was the story of ‘Ammar bin Yasir, the great companion of the Prophet. When he obtained martyrdom, the Syrians differed over him because of the tradition of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family: “Most surely the oppressive group will kill Ibn Sumayya (i.e. ‘Ammar bin Yasir).” When Amr bin al-‘Aas saw that they differed, he said to them: “Most surely, he who brought him (Ammar) out has killed him!” So they believed his speech and returned to the obedience to Mu’awiya. Of course when a state has such an inattentive, obedient army, it will reach its purposes and achieve its objectives.
Mu’awiya made the people of Sham inattentive, ignorant, and wretched. He made them sink under the yoke of the Umayyad enslavement. He placed between them and the people an iron curtain. He did not allow the others to communicate with them nor did he allow them to communicate with the others lest they should come to know the truth and know Mu’awiya’s falsehood and his usurping the caliphate from its actual people. The politicians after Mu’awiya followed this policy. They deliberately made them lead a life of ignorance. They did not allow awareness to be spread among them. The historians have narrated that Ayas disputed with an old man from among the people of Sham, and their case was brought before the judge. The judge said to him: “Do you not feel shame of that you disputed with an old man, while you are a young man?” “The truth is greater than him,” replied Ayas. So the judge rebuked him and commanded him to keep silent. As a result Ayas said to him: “Who will utter my proof?” So the Judge went to ‘Abd al-Malik and told him about Ayas’s case. ‘Abd al-Malik said to the judge: “Grant his need and bring him out of Sham lest he should spoil the people against us!”[1]
The historians have mentioned many examples of such cases showing the Umayyad policy aiming at deadening awareness and spreading ignorance.
The unanimous Agreement
In the previous researches we have mentioned that the Iraqis were afflicted with disagreement and division. That is because the members of the parties spared no effort to shake the entity of the Hashimite government and to destroy its throne. But all the classes in Sham were not afflicted with such parties, nor were they stricken by the opinions hostile to the standing government. Peace, harmony, and tranquility prevailed over Damascus and all its districts. In the Army and the kingdom the Kharijites had neither place nor
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[1] Ibn Abi al-Hadeed, Sharh Nahj al-Balagha, vol. 4, p. 133.