In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Mawaddah Association
presents:
The Ten Promised Paradise:
'Ali Ibn Abi Talib,
may Allah be pleased with him.
"Loving the Companions and the Prophet's kin is an established Sunnah,
with which I shall meet my Lord when He resurrects me."
Loving the Companions and the Prophet's kin...
When the rebel Kharijites stormed
the house of the Commander of the Faithful,
'Uthman Ibn 'Affan, may Allah be pleased with him,
intending to kill him,
his wife defended him:
Na'ilah bint al-Farafisah.
She shielded him from the sword with her bare hand,
and her fingers were severed,
and her husband 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred.
Thereupon, she wrote a letter to
Mu'awiyah Ibn Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him)
in the Levant (al-Sham),
describing how they had broken in upon 'Uthman
and how he was assassinated.
She also sent him 'Uthman's tunic,
which he was wearing when he was killed,
stained with his blood,
along with her severed fingers
that had been cut off while defending him.
She urged him
to avenge her husband's blood,
and dispatched the letter with
al-Nu'man Ibn Bashir, may Allah be pleased with him.
When the letter arrived
to Mu'awiyah,
and he read its contents
and saw the tunic,
he was shaken to his very core.
He ordered the tunic to be taken
and paraded among the troops,
then placed upon the pulpit
for all the people to see,
with her fingers attached to the sleeve of the tunic.
The people wept bitterly at the sight,
stirring each other to tears,
and Mu'awiyah summoned the people
to seek this retribution.
The people began inciting
one another
to demand justice for the blood of 'Uthman,
may Allah be pleased with him,
against those who had murdered him among those
Kharijites.
As we have mentioned earlier,
Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) was not
seeking the caliphate;
rather, he was demanding legal retribution (qisas)
against the murderers of 'Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him.
From
the foregoing,
we understand why he insisted on his demands,
why he was so uncompromising regarding them,
and why he withheld his pledge of allegiance
to 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)
until retribution was exacted—
for he considered
himself to be the next of kin entitled to seek retribution.
He genuinely believed he was in the right,
and that Allah would grant him victory.
For it had reached him
that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
was once seated
with some of his Companions,
when 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan
(may Allah be pleased with him) passed by,
and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"A tribulation will surely emerge
from beneath the feet of
this man;
he and those who follow him on that day
will be upon guidance."
Mu'awiyah regarded himself
as one of the followers of 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him),
and thus upon guidance.
Moreover,
he considered himself among the Victorious Group,
who were said to be
the people of the Levant,
as conveyed by the Prophet,
peace and blessings be upon him.
Such reports reinforced
his conviction and that of his followers.
On the other hand, there is no doubt that
the Commander of the Faithful, 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib,
may Allah be pleased with him,
held a position strengthened by
the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:
"A renegade faction will break away
at a time of division among the Muslims;
they will be fought by the closer
of the two parties to the truth."
And this is precisely what occurred,
as will be detailed later, if Allah wills.
For the Kharijites
emerged when the Muslims differed,
and 'Ali fought them,
may Allah be pleased with him,
thereby proving to be closer to the truth.
The Commander of the Faithful,
'Ali Ibn Abi Talib
(may Allah be pleased with him), inaugurated his caliphate
in the year 36 AH.
He proceeded
to appoint his governors
over the major provinces:
he appointed 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas
(may Allah be pleased with them both) over Yemen,
Samurah Ibn Jundub
(may Allah be pleased with him) over Basra,
'Ammar Ibn Shihab
over Kufa,
Qays Ibn Sa'd Ibn 'Ubadah
(may Allah be pleased with them both) over Egypt,
and Sahl Ibn Hunayf
(may Allah be pleased with him) over the Levant,
to replace Mu'awiyah,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Sahl Ibn Hunayf (may Allah be pleased with him)
departed for the Levant,
but was turned back by Mu'awiyah's cavalry.
Thereupon, the Commander of the Faithful,
'Ali Ibn Abi Talib
(may Allah be pleased with him), realized
that the Levant had defied his authority.
He dispatched Jarir Ibn 'Abdullah
al-Bajali to Mu'awiyah,
may Allah be pleased with them both,
bearing a letter
informing him of the consensus of the Muhajirun
and the Ansar in pledging allegiance to him,
and calling upon him to enter
into that which the people had entered.
Mu'awiyah summoned
'Amr Ibn al-'As and the notables
of the Levant to consult them,
and they refused to give the pledge of allegiance
until the killers of 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him)
were brought to justice,
or surrendered to them.
When they refused to enter
into the pledge of allegiance and cast off obedience,
at that point,
the Commander of the Faithful (may Allah be pleased with him) deemed them
rebels against whom
fighting was justified.
He mobilized from Kufa, determined
to march against the people of the Levant.
When Mu'awiyah
(may Allah be pleased with him) learned of the advance of
'Ali Ibn Abi Talib
(may Allah be pleased with him) from Kufa
at the head of fifty thousand warriors,
he prepared
likewise to march forth.
The military contingents of the Levant were mobilized,
and they gathered;
banners and standards were raised,
and they marched with around
forty thousand warriors
toward the Euphrates in the region of
Siffin.
They seized control of the water source in that area,
so as to compel
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)
and his men to withdraw
back to Iraq without engaging in battle.
'Ali Ibn Abi Talib
(may Allah be pleased with him) arrived with his army
at the plain of Siffin,
only to find Mu'awiyah's army already positioned there,
controlling the water.
Thereupon,
he commanded one of his generals to attack
the positions along the water
and liberate it from the hands of
the Levantine army.
When Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) saw
that, he said:
"Leave them be, for water
is not to be withheld."
The two armies drew up their ranks,
and the two battle lines met in a spectacle
most solemn and distressing,
bringing tears to the eyes
and breaking the heart.
For you would see
that whenever this side proclaimed the Takbir,
the other proclaimed the Takbir;
and whenever the latter proclaimed the Tahlil,
These people also raised their voices with praise;
two great parties of the believers
were clashing with swords,
each side believing itself
to be in the right—
so the one who exercised ijtihad correctly
receives two rewards,
while the one who erred receives the reward of his striving.
And the decree of Allah
came to pass: the fighting
erupted, swords crossed,
souls departed,
and many of Allah's creation
were slain;
and there is no power nor might
except with Allah, the Most High,
the Supreme.
Amid these tumultuous events,
there emerged from the army of 'Ali,
may Allah be pleased with him,
a man of foremost faith,
an early pioneer in Islam
whose flesh and blood
were infused with belief;
a man who was the very benchmark
of justice in those conflicts,
about whom the Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"The transgressing group shall kill you."
Yes,
it was 'Ammar ibn Yasir,
may Allah be pleased with him.
He stepped forward between
the battle ranks,
though he was an elderly man, calling out to
his companions:
"Whoever wishes to be embraced by
the maidens of Paradise,
let him advance between the two ranks,
seeking Allah's reward!
By the One in Whose hand is my soul,
even if they strike us back so hard that they drive us
all the way to the date-palms of Hajar,
I would still know with certainty that we are on the truth
and that they are in error!"
Then he called for some milk,
drank from it, and said:
"Paradise has been brought near,
and the maidens of Paradise are wed!
Today we shall meet our beloved ones,
Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his Companions!
For indeed, the Prophet, peace be upon him,
pledged to me
that my last provision in
this worldly life would be a draught of
milk."
So he charged forward and fought a hero's
fight until he was martyred,
may Allah be pleased with him.
The army of the Levant was shaken
once word spread of the slaying of
'Ammar ibn Yasir, may Allah be pleased with him,
and their ranks fell into disarray.
'Amr ibn al-'As entered
upon Mu'awiyah, may Allah be pleased with
them both, in deep distress,
uttering the words of returning to Allah.
Mu'awiyah asked him, "What is the matter with you?"
'Amr replied,
"'Ammar has been killed!"
Mu'awiyah said to him,
"'Ammar has been killed—so what of it?"
'Amr said:
"I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
say:
'The transgressing group will kill him.'"
Mu'awiyah said to him:
"Did we kill him?
It was only 'Ali
and his companions who killed him, when they brought
him out and thrust him
right before our swords!"
The tide of battle turned decisively
in favor of the army of Kufa,
led by 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
may Allah be pleased with him,
and the army of the Levant retreated
under the command of Mu'awiyah,
may Allah be pleased with him,
until they sought refuge upon a mountain.
At that point, the men of
Mu'awiyah raised copies of the Qur'an on their spears
and called for arbitration
by the Book of Allah.
This was to be done by each
side appointing an arbitrator to represent it;
the two arbitrators would then meet
and agree upon what serves
the best interests of the Muslims.
'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him,
accepted their proposal
and said: "Yes,
between us and you is the Book of Allah,
and I have more right to it than you."
Both armies agreed to arbitration
and to end the fighting.
Mu'awiyah chose 'Amr ibn al-'As,
may Allah be pleased with them both,
as the arbitrator representing his side;
and 'Ali chose 'Abdullah
ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both,
as the arbitrator representing his side.
However, the reciters among 'Ali's forces
said, "We will accept none
other than Abu Musa al-Ash'ari,
may Allah be pleased with him."
Now Abu Musa al-Ash'ari
had withdrawn from the civil strife,
so 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, wrote to him
instructing him to join him
at Siffin.
An agreement was reached between the two armies
that the two arbitrators—
'Amr ibn al-'As
and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari,
may Allah be pleased with them both—
would meet in Ramadan of that year
in the village of Adhruh,
near Dawmat al-Jandal.
'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, returned
with his army to Kufa,
while Mu'awiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, returned
with his army to the Levant.
And each leader strictly
instructed his men
that no wounded person was to be dispatched,
no fleeing warrior was to be killed,
no slain soldier was to be despoiled,
and none among them took any spoils of war
from that battle.
The two arbitrators convened
at the appointed time and place,
and the arbitration was attended by
Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan
and 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both.
However, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
may Allah be pleased with him, was unable to attend
because he was occupied
with the uprisings of the Kharijites
at that time.
'Amr said to Abu Musa al-Ash'ari,
may Allah be pleased with them both,
after their deliberations:
"What is your view concerning this matter?"
meaning the caliphate.
Abu Musa replied:
"I believe it belongs to those prominent men with whom
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
was well pleased when he passed away,"
meaning by this
'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.
'Amr said:
"Then where do you place myself and Mu'awiyah?"
Abu Musa replied:
"If he seeks your help,
you can offer assistance;
and if he has no need of you,
Allah's decree has always been independent
of you both."
Thus the arbitration concluded on this note,
and a fateful chapter of history
was brought to a close—
the event known as the Battle of Siffin.
It is essential to point out here
that it is our duty
to maintain the best opinion
of the noble Companions on both sides,
to refrain from delving into the disputes
that broke out between them,
and to interpret their conflict charitably:
they were diligent scholars exercising ijtihad based on their best interpretation,
intending thereby
neither disobedience nor pure worldly ambition;
rather, each side genuinely believed
that it was upon the truth
and that its opponents had transgressed,
making it an obligation to fight them
in compliance with the divine command.
In concluding this painful chapter,
we recount
this gladsome dream
related by
Abu Maysarah, 'Amr ibn Shurahbil,
who was among the most distinguished
companions of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud,
may Allah be pleased with him.
He said: "I saw in
a dream as though I had entered
Paradise, and behold, there were
pitched pavilions.
So I asked, "Whose are these?"
They replied, "They belong to Dhu al-Kala'
and his companions."
And he was among those killed alongside
Mu'awiyah, may Allah be pleased with him.
So I asked, "Then where is
'Ammar?" They answered,
"Ahead of you."
I said, "Even though they killed
one another?"
They replied, "Indeed,
they found Allah, Mighty and Majestic,
all-embracing in forgiveness."
May Allah be pleased with the Companions,
all of them,
and unite us with them in the Gardens
of Eden on the Day of Judgment.
'Ubadah,
the two Sa'ds,
and the two caliphs...