Ammar Ibn Yasir (ra) - A Companion of the Prophet ('s)
Chapter 15: One Murdered By the Rebellious Group
After Abdullah bin Abbas, the new Governor of Basra, assumed the reins
of office and acquired control over the state of affairs and the life of
the people became normal, peace prevailed throughout the vast Islamic
territories except in Syria.
However, the conditions in Syria was not important in itself because
the rebel in that area was Mu'awiya, and if, according to the values
prevalent in the world of Islam in those days, some people had regard
for Talha, Zubayr and the Mother of the Faithful A’isha. Mu'awiya, on
the contrary, did not enjoy any value in the eyes of the Islamic world
and was known as a freedman son of a freedman.
All knew that he was the son of that very person who assumed the
leadership of the clans (Ahzab) and instigated the Jews to annihilate
Islam. For this reason the circumstances of Syria or the mischief of
Mu'awiya in Damascus had no real importance, but its importance was
connected with the historical environments and the factors of the time.
In fact these very factors were the cause of campaign against ‘Ali and
not that the fraud and deceit practised by Mu'awiya in his Machiavellian
politics strengthened his position.
In any case the reasons advanced by Mu'awiya for rebellion against ‘Ali
had no basis except vain sophistry, and he was automatically considered
annihilated even before he was subjected to the blow of truth.
Mu'awiya accused ‘Ali of the murder of ‘Uthman, but there was not even
one person throughout the world of Islam of that day who might confirm
this charge.
Those who considered ‘Ali innocent of this accusation had no doubt that
Mu'awiya himself was an accomplice in the murder of ‘Uthman, because,
notwithstanding the fact that he could save ‘Uthman he refrained from
doing so. Moreover, ‘Uthman had sons who were his heirs and the
guardians of his blood. Mu'awiya stole a march on them and assumed this
title himself. And even if he had taken a step in this behalf in the
capacity of an agent it may be said that he would have made a mistake,
because the proper way for solving such problems is to approach the law
court and not to resort to rebellion and revolt.
Besides this Mu'awiya claimed that he had not taken an oath of
allegiance to ‘Ali, as had been done by Talha and Zubayr and it was not,
therefore, incumbent upon him to obey the new Caliph.
It may be said in this connection that Mu'awiya’s ignorance of the
problem was more baseless then his original claim, because he wanted to
provide for a rule on the subject on the basis of exceptions and to make
it prevail over the general orders and forge a sanctity for himself so
that by this action he might show the Islamic society to be false and
depraved. And relying on this he claimed that the vote of the people of
Syria and not of those of the Hijaz was worthy of obedience.
Anyhow I do not know, if this claim of Mu'awiya was not domineering and
coercion, what else domineering and coercion are!
All the reasoning and arguments of Mu'awiya were feeble and baseless
like the vegetables which grow on the surface of water and he himself
knew that they were even feebler than that. He relied on this pretext
only for the reason that he knew that the power of understanding and
assessment of the people was weaker and more baseless than even the
strength of such vegetables.
Apart from this the decision taken by Mu'awiya in those days was not
something new.
It was a deep and comprehensive decision which had traversed many
stages with care and solidity. This fact has already been referred to in
this book and the readers have not perhaps forgotten Abu Sufyan's having
been turned away by ‘Ali after the meeting at Saqifa.
Anyhow these stages were the outcome of some historical factors which
proved to be more beneficial for the Umayyad party-spirit as compared
with the Hashimite justice. Furthermore, the historical events which
manifested themselves during the period of the third Caliph were the
most effective factors which according to the exigencies of the time
proved harmful to ‘Ali. ‘Ali had all these matters in view and none knew
better than he that during this interval, as demanded by the
circumstances, the only way of over coming the difficulties and the last
means to arrive at a final solution was soothing covetousness and
returning to the revival of party spirit and purchase of consciences!
But Imam ‘Ali was a man who said: "I am not going to seek help from the
deviated seducers or to make them the means of success.” He made this
position clearly known to Mughira who contacted him and suggested that
Mu'awiya might be allowed to retain Damascus.
Imam ‘Ali gave the same reply to Mu'awiya when he asked him to entrust
the government of Damascus and Cairo to him so that he (Mu'awiya) might
take oath of allegiance to him. ‘Ali rejected his request. He adopted
this attitude because he considered himself under obligation to enforce
Islamic principles and at the same time the path of solving the
political problems in the manner in which his contemporary politicians
and those of later ages reflected upon was closed before him and he was
not neglectful of it.
However, he was on his guard against treachery, deceit and bargaining
and as his conduct was peculiar to himself he did not pay attention to
the political behaviour and policies of others. For this reason and
taking into account the rule and principle which he had in view he did
not agree to allow Mu'awiya to retain Syria and as a matter of principle
his action with regard to Mu'awiya was based on the same rule and
principle according to which he had rejected Mu'awiya's request
previously and had said: "I am not going to seek help from the
seducers.”
He also knew very well that the observance of this rule and principle
was not compatible with the spirit of his time and following this policy
would create the greatest difficulties for him. Nevertheless the only
factor and cause which made him persevere and consider the exigencies of
time to be insignificant was that, he wished that there should be ‘Ali
and not Mu'awiya.
Imam ‘Ali was struggling to safeguard and enforce this principle and
rule and not to attain to ruler ship and kingdom. He did not desire a
transient victory but wished to achieve a permanent and eternal
victory.
The clearest proof of the correctness of this claim and of his careful
attention towards these things is that he said to some of his companions
who were showing much humiliation before him: "I know with which factor
and means I should make you obey me. However I tell you that I am not
the man who would spoil and corrupt his faith so that your material
desires may be fulfilled.”
Yes, the crux of the matter is that ‘Ali was campaigning against
immorality, mischief, indecency and corruption and in this struggle
which he had undertaken against moral vices and to uproot indecency and
uncleanness from the souls of the people, he did not exempt even those
of his friends and kinsmen in whose nature this ailment had penetrated.
In short in this campaign friends and enemies were equal in his eyes and
in the circumstances it is evident that for Mu'awiya, who was drowned in
intellectual and practical evils, there was no place in this
organization and he was a man who could not succeed by any other way
except evil.
However the object of dwelling at length on this subject is that the
genius and intelligence which has been attributed to Mu'awiya, and his
extraordinary efficiency and competence about which much has been said,
is all exaggeration and idle talk. In fact the entire success of this
man was indebted to those very fictitious qualities mixed with mischief
and evil and such successes and victories as are the consequences of
such vicious practices.
Another important point in this connection is that the apparent
successes of Mu'awiya certainly sprang from the perseverance and
steadfastness of ‘Ali in protecting the principles and elements of
truth. It is evident that persons who were after worldly gains and
pleasures and could not achieve their ends by associating with ‘Ali
naturally turned to Mu'awiya to secure their goals.
Incidentally this aspect of the matter should also be made clear that
the atmosphere preceding the ruler ship of ‘Ali had distracted the
people from true Islamic principles and matters had taken such a turn,
that it was said: "Only that person who is dominant and powerful has a
right to live, and predominance and victory can only be gained under the
shadow of accumulation of wealth, hoarding, seizing an opportunity,
enlargement of influence and acquisition of the objects of desire.”
It is apparent that if, in these circumstances, ‘Ali had resorted to
diplomacy, he could have very easily eliminated the gains made by his
opponents. And it is also evident that it was easier for ‘Ali to
overcome Mu'awiya with the same weapon of politics then to subdue those
who had broken the covenant.
The revolt of Mu'awiya during those days was not very important in the
light of the true Islamic criteria. The real danger arose from the
causes and effects of the prevailing atmosphere and the danger of
resistance and perseverance in seeking absolute truth was the greatest
of all.
However, in spite of all these conditions and circumstances it must be
admitted that, the most important factors were perseverance, resistance
and steadfastness in protecting and supporting absolute truth and
ignoring the suggestions of those who asked Imam ‘Ali to resort to
compromises and flattery.
Anyhow during the days when ‘Ali was staying in Kufa the condition of
Mu'awiya and his activities which seemed languid and weak to every
reflective and sensible person appeared all the more worthless and
unimportant to ‘Ali. Notwithstanding this, however, ‘Ali did not ignore
the elements which had been created by the circumstances and events to
the benefit of Mu'awiya which had prepared favourable environments for
strengthening his position. The matters had taken such a turn that
Mu'awiya had begun coveting the office of the Caliphate and nurtured
this fancy in his mind that he might be nominated for it.
However, ‘Ali, while being fully cognizant of this state of affairs,
remained steadfast and well composed. At the same time he could not only
read clearly in the horizon of the coming events the evil results of the
preliminaries of future campaigns, but he also afforded liberty of
action to the enemy with perfect calmness, so that he might have a clear
and well-founded ground for jihad against Mu'awiya, and the
responsibility for the war which the agitators were going to start
should be on the oppressive deviated persons, just as the responsibility
for the previous war fell on the covetous breakers of the covenant and
that for the future war was to fall on the Khawarij .
During the time when ‘Ali was in Kufa letters were exchanged between
him and Mu'awiya, ‘Ali consulted his companions about current affairs
and apprised them of the developments. His companions suggested that
they might spend that year in Kufa and wait, but ‘Ammar, Ashtar, Adyy
bin Hatim (famous for his generosity) and Shurayh bin Hani opposed this
view.
‘Ammar said: "O Commander of the faithful! We have taken oath of
allegiance to you and find none, who may rise against you. Previously
there were persons who rose to fight against you but the Almighty Allah
routed them and helped you in accordance with the verse: Whoever
retaliates in the same manner as he was made to suffer and then is
oppressed again, Allah will certainly help him. (Surah al-Hajj, 22:60)
And as clearly stated by Him in another verse: Whoever breaks the
covenant breaks it to his own detriment, (Surah al-Fath, 48: 10), those
who broke the covenant received punishment for their conduct.
Another point is that during those days Kufa supported us and Basra was
opposed to us. One group from amongst us was rewarded and the other was
excused.
At present, however, we are involved in an irremediable trouble in
Syria and a person, who has revolted, will not submit unless he is
killed or defeated. In the circumstances we should forestall him. I
would, therefore, request you to issue orders for mobilization".
Ashtar and others who were of the same opinion supported ‘Ammar's view.
Soon afterwards ‘Ali received news of the mobilization of Mu'awiya's
forces and it became certain that Mu'awiya was on the war path and was
preparing to attack.
The Commander of the Faithful, therefore, equipped an army consisting
of 190,000 warriors and proceeded to Siffin at the head of this army. In
this army as well the Commander of the cavalry was ‘Ammar.
The result of the first encounter of the two parties was that Mu'awiya
obtained control of the water-way and did not allow ‘Ali and his forces
to use it.
Before the brave and distinguished warriors of Badr and the Muhajirs
and the Ansar and the soldiers of Muzar and Rabi 'a and the chiefs of
Yemen and Iraq could commence fighting and achieve any result from it,
Ashtar, in order to achieve victory, put forward suggestions which
obliged Mu'awiya and his minister to resort to cold war by discussion,
debate, oration, lecturing and sending letters. These were the
prerequisites for such a war. It is evident that the superiority of the
supporters of ‘Ali in this cold war was as much established in the minds
of the enemies as their superiority in the matter of swordsmanship.
If there were Mu'awiya, 'Amr As and his son Abdullah in that party,
there were on this side, besides Imam ‘Ali, great orators like Abdullah
bin Abbas, ‘Ammar Yasir, Malik Ashtar, Ash'ath bin Qays (although a
hypocrite), Ahnaf bin Qays, ‘Uthman bin Hunayf, Sa'sa'a bin Sohan, Adyy
bin Hatim and hundreds of others from amongst the Muhajirs and the Ansar
of Badr, all of whom possessed intelligence, insight, sagacity and
experience and were very eloquent, whereas the persons in the opposite
row did not possess these qualities.
Mu'awiya and his minister ‘Amr As were persons who were extreme
opportunists. They had gained experiences regarding the conduct of ‘Ali
in the Battle of Basra so as to utilize them at the opportune time. They
had now acquired an opportunity and wanted to profit from those
experiences. Hence, in order to strengthen the morale of the Syrian
soldiers and to dodge military action they resorted to stratagems. To
achieve this end they decided to defame the outstanding leaders and
distinguished personalities of Iraq and to make them appear despised and
degraded in the eyes of the Syrians.
Amr As who had previously carried on correspondence with some Iraqi
hypocrites like Ash'ath now began to lecture to the Syrians and
endeavoured to delude and seduce them.
As soon as the sound of the speech of ‘Amr reached the ears of ‘Ammar
he got up to put an end to this cold war. In spite of his old age and
feebleness, he raised his thunderous voice which was sustained by
resolution and determination and said: "O slaves of Allah! Rise and
hurry up towards these people who want to avenge the murder of a tyrant.
Some benevolent and righteous persons who were opponents of cruelty and
oppression and supporters of justice and goodness rose and killed that
man. Now these people have risen and want to avenge the murder of such a
person upon us. These persons who claim to be the avengers of his murder
are of a type that if their worldly ambitions are achieved and Islam is
destroyed they will not mind it. Such persons asked us: "Why did you
kill him?" We replied. "On account of the unlawful things he did.” They
said: "He didn't do anything unlawful.”
Do you know why they said all this? It was because he ensured their
worldly gains. These are the people who plundered his existence and will
not worry even if the mountains are demolished. I swear by Allah that
they don't want to avenge the murder (of ‘Uthman}. They relish and have
become fond of worldly gains. They think that if the righteous person
assumes the reins of government he will restrain their unlawful profits
and unlimited greed. These people have no previous record in Islam so
that they should be worthy of ruler ship, but they have deceived their
followers and told them: "Our chief and leader was killed unjustly".
They said this in order to acquire the ruler ship and power. As you see
and know this claim is nothing except deceit and fraud. And if they had
not practised this fraud none would have taken oath of allegiance to
them.
O Lord! If You help us it will not be Your first help because You have
granted us victories earlier, and if Your Will is that they should
assume ruler ship then put in store for them the result of their illegal
acts whereby they have subjected the people to tyranny and torture".
When ‘Ammar concluded his speech and enlightened the minds of the
hearers in all respects he ordered his standard bearer, Hashim Marqal,
to advance, and said: "May my parents be your ransom! Advance and attack
these Syrians and break up their rows.”
‘Ammar himself also went forward and reached in the centre of the
opposing army near 'Amr As. Addressing 'Amr he said: "O 'Amr! You have
sold your faith for the sake of Egypt. Woe be to you! What mischief and
evils have you roused against Islam!”
Then ‘Ammar began praying to Allah in the presence of the Syrians and
said: “O Lord! You know that if I realize that Your Will is that I
should throw myself in this river I shall do so. O Lord! If I realize
that You desire that I should thrust the point of my sword into my belly
and bend myself, so that the sword may come out of my back, I shall do
so.
O Lord! You know that I have acquired what You have taught me and I
know it very well that today no pious act is better than that I should
perform jihad against these people who have violated human rights, and
if I come to know that in the present circumstances there is an act
which is liked by You more, I shall perform it.”
As soon as 'Amr As heard these words of ‘Ammar he left the battlefield
and hid himself.
The Syrian army also trembled more on hearing ‘Ammar speak than they
trembled for the fear of his sword, though all of them knew well that a
rebellious group would kill ‘Ammar. The importance and the danger of the
presence of ‘Ammar was not unknown to Mu'awiya, and he was afraid of
what was going to happen, he expressed his anxiety every now and then in
various ways.
‘Ammar attacked valiantly and his standard bearer Hashim Marqil and his
companions fell upon the Umayyad army like a furious storm and pushed it
back.
At this moment ‘Ammar remembered Abdullah bin 'Amr As (who in the
beginning appeared to be a devout person and hesitated to support
Mu'awiya but later joined his army saying that he was a follower of his
father and not of Mu'awiya) and called out from the battlefield with a
loud voice: "O Abdullah! Have you sold your faith for the world?”
Abdullah replied: "It is not so. The fact is that I have risen to
avenge the murder of ‘Uthman.”
‘Ammar said: "It is not at all so. I bear witness to the fact that you
do not do anything for the sake of Allah. You should know that if you
are not killed today you will be killed tomorrow. Ponder carefully. When
Allah gives recompense according to the intentions of the people, let me
know what your intention is?"
‘Ammar uttered these words and commenced his attack. This attack by
‘Ammar was the commencement of an extensive battle during which the most
severe and the most intense scenes of war were witnessed continuously
for three days and nights. The third night of this battle is known as
'Lailatul Harir’.
In the afternoon of the day of the battle ‘Ammar called back his
soldiers from the front for rest. When his soldiers were resting the
people were saying to one another: "The enemy will be immune this night
from the blows of the swords of ‘Ammar's soldiers.”
‘Ammar was hearing these words and sharpening his sword and stimulating
and equipping with arms his standard bearer and brave officer Marqil.
Soon afterwards he ordered Marqil to attack and himself got ahead of the
army. Then he said aloud: "Who wants to proceed to Paradise? Paradise is
under the shadow of the swords and the arrows. Today I shall meet my
friends. Today I shall meet the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) and his
party.”
‘Ammar was moving ahead and other warriors were moving behind him, and
all were advancing. The sun was about to set and the only light which
could be seen in the extensive horizon was the lustre of the sword and
the sparks of the blows. Once again ‘Ammar decided to take rest and it
was the moment when the last rays of the sun were shining on the stream
of blood and its crimson rays were being reflected on all sides. At that
moment, before ‘Ammar could take rest, his eyes fell on 'Amr As who was
carrying Mu'awiya's standard on his shoulder. ‘Ammar was reminded of
something and shook his sword. Then he struck his hand on the back of
his standard bearer and said: "O Marqil! I swear by Him under whose
control my life is that even if these people are in a position to
annihilate us by dealing successive blows no weakness will take place in
my faith, because we are right and they are following the wrong path. O
Marqil! The standard which' Amr As is carrying on his shoulder is the
same against which I have fought in the company of the Holy Prophet (S)
and it is the fourth time that I am campaigning against it".
Then he made an attack and said to Hashim 'Utba (Marqil): "O son!
Advance! Advance! May my parents be your ransom!"
During this terrible fighting ‘Ammar did not rest even for a moment. He
fought on and persuaded his soldiers to do the same and ordered them to
attack. He continued attacking the enemy like deadly lightening till the
third day of the battle arrived on that day the fighting reached its
climax and continued unabated. For the self-sacrificing warriors who
accompanied ‘Ammar it was immaterial whether they killed or were killed.
‘Ammar, the old man, who was ninety four years of age, was fasting and
in spite of this he made deadly attacks on the enemy and pushed his
standard bearer Hashim forward.
Hashim insisted upon him to hand over the command and responsibility
for attack to him and to take rest for sometime to get rid of the
fatigue caused by fasting but ‘Ammar shouted at him and said: "O son!
May my parents be your ransom! Advance!"
Anyhow, as a result of the severe and continuous attacks by ‘Ammar, the
cavalry of the Syrian forces fled. In this combat Zul Kala' Humyari, who
was the commander of the Syrian army wavered and lost the power of
resistance in the row which was the target of ‘Ammar's attack. When the
news of Zul Kala's hesitation and fear reached Mu'awiya he summoned him
and deceived him with the assistance of his minister 'Amr As, and two
persons took oath that what Zul Kala had heard about ‘Ammar and had
reported was true (i.e. the prophecy of the Holy Prophet (S) that a
rebellious group will kill ‘Ammar) but ‘Ammar would at last leave his
own army and would join the army of Mu'awiya and 'Amr As. Hence, Zul
Kala' had no alternative and must partake in fighting. They also assured
him that eventually, when the dust of the war had settled, he would see
that ‘Ammar had arrived in his (Zul Kala's) row. Incidentally they also
told him that if the prediction made by them did not come out to be true
he would be entitled to continue to remain hesitant in the future wars,
and that he would have ample time for this.
On the third day the battle came to an end and ‘Ammar, as steadfast as
ever, remained busy in fighting like a champion. When the sun was about
to set and the night called Lailatul Harir arrived ‘Ammar asked for
water to break his fast.
A vessel containing milk was brought for him. Before drinking milk he
smiled and it might be said that his soul shone with that smile.
In an ecstatic and happy condition he said: "My friend, the Prophet of
Allah told me: "Your last food in the world will be a gulp of milk mixed
with water.”
‘Ammar drank the milk and then made an attack along with his military
column and hastened towards Paradise which was embodied and perceptible
in his eyes. There he saw the Holy Prophet (S) receiving him as he used
to receive him previously in this world.
There is a great probability that Mu'awiya had fixed a big prize for
the 'head of ‘Ammar' so that he might be relieved of the embarrassment
caused by the grinding argument which existed in the minds of the army
personnel, just as he had ordered that all should guard the head of Zul
Kala, lest he should receive any injury, and he had also promised awards
for the safety of Zul Kala'.
Anyhow if Zul Kala' had remained alive after ‘Ammar he would have
created a great difficulty for Mu'awiya, and he could not satisfy him by
any means. And the most important thing was that the tribe of Zul Kala'
and the number of its members exceeded that of all other tribes.
In any case ‘Ammar, while he had no guardsman to protect him drove
forward dauntlessly like a lion and on having reached the battlefield
said with a loud voice: “Is there any combatant here?"
At that moment a mounted soldier belonging to the tribe of 'Sakasak'
came to fight against ‘Ammar and was killed at his hands. Another
horseman from amongst the Humyaris came in the field and he, too, was
killed by ‘Ammar. And all others who came thereafter met with the same
fate.
Abul Ghadiya Juhani, who had been on the track of ‘Ammar since the days
of ‘Uthman, came near him. At this moment the cuirass of ‘Ammar had
fallen aside from his thigh. This man availed of the opportunity and
gave a blow on the thigh of ‘Ammar .Two other mounted men attacked
‘Ammar simultaneously and put an end to his life.
Anyhow one of the particular pieces of good luck of Bani Umayya was the
coincidence that at the moment when ‘Ammar was killed Zul Kala' was also
killed.
‘Ammar's martyrdom was a sorrowful event for the members of both the
armies. One of the effects of this tragedy was that the defensive
movement of Mu'awiya's army came to a standstill and the sound of the
epic verses recited by the army of ‘Ali reached the sky. Before ‘Ammar
was killed there were, in both the armies, persons who entertained
doubts in their minds, but after he was martyred truth became evident to
them.
As a result of this tragedy anxiety and agitation prevailed in the
minds which ended in the retreat of the Syrian army. Mu'awiya and 'Amr
As were then compelled to deceive their own army by means of
misinterpretation and, in order to remain immune, delude and deceive
their opponents in another manner.
However, if during these critical moments fate had not predominated,
history would have adopted a course other than that which it did owing
to the hypocrisy and discord of Ash'ath bin Qays.
When Abul Ghadiya killed ‘Ammar, voices rose from both the camps
saying: "O Abul Ghadiya! Woe be to you! It was you who killed Abul
Yaqzan (the pious man)! May Allah kill you!"
Muhammad bin Muntashir said to Abul Ghadiya: "O Abul Ghadiya! On the
Day of Judgement your enemy will be a mighty enemy with a strong hand.”
The only reaction of Abul Ghadiya was that he laughed and went his
way.
Hana, a slave of Caliph ‘Umar bin Khattab says thus about himself: "In
the beginning I was with Mu'awiya and his companions used to say: "Allah
forbid! In no circumstances shall we kill ‘Ammar, because if we kill
‘Ammar then, as it is said, we too shall be regarded as a rebellious
group. On the day the Battle of Siffin ended I was walking about amongst
those who had been killed. Suddenly I saw that ‘Ammar Yasir had been
killed. I went to 'Amr As and saw him resting on his throne. I asked
him: "What have you heard about ‘Ammar Yasir?"
'Amr As said: "I heard the Holy Prophet (S) saying: A rebellious group
will kill ‘Ammar.”
I said: "I swear by Allah that ‘Ammar has been killed. What do you say
now?"
'Amr said: "It is a false claim.”
I said: "I have seen with my own eyes that ‘Ammar has been killed.”
Amr said: "Let's go and see. Show me his dead body.”
I took 'Amr As up to the dead body of ‘Ammar, and on seeing the corpse
of ‘Ammar the colour of the face of 'Amr As changed. Then he turned his
face and began walking and said: "‘Ammar has been killed by the person
who brought him in the battlefield!"
Khuzayma bin Thabit was a witness to the Battles of Camel and Siffin.
He did not draw his sword in either of these battles and remained
neutral. However, after ‘Ammar was killed he said: "I have now become
convinced of the rebellion and deviation of the Syrians.”
Then Khuzayma partook in the battle and fought till he was killed.
Each of the two horsemen who had assisted Abul Ghadiya in killing
‘Ammar were trying to take from Mu'awiya the prize which had been fixed
for the head of ‘Ammar. 'Amr As said to both of them: "You two are
fighting for the Fire of Hell and nothing else! I have heard the Prophet
(S) saying: "One who kills ‘Ammar and one who takes his clothes off his
body will both go to Hell!" Mu'awiya interrupted Amr As and said in a
reproachful tone:
“What you are saying is a dangerous jest. These two persons are
fighting on our side and you are telling them that both of them will go
to Hell!"
Amr said: “I swear by Allah that this is a fact and you also know it. I
wish that I had died twenty years earlier than today.”
When Abdullah bin 'Amr As was returning from Siffin along with his
father and Mu'awiya, he turned to his father and said: "Father! I heard
the Holy Prophet (S) saying to ‘Ammar: “A rebellious group will kill
you.”
After hearing these words 'Amr As turned to Mu'awiya with a peculiar
malice and said: "Do you hear what this boy is saying?"
Mu'awiya said; "Have we killed him? This is not at all the position. I
hope people, who brought him into the battlefield have killed him.”
Then the two sly persons laughed.
One day 'Amr As said to his companions who had gathered round him: "I
wish that when the Holy Prophet (S) breathed his last he might not have
hated anyone, so that Allah might not send any person to Hell!"
His companions said: "What we felt was that the Prophet (S) loved you
and appointed you to governorship.”
'Amr said: "Allah knows better whether he loved me or was kind to me
just by way of affability. However, I observed that he loved a
particular man.”
'Amr was asked: "Who was that man?" He replied: “He was ‘Ammar ibn
Yasir.”
Then he was asked: "Was he the same man whom you killed in the Battle
of Siffin?”
'Amr replied: “Yes, by Allah! We killed him.” Anyhow, after ‘Ammar was
killed the Syrians were leaving their own standard and were scattering,
and as they did not wish to be styled the rebellious group they were
mixing with the people of Iraq. It was at this juncture that 'Amr As
endeavoured to test the intelligence and insight of his 'king' in
respect of this difficulty and in the meantime to strengthen what he had
injected in the minds of the Syrians regarding ‘Ammar and to confirm the
constancy of their power of insight. Mu'awiya turned his face from his
minister and went to his army, stood at the head of the row and said to
them: "I am going to speak to you about the most sensitive matter of the
day. This is the most important of all the topics and it concerns the
Hadith regarding the rebellious group which is being passed on from one
mouth to another.”
It should be known that the Hadith relating to the rebellious group is
to our advantage and not detrimental to us. All of you should come to
your senses and ponder carefully over the Hadith of the Holy Prophet. No
doubt the 'rebel' stings us and we have become subjected to reproof.
Well, let it be so! But it should be asked: "Are we not the same
rebellious group who have risen to avenge the murder of ‘Uthman and have
been touched on account of that man having been oppressed? Yes, we are a
rebellious group in this sense.”
The hearers heard this bombastic logic of Mu'awiya and were convinced.
The Syrians then departed with a light heart and a tranquil
conscience.
'Amr As laughed and appreciated Mu'awiya's skill.
‘Ammar's martyrdom created a tumult in the Iraqi camp and the echo of
this tumult draws a most vivid picture of the condition and position of
Imam ‘Ali. It is not necessary for us to discuss this point.
As soon as the news of ‘Ammar's martyrdom reached ‘Ali he began
weeping. Then he looked at those present round him and said: "How long
did you wish ‘Ammar to live?"
It might be said that the Commander of the Faithful wanted to ask: "How
long did you wish Islam to live?"
Then he stood up and went towards the corpses of those who had been
killed and reached by the side of the dead body of ‘Ammar. At that
moment he expressed grief over the martyrdom of ‘Ammar in these splendid
words: "Any Muslim, who doesn't consider the event of ‘Ammar's being
killed to be great, and doesn't treat it to be a painful tragedy, won't
be recognized to be adult and mature. May Allah bless ‘Ammar on the day
on which he embraced Islam, the day on which he was killed and the day
on which he will rise from earth once again! I saw ‘Ammar at such a
position that if the companions of the Holy Prophet (S) were reckoned to
be four he was the fourth and if they were five he was the fifth and
none of the companions of the Prophet (S) doubted this. Paradise has
become essential for ‘Ammar and his entitlement to Paradise did not
depend on one or two instances.”
It has been said: "‘Ammar is righteous and truth is with him. To
whichever side ‘Ammar turns truth turns along with him. One who kills
‘Ammar will go to Hell.”
Anyhow, ‘Ali ordered that the funerals of ‘Ammar and his standard
bearer and aide-de-camp Hashim Marqil might be placed side by side. He
then offered prayers for both of them without, bathing their bodies and
thereafter they were buried in Siffin in 37 A.H.
For all those acquainted with the mysteries of realities, and all the
reflective and clear sighted persons among whom ‘Ammar occupied the
position of a leader, nothing was more surprising than that there should
be persons who should be knowing the personality of ‘Ammar and the way
of his thinking, and consider it the criterion of truth, but may not
apply the same argument in the case of ‘Ali. Yet all knew that there was
a world of difference between the status of Imam ‘Ali and ‘Ammar.
Again how surprising it is that these people neglected and did not take
into account the indisputable remarks of the Holy Prophet (S) based on
authentic evidence, regarding the position and rank of ‘Ali, which
reached the ears of the people time and again, and his explicit
statement that "Truth is with ‘Ali just as ‘Ali is with truth, and ‘Ali
always travels in the orbit and path of truth!" These remarks which are
exclusively used for Imam ‘Ali should not be used in respect of the
conduct and merits of ‘Ammar.
In any case Mu'awiya and his minister endeavoured to find fault with
the pious conduct of ‘Ammar and to remove this obstacle from their path.
At times they tried to diminish his position and at other times acted to
counteract his arguments. However, their efforts did not materialize at
any stage and they did not achieve any success. During the plots woven
by them they once sent two men of Zul Kala' Humyari, about whom they
knew that his faith in ‘Ammar was dangerous for both ‘Amr As and
Mu'awiya, to his cousin Abu Nuh Humyari, who was one of the supporters
of ‘Ali, so as to dissuade him from his faith and degrade ‘Ammar in his
eyes. In this interview the discussions between these two persons
centred round the topic of the eminence of the person of ‘Ammar.
Abu Nuh wondered that these persons had so much faith in ‘Ammar, who
himself was a staunch follower of ‘Ali, but called ‘Ali a heretic!
The arguments which Abu Nuh put forward against these persons on the
subject were very eloquent and expressive. Later in a meeting these two
persons held discussions with 'Amr As about ‘Ammar.
‘Ammar was also invited personally to attend the meeting so that he
might wonder all the more about the weakness of their views about him as
they considered him to be the criterion of truth but did not admit ‘Ali
to be the criterion of truth, and might consequently quarrel with them
and censure them with his authoritative speech, as harsh words are more
penetrating than arrows.[^1]
Incidentally it should be remembered that Allama Ibn Abil Hadid
Mu'tazali[^2] has solved this problem very clearly and thoroughly
analysed it. After explaining the characteristics of ‘Ammar and the son
of Tayhin and Khuzayma bin Thabit, all of whom were martyred in this
battle, the said Allama considers their self-sacrifice and martyrdom a
proof of the invalidity of Mu'awiya 's claim and says: "One of the most
shameful and indecent incidents which have arisen and arise from the
indecent and abominable party-spirit is the fact that Abu Hayyan Tawhidi
has written in his book entitled al-Basa'ir that Khuzayma bin Thabit who
was killed in Siffin and was a supporter of ‘Ali was someone else and
not the well-known Khuzayma bin Thabit, whereas all the books on
genealogy and Hadith have stated explicitly that amongst all the
companions, whether they were the Ansar or non Ansar, there was only one
Khuzayma bir Thabit Zush Shahadatayn. However, the trouble is that
caprice is an irremediable ailment.
Another point is that the notable historian Tabari has preceded Abu
Hayyan in making this suggestion and the latter has quoted it from him,
but all the books which have mentioned the names of the companions give
evidence against the Abu Hayyan.
Besides this why should the supporters of Imam ‘Ali, the Commander of
the Faithful, take trouble to prepare a long list of persons like
Khuzayma, Abul Maysam ‘Ammar etc?
In short the matter is absolutely clear that if all the people had
reflected about Imam ‘Ali and seen him with the eyes of justice they
would have certainly realized that even if he had stood alone on one
side and all the people had risen to campaign against him he would have
beer true and all others would have been false.
[^1]: In this connection refer to Nahjul Balagha, vol. II, p. 27.
[^2]: Sharh al-Nahjul Balagha, vol. II, p. 539.