Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

99. THE BATTLES OF THE KHAWARIJ

After The Battle of Nahrwan, Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) had the plans of proceeding to Syria. He told to his troops ,“Allah has given you victory over the Khawarij. Now rise to proceed against the Syrians and achieve victory over that veritable enemy. Ashas ibne Qais and some other men said, “Ya Ameer al Momineen (.a.s)! Our arrows are finished and the swords blunt! Please go to Koofa for some days that we have some rest and also to sharpen our swords and make some more arrows. Once we are rested, recuperated and ready, we may proceed for the next campaign.” The Imam (a.s) opposed this suggestion and said,“Our destination was Syria and any more delay in going in that direction may not be advisable.” The Imam (a.s) tried his best but the men didn’t agree. He was forced to return to Koofa. Instead of entering the city, he camped at Nakhila and asked the troops too to stay there. He didn’t want them to get involved with the problems at their homes. They stayed at Nakhila for some days but then they started making some excuses and going to their homes. After some days only limited number of persons were there in the camp. Now it was no use staying any more at Nakhila. Therefore thje Imam (a.s) had to close the camp and enter the city.

When the Imam (a.s) entered Koofa, the Kharijis started their mischief again. Although a major number of them was eliminated during the battle of Nahrwan, they were not totally exterminated. Many contributing to their thinking were still there in Koofa who didn’t participate in the battle because of some reason or the other. Now they started showing up. They put their heads together to cause problems in the administration of the realm. Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) got engrossed in quelling the mischief of these people and others. This was another cause for some delay in going on the Syrian campaign.

Of these rebel groups, one was under Kharit ibne Rashid who was the leader of the Khawarij from Bani Najia and was a resident of Koofa. He came one day to Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) with 30 men and said,“By Allah! I shall neither oby any of your orders nor pray in the congregation behind you. From tomorrow I shall quit being with you!” The Imam (a.s) asked,“What makes you so angry?” He said,“By agreeing for Tahkeem you had made a clear violation of the Commandment of Islam.” The Imam (a.s) said,“You are saying this without giving a serious thought to the matter. If you are ready to listen, the matter can be explained to you” . He said,“Today I am going away. Tomorrow I shall return sometime and talk to you.” The Imam (a.s) said,“Don’t get misguided by Satan and before taking any precipitate step come and take my advice. If you are not satisfied with my advice, the course of action will be free for you!” When he reached home, he told to his men from Bani Najia,“I have promised to meet Ali (a.s) tomorrow. But I think I don’t need to go to him. Whatever step we have to take, we must go ahead with it. We shall move away from here.” The Imam (a.s) waited for him the next day. When he didn’t turn up, he sent Abd Allah ibne Qayn to Kharit’s house. He came back and told that Kharit had left Koofa with the men from his tribe. When the Imam (a.s) heard this, he said,“They will be away from Allah’s Blessing like the people of Thamood! When the spears will be pointed towards their chests and the swords on their heads, they will repent over what they did!” Ziyad ibne Khasfa said,“We shouldn’t be unhappy over their going away. But there is one fear that they might misguide those who are obedient so far and try to disturb the prevailing peace! If you permit I shall try to bring them back.” The Imam (a.s) said,“How do you know the direction in which they have gone? “He said, “This can be determined by asking people.” The Imam (a.s) said,“My functionaries would certainly report about their movement. You go to Dair Abi Moosa and await my instructions there.” Ziyad went to his house and gathered the men of his tribe, Bani Bakr ibne Wael, and repeated the entire story to them and said,“You are the friends and supporters of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s)! Support me in this campaign that we stop the enemy from moving forward. And bring him back.” At his call 130 men volunteered. Ziyad said that the number was sufficient for controlling the enemy. He took them and went to Dair Abi Moosa and awaited instructions from Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s).

In the meantime one of the functionaries of the Imam (a.s), Qarda ibne Kaab Ansari informed him that the men of Bani Najia were proceeding towards Nafar. On the way they had killed a Muslim trader because of his expressing his allegiance and dedication for you. They also left a Zimmi alone saying that there was no justification for killing him. When the Imam (a.s) received this intelligence, he sent a letter with a youth, Abd Allah ibne Waal, to Ziyad ibne Khasfa informing him that Kharit and his men were headed towards Nafar and that they had killed one Muslim on the way. The Imam (a.s) asked him to chase, apprehend and bring them back to Koofa. If they resisted, he ordered him to fight them. Abd Allah ibne Waal must have gone a few steps when he returned back and asked,“Ya Ameer al Momineen (a.s)! Do you permit me to join the contingent of Ziyad to fight the Khawarij?” The Imam (a.s) looked at the youth and said,“Yes! You too can join his contingent! I hope that you will remain my helper in upholding the Truth and fighting the cruel people.” Abd Allah ibne Waal says:

“By Allah! The words with which Hazrat (a.s) addressed me, I wouldn’t exchange them even with the red haired camels!”

Ref: Tareeq e Tabari, Vol 4, Page 90

When Abd Allah reached Dair Abi Moosa and gave the letter from the Imam (a.s) to Ziyad ibne Khasfa, Ziyad looking at the steed, the arms and the bold look of Abd Allah, said,“How nice it would be if you remain with me!” Abd Allah said,“So is my wish as well and I have taken permission from Hazrat Ameer al momineen (a.s) for going with your contingent!” Therefore he joined Ziyad and the contingent started forthwith in pursuit of Bani Najia enroute to Nafar. When the pursuers reached Nafar, they were told that Bani Najia had left for Jarjaraya. Ziyad continued the hot pursuit and caught up with them at Mudar, a place lying between Basra and Wasit. He put his camp near where Kharit had halted. Kharit came to Ziyad’s camp and asked the reason for his coming there. Ziyad said,“We are tired of the journey! Aftersome rest we shall tell you of the reason for our journey!” Ziyad rested for sometime, gave water to the animals and then went to kharit and asked him,“Why have you left Koofa?” He said,“I don’t like the ways of Ali (a.s)! I am not in favor of his emirate. Now I shall support those who want the caliphate to change hands through Shura.” Ziyad asked,“Can we get a person through selection who has precedence in Islam, is the best scholar of the Quran and the Sunnat and is nearest to the Prophet (s.a)?” Kharit said,“This cannot be ensured!” Ziyad now said,“You have killed a Muslim on the way. What right you had to commit the murder?” Kharit said,“I haven’t killed him. One of my companions might have killed him” Ziyad said,“Hand those killers over to us so that we claim the Qasas from them.” Kharit said,“I cannot do that!” Ziyad said,“Then you are a party to the crime!” Now both arranged their men in proper formations and raising their lances stood in front of each other. Around Duhr the fighting started. The spears started piercing the chests and the swords started hitting heads. When night fell, the khawarij, leaving behind 5 of their dead ran away. From Ziyad’s contingent two persons, Saved and Wafed ibne Bakr, were martyred.and some were injured. Ziyad himself was injured. He moved from there to Basra. From there he wrote a letter to the Imam (a.s),“At Mudar we fought with the Khawarij. Five men of Kharit were killed. He left behind his dead and escaped towards Ahwaz. His group has increased to 200 men. Some of our men have been injured and we have come to Basra for their treatment. I shall await your further orders.”

The Imam (a.s) called Ziyad back and sent Mauqil ibne Qais Riyahi with a contingent of 2,000 men towards Ahwaz and wrote to Ibne Abbas in Basra to send 2,000 men towards Ahwaz as a support for Mauqil. When Mauqil arrived at Ahwaz commanding the contingent, he stayed there waiting for the men to arrive from Basra. Kharit registered the cooperation of the infidels, brigands and the Arabs sympathetic to his cause and organized a sizable contingent. He proceeded towards the hills of Ramhurmuz. Mauqil thought that further waiting for reinforcements would be futile. He therefore went in pursuit of Kharit. He might have covered a days journey when the men from Basra arrived.under the command of Khalid ibne Maadan Tai. Both the contingents combined and proceeded further. When they reached near the hills of Ramhurmuz, they noticed Kharit camping there with his men. Mauqil organized his men in rows. When the rows were arranged, both the armies attacked each other and severe fighting commenced. Mauqil’s army made a severe display of swordsmanship. When 300 men of Kharit’s contingent were killed, he went towards the coast of Bahar where people of his tribe were inhabited. Here too he started instigating people against the Imam (a.s) and managed to mobilize a sizable contingent.

After defeating Kharit, Mauqil wrote to the Imam (a.s) that a large number of Kharit’s men had been killed and he had escaped from the battlefield. The Imam (a.s) called a meeting of some important persons and discussed the matter with them. They advised that he should ask Mauqil to pursue Kharit and kill him. Or force him out of the boundaries of the realm. Otherwise he will not abstain from mischief. Therefore the Ameer al Momineen (a.s) wrote to Mauqil that he must chase Kharit till his group is totally routed. When Mauqil got these orders he proceeded towards the coast of Bahar. When Kharit learned of this pursuit, to increase the numbers, he asked the Khawarij with him that he has the same beliefs as they had and Ali (a.s) had no authority to appoint a Hakam. When his own Hakam deposed him, what right he had to be the emir? He also told to the Othmanis that he subscribed to their thinking that Othman was assassinated under oppression and that Ali (a.s) was responsible for that. He told to the Zimmis that they should stop paying the tributes and spend the money on their own men. Thus he flattered the population there and was able to gathere men around himself. When the newly converted Muslims saw the disparate group of Kharit, they said that their previous Faith suited them better that atleast they stuck together. When Kharit learned that they were going back to Christianity he warned them that they had forfeited their right to life because of recanting from Islam. He told them that the only way to save themselves and their families was to join his army and fight along with him.

Mauqil put his standard near the camps of Kharit and established his own camp there.He announced that those who had joined Kharit newly should stay away and they will have amnesty. The effect of this announcement was that excepting the men from Bani Najia all others moved away. Among Bani Najia there was a group of Christians, one group was of those who had accepted Islam because of some compulsions and were not truly Muslim, there was also a splinter group who had refused to pay the tribute. All these disparate groups stayed with Kharit. Kharit organized his men in rows and so did Mauqil. Mauqil addressed his men briefly and his men attacked the opposite formation. Severe fighting took place. Noman ibne Sahban Rasibi attacked Kharit with his spear. Kharit fell from the horse to the ground and started fighting with his sword. Noman evaded his advance and hit him so hard with his sword that Kharit fell down dead. There was total confusion in his army and 170 men were killed. The others fled.

Mauqil made men, women and children captive. Those who agreed to owe allegiance to the Imam (a.s), he took their Bai-at and released them. Those who had recanted from Islam he invited them to embrace the Faith once again. Barring one old man, Ramahas ibne Mansur, all others came back to the fold of Islam.That old man was executed because he was a Murtid, a person who recanted after embracing Islam.The number of persons taken captive after the battle was 500. When Mauqil reached Ardshirkhurd with the captives, they started pleading with the governor there, Masqala ibne Habira Shaibani, to buy and free them.Masqala sent word to Mauqil through Zahl ibne Harit to sell the captives to him. Mauqil sold the captives to Masqala for 500,000 Dirhams and said that the amount may be sent to Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s). Maasqala said that he would send some amount immediately and send the rest in instalments. When Mauqil returned to Koofa and made a detailed report to Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s), he appreciated him very much. For some time he waited for the ransom money to come from Masqala. But when the delay was much, they started wondering how he will send such a big amount?He sent a message through Abu Jarah hanafi to Masqala to either remit the amount or come to Koofa himself. Masqala came to Koofa and paid 200, 000 Dirhams. He was still in Koofa where he called Zahl ibne Harit and told him that Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) was demanding for the balance and he wasn’t in a position to pay that amount. Ibne Harit said that Masqala could arrange the balance amount in a week’s time. Masqala said that he wouldn’t like to burden others for the amount. Then he said,“If Muawiya was there at this time, he wouldn’t have pressured me to pay up! Even if Hazrat Othman was there he would have written off the demand! He used to give 100,000 Dirhams of the tribute from Azarbaijan to Ashas ibne Qais!” Zahl said,“This is Ali (a.s)! He will not leave even a Dirham from the Muslimm’s funds!” Hearing this, Masqala left Koofa unannounced in the night and went away to Muawiya! The Imam (a.s) heard about this and said that if he had explained his problem, we wouldn’t have demanded immediate payment of the balance.His act of releasing the captives was noble but his escape was like that of a slave! Muawiya received masqala with great fanfare and made him the emir of Tabristan. He sent a letter through a Christian, Halwan,to his brother, Naeem ibne Habira, that if he came away to Damascus, muawiya had promised to give him an important assignment. Malik ibne Kaab intercepted this letter and gave it to the Imam (a.s) and brought the Christian to his presence. As a punishment for his offence of perfidy his hand was chopped. The man died of that ninjury. His tribe, Bani Taghlab learned about the killing of Halwan and they surrounded Masqala and said that he was the cause of the death of the man. He should either bring him back to life or pay the Deet for his death. He paid the Deet and escaped from that trouble.

In addition to Kharit, there were other smaller groups of Khawarij that were creating trouble from time to time. But the Iraqi troops controlled them.

During Rabi Thani 38 H Ashras ibne Auf Shaibani raised the standard of rebellion at Daskara and started for Anbar with a contingent of 200 men. The Ameer al Momineen (a.s) sent 300 men under Abrash ibne Hisan to quell this rebellion. Ashras was killed and the remnanat of his force scattered.

During Jamadi Awwal 38 H Hilal ibne Alfa and his brother Mujahid rebelled with a group of 200 men. The Imam (a.s) sent Mauqil ibne Qais in their pursuit. They fought a battle at Masabzan where Hilal and Mujahid were killed and thus the rebellion was crushed.

During Jamadi Ukhra 38 H Ashab ibne Bashar rebelled along with 180 men. He first went to Masabzan where Hilal ibne Alfa and his companions were killed. He offered the funeral prayer for the death and buried many of the dead in the battle. Then he moved out to create mischief and disturbance. Ameer al Momineen (a.s) sent Jaria bin Qadama to teach him a lesson. He met the rebel in the environs of Jukhi at Jarjaraya.Both the parties took out their swords and Ashab, along with his companions, was killed.

During Rajab 38 H Saeed ibne Qafl Tamimi raised the standard of rebellion at Bandnijeen and with 200 men created havoc at Zanjan. The emir of Madaen, Saad ibne Masood fought with him and killed the rebels.

During Ramadan 38 H Abu Mariam Saadi Tamimi rebelled in the town of Zore. He had with him 200 or 400 men.of whom were mostly non-Arab gallivants and only 6 Arabs were there. He established camp at a distance of 5 Farsakh from Koofa and planned to plunder the city. When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) learned about this, he sent one person to ask acquaint him with the conswquences of rebellion and to persuade him to enter into the Bai-at of the Imam (a.s) and come to Koofa. But Abu Mariam said that they were there to fight and not to owe their allegiance! When the envoy returned back, the Imam (a.s) sent a contingent of 700 men under the command of Sharih ibne Hani. When the contingent hadn’t even settled down the Khawarij made a preemptive attack. 500 men under Sharih ran helter skelter and he had only 200 steadfast with him who took shelter in a settlement nearby. Out of the deserters some went to Koofa and some rejoined their contingent. When the Imam (a.s) heard about the predicament of the contingent, he sent jaria ibne Qadama to the Khawarij to frighten them and force them into obedience. Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) too went behind Jaria and explained to the rebels the consequences of rebellion. Even this had no effect on them and they refused to abide by the advice given to them. When it was impossible to bring them round, Hazrat (a.s) asked his men to fight. Most of the Khawarij were killed in the fight. Only 50 survived who applied for amnesty. Among the amnesty seekers 40 were injured men who were brought to Koofa and treated there. This was the most intrepid group of the Khawarij that was destroyed.

100. THE DEFEAT OF EGYPT

It has been mentioned while writing the profile of Qais ibne Saad that as long as he remained the governor of Egypt, the administration of the territory was properly run and the Othmanis didn’t get the opportunity to raise their heads. When he was deposed and Mohammed ibne Abu Bakr took over, he was an inexperienced youth of 28 years, and very early in his tenure he called the Othmanis of Khabata to owe their allegiance to the Imam (a.s) and live like law abiding citizens. Otherwise, he asked them to go in exile out of the realm. They neither agreed to owe their allegiance nor they left their place in exile.and said that till the circumstances are improved they wouldn’t owe their allegiance to anyone. Not only this, they surreptitiously started intrigue and mischief. When they heard about the agreement of Tahkeem, they started open rebellion and wanted to disturb the law and order of the province. When Mohammed saw their rebellious activities, he sent Yazeed ibne Harit Kanani and Ibne Hambahan to ask them to stop their intrigue and mischief. But they killed both the persons. Then Mohammed sent Ibne Mazahem Kalabi and he too was killed by them. Muawiya ibne Hadeej Kindi, who was quiet till now, found the atmosphere congenial, and started open intrigue demanding Qasas for the blood of Othman. The people of Kharbata were already with him. Now he was able to register support from other areas as well. The law and order was affected because of these developments and it became difficult for Mohammed to contend with the situation.

When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) learned about the situation in Egypt, he observed that the territory could be handled either by Qais ibne Saad or Malik e Ashtar. He wanted to keep Qais with him till the verdict of the Tahkeem was announced. And also he had been nominated as the governor for Azarbaijan. His other choice was Malik e Ashtar and he wrote to him ,“I had made Mohammed ibne Abu Bakr the governor of Egypt. But people have started intrigue and rebellion against him.He is still young and has little experience in warfare. You appoint Shabeeb ibne Aamir Azdi as your deputy to the governorate of Nasibain and immediately report to me.” Malik reached to the presence of the Imam (a.s) expeditiously. The Imam (a.s) briefed him about the situation in Egypt. He asked him to proceed to Egypt and handle the situation to the best of his ability and discretion.

When Muawiya got the intelligence that Malik e Ashtar was nominated the governor of Egypt, he got worried because he had promised the governorate to Umro ibne Aas and was under the impression that Mohammed ibne Abu Bakr could easily be defeated to effect the changeover. But handling Malik e Ashtar would be a harder nut to crack. He thought of getting Malik killed before he reached Egypt. Therefore he sent a message to Jayastar, chief of his tributary Qulzum:

“Malik e Ashtar has been appointed the functionary for Egypt. If you remove him from the way, till you and I live, I shall not take any tribute from you!”

Ref: Tareeq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 178

The question about the implication of the Shariah here is not important. The question arises where the person respects and follows the norms of Shariah. Where power and pelf is the only objective, shariah is secondary! Jayestar reached Qulzum to comply with the orders of Muawiya. When Malik e Ashtar reached there on his way to Egypt, he welcomed him with much fanfare and after entertaining him served a beverage of honey that was laced with poison. He drank a little of that beverage when the poison had its lethal effect on him.and he died shortly thereafter. When Muawiya was informed of this, he went to the pulpit and said:

“Ali (a.s) had two hands; one was severed in Siffin ( meaning Ammar Yassir) and the other has been cut away today ( meaning Malik e Ashtar).”

Ref: Tareeq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 178

When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) got the news , he said“Inna lillah wa inna ilahi rajeoon” and added,“What to talk of Malik, he was an exemplary person in himself! May Allah Bless him. He fulfilled his promise and reached the Presence of Allah! For us the biggest calamity was the demise of the Prophet (s.a)and thereafter we accustomed ourselves to forbearance at every step!”

Mohammed ibne Abu Bakr was unhappy over his being deposed from the governorate. When the Imam (a.s) learned of his feelings, he wrote to him,“I have not effected this change with any feeling that you were not performing properly. I wanted to place you in an area where you will have less pressure. The person whom I had sent to replace you as the governor of Egypt was our friend , well wisher and a great swordsman. May Allah be kind on him that he is no more!We were happy with him,and Allah too will be happy with him! You remain firm to meet the onslaught of the enemy!Allah will help you!” Mohammed replied,“I value your satisfaction more than anything else! Whatever commands you give, I shall abide by them! I shall meet the enemy with all the energy at my disposal”

Muawiya, after eliminating malik e Ashtar, had a conclave with his advisers Umro ibne Aas, Habib ibne Maslima, Basar ibne Abi Artat, Zohak ibne Qais, Abd ar Rehman ibne Khalid, Abul Aiwar Salami and Sharjeel ibne Samat Kindi and told them ,“You know for what reason I have called you today.?” They said,“Only you must know what you have in your mind to communicate to us!” Umro said,“Perhaps the purpose of calling a meeting today is to ask for our opinion about Egypt.” Muawiya said,“Yes! I have called you for that purpose only! “Umro said, “Our opinion is not hidden from any one! We think that if Egypt is annexed, it will enhance your prestige and our prestige as well and we will raise our standard higher!” Muawiya asked others of their opinion and everyone agreed with Umro’s opinion. Muawiya said,“We have our friends and supporters in Egypt. We shall strengthen our ties with them offering gifts and gratifications. We shall have to frighten our opponents out of their wits that they are left with no courage to face us. How nice it will be that we succeed in this campaign without fighting!” Umro said,“Fight will be inevitable! There is no other route to success than that!”

After this discussion, Muawiya wrote a letter to Muslima ibne Mukhlid Ansari and Muawiya ibne Hadeej Sakuni and sent it with his slave Sabih to Egypt. He appreciated their efforts in the letter and asked them to be more active. He tempted them with offers of giving them important positions in the governance of the Province. Muslima ibne Mukhlid wrote back, on his and on behalf of Ibne Hadij , that they would take this step to improve there Hereafter. They neither required position nor power. He exhorted Muawiya to send his troops fast. The opponents’ morale was at a very low ebb. He said that if the help arrived in time, Allah will help them to succeed! Muawiya got this letter in Palestine. From there only he sent a contingent of 6,000 troops under the command of Umro towards Egypt. When Umro reached near Egypt the Othmanis gathered around him. Umro was carrying a letter from Muawiya addressed to Mohammed ibne Abu Bakr, which he sent him. He had written in the letter,“You were one of those who besieged Othman. You will be punished for that! “Umro himself wrote a letter to Mohammed, “The people of Egypt have turned against you! No one is willing to support you! Therefore you must save your life and escape from Egypt!” Mohammed sent both the letters to Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) and wrote to him,“Umro ibne Aas is campinmg outside the city with his contingent! I don’t find any spirit of combat in my men. Therefore, please send reinforcements urgently so that we are able to fight with the enemy!” The Imam (a.s) wrote back to him,“Mobilize as many men as you can! Try to boost the morale of your men! I shall send reinforcements soon.” Mohammed ibne Abu Bakr mobilized 4,000 troops and divided them into two groups. On one group he appointed Kanana Ibne Bashar as the commander, and on the other he was himself in command. When Kanana advanced to fight, Umro started sending one patrol after another to fight..But Kanana pushed back all the advances of Umro’s men. Then Umro thought that the contingent of 6,000 men was insufficient and he sought reinforcements from Muawiya ibne Hadeej. Muawiya brought his men and together with Umro’s men they besieged Kanana’s contingent. When Kanana saw that his contingent was surrounded, he alighted from his horse and his men too came to the ground. They jumped towards the enemies with swords in hands. But they were unable to break through the circle. When Mohammed saw this predicament of Kanan, he rushed to his help with his contingent. When Mohammed’s men saw the predicament of Kanana’s troops, they started deserting. The men under siege were attacked and killed by the enemy. Now Mohammed had no way other than somehow escaping from there. Therefore he fled and hid himself in a ruin. When Muawiya ibne Hadeej learned that Mohammed had escaped, he himself went in his search. He saw some men at a place and asked them if they saw someone passing that way. On of them said that he had seen a person enter the ruin near there. Ibne Hadeej thought it must certainly be his quarry. Therefore, he peeped into the ruin.and found that Mohammed was there. He asked him to come out, tied him up and took him along. When Abd ar Rehman ibne Abu Bakr, who was in the Syrian army learned about the arrest of his brother, he asked Umro ibne Aas to order Ibne Hadeej not to kill him. Umro sent word to Ibne Hadeej to send Mohammed to him. Ibne Hadeej said that you people have killed my cousin Kanana ibne Bashr and want to rescue Mohammed ibne Abu Bakr. He will not escape from my hands now. When Mohammed saw that death was hovering over his head, he asked his captor to give some water to quench his trhirst. Ibne Hadeej refused to give him water and said that they had kept Othman thirsty for days before killing him. He said,“May Allah not quench my thrist if I give you a drop of water! I shall kill you thirsty and Allah will quench your thirst with boiling water and pus in the Hell!” Mohammed said,“O son of a Jewess! This is neither in your control nor in the control of Othman! Allah will satiate his friends and will keep such persons as you are thirsty! By Allah! If I had a sword in my hand it wouldn’t be in your power to take me captive” Ibne Hadeej said,“Now you are under my captivity. I shall first kill you and then keep your body in the skin of an ass and burn you!” Mohammed said, “If you do such a thing, it wouldn’t be strange. You have been treating the friends of Allah in this manner! I hope Allah will cool that fire on me the way He did for Ibrahim Khalil Allah (a.s)! He will consign your friends Muawiya and Umro ibne Ass to the Hellfire. He will increase the flames when they started to go down. At this Ibne Hadeej hit Mohammed with his sword who fell down to the ground unconscious. There was still some life in him when they put him inside the skin of a dead ass and burned him. When Umm al Momineen Ayesha heard about the killing of her brother, she cried inconsolably. She used to curse his killers after every prayer till she lived.

Ameer al Momineen (a.s) had written to Mohammed that he was making arrangements to send reinforcements of troops. Therefore when Abd Allah ibne Qain and Kaab ibne Abd Allah brought Mohammed’s message, he asked the people of Koofa to go to Egypt and asked them to assemble at Jar-aa, a place between Koofa and Hera, the next day. The next day Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) himself reached there and waited for the men the whole day. But the number of arrivals didn’t cross even a hundred. Disheartened, the Imam (a.s) returned back. In the night he gathered the elites of Koofa and said,“When I give you an ordser, you turn away your faces! I am now disgusted with your company. Niether you have the national spirit nor that of the Faith! When Muawiya calls for people, they come in hordes! But when I call you your tongues become dumb although you are intelligent people!” Kaab ibne Malik Arhabi said,“Ya Ameer al Momineen (a.s)! I am ready to go on this expedition! “He told to the people of Koofa, “O people! Fear Allah! Say ‘Labbaek’at your Imam (a.s)’s call and come out to fight the enemy!” When Kaab expressed his willingness to go on the Campaign, the Imam (a.s) asked his slave, Saad, to make a general proclamation that the people should gather under the standard of Kaab and reach out to support Mohammed expeditiously. But the men took a month to mobilize. When Kaab started with a contingent of 2,000 men, the Imam (a.s) said that he had no hope that they would reach in time to help Mohammed ibne Abu Bakr.

Only 2 to 4 days after the contingent left for Egypt, when Hajaj bin Ghazia Ansari, who was in the army of Mohammed ibne Abu Bakr, came to Koofa and brought the sad tiding that Egypt was captured and Mohammed was killed.. Abd ar Rehman ibne Shabib returned from Syria and said that the people were never so happy like when they learned that Egypt had been conquered.and they heard of the killing of Mohammed ibne Abu Bakr. The Imam (a.s) said that he was much more sad than those people were happy over the killing of Mohammed ibne Abu Bakr. Seeing the Imam (a.s) sad, some people asked him,“Ya Ameer al Momineen(a.s)! Why are you so sad over his killing?” The Imam (a.s) said:

“Why shouldn’t I be sad? I had brought him up and he was the brother of my sons! I am his father and he considered himself as my son.”

Ref: Shara ibne Abil Hadeed, Vol 6, Page 302

Now there wasn’t any need to send a contingent to Egypt. The Imam (a.s) sent Abd ar Rehman ibne Sharih to go and ask Kaab ibne Malik to bring back his contingent.

Muawiya wanted to keep his hold on Syria and also to capture Egypt. On this basis he had promised to make Umro ibne Aas the governor of Egypt. He thought that if the people of Iraq and those of Egypt stood up together, Syria would become like something between the two stones of the grinder. He though that Syria was not save till Egypt was annexed. Besides this, Egypt was a very fertile area and the tribute from there was much more than that from other provinces. Whether Muawiya’s sights were on the tribute from Egypt or not, he wanted to deprive Hazrat Ali (a.s) of the revenue from there and weaken him economically. That would help him to subdue him in time.

Although there were supporters of Hazrat Othman in Egypt, they were only about 10,000 who were concentrated in Kharabta. Generally the Egyptians were against the supporters of Othman. Therefore, on the initiative of Mohammed ibne Hudaifa the largest number of persons rose from here against Hazrat Othman who had besieged him. In these circumstances the fall of Egypt was the consequence of poor administration. Muawiya had very cunningly made efforts to make the administration weak before attacking it. Therefore, Mohammed ibne Hudaifa, who had become the emir of Egypt by removing Abd Allah ibne Abi Sarah, was killed treacherously. Then he tried to win over Qais ibnme Saad by offering gratifications. When he didn’t agree to his temptations, he wrote counterfeit letters and got him deposed from the governorate of Egypt. Then he used very mean methods to poison Malik e Ashtar who was on his way to take charge of the governorate of Egypt.

Although Mohammed ibne Abu Bakr was young and inexperienced, he did everything possible to adopt strategies of warfare to meet the enemy. He sent half his force to meet the enemy otside and kept the other half with himself to join them at the proper time. But when his men left him alone, he had no other alternative than trying to save himself by hiding in some place. While the men of Mohammed are blamed for this defeat, the character of the people of Koofa too is under a cloud. If they had responded on time, the result could have been different!