FIGHT OF MÂLEK ASHTAR WITH THE REBELS; AND ACCOUNT OF SOME TRANSACTIONS BETWEEN A’LI THE COMMANDER OF THE FAITHFUL AND MOA’WIAH.

After the martyrdom of O’thmân the people of Jazirah A’rab, which expression is a metaphor designating several well-known towns, described in detail in certain books, paid allegiance to Moa’wiah and became his tributaries. When A’li the Commander of the Faithful had become aware of the attitude they had assumed, he appointed Mâlek Ashtar to govern that country, but Dzohâk B. Qays occupied that position in those days on behalf of Moa’wiah. When Dzohâk heard of the approach of Mâlek Ashtar, he asked the population of Raqqah to aid him to repel Mâlek, whereon they despatched a number of valiant men to reinforce him. When Mâlek Ashtar had arrived near Bahrân, Dzohâk issued with a great crowd from the fortress, arranged it in battle-array, and fought from morn­ing till evening, but was at last put to flight by Mâlek and retired into the fortress, whereon the army of Kûfah surrounded it and commenced to besiege it. Moa’wiah, having been apprised of what was taking place, appointed A’bdu-r-rahman B. Khâled B. Wolyd with an army to repel Mâlek Ashtar, who, when he learnt that A’bdu-r-rahman was approaching, abandoned the siege, marched against him, met him, defeated him, put him to flight, pursued the fugitives and slew many of them. When Mâlek Ashtar had thus got rid of his opponent, he marched to Raqqah, and the population having taken refuge in the fortress, he laid siege to it. Moa’wiah, having obtained cognizance of this event, despatched Ayman B. Harym Alasdy with numerous troops to reinforce Dzohâk, so that they might, in concert with each other, liberate the people of Raqqah from the siege, and expel Mâlek Ashtar from the province of Jazirah. When Ayman had joined Dzohâk crowds of people from the adjoining localities also came to their aid, so that the chiefs, emboldened by the large number of their troops, became confident of victory, and hastened together to Raqqah. Mâlek, on his part, trusting in Divine favour, departed from Raqqah, and marching against his opponents, encountered them. The warriors of both parties then worked with their swords, arrows and daggers, till at last, according to the verse, ‘Our armies should surely be the conquerors,’* the victory-boding army vanquished the black-hearted denizens of Syria, and the rebels, having been disgracefully routed, fled, and reached Moa’wiah in the worst plight. Having defeated the enemy, Mâlek Ashtar stretched out his hands for plunder, slaying everyone who offered resistance, and subjugating the province of Jazirah with his bright scimitar. Having consigned to writing all that had taken place, he sent an account of the victory to Kûfah.

When A’li the Commander of the Faithful had been apprised of the obstinacy and renewal of hostilities by Moa’wiah, he summoned the nobles and magnates of the country to an assembly, and the following words flowed from his pearl-dropping mouth: ‘God—who be praised and exalted, and who is the Creator of all beings—approves only of those of His worshippers who walk on the right path, and as long as the bonds of love and friendship are cherished by them. As long as they abstain from insulting, striking, and persecuting each other, they will not cease to enjoy power, and their affairs will be well regulated; if, however, the denizens of the world speak and act contrary to what I have just advocated, and they engage in blamable acts and utter unbecoming words, they will not prosper, and will ultimately be doomed to eternal perdition. What I have just said is confirmed by the fact that Moa’wiah has thrown the population of Syria into the vortex of doubt and uncertainty, and has averted them from loyalty to me by propagating the rumour that O’thmân B. O’ffan had been slain by me. He has accused me of this vile crime, and has despatched an army to attack Mâlek Ashtar, who is governor of the province of Jazirah on my behalf, and a disgraceful contest has taken place between the two parties. Not content with this result, he is at present doing his utmost to fit out an army in Syria for the purpose of waging war against me. It is my intention to send him a letter to advise and reprove him, so that he may perchance be admonished and restrain the antagonism which has taken possession of his mind. What is your opinion in this matter?’ This harangue of A’li the Commander of the Faithful was greeted with loud applause by the whole assembly, and all exclaimed: ‘The opinion of the Com­mander of the Faithful is our own; nothing can be added to it, and we shall obey him as if he were the apostle of Allah.’ After a consultation, A’li the Amir of the true believers despatched the following letter to Moa’wiah B. Abu Sofiân: ‘In the name of Allah the Merciful, the Clement! From the worshipper of Allah, the Prince of the Faithful, A’li makes the following declaration: He [i.e., Moa’wiah] is to know that although he was absent on the day when the various classes of Mohâjer and Anssâr paid allegiance to me in Madinah, loyalty to me was incumbent on him, because those who had paid homage to Abu Bakr, to O’mar, and to O’thmân—Allah be pleased with them— and had agreed to their becoming Khalifahs, assented also to my Emâmship, willingly and gladly, deeming obedience to me to be incumbent on them. As those of the Mohâjer and the Anssâr who were present manifested no desire for delay, opposition or enmity, those who were absent had likewise no grounds for opposing me. But as to the slaying of O’thmân, it was an intricate event, and he who would narrate it is like a blind man, whilst those who listen are either such as have blamed O’thmân and killed him, or have been his friends, but had not the courage to rescue him. Afterwards the higher and the lower classes have paid me allegiance, and everyone who fails to do so is acting against the dictates of reason and justice; it is, however, expected that such persons will consult their own safety, will abstain from opposition, and will reveal their intentions. Farewell.’ Having indited this letter, he despatched it by Hajjâj B. Hozymah the Anssâri, who, when he had performed the journey, arrived in Damascus, waited on Moa’wiah, and observed in the course of conversation: ‘Thou art one of those of whom O’thmân expected aid in quelling the rebellion, but they have failed to comply, and abandoned him.’ Moa’wiah, getting angry at these words, said: ‘Return instantly and do not expect me to send a letter by thee. One of my confidential men will go to Kûfah and will deliver my reply.’ Then Hajjâj necessarily returned to A’li the Commander of the Faithful and reported what had passed between him and Moa’wiah.

When Wolyd B. O’tbah B. Mo’ytt heard that Moa’wiah was at enmity with A’li the Commander of the Faithful, and had dismissed his envoy without a reply, he was glad, and his heart being full of grudges against A’li, he incited Moa’wiah to kill him, and sent him some verses to that effect. When Moa’wiah had perused the letter and the verses, he manifested great pleasure, and joining several [blank] papers, without writing anything upon them of peace or war, sealed them and wrote on them the address: ‘From Moa’wiah to A’li B. Abu Ttâleb: salutation to him.’ Then he gave this roll of paper to a man of the Bani A’ys who was distinguished by eloquence and temerity, telling him to carry it to A’li the Commander of the Faithful, and entrusting him also with an oral message. The man accordingly took possession of the blank paper,* departed to Kûfah, and when he arrived there the rumour was propagated that an envoy had come from Moa’wiah with a sealed letter. After this news had spread, the messenger was introduced into an assembly consisting of Mohâjer, Anssâr, magnates and chiefs of Kûfah, and, having been presented to A’li the Commander of the Faithful, he asked him: ‘Who art thou? Whence comest and what news hast thou?’ He replied: ‘I am a man of the Bani A’ys, an envoy of Moa’wiah, from Syria, and have brought a letter with a seal.’ From these words of the envoy, the members of the assembly concluded that the chiefs of Syria had paid allegiance to the Amir of the pious, and that their names were contained in the document; the paper, however, being opened, was found to contain no names:

I expected a list of the free from my contemporaries:
They gave a paper into my hands, but it was blank!

The envoy was then questioned whether he knew what opinions the people of Syria entertained of A’li, and he replied: ‘Fifty thousand good and pious men have congre­gated around the robe of O’thmân and are keeping their cheeks and beards moist with tears, shedding bloody ones day and night from grief for having lost him! They have drawn forth the scimitar of vengeance from the scabbard, and have made a covenant not to let go hold of the hilts of their swords until they have exterminated the murderers of O’thmân. They are so earnest in this matter that they are enjoining their children to avenge the blood of O’thmân, and mothers instruct their infants how to do it. In this way children are growing up, and those who had hitherto cursed Satan, at present curse the slayers of O’thmân.’ His holy lordship A’li the Commander of the Faithful then asked: ‘What persons are in thy opinion, and in that of the people, guilty of the blood of O’thmân?’ He replied: ‘Thou art thyself one of them.’ His lordship rejoined: ‘May thy mouth be filled with earth! How can I be guilty of the crime of killing him?’ On this occasion one of the Bani A’ys, who bore the mark of loyalty to his lordship the Amir of the Faithful on his forehead, addressed the envoy of Moa’wiah as follows: ‘Thou art an individual unworthy to be appointed an envoy from Moa’wiah, and thy unhallowed mouth has uttered disgraceful words. Thou wast extremely shameless in trying to frighten his lordship the Amir, the Mohâjer and the Anssâr with the account of weeping around the coat of O’thmân; for that coat is not the coat of Joseph,* nor the weeping that of Jacob. If they are now deploring his murder, why have they not rescued him when he was besieged and helpless? Their intention of waging war against the Amir of the pious, which they entertain, is futile, because he is under the protection of Divine favour and guidance, so that he will prevail and vanquish the rebels, because God is the Pro­tector of His worshippers the true believers.’ On this occasion a disturbance ensued, and certain supporters of the Khalifate drew their swords with the intention of kill­ing that man, but his sacred lordship A’li the Commander of the Faithful prohibited them, saying: ‘All intelligent men consider it proper not to slay or imprison ambassadors and messengers.’ The envoy of Moa’wiah, who had wit­nessed this scene, now rose to his feet, and said: ‘O Amir of the Faithful, on account of the many disparaging words uttered against thee by the adherents of Islâm in Syria, I had up to the present time hated no man more than thee! Now, however, as I have attained the felicity of kissing thy feet, and have listened to thy heart-ravishing words, have beheld thy perfect meekness and compassion, I love no man more than thee! I am convinced that the population of Syria is drowned in the sea of aberration, and that the Amir of the Faithful is, with his adherents, walking on the right path. I swear by God that I shall never separate from thee, and never follow anyone besides thee.’ On that occasion he recited likewise some poetry concerning the deflection of Moa’wiah from the straight road, and the progress of A’li the Commander of the Faithful, with his adherents, in the true direction. He sent those verses to Syria, and when Moa’wiah obtained cognizance of them, he was disappointed, astonished, and said: ‘Would that I had not despatched this eloquent man as my envoy! That ungrateful fellow will undoubtedly inform A’li of the state of affairs in these parts, and will incite him to wage war against us.’ After Moa’wiah had despaired of the return of his messenger, he sent another, who was one of the ascetics of Yemen living at that time in Syria, and gave him a letter to the residence of the Khalifate, the contents of which were as follows: ‘God, who be praised and exalted, has selected the apostle of Allah from among the denizens of the world, enjoining the simple and the gentle of the Arabs to aid and to support him, the most excellent and the most judicious among them being Abu Bakr the Khalifah [i.e., successor] of the apostle of Allah, who was followed by O’mar and O’thmân. Thou, however, hast envied each of them, and hast delayed paying homage to all of them, doing so at last unwillingly, and professing loyalty to those blessed men in thy confusion. Thou hast envied O’thmân more than the others, although he was nearer to thee in kinship than all the others; thou hast represented his good acts as if they had been evil, and hast deemed it proper to cut the bonds of consanguinity. Thou hast instigated persons to kill him in thy district, and hast excused thyself from the duty of succouring him. The true indication and just testimony for my allegations are that his murderers are enrolled among thy supporters and adherents. I desire and expect thee to send the murderers of the unjustly slain and martyred Khalifah to me, that I may chastise them for what they have done, but in the contrary case there will be no arbiter between us except the sword and dagger. Be aware that I shall search for the murderers of O’thmân by sea and land, in mountains and dales, and that I shall not rest until I slay them all, or cause them to be slain.’ When the envoy of Moa’wiah had, after duly traversing the distance, attained the felicity of an interview with A’li the Commander of the Faithful, he was, on account of his reputation for sanctity, received with great demonstrations of honour, and spoke thus: ‘I testify that I know of no one more worthy than thyself to be adorned with the garland of the Kha­lifate and to be confirmed on the couch of dominion, there being no one equal to thee in heroic exploits, nor in external and internal laudable qualities. I know, moreover, that O’thmân has been killed by the sword of unrighteousness, and that Moa’wiah is on this ground basing his opposition towards the Amir of the Faithful. If there be any of the murderers sojourning at the threshold of the exalted castle of Emâmship, it would be easy, if the knot-solving intellect of his sublime lordship were to consider it proper to sur­render them [to Moa’wiah], so that the dust of rebellion might be laid and the rope of contention torn.’ His sacred lordship Ali the Commander of the true believers replied: ‘I imagined thee to be adorned with the decoration of understanding and endowed with intellect! Who is Moa’wiah that I should surrender to him those who have encompassed the death of O’thmân, that he may judge them? It is, on the contrary, incumbent upon him to obey me, and to assent to the decision of the Mohâjer and the Anssâr. After that the friends and children of O’thmân may be assembled to point out those whom they suspect of having slain him, whereon the legitimate Khalifah will decide between them according to the tenets of the noble law.’ A few days afterwards, when A’li the Commander of the Faithful dismissed the envoy of Moa’wiah, he gave him the following letter: ‘Thy epistle has arrived, and I have learned the contents thereof; nobody entertains any doubt concerning the good acts and noble character of Abu Bakr, described by thee; but as to O’thmân, if he has acted well, he has reached the proximity of the mercy of the Nourisher, who requites beneficent men in the handsomest manner; if, however, he was distinguished by the contrary of what I allege, he has likewise been received in the pavilions of the glory of the Lord, whose grace and magna­nimity are boundless. As it is known for certain that the Lord, who is the most merciful of the merciful, will reward the acts of beneficent men in conformity with their efforts, I entertain hopes that I and the members of the family of the apostle of Allah will be rejoiced by an abundant share of beatitude; for we have been the first to believe in his apostolate and prophetship; in the beginning of the mission, when the opponents intended to slay the lord of apostleship, we have disregarded the safety of our own life, and desired in this matter to gain the approbation of the Lord Most High, and of the apostle. At the time when the Qoraish had made a covenant with each other in writing to bear him enmity, and his lordship had entered the Shi’b,* we followed him; and when God—who be exalted and glorified —had delivered him from that calamity, we gave thanks for the favour, and remained in attendance on the threshold of prophecy, till the apostle received the [Divine] command to emigrate, and when he honoured Madinah by his presence, we likewise departed from our accustomed abode and joined him. When hostilities began, we likewise jeopardized our lives in attendance on his heaven-aspiring stirrup, and in this manner my cousin, O’baydah B. Alhâreth B. A’bdu-l-muttalleb was on the day of Bedr despatched by the swords of the unbelievers from this perishable to the eternal mansion; my uncle Hamzah attained martyrdom in the battle of Ohod; my brother Ja’fer likewise perished in the fight of Mowtah, and I myself combated and strove in the battles which the apostle of Allah had honoured with his presence. I always desired to attain martyrdom, and would that I had perished in one of these contests, so that I might have escaped from thy letters and messages, and might have been delivered from the insults and enmity with which thou persecutest me and my friends. It is very strange that thou hast written me a letter extolling the virtues of the companions of the apostle, but hast not mentioned those members of his family who have jeopardized their lives for the sake of gaining the approbation of God the Most High and of the apostle. As to what thou hast written about my envy of, and opposition to, the Khalifahs, it is wholly untrue, and far from deflecting to the road of futility like thyself, and opposing them, my delay in paying homage to them was evident to all and excused by everybody: because when the most holy soul of the lord of apostle­ship had been taken away, the notables of Islâm and the honoured companions were embarrassed, because the Anssâr said to the Mohâjer: “Let there be an Amir from you and an Amir from us.” It was their privilege to elect a suitable man for the Khalifate, because they had offered their breasts as targets to the arrows of misfortune in the service of the apostle, disregarding their property and the claims of their own families. When, however, the Qoraish represented to them that the best of men had been selected for the [Divine] mission from their own tribe, the Anssâr ceased their opposition and assented. Now, if the claim of the Qoraish was deemed by them to be valid, I think you ought to be convinced by the same argument, so that I, being the nearest of the companions and the most worthy of the sons of Adam, ought to have been the suc­cessor of the apostle. O Moa’wiah, if thou wilt look with the eye of discernment, and lay aside arrogance, it will be clear like the sun to thee that I ought to occupy the masnad and position of his lordship; but if thou still doubtest, inquire whether, at the time the apostle of the Lord of both worlds joined the proximity of the Most Merciful, thy father Abu Sofiân and my beloved uncle A’bbâs B. A’bdu-l-muttalleb had not assented to my homage. I was, how­ever, displeased with the dissensions of the companions, abstained from compliance, and, striving to tranquillize the people, said: “The waves of disturbance are now rising, and you must take refuge in the ship of Divine grace to save your lives from this fearful vortex in order to reach the shore of security. Abstain from walking on the path of enmity, and thus manifest your noble disposition; throw off from your heads the diadem of pride, ambition and boasting. Whoever soars upwards on the wings of trust, and submits to the Divine command, will attain his object, and the bird of his soul will be liberated from the bonds of lust and covetousness, because the enjoyments of the world are like water, the taste and colour of which are changeable, and like a morsel which sticks in the throat of him who swallows it. If I desire to be Khalifah, the people will say, ‘He is ambitious for dominion,’ and if I do not aspire to it, but sit down in the corner of safety, they will say, ‘He fears death.’ Alas, alas! I swear by God that I, the son of Abu-Ttâleb, covet death more than a suck­ling the breast of his own mother, because I have become aware of mysteries and of hidden secrets, which, if I were to promulge them, would make people tremble and oscillate like a slender cord in a deep well.” But as to what thou hast said about my inciting people to slay O’thmân, thy words are untrue and false, without a particle of verity, because at the time he was besieged I despatched my two beloved sons, [who were] the pupils of the eyes of the apostle, to protect O’thmân in his calamity, but their ability having been unable to resist the Divine predestina­tion, they could effect nothing. Thou, however, O Moa’wiah, hast abandoned O’thmân and departed to Syria to become a governor, and now thou seekest to attain supreme power on the pretext of striving to chastise his murderers; if thou really desirest to get hold of them, thou must first pay allegiance to me, that they may be dealt with according to my orders and in conformity with the brilliant law.’ This letter was given by A’li the Com­mander of the Faithful to Turmâj B. A’dy Hâtim Ttây for conveyance to Moa’wiah, in whose assembly he uttered strange words, which are recorded in detail in various chronicles.