98. THE BATTLE OF NAHRWAN
Abu Moosa announced the deposing of Hazrat Ali (a.s) and with this Umro ibne Aas announced the appointment of Muawiya. The way they played with the norms set by the Quran and Shariah, is a part of the history. Those who couldn’t defeat Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) in the battlefield, scored a point in stealth and treachery. They turned their faces from the truth and honesty and became an instrument to comply with Muawiya’s demands.
The verdict of the referees was not a surprise for Hazrat Ali (a.s). He knew that the referees would do everything to protect the interests of Muawiya. Although the Khawarij were forcing the Imam (a.s) to declare a war before the decision about Tahkeem, he patiently awaited the outcome. The referees bypassed their terms of reference and, instead of limiting their work to the inquiry about the killing of Othman, they pronounced their verdict about the caliphate. Further, they neither referred to the Holy Quran nor the Traditions of the Prophet (s.a) for their deliberations and decisions. In these circumstances Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) had to decide to renew the fight with the Syrians. For the Imam (a.s) their were only two alternatives - either to bow down his head to the forces of evil or to attack Syria once again. His duty demanded that he should adopt the second alternative.
When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) decided to wage a war against the Syrians, he wanted to register the cooperation of the Khawarij who were themselves keen to settle scores with Syria. Therefore he wrote to Abd Allah ibne Wahab and Yazid ibne Haseen ,“The two persons whom we had accepted as the referees, acted against the norms of the Quran and were overwhelmed with their selfish motives. They neither made access to the norms of the Quran nor the Sunnat of the Prophet (s.a). Now our position is the same as was there before the Tahkeem. Therefore you must cooperate with us and we shall make a joint and concerted move towards the enemy, till Allah decides between us and them; and Allah makes the best decisions!”
The Khawarij wrote in their reply that he was now preparing for the fight to satisfy his own psyche and not to please Allah. They added that if he confessed about his infidelity and expressed his penitence, they would then consider cooperation with him. They also threatened that if he didn’t express penitence, they would fight with him. When the Imam (a.s) saw that the Khawarij were adamant, he ignored them and started mobilizing his army. He addressed a sermon to the people of Koofa:
“O People of Koofa! Remember! One who doesn’t take part in Jehad will certainly be confronted with destruction and damnation! Rise and tighten your belts to fight with those who are the enemnies of Allah and His Prophet (s.a). They want to extinguish the Radiance of Allah. They are unjust, wayward and deviants from the Right Path. They neither understand the Quran nor the Shariah! They are not qualified for the caliphate. By Allah! If they come to power, they will trample the Islamic norms and establish the Heraclian and Khusroite system! Rise and fight those enemies of the Faith! We have sought military help from Basra as well. As soon as it arrives, we shall march towards Syria.”
The Imam (a.s) wrote to the governor of Basra, Ibne Abbas, that he was starting for war with the Syrians. He asked him to mobilize men and come expeditiously to Nakhila, their cantonment for the mobilization of troops. On receiving this message Ibne Abbas and Ahnaf ibne Qais informed the people of Basra about the Imam (a.s)’s decision and asked them to get ready for departure. At this call 1,500 men volunteered to join. When Ibn Abbas saw this meager number of volunteers, he arranged a meeting of the people of Basra and told them,“O people! I have advised you the command of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s)! He has ordered you to come for fighting with the enemy. I am disappointed that from this big city where 60,000 warriors live, only 1,500 have volunteered to join! If you shirk participating in the war and keep sitting at home, you will repent your inaction! I have nominated Jaria ibne Qadama Saadi for the mobilization of troops. Gather under his flag.”
With this exhortation a further 1,700 persons reported. This small contingent of 3,200 men marched towards Koofa.
When this contingent arrived, the elite of Koofa came to the presence of the Imam (a.s). He told them that the cooperation extended by the people of Basra was before them. You are my supporters and protecters. Every chief from you must persuade his his tribe to come for fighting the Jehad. Evcry able-bodied man must join. At this point Saeed ibne Qais Hamadani, Adi ibne hatim, Ziyad ibne Khasfa, Hajr ibne Adi and other chiefs said that they will extend the fullest cooperation in mobilizing men for the war. Therefore, at their instance, they could mobilize 65,000 men. Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s.) wrote to Saad ibne Masood, the governor of Madaen to raise troops Thus 70,000 men were mobilized under the standard of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s).
When all the preparations for war were over, some people said that it would be better to deal with the Khawarij first, before proceeding to Syria. The Imam (a.s)said it would be better to leave the Khawarij alone at the moment and proceed towards Syria. He said that if they got busy elsewhere, Muawiya would get more time to strengthen himself further. The people said that he should do what he thought wass the best. They again assured that they were with him. Saifi ibne Fasil Shaibani said ,“Ya Ameer al Momineen (a.s)! We are in your group and your strength! We are the friends of those who are your friends and the enemies of those who are your enemies! You will, Insha Allah, find no dearth of friends and supporters and there won’t be any diminution in our determination. “Mahraz ibne Shahab Tamimi said, “Ya Ameer al Momineen! We are under you and your followers! For your succor we have become one! Whether you attack the Khawarij or the Syrians, we shall not hesitate to fight with your enemies! Battle with your enemies is a great Jehad and will bring wondrous rewards!”
In this time the mischief of the Khawarij had assumed serious proportions. They had become brigands and attacked all the travelers who passed their way. Whoever came across them on the way, they would ask him about the Tahkeem. If the person expressed his unhappiness about it, they would leave him. Otherwise they would kill him. However they left the non-muslims unmolested saying that they were Zimmis. They considered that beating a pig was a sin and killing a Muslim an act of piety. Mabrud writes in Kamil that Khawarij found a Christian and a Muslim on the way to Nahrwan. They killed the Muslim and left the Christian saying that the Prophet (s.a) has termed the Christians as Zimmis and harming them is a sin and a transgression of the agreement made by the Prophet (s.a) with them. If someone wanted to save his life from them, the only way was to pretend that he was a Zimmi or a polytheist.Wasal ibne Ata called himself a polytheist and escaped from their harm. The story goes that Wasal and some of his companions came across a band of Khawarij. Wasal warned his men that they were faced with Khawarij and must maintain their silence and that he would speak on their behalf. Saying this he went near the Khawarij and said,“We are polytheists and want to seek your protection and to learn about the do’s and don’t’s of the Quran.and act according to them.”
Wasal said that they believed him and started teaching about the norms of the Quran and they kept nodding their heads. When Wasal and his men agreed to what the Khawarij talked about, they said that now they were brothers and could go wherever they wanted to. Wasal said Allah has observed:
“wa an ahad min al Mushrikeen astajarak afjar hatta yasma kalam Allah summa ablagha maa minhu.”
“If any polytheist sought protection, give him protection till he listens to Allah’s Word. Then take him to his destination.”
Therefore you must guide us safely to our home.” The Khawarij looked at each other in surprise and said,“Their demand, in the light of the Quran is right. Therefore we must take them till their homes.”
They therefore guided Wasal’s group safely till their destination. Thus he acceded to Taqayya to save his and his companions’ lives.
Similarly, Abd Allah ,the son of the Prophet (s.a)’s companion Khabab ibne Arat came across the Khawarij with a copy of the Quran tied to his neck. They asked who he was. He said that he was the son of the Companion of the Prophet (s.a) , Khabab. They said that if he was frightened coming across them, he should chase away the fear. They said that they wanted to hear the traditions narrated by his father. Abd Allah said that his father had heard the Prophet (s.a) say:
“A mischief will rise when the hearts of men will be dead and the bodies inanimate; men will be Momin in the evening and by the morning they will be infidels. Again by the evening they will become Momin.”
Ref: Tareeq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 172
The Khawarij said that they wanted to hear the same tradition from him. They asked him, “Now tell us what do you say about Ali (a.s) when he accepted the idea of Tahkeem? “He replied:
“He understands Allah more than you and is very careful in the matters of the Faith and has a perfect vision.”
Ref: Tareeq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 172
They said,“You are a worshipper of personalities, and instead of deeds, you look for names. By Allah! We shall punish you for following the demands of your psyche! We shall kill you in such a manner that none else was ever killed that way.”
Saying this they tied him up with ropes. Then they took him and his pregnant wife near a date palm. One date fell down from that tree which one Khariji picked and put in his mouth. Others shouthed,“Haram! Haram!”
The person immediately threw away the date. Then a pig passed that way and one Khariji killed it. The other Kharijis said that what he did was mischief and till they convinced the owner of the pig they were restless. When Abd Allah saw this attitude of the Kharijis he said,“When you exercise such great care in small matters, I have no fear of harm from you because I am a Muslim and have not committed any crime to deserve to be killed!”
But they didn’t pay any heed to his words and throwing him to the ground killed him heartlessly. They slit the stomach of his pregnant wife and killed her too. They also killed three women of Bani Tai and Umm e Sanan Saidawia. After these heartless murders they wanted to buy the fruits of a datepalm from a Christian. He said that he didn’t need any payment and they could take the fruits if they wanted. They said that they wouldn’t take a Zimmi’s material without paying for it. The Christian said that he was surprised that they had killed a good person like Ibne Khabab for no sin of his and don’t want at the same time to even take the fruits of a tree without paying for it!
Seeing these acts of barbarity, it wasn’t possible to leave them any more to their scruples. Further, Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) had the program of leaving Koofa for Syria. With little protection there, the Khawarij could take advantage of the situation. It was possible that they occupy the capital and commit massacre of the innocents there. In the army of the Imam (a.s) the majority was of the men from Koofa and their families would be vulnerable to attack in their absence. It was therefore thought necessary to deal with the Khawarij before proceeding to Syria. Therefore the Imam (a.s) ordered his army to move towards Nahrwan. When the army started its journey, Musafir ibne Afif Azdi said, “Ya Ameer al Momineen (a.s)! I know about the movement of the stars and this isn’t auspicious time to start the journey. There may be great harm in store for us! “The Imam (a.s) said, “Can you tell me what is inside the belly of my horse?” He said, “I can calculate and say!” The Imam (a.s) said, “One who believes in what you say, will be denying the writ of the Holy Quran. The Holy Book says:
“In Allaha indahu ilm as saaata wa yanzal al ghais wa yaalam maa fil arham
Only Allah Has the knowledge about the Hereafter , He makes the rain fall and only he knows what is inside the stomachs.”
Then the Prophet (s.a) chided the astrologer and told his troops that they shouldn’t give any cognizance to such words of superstition and trust on Allah.
When the army moved towards Nahrwan they leraned that the Khawarij had crossed the canal of Tabristan somewhere between Halwan and Baghdad. When Hazrat Amneer al Momineen (a.s) knew about this, he said,“It can’t be! They are still on this side of the river and will be killed on the land of Ramila.”
At that moment a trooper of the advance guard came running and said,“I have seen with my own eyes those men crossing the bridge.”
The Imam (a.s) asked for his confirmation thrice and every time he swore that he had seen the Khawarij crossing the bridge to the other side. The Imam (a.s) then said:
“By Allah! They haven’t crossed the bridge! Their place of death is this side of the bridge! By Allah! Even ten of your men will not be killed and even ten of them (the Khawarij) will not survive.”
Ref: Tareeq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 174
On the one hand there were messages that the Khawarij had crossed over to the other side and here Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) was insisting they will meet their end only this side of the canal. With these exchanges, some people started getting doubts in their minds. One youth knit his brows and said,“If the Khawarij have already crossed the canal, I shall aim my spear at the chest of the Imam (a.s)! Now he has started predicting about the things to come!”
When Ameer al Momineen (a.s) saw this state of mind of the people, he spurred his horse and galloped fast towards the canal. When he reached near the bank, he found the Khawarij camped this side of the canal. In that time the army too reached the spot. When they found the Khawarij on their side of the bank, they raised the slogan of“Allaho Akbar”
! The Imam (a.s) addressed his army:
“By Allah! Neither have I told a lie nor a wrong message was at all given to me!”
Ref: -Tareeq e kamil, Vol 3, Page 174
The Imam (a.s) established his camp at a distance of three miles from the camp of the Khawarij.When the Khawarij saw the Imam (a.s)’s army they started raising slogans of“La hakam il Allah”
. They sent a word to the Imam (a.s) that he still had the time to repent, and then they would enter into his Bai-at. As a second alternative he should demit his office of caliph to enable them to select an imam of their choice. The Imam (a.s) sent them word to hand over the killers of his men, otherwise his army would claim Qasas for their blood. He also informed them that if they agreed to this offer, they will be left alone till the army returned from Syria. In that time they could think over and decide to seek forgiveness for their past misbehaviour. The Khawarij replied,“We have all killed your men. We all consider it legitimate to shed their and your blood!”
Instead of getting angry over this reply, Hazrat Ameer (a.s) tried to make them see reason by sending Qais ibne Saad Ansari to ask them to shun mischief. He reached the camp of the Khawarij and told them,“O people! You are committing a grave sin. Unnecessarily you are calling us infidels. Beware of thoughtless killing of men! Join with us to do Jehad against the enemy. “At this Abd Allah ibne Shajra Salami said, “Now the curtains have been raised from our eyes! The darkness of vice has vanished! The radiance of the Truth is everywhere. We cannot cooperate with you now at any cost! “Qais said, “I plead with you in the name of Allah! Don’t indulge in mischief and don’t cause your own deaths!”
After him Abu Ayoob Ansari went to their camp.and tried to stop them from doing mischief.and said,“We don’t understand what is the cause of your enmity for us? Why are you determined on fighting and battling?”
If you are so fond of fighting, come, we shall together fight with our common enemy!“The Khawarij said, “If we side with you, you might once again impose on us the Tahkeem.”
Abu Ayoob said,“You must first look to the present and then you can bother about the future!”
But the Khawarij remained adamant. All efforts at putting sense in them went futile. In the end hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) himself went to their camp. And said,“O people! For lack of vision and understanding you have veered away from us. Because of your false emotions you have gone astray from the Righ Path. I want to warn you! You will be killed in this valley and the turnings of this valley! The Ummat will demean you.and there will be comments against you from all sides. Your stand was certainly wrong. And your ire unreasonable. You might remember that I had warned you against accepting the Tahkeem and said that it was a trick. But you didn’t listen to my repeated appeals and stopped fighting. If I had accepted Tahkeem, it was under pressure from you people. Even then I didn’t accept it with closed eyes. I had taken a commitment from the referees that their verdict must be only in the light of the Holy Quran and the Prophet (s.a)’s Seerat. But they ruled against the Book and the Prophet(s.a)’s Sunnat. Therefore we have rejected their verdict. The Khawarij said, “No doubt! We did accept the Tahkeem and because of that act we rendered ourselves infidel. But we have repented. You too must express penitence for accepting the Tahkeem and thereby becoming an infidel. Then we shall enter your Bai-at and fight with the enemy.”
The Imam (a.s) said,“After embracing the Faith with the Prophet (s.a), migrating from Makka with him, taking part with him in the Ghazwaat that he fought do you want me to accept that I committed an act of infidelity? How is it possible?”
At this juncture, Khuraj raised noises and said,“If you don’t confess that you committed an act of infidelity, we don’t want to talk any more with you!”
The Imam (a.s) said,“By making senseless noises matters cannot be resolved! Let us decide in this manner. You send a representative to me to discuss the matter. If he convinced me, I shall agree that the act of accepting Tahkeem was infidelity and I express repentance for that. But if I convince him, then you must shun the adamant attitude.”
In the beginning the Khawarij were reluctant. But in the end they relented. They appointed Abd Allah Kava as their mouthpiece. The Imam (a.s) told to Ibne Kava,“On what matter you are upset that earlier you had very willingly owed your allegiance to me? You also fought with my opponents in the Battle of Jamal..”
He said,“At that point the need for Tahkeem had not arisen.”
The Imam (a.s) said,“O Ibne Kava! Is my decision more correct or that of the Prophet (s.a)?”
Ibne Kava said,“Certainly the Prophet (s.a.)’s decision!”
Then the Imam (a.s) asked, You must have heard these words of Allah:
“Faqul ta-aa lau anda abna ana wa abna akum wa nisa ana wa nisa akum wa anfusana wa anfusakum summa nabtahal fa naj al laanat Allah alal kaazabeen
Say! Come ! We call our sons, you call yours; we call our women, you yours; we call our psyche ( Nafs) and you yours.Then we beseech and implore,for Allah’s curse on the liars.”
“Did Allah ask the Prophet (s.a) to do Mubahila because he had any doubt about the Prophet (s.a) being truthful and those Christians the liers and He wanted to remove the doubt?” Ibne Kava said, “Neither Allah had any doubt nor His Prophet (s.a). It was just a protest against the Christians.” The Imam (a.s) said, “Then the Tahkeem too was a protest” Ibne Kava said, “Your agreeing to the appointment of the referees was a proof that you had a doubt whether you are on the right or not!Although the war was fougth on the basis that you were on the right and the Syrians were wrong. Therefore you had said in clear terms to Muawiya, ‘ If the Book of Allah decided in our favor, you follow us and if It decided in your favor we shall follow you. What other meaning could be attached to this that you yourself were doubtful whether you were right or not. When you yourself had a doubt, then we too are justified to doubt about you.” The Imam (a.s), “This agreement was conditional that when an agreement is conditional, there is no question of our doubting the stand we had taken.Even the Prophet (s.a) had made such conditional agreements. Therefore the Holy Quran says:
“Qul fa aatu bekitab min ind Allah huwa ahdi minhuma atba aa in kuntum saadeqeen.”
“Say bring some epistle from Allah that is more instructive for the humankind ( (than Torah and Quran) that I follow if you are proved truthful.”
Ibne Kava said, “This si true. But by agreeing to the appointment of the referees, you had entrusted Allah’s work to others and thus you committed infidelity.” The Imam (a.s) said, “I had only appointed Abu Moosa as the referee.” Ibne Kava said, “Abu Moosa is an infidel!” The Imam asked, “Since when he is an infidel? When he was appointed a referee for Tahkeem or when he gave his verdict?” Ibne Kava said, “When he gave the verdict!” The Imam (a.s) said, “Then you have accepted that when he was appointed as a referee he was a Muslim and you had expected that he will give the verdict according of the Commands Revealed by Allah. Therefore, it was right to appoint him as a referee.” Ibne Kava said, “But when he gave the verdict he did become an infidel!” The Imam (a.s) said, “If the Prophet (s.a) sent a Muslim to some infidels to invite them to the Faith and, instead of preaching Islam, he started preaching them wrong things, will the Prophet (s.a) be responsible for the person’s act?” Ibne Kava said, “No!”The Imam (a.s) added, “Then! If Abu Moosa turned an infidel, why do you blame me? What justification you have to keep the swords over your shoulders and keep killing the Muslims? As far as the second referee, Omer ibne Aas is concerned, he was appointed by Muawiya. How could I name him as the Hakam. If Omer ibne Aas had his way, he would even kill me.” Now Ibne Kava asked, “Then, how did you agree to one Muslim and the other infidel referee in the Tahkeem?” The Imam (a.s) said, “Allah has said the following permitting appointment of Hakm in the matters of dispute between man and wife:
“Wa an khiftum shaqaq bainahuma fa ab asu ahkama min ahlehi wa hakma min ahleha.”
“If you have the fear of dispute between man and wife, appoint on referee from the family.of the man and one from the family of the woman.”
If a Muslim marries a Jewish or Christian woman and differences arise between them, then it is natural that the man will have a Muslim referee from his family and the woman an infidel referee from her family! Then, from the Holy Quran, is it not proved that while one referee is a Muslim, the other can be an infidel?”
When the Khawarij saw that Ibne kava wasn’t able to give satisfactory arguments, they sent word to him to terminate the discussion and go back. He therefore left the talks half way and went back to his people. Although Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) proved his point, there was no change in the adamant attitude of the Khawarij. Now there was no other alternative than fighting with them. The Imam (a.s) arranged his troops in proper formations The right flank was in the command of Hajr ibne Adi and the left under Shabas ibne Rubi. The cavalry was under Abu Ayoob Ansari and the footmen under Abu Fatada Ansari. The men from Madina, who were 700 or 800 in number, were put under Qais ibne Saad Ansari. The Prophet (s.a) himself took position at the heart of the formation. The Khawarij too organized their rows.
When rows were arranging opposite rows, Hazrat (a.s) gave a white banner toAbu Ayoob Ansari and sent him with a contingent of 2,000 men to go towards the Khawarij. He went ahead with his men and announced,“O people! Hazrat Ameer al Momineen says that those of you who decide to come under this banner , or return to Koofa or madaen, or leave company of that group, there is amnesty for them! “The effect this announcement had was that Farwa ibne Naufil Ashjaee, who was among the elite of Khawarij, started telling to his tribesmen , “By Allah! I don’t know with what justification we have decided to confront Ali (a.s)? Neither we have any proof to justify this conflict, nor there is any reasonable justification for fighting. We shall stay away from these people and can later on decide on our course of action!”
Saying this he moved away from the Khawarij with his 500 tribesmen and went to Bandnajeen. Another group went towards Koofa. A hundred persons came under the flag of Abu Ayoob joining the Imam (a.s)’s army. This was a proof of the just stand of the Imam (a.s) and his spirit of forbearance and peace.
Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) talked to the rest of the Khawarij about the terrifying effects of war. But they were adamant on their stand. Now only the Khawarij had to make their initial strike for the battle to commence because the Imam (a.s) had instructed that his men shouldn’t be the first to start fighting. At last one Khariji came out and killed three men from the Imam (a.s)’s army. The Imam (a.s.) moved forward and attacked him. When the sword hit him, the man said,“How sweet is going to the Heaven!”
. When Abd Allah ibne Wahab heard this he said,“By Allah! I don’t know if you are going to heaven or the Hell!”
When one Khariji of Bani Saad heard this he said,“I have come here at the temptation of Abd Allah ibne Wahab and even he doesn’t know whether our stand is right or not and is not sure whether fighting for this cause we go to Heaven or the Hell?”
Then along with the men from his tribe he moved away from the ranks of the Khawarij. Instead of combating man-to-man, the Khawarij very soon started general fighting. Therefore they broke the sheaths of their swords, put arrows in their bows , put up the spears and shouting the slogan, La hakam il Allah, started a concerted attack. It was such a severe attack that the feet of the cavalry were uprooted. They moved back a little and consolidated their positions once again. Hazrat (a.s) told to his men,“O youth! Move forward and fight like tigers!”
Saying this he too stood up. Now, when the army attacked as a single unit under his command, there was blood everywhere. With this concerted attack the rows of the enemy troops got uprooted. The Imam (a.s)’s sword got twisted with the intensity of use. He had to straighten it putting on his knee. His army was moving forward killing the enemy troops till they surrounded the Khawarij from all sides. Now there was no way of escape for them. 400 Khawarij were severely wounded and not fit for fighting. Nine persons escaped and saved their lives. Out of them 2 went to Oman, two to Sajistan, two to Kirman two towards Jazira, and one reached Tilmoron in Yemen. The rest of the Khawarij were killed. From the chiefs of the Khawarij, Abd Allah ibne Wahab was killed by Ziyad ivne Khasfa, Yazeed ibne Haseen Tai by Abu Ayoob Ansari, , Harqoos ibne Zohair by Jaish ibne Rubaiah Kanani, Abd Allah ibne Shajra Salami by Abd Allah ibne Zahar Khaulani and Sharih ibne Aufi was killed by Qais ibne Muawiya. Only eight persons were killed from the army of Hazrat Ameer (a.s).They were: Roba ibne Wabaz Bijli, Saeed ibne Khalid Sabiee, Abd Allah ibne Hamad Ajni, Fayaz ibne Khalil Azdi, Kaisom ibne Salama Jahni, Obaid ibne Obaid Khaulani, Jami ibne Jasim Kindi and Habib ibne Asim Asadi.
When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s)’s men saw that most of the Khawarij were killed, they said,“Now! They have been obliterated from the face of the Earth!”
The Imam (a.s) said:
“Not at all! They are still there in the backbones of men and the wombs of women. Whenever any group of them rises, it will be cut off till the last of them turn into thieves and brigands.”
Ref: Nahj al Balagha
When the battle was over a search was made for a person, Zulsadia, from the ranks of the Khawarij because Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) used to say before their rebellion:
“One group will veer away from the Faith in a manner the arrow goes piercing through the game. Their sign is that among them there will be a person with a maimed hand.”
Ref: Tariq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 175
Some persons searched for him among the dead, but were unable to find his body. They returned to the Imam (a.s) and said,“We have searched all over and have failed to find the body of the person.”
The Imam (a.s) said,“By Allah! His body is there among the dead!”
Saying this he took Suleiman ibne Tamama Hanafi and Riyan ibne Sabra to search for the body. When they reached the bank of the canal, about fifty bodies were lying in a ditch. When they removed some of the bodies, they found the body of Zulsadia. The Imam (a.s) told to his companions:
“Allaho Akbar! Niether I told a lie nor a false information was given to me. If I hadn’t the doubt that you will turn your faces from action, I would have informed you about those who fought invisibly with the Khawarij and the right on which we are, they recognize it. I would have also informed you of the blessings that Allah has promised through the Prophet (s.a).”
Ref: Tareeq e Tabari, Vol 4, Pag3 66
While returning through the piles of dead Kharijis, the Imam (a.s) said,“Pity on you! One who beguiled you, has harmed you!”
People asked,“Ya Ameer al Momineen! Who has beguiled them? “The Imam (a.s) replied, “Satan and their own baser instinct! These two had spread the web of guile for them and gave them false hopes. It was etched on their minds that they would succeed in their nefarious designs.”
After success in this battle, the Imam (a.s) reminded his men about the astrologer’s forecast that the moment of their departure for the campaign was inauspicious. The Imam (a.s) said:
“If we had started at the moment the astrologer had recommended, the ignorant people would say that the victory has come because of the astrologer’s advice!”
Ref: Tariq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 173
The attitude of the Khawarij was very surprising. In the battle of Siffin they put down their swords almost at the moment of victory and paved the way for the swords to kill them ultimately. They themselves insisted on Tahkeem and themselves turned against it. They shattered the unity of people through mischief. Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s), who was a paragon of virtue, closeness with him was termed infidelity by the Khawarij. They wanted him to break the agreement of Tahkeem and fight with Muawiya. If that was their intent, they should have fought in the battle of Siffin instead of supporting the idea of Tahkeem initially and then turning against it immediately once an agreement was reached.
The intention of the Khawarij was only to oppose Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s). They created mischief and rebellion against him and made all sorts of false accusations. The Imam (a.s) tried his best to reform them. He neither caused them any hardships nor he stopped the stipends to their families. But when they went out of control totally and started harming and killing innocent persons, action against them became necessary. Even in the battleground the Imam (a.s) made a final effort to bring them back to the right path. But to no avail.
During this battle, and earlier, the Imam (a.s) had made several predictions that proved true. All these were matters about which he had received information from the Prophet (s.a). It was as if his eyes were piercing through the future and seeing the events that were to take place. Here some of his predictions are mentioned:
1. The Imam (a.s) told to Zar-aa ibne Bruj Tai that he would be killed and told to Rubaiah ibne Shadad Qasmi that his cadaver would be trampled under the hoofs of horses. Therefore both these persons were killed during the battle and Rubaiah’s was trampled under the horses feet.Qabisa says that when he saw that Rubaiah’s face and head was trampled under the hoofs of the horses he“remembered Hazrat Ali (a.s)’s word when he (Qabisa) said ‘ What to say of Abul Hassan (a.s)’s virtues that whenever he said anything, that came out true!”
2. About the Khawarij the Imam (a.s) said that they would die on a particular side of the canal and wouldn’t cross it to the other side.Therefore they met their end on the side of the canal that is called Ramila.
3. The Imam (a.s) informed that not more than 10 persons from his army would be killed in the battle and not even ten will survive from the army of the Khawarij. Therefore 8 persons died from his army and 9 Khawarij escaped alive.
4. The Imam (a.s) said about Dulsadia that he will certainly be killed and his body was found lying in a heap of the dead enemies.
5. The Imam (a.s) had said that the Khawarij were not totally finshed and that they would raise their heads again. Therefore after the battle of Nahrwan they continued their minor skirmishes and were killed by the army of Hazrat Am,eer al Momineen (a.s). They again rose during the Umavi and Abbasid regimes and Mohlib ibne Safra kept fighting with them for 12 years.and creating rifts amongst their rank and file rendered them very weak. They scattered and went towards Omam and parts of Africa. They still are there in Muscat and Zanzibar.
6. The Imam (a.s) predicted that they will keep raising their heads like brigands and dacoits. Ibne Abil Hadeed writes:
“This prediction of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) was proved right that the Khawarij will end up as brigands and highwaymen. Therefore the movement of the Kharijis became weak and their youth were exterminated. Their condition deteriorated so much that their new generations became waylayers who used to commit evil acts and cause mischief.”
Ref: Shara ibne Abil Hadeed, Vol 5, Page 248
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Author: MUFTI JAFFER HUSSAIN
