jaufi said that he would obey the Imam (a.s)’s orders. He blessed him and asked him to break the encirclement of the Syrians and approach his troops to help them out of the situation. He asked him to tell the men to shout the Naara e Takbeer from there, which will be reciprocated from his end too. Then they should make a concerted attack on the encirclers. Abd al Aziz Jaufi put on the armor, mounted his horse and , went near the encircling hordes of the enemy, advanced hitting their chests with his lance he reached the encircled Iraqis. When the men saw him, their morale revived. They asked,“How is Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s)?” He replied that he was well and that he had asked them to raise the slogan of Takbeer and start attacking and he with, his companions, will raise the same slogans from that end. Therefore in the din of the slogan the attack was commenced. The attack was so severe that there was panic in the enemy ranks. 700 enemy men were killed in the battle. The encirclement broke and the Iraqis returned to their base. Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (.a.s) praised Abd al Aziz Jaufi for his valor and said words of praise for him.

Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) was standing near his formation of men when a chief of the Syrians came to the arena wearing armor of chain and shouted, “Abu Hassan! Where are you?” The Imam (a.s) came in front of him and the man said, “O son of Abu Talib! You have precedence in accepting Islam over all other men! You have participated in all the Ghazwaat with great distinction! Stop this bloosahed. We shall leave Iraq for you and you leave the territory of Syria for us! The Imam (a.s) said:

“O Person! I have given a serious thought to this matter. For me there is no other alternative than war! Or else I shall have to deny the things that Allah has Revealed to His Prophet (s.a). Allah doesn’t like His friends to contravene His Commands on the Earth and we sit quiet without exhorting people to virtue and warning them against vice. I feel better facing the hardships of war than going to Hell with manacled hands and feet.”

Ref: Akhbar al Tawal, Page 188

Swords were clashing in the battlefield and different fighting groups were engaging one another. Hazrat (a.s) ordered every unit of his army to attack some sections of the enemy formation. Therefore, the entire army entered the arena at the same time. At evry nook and corner of the place the flames of fighting were rising. Qaaqaa ibne Abru says that it appeared as if lightning was striking every moment and mountains were clashing with one other.and the Earth was in the throes of a cataclysm. Ameer al Momineen (a.s) sort of submerged in the rows of the enemy troops and emerged after some time.when his head and face was red with the gore and the sword too was soaked in blood. In this fierce battle the standard bearers couldn’t stand steadfast and the rows of men were scattered. When Adi ibne Hatim came fighting near the place he had left the Imam (a.s), he didn’t find him there. On inquiry he learned that he had gone in the direction where the fighting was the fiercest.Adi went there and finding Hazrat (a.s) there said:

“Ya Ameer al Momineen(a.s)!If you are living, every hardship is small for us! I have trampled the dead under my feet to reach you! Today none of our chiefs is alive nor theirs!”

Ref: Akhbar al Tawal, Page 186

Saeed ibne Qais Hamadani sent word to the Imam (a.s) from his battlefront,“Ya Ameer al Momineen (a.s)! We have at this moment acquired ascendancy over the enemy. If any of the units needs our assistance, we are ready to provide it! “The Imam (a.s) told the tribes of Rubaiah and Hamadan that they were like the spears and the armors for him. He exhorted them to vanquish the enemy and push him out of the arena. At this call 12,000 troops got ready for the onslaught. The Imam (a.s) wore the Prophet (s.a)’s black turban on his head and climbed on the Prophet (s.a)’s own horse, Reeh. The right flank he entrusted to Malik e Ashtar and the left to Ibne Abbas. He himself was at the heart of the formation. Thus they attacked the enemy, with the valiant youths of Rubaiah and Hamadan, and in no time there were piles of enemy cadavers in the arena. With the intense fighting the Imam (a.s)’s sword got twisted. He came out of the arena, straightened the sword and said, “If this sword was not twisted, I wouldn’t have come out of the arena!” He then immediately reentered the fray! Fighting, he reached near the tent of Muawiya and said:

“Azrabhum wa la ari Muawiya

Aljahiz alain al azeem al haaweeya

I shall hit my sword on those enemies and will not spare Muawiya

Who has bulging eyes and a fat tummy!”

When Muawiya saw this state of affairs he put his foot in the stirrup of his horse and was preparing to escape form the battlefront. But with one persons shout the Syrian troops reassembled and he abandoned the idea of escape. Now the Syrians made a concerted attack, but the youths of Hamadan and Rubaiah kept advancing and decimating the enemy fighters. Ameer al Momineen (a.s) praised their valor and said:

“Yaqqodahum hami al haqeeqat majad

Saeed ibne Qais wal kareem yahaami

Leading them along was the man of honor Saeed ibne Qais

The upholders of honor and righteous persons protect honor and prestige!”

This was Thursday and the nineth day of the war. When the dusk was near, and the sun was about to set, the terrible night arrived that is infamous in the annals of history as the lailat al Hareer. Everywhere there was pandemonium. With the clanging of swords and the twanging of the bows, the hearts were getting scared. There was a cacophony of slogans and the clapping of hoofs of the horses on the ground that were shattering the drums of the ears of the people. Everywhere there were lying dead and the severly injured persons. Ameer al Momineen (a.s) sometimes remained in the heart of the formation and at others moved to the left and the right flanks. It appeared that in the arena of the battle he was everywhere! Wherever he saw the enemy gaining ascendancy, he moved to that place. He attacked with such intensity that row after rows of the enemy troops were obliterated. Atlast in this arena of battle the spears broke and the swords went blunt. Some men went to the extent of biting the adversaries when they had no useful instruments of war left with them. In that night 523 times theImam (a.s) was heard calling the Nara e Takbir. In the morning when the count of the enemies killed during the night was taken, it was also 523! There is another narration that says that in that night more than 900 Syrians were killed by the Imam (a.s).

When the dusk came, the war had entered in its last phase. Ameer al Momineen(a.s)’s forces under the command of Malik e Ashtar and Ibne Abbas still continued to fight with intensity. The Imam (a.s) was at the heart of the formation and on all the four sides the flames of war were rising. Malik e Ashtar, on the right flank, with flailing sword, advanced with the left flank in his close proximity. Whenever he brought down his sword, it appeared as if it was raining. Whenever he raised it, its brightness would blind the eyes momentarily.Malik handed over the standard to Hayan ibne Hauza Naqyiand took the troops to attack the Syrians. Some men slowed down their advance and he told them, “This is not the wont of men that they keep milking the sheep and sit with one hand over the other! Move forward with vigor like men!” Energy came back in the lazy limbs! The Syrians couldn’t bear these incessant attacks.and withdrew backwards with difficulty. When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) felt that the victory was nigh, he sent another troop to support Malik and Ibne Abbas. They jointly finished whatever resistance was left in the enemy. On one hand the Syrian army was getting decimated , on the other the voice of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) was reverberating. , “Yes! You are near the destination of victory! The enemy is in his last throes! Don’t rest on your oars before finishing him! “

This was very difficult time for Muawiya. Iraqis were advancing with determination. There was no hope left that the Syrians would be able to resist them. There was darkness in the eyes of Muawiya. And on his head were the dark clouds of failure and ignominy. He looked at Umro ibne Ass with dismay. He said, “There is no need to worry! I have already a plan ready for such a situation!” Muawiya asked,“What is the plan?” Ibne Ass said,“Raising the Holy Quran on the lances we shall make it the arbiter in the dispute. The result will be that a group of the Iraqis will become our supporters and try to stop the war. The other group will insist on continuing the conflict. Thus creating a rift in their ranks we shall succeed in postponing the war!” Muawiya already had the intelligence from his detectives that Ashas ibne Qais wanted the war to stop before any result was achieved. He was openly telling to the men of his tribe:

“You have already seen the yesterday! How terrible and destructive a battle it was! By Allah! If we fight again tomorrow destruction of the Arab pride and and honor is certain!”

Ref: Akhbar al tawal, Page 188

Now Muawiya matched Ashas ibne Qais word for word and said that if the war prolonged, the people of Faras would attack the Arabs and the Romans would attack Syria and will trample our pride and honor under their feet. Therefore Ibne Ass’s strategy must immediately be put to test and and make the Holy Quran the arbiter by raising it on the lances. Therefore, from the first rows of the Syrian army five persons raised the Mushaf e Azam of Damascus on their lances. Besides this, as many copies as were available too were raised on the lances.. Some persons wrapped pieces of cloth on bricks and also raised them on lances! When the copies of the Holy Quran were raised, Ashas ibne Qais who had joined the conspiracy with Muawiya, came to Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) and said that the Syrians had made the Holy Quran the arbiter and the people are not ready to accept any verdict other than what the Holy Book gives! He asked his permission to negotiate with Muawiya. Hazrat (a.s) said,“Talk with him and see!” Ashas went to Muawiya and asked,“Why the Quran was raised on the lances?” He said,“We want the Holy Book to be the arbiter in this dispute!” Since they were both conspiring, Ashas readily agreed that it was a good proposal. He returned and told to Hazrat (a.s) what transpired between him and Muawiya and he himself stood between the rows of the two armies and stressed on accepting the Book as the arbiter in the dispute. The Iraqis. On the temptation by Muawiya’s agents, started insisting that they will abide by the verdict of the Holy Quran. When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) saw a web of deceit being weaved with the Holy Book in the front, he said:

“O creatures of Allah! The path of Truth and Virtue that you were following, keep following !Continue to fight with your enemy! Whether it is Muawiya or Umro, Ibne Abi Moith or Habib ibne Maslima, Ibn e Abi Sarah or Zohak! These people are not persons of Faith nor those who follow the Holy Book. I know them more than you do. Both during childhood and youth I had been with them. They were evil in their childhood and remained so in their youth! By Allah! They have raised the Holy Quran to cover their evil deceit!”

Ref: Tareeq e kamil, Vol 3, Page 161

Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) tried his best to convince the Iraqis. But Ashas ibne Qais, and his cohorts, who were hand in gloves with Muawiya, became rebellious instead of seeing reason. Mas-ar ibne Fadki Tamimi and Zaid ibne Haseen Tai came forward with 20,000 men and told to the Imam (a.s),“Ya Ali (a.s)! if you refuse to accept the Holy Quran as the arbiter, we shall fight with you!You should immediately order cessation of hostilities and send a message to Malik to return forthwith from the arena.” When the Imam (a.s) felt that the mischief had taken root, and the people are bent on rebellion, he sent word to Malik e Ashtar through Yazid ibne Hani to come to him immediately. Malik was surprised at this message and said,“The enemy will surrender any moment!I shall come to him with the tiding of victory!” Yazid returned and conveyed what Malik had said. The men started shouting and said that he had quietly asked Malik to continue fighting. The Imam (a.s) said,“Whatever I have said was communicated in your presence. Where was the opportunity to convey anything in secret?” They asked him to send Yazid once again and order Malik to withdraw immediately. If there is any delay in Malik returning, the swords that are hitting the Syrians will turn against you.

The Imam (a.s) sent Yazid once again. He told to Malik that if the life of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen(a.s) was dear to him, he must immediately return to him. Malik, with a saddened heart, returned to the Imam (a.s) and was very unhappy seeing the confusion around him. But the steps that had been withdrawn, couldn’t be advanced again! Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) knew that if the cessation of hostilities was not ordered, his men would rebel. He very unwillingly accepted the proposal of Tahkeem!

After the cessation of hostilities, Umro adviced Muawiya to kill all the enemy men under detention with him. From amongst the detainees,Umro ibne Aus Awdi heard this and sent word to Muawiya that when the time for killing the detainees came, he shouldn’t be killed because he was his nephew. Men from his tribe, Bani Awd too recommended that he may be released. Muawiya said,“He says that I am his maternal uncle. If he is proved right, I will release him. But if he is lying, then your recommendation is unnecessary!” Therefore Muawiya called him and asked how he was the youth’s maternal uncle. He asked,“If I give proof of that, will you release me?” Muawiya replied,“Yes!” The youth said,“Isn’t the consort of the Prophet (s.a), Umm e Habiba Binte Abu Sufian your sister?” Muawiya said,“Yes! She is my sister!” The youth said,“Then! I am her son!” Muawiya said,“None other than you had this idea! You have said the truth!” Umro ibne Aus was released. In that time the Syrians who were in captivity with the Iraqis were released and came back to their camps. Then Muawiya told to Umro ibne Ass,“If I had acted on your suggestion, then none one of these captives would have returned alive!” Then he released all the Iraqi captives.

This battle started on 1 Safar 37 H and finished on Friday 10 Safar. The two armies camped in Siffin for 110 days and 90 clashes took place. From Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s)’s army 25,000 persons were martyred of whom 80 were Ashab e Badrain and 63 from the event of Bayt e Rizwan. From Muawiya’s army 45,000 men were killed.

This entire episode was because of the greed of Muawiya and Umro ibne Aas for power and pelf. Muawiya was ruling the province of Syria since the times of Hazrat Omer and Umro too was the governor of Egypt for some time. Muawiya wanted to save his position at any cost and Umro wanted once again to get hold of the control of Egypt. It is the nature of power mongers that once they taste power, they try to hang on at any cost. Therefore, to keep himself in power he concoted the story of Othman’s Qasas and misguided the people to put them in the conflagration of war. Umro Ibne Aas played all the tricks in his repertoire to get the governorate of Egypt for himself. Despite knowing the truth very well, he took shelter behind falsehoods. Therefore acknowledging his worldliwise nature he told to Muawiya:

“By Allah! Although I am with you in fighting for the Qasas for the blood of Othman, whatever is in my heart is there, but you are fighting with the person whose superiority and precedence ( in Islam) and his nearness to the Prophet (s.a) is well known to you. But we are only the seekers of this world!”

Ref: Tareeq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 141

Muawiya made the Qasas for the blood of Othman the excuse for achieving his end. He gave an impression to the people that the killing of Othman had taken away his sleep and rest. He told them that he will not take rest till he achieved the fulfillment of the Qasas. This, despite the fact that during the days he was besieged, Othman appealed to Muawiya for help, which fell on his deaf ear. He however aent a small troop and asked the men to remain outside the ramparts of Madina and not take any action whatsoever. The purpose was to give an impression to others that he tried to help Othman with armed men but but before it could reach him, he was assassinated! He was thinking that the killing of Othman was in his best interests that he will have an excuse to fight a war with Hazrat Ali (a.s) and get the power in his own hands. Therefore he promised the governorate of Egypt to Umro and made him a strong cohort. He started blaming Hazrat Ali (a.s) for the killing of Hazrat Othman and also started claiming Qasas. He knew it pretty well that the circle of the killers of Hazrat Othman extended from Hejaz to Egypt and Iraq who came crowding to Madina, besieged him and scaling the walls of his house they assassinated him. From the huge crowd of his besiegers it was difficult to identify the real perpetraters of his murder. Those who were present at his house at the time of the killing too were unable to identify any one culprit. In such a situation terming any one person as the killer and claiming the Qasas from him was impossible. There wasn’t any justification for doing a thing like that. There is no justification for putting to death thousands of persons to claim the Qasas for one life. Therefore the Holy Quran says the following about the Law of Qasas:

“Wa man Qatl mazlooma faqad ja alna lawalihi sultana fala yasraf fil qatl”

“One who is killed as a victim of oppression,We have certainly given his successor the right for Qasas( life for life). But he shouldn’t exceed the prescribed limits in killing ( the culprit).”

Muawiya was Hazrat Othman’s uncle’s son. But his own sons around, he wasn’t Hazrat Othman’s wali under any law whatsoever and therefore his claim for Qasas wasn’t justified.because it is only the right of the Aulia ( the successors) of the killed person.or the government of the day. Muawiya was neither the successor of Hazrat Othman nor was he the caliph of the Muslims. He was just an ordinary citizen as anyone else. At the most he was the functionary appointed to govern a province by the caliph. It was required of him to first accept Hazrat Ali (a.s) as the caliph, and respecting his rights he could have appealed to him to issue orders for Qasas of Hazrat Othman. Hazrat Ali (a.s) , therefore, had written to him first to owe allegiance to him as the caliph and then talk about the Qasas for Hazrat Othman’s blood so that a decision could be made about the claim in light of the Sunnat. In fact the claim for Qasas was a subterfuge of Muawiya to refuse allegiance to Hazrat Ali (a.s). The purpose clearly was to put pressure on Hazrat Ali (a.s) and obtain from him the approval for continuing with the governorate of Syria. Therefore he told in clear terms to Jarir ibne Abd Allah Bijli that if he was continued asa the ruler of Syria he would enter the Bai-at of Hazrat Ali (a.s). After this no doubt remains that the refusal for Bai-at was to use it as a leverage for remaining in his position as governor and the claim for the Qasas was just a subterfuge. If the emirate of Syria was assured, he would have stopped talking about Qasas. If he was interested in the Qasas, he would have helped Umm al Momineen Ayesha, Talha and Zubair who rose in the name of Qasas for the blood of Hazrat Othman. He didn’t send any help to them. Infact he expressed satisfaction at the death of Talha and Zubair because he knew that these two persons tempted the killers to commit the assassination. His strategy was that Talha, Zubair and Ali (a.s) fought for supremacy, and the party that was eliminated in the fight was one head-ache less for him..He also thought that the survivor of that conflict would become so weak that handling him wouldn’t be difficult. Muawiya was thus preparing ground to fulfil his ambition for power! If he was serious about Qasas, after the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali (a.s), when Muawiya was controlling the entire realm, he could atleast have tried to locate the killers of Hazrat Othman to give a semblance of his interest in claiming the Qasas. Once Hazrat Othman’s daughter, Ayesha, tried to draw the attention of Muawiya towards the matter of her father’s Qasas but he avoided the issue. Therefore, Ibne Abd Rabba al Andalasi wrote in Aqd al Fareed that after the Aam al Jama-aa when Muawiya came to Madina, Hazrat Othman’s daughter Ayesha, was visited by him. When she saw Muawiya, she started crying and wailing and complained to him that he had forgotten about the Qasas for the blood of her father. Muawiya said that those people are now subjugated to us and we have promised amnesty to them. If we act against them, they will carry rancor against us and will start mischief again.They might forsake the Bai-at with us and start fighting. Then , he said, Allah knows, what will be the result of such conflict! He added that if the rule goes out of their hands, what will be the position of Bani Omayya. He tried to convince her by saying that she herself was the daughter of a caliph and another calpiphs niece!

Muawiya gathered a big crowd around him, and in the name of Qasas, started a conflict but he knew that the result of the conflict will be either rise or fall, either the crown or the head would roll! But he didn’t leave any stratagem, fair or foul, to win the war. Therefore, as soon as he set foot on Siffin, the first step was to capture the source of water on the bank of Euphrates and he tried to justify denying access to water for the group of Ali (a.s) by saying that they too kept Othman without water for many days before killing him! In fact Muawiya shouldn’t have banned water for Ali (a.s), and his men as a retaliation for keeping Othman without access to water because it was Ali (a.s) who arranged to send water to Othman when he was beseiged in his own house! To the contrary, when Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s)’s men captured the sourc of water, he allowed free access to Muawiya’s men to draw water. At that time the Imam (a.s) said that an evil act cannot be replied with an evil act! Similarly, when with the martyrdom of Ammar, the rebellious attitude of Muawiya was exposed, he immediately put forth an excuse that the killer , of Ammar, is Ali (a.s) because he brought him all the way to the battlefront! This statement is such a blatant denial of the fact that it cannot be put even in the genre of an excuse! It is surprising that the people of Syria were getting carried away with the falsehoods of Muawiya. If they had some sense of understanding, the scenario would have been different. They blindly remained attached to the rebel group! If the excuse made by Muawiya that Ali (a.s) was responsible for the killing of Ammar because he brought him to the battlefront, then , by the same logic, Muawiya was responsible for the killing of thousands of Syrians who were brought to the war by him! The moot point is that Ammar was killed by“the rebel group” and that was“Muawiya’s Group” !!

Despite all these subterfuges, when Muawiya saw defeat staring in his face, he made such a treacherous move that the situation completely reversed. He sent his men to raise the Holy Quran on the lances and start shouting slogans for making the Book the arbiter to solve the dispute. He also infilterated the Iraqi army to instigate the men to stop fighting and force Hazrat Ali (a.s) to accept the proposal. The ignorant men didn’t understand the treachery of Muawiya that if the Holy Book was to be made the arbiter for the dispute, he should have come up with the proposal before the war commenced. When he saw defeat in front of him, he manufactured this excuse.

The reason for the success of Muawiya in all his treacherous acts was that the Syrians were blindly committed to him.Masoodi writes:

“They were submissive to Muawiya to such an extent that while going to Siffin that he made them offer the Friday Congregational Prayer on Wednesday!”

Ref: Murawwaj al Dahab, Vol 2, Page 72

The reason for the people of Syria remaining ignorant of the norms of Faith and the Arab culture was that the territory was under the sway of outsiders for long. In the initial period of Hazrat Omer, the territory came under his control. Then he made the mistake of imposing the sons of Abu Sufian, Yazid and Muawiya, on the people. Yazid died after a short while but Muawiya had a long innings and, with his cunning, entrenched himself and developed vested interest in the province. How could he inculcate the Islamic norms of Amr wa Nahi ( Do’s and Dont’s) in the people when he was himself not bothered about them! Then, he had also his political strategy in mind that if the people got awareness of the norms, he wouldn’t be able to rule the way he wanted. He kept the people ignorant of the status of Ali (a.s) and the Ahl al Bayt and, in fact, poisoned the people’s minds against them.Therefore during the battle of Siffin on Syrian went to the extent of saying that they were fighting with Ali (a.s) that neither Ali (a.s) offered prayers nor the men in his army were habituated of praying regularly.The poor soul was repeating like a parrot what Muawiya and his cohorts had drilled into his mind. But when Hasihim ibne Otba talked to him, the haze in his mind was cleared and he withdrew from the fighting!Besides this nasty propaganda, Muawiya opened the coffers of the state to create a breed of sycophants who promoted his foul plans!

There were also people in Hazrat Ali (a.s)’s army, who had joined him because of some compulsions, but their minds were not with him. Persons like, Ashas ibne Qais and Khalid ibne Maamer, had sold themselves to Muawiya. They got an opportunity to misguide people when the talk of making the Quran the arbiter for solution of the dispute was raised. Although hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) made it clear to Ashas that the demand for making the Book the arbiter was a trick of Muawiya, he remained adamant.and shouted, “O people ! Force Ali(a.s) to accept the Qurean as the arbiter and stop the killing of men! “It is surprising that when the Imam (a.s)’s forces were on the verge of victory, Ashas develops sympathy for the dying! If his heart was so much concerned with the deaths, he could have raised his voice before the war commenced! He could have done this to stop the war of attrition when the scale was showing both the parties equal in their gains and losses! But his raising the voice when Muawiya was staring in the face of defeat, definitely proves his complicity with the enemy!

There is no doubt that this trick of Muawiya was an act of rebellion against the rightful caliph. But when the act of Talha and Zubair was dismissed coolly as Khata e Ijtehadi, Muawiya’s evil design too is called a Khata e Ijtehadi! It is surprising that when the Prophet (s.a) terms this act as rebellion, by calling it Khata e Ijtehadi they term the perpetrater deserving of Rewards in the Hereafter (sic)!!!!Are these champions of Muawiya oblivious of the Prophet (s.a)’s saying:

“Ammar will be killed by a Rebel Group. Ammar will be inviting them towards Allah and they will call him towards the Hell!”

Ref: Sahih Bukhari, Vol 2, Page 92

After this observation of the Prophet (s.a) calling Muawiya’s act an error of interpretation ( Khata e Ijtehadi) and harping on the calumny that the perpetrater of the act was deserving of Rewards and the Heaven, is beyond the comprehension of any right thinking person. When some people have even termed the assassination of Hazrat Ali (a.s) as a khata e Ijtehadi, there is nothing beyond them. Therefore Ibne Hazm and his group consider the act of Abd ar Rehman ibne Muljim as Khata e Ijtehadi. Ibne Hajr Asqalani writes:

“Ibne Hazm has made access to exaggeration by saying that from the imams none has denied that Ibne Muljim did Ijtehad, and had his justification (Taweel), that he was right in killing Ali (a.s)”

Ref: Al Talkhees al Habeer, Page 348

Although the Prophet (s.a) had said about Ibne Muljim,“Ashqi haadal Ummat - He is the most wicked man of the Ummat!” Similarly this group terms the killing of Ammar yassir by Abul Ghawia Fazari as Khata e Ijtehadi, despite the Prophet (s.a) saying that the killer of Ammar and the one who took away his fighting gear would go to the Hell. The killers of Hazrat Othman, to the contrary , are termed by Ibn e Hazm , and the men of his ilk, as traitors , cruel and heretic. They don’t consider their act as Khata e Ijtehadi!

Just imagine the man of Ijtehad , Muawiya, gives expensive gifts to the Caesar of Rome to make an alliance with him to fight against one who had the Bai-at of the Companions of the Prophet (s.a)--- both Mohajirs and Ansaar! Was this Ijtehad that he was hobnobbing with an infidel to fight against the caliph of the day!

Maulana Jami says:

Ikhtelafe ke dasht ba Haider

Dar khilafat sahabi e Deegar

Haq dar aanja badast e Haider bood

Jang ba oo khata e munkar bood

The great Urdu poet, Mirza Ghalib Dehlavi too has composed a very interesting couplet on this phenomenon:

“Yeh Ijtehad ajab hai ke aik dushman e Deen

Ali se aake lade aur khata kahen usko”

“It is a funny ijtehad that an enemy of the Faith

Comes to fight with Ali, and they call it an error!”