Part 61

The Battle of Siffeen:

Leading an army of ninety thousand soldiers, the Commander of the Faithful headed for Syria towards the end of Shawaal, 36 AH * Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, had no choice but to battle with Mu*awiyah, having again asked for his pledge of allegiance and having again been turned down. Mu’ awiyah, on the other hand, set out for Iraq at the helm of an cighty five thousand soldier army to encounter Ali's troops. The two parties met at Siffeen by the Euphrates. They did not immediately plunge into fighting. Instead, messengers and delegates kept going back and forth between *Ali and Mu’ awiyah. However, all attempts at hammering out a reconciliation sadly failed. Tension escalated resulting in having both parties standing at sword points. Some sporadic skirmishes took place, but did not amount to an all-out warfare. At the outset of the month of Muharram, 37 AH, these skirmishes came to a stop. Hope for effecting peace between the two antagonistic sides was renewed afresh, yet to no avail. The situation only aggravated and conditions took a turn for the worse. On Safar 1“ , 37 AH, war flared.

For six days on end, grim-visaged warfare held sway, with each side striving to be victorious. Yet, none managed to bring the other to their knees. Despite the fact that the caliph personally took part in the battle and although his troops were contident that they had every reason to fight a rebel against the Commander of the Faithful, the relentless perseverance and ama ing intrepidity of the people of Syria caused them to fight peo le of Iraq tooth and nail. On the seventh day, fighting grew even tenser as Muslims fought with unprecedented vehemence. What made the situation even worse was the killing of ~Ammaar Ibn Yasir, the righteous companion whom the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had foretold the fact that he would be killed at the hands of the transgressing

The death of ~Ammaar Ibn Yasir enkindled enthusiasm in the hearts of Ali's soldiers as it was a solid proof of their being right. His death endorsed the stand of the Commander of the Faithful whom they fought in support. They therefore grew more confident that their opponents were the transgressing party that either had to be brought back to its senses or killed. Inside the opposite camp, news of ~Amaar’s death was indeed significant. Those who knew of the Prophet's prediction were struck by the fact that they were the transgressing party. Hence, they immediately stopped fighting. Placed in a tight corner, Mu* awiyah stepped out to address those soldiers among his ranks who would not fight anymore, saying: "Why are you pulling away? ~*Ammaar was killed by those who sent him to us. We were only defending ourselves."

~Amr suggested holding up books of the Glorious Quran at sword points and asking to resort to the Holy Book for arbitration. ~Amr's idea succeeded in bringing fighting to a halt. That was indeed a subtle maneuver on the part of * Amr Ibn Al-’As whereby he was able to deceive ~ Ali's soldiers. The caliph tried hard to explain to his troops how they were taken in at a time when they almost attained victory. Nonetheless, his soldiers refused to listen to him. Instead, they outspokenly demanded: "Resort to Allah's Holy Book, ~ Ali." ~Ali therefore was forced to order fighting to stop and to reluctantly accept arbitration. The plan was that each side was to choose a representative. ~ Ali initially chose ~ Abdullah Ibn *Abbaas for the job. | However, he was pressured into accepting Abu Musa Al-Ash‘aryy instead. On the other hand, Mu’ awiyah's side opted for ~Amr Ibn Al-- As. The arbitration contract was then written down stipulating that the verdict was to be pronounced at Doowmat Al-Jandal, in Ramadan, 37 AH

This pulls down the curtain on the battle of Siffeen which exacted a heavy toll on Muslims, with casualties totaling to seventy thousand Muslims, including hundreds of the Prophet's companions, along with reciters of the Quran and many scholars. The whole episode was a bullet aimed at Islam. Similar to the battle of Al-Jandal, Muslims committed a grievous mistake by fighting one another and shedding each other's blood.

Though the battle of Siffeen_came to an end when fighting between both sides stopped, the conditions Mu’ awiyah was in were totally different from those * Ali was in. People of Syria grew more attached to Mu’ awiyah. They therefore were

divided into two groups: * Ali's Shia (i.e. supporters) whose loyalty to him remained unshaken, and the Kharijites who refused the idea of arbitration, and who asked the Commander of the Faithful not to go through with it and to continue to fight Mu awiyah instead. When * Ali refused to listen to them, they rose against him and would not go back to Al-Kufah. The Kharijites were thus against both * Ali and Mu awiyah. What matters most is that they were a thorn in ~ Ali's side, They were a constant distraction preventing * Ali from focusing on his opponent, Mu*awiyah, who, in turn, made an excellent use of the truce organizing his ranks and preparing for a future encounter.

to Muslims to choose whomever they please." ~ Amr returned, "TL agree."

The two arbitrators then stepped out to speak to the gathered delegates. ~Amr said: " Tell them that we have reached an agreement, Abu Musa." Abu Musa took the floor and spoke saying: "Amr and I have agreed on something which we pray shall be to the benefit of this nation." “Amr commented: "He speaks the truth. Step forward and speak, Abu Musa." So Abu Musa did. Ibn * Abbas cried: "Woe unto you! 1 swear I think he has deceived you. If you have truly agreed on something, let him break it to us first, then you take the floor. I would not put it beyond him that he only pretended to agree with you, but will object to what you say the moment you step out to address the public.". Abu Musa returned, "We have reached an agreement."

Abu Musa then stepped forward and took jhe floor. He started off praising Allah, exalted be He. He then proceeded to say: "Fellow Muslims, we have contemplated the issue and have concluded that nothing would be more beneficial to this nation or would help more to bring it together except one thing that “Amr and I have agreed on. We decided to depose both ~Ali and Mu*awiyah. So take the matter in your hands and appoint whomever you believe is best suited for the post.” He then stepped down and *Amr took the floor. He began his words by praising Allah and glorifying Him. He then said: "As you heard, Abu Musa has just deposed his friend (i.e. ~ Ali). As for me, I endorse my friend (i.e. Mu*awiyah) as he is *Uthmaan's companion. He demands that he be avenged and he is the one most entitled to succeed him."

Just as asking to resort to the arbitration of the Quran was a ploy devised by * Amr, the result of the arbitration, too, was a trap on the part of “Amr. Unfortunately, Abu Musa was

taken in too easily. He was shocked at this bitter act of betrayal. So he insulted “Amr. “Amr, too, returned the insults. Swear words and libels flew between the two parties until the gathering broke up. People of Syria went back to Mu*awiyah thinking they won the round. They therefore addressed him as the caliph. ~ Ali's supporters went back to Kufah, more dedicated to him and ever more committed. The result of the arbitration only caused them to grow closer to * Ali and to be more confident that he did merit the caliphate.

Among the other party, who were originally part of “Ali's ranks in Seffeen, but who revolted against him when he accepted the arbitration, were the Kharijites. They constituted a third party that recognized neither “Ali nor Mu*awiyah. When the results of the arbitration came in, the Commander of the Faithful asked them to return to his troops in order to fight Mu awiyah and the entire people of Syria. They insolently answered: "An act of disobeying Allah did not upset you. Instead, you were outraged for being deposed. If you admit infidelity then repent your sin, we will consider the issue. Otherwise, we will fight you. Allah loves not the traitors." Thereupon, * Ali invoked Allah's curse on them saying: "After I had believed in Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, migrated with him and striven for the cause of Allah, you expect me to admit infidelity? I will have gone astray should I do." He then turned and walked away.

“Ali then called on the companions to march to Syria afresh to fight Mu*awiyah and his troops. Shockingly, the Kharijites rebelled against everyone, violated the bounds of Islam, spread mischief in the land, held permissible what Allah forbade, shed Muslims' blood and mutilated their bodies. It became evident that they had to be annihilated before heading