لطفا منتظر باشید ...
SERMON 181
It has been related by Nawf al-Bikali that Amir
al-mu'minin Ali (p.b.u.h.) delivered this sermon at Kufah standing on a stone which
Jadah ibn Hubayrah al-Makhzumi had placed for him. Amir al-mu'minin had a woollen apparel
on his body, the belt of his sword was made of leaves, and the sandals on his feet too
were of palm leaves. His forehead had a hardened spot like that a camel (on its knee, due
to many and long prostrations).
About Allah's attributes, His
creatures and His being above physical limitations
Praise be to Allah to Whom is the return of all
creation and the end of all matters. We render Him praise for the greatness of His
generosity, the charity of His proofs, the increase of His bounty and His favours, -
praise which may fulfil His right, repay His thanks, take (us) near His reward and be
productive of increase in His kindness. We seek His help like one who is hopeful of His
bounty, desirous of His benefit, and confident of His warding off (calamities), who
acknowledges His gifts and is obedient to Him in word and deed. We believe in Him like him
who reposes hope in Him with conviction, inclines to Him as a believer, humbles himself
before Him obediently, believes in His oneness exclusively, regards Him great,
acknowledging His dignity, and seeks refuge with Him with inclination and exertion.
Allah the Glorified has not been born so that
someone could be (His) partner in glory. Nor has He begotten anyone so as to be inherited
from after dying. Time and period have not preceded Him. Increase and decrease do not
occur to Him. But He has manifested Himself to our understanding through our having
observed His strong control and firm decree. Among the proofs of His creation is the
creation of the skies which are fastened without pillars and stand without support. He
called them and they responded obediently and humbly without being lazy or loathsome. If
they had not acknowledged His Godhead and obeyed Him He would not have made them the place
for His throne, the abode of His angels and the destination for the rising up of the pure
utterances and the righteous deeds of the creatures.
He has made the stars in the skies by way of signs
by which travellers wandering the various routes of the earth may be guided. The gloom of
the dark curtains of the night does not prevent the flame of their light, nor do the veils
of blackish nights have the power to turn back the light of the moon when it spreads in
the skies. Glory be to Allah from Whom neither the blackness of dark dusk or of gloomy
night (falling) in the low parts of the earth or on high dim mountains is hidden, nor the
thundering of clouds on the horizons of the skies, nor the sparking of lightning in the
clouds, nor the falling of leaves blown away from their falling places by the winds of
hurricanes or by downpour from the sky. He knows where the drops fall and where they stay,
where the grubs leave their trails or where they drag themselves, what livelihood would
suffice the mosquitoes and what a female bears in its womb.
Praise be to Allah Who exists from before the coming
into existence of the seat, the throne, the sky, the earth, the jinn or human being. He
cannot be perceived by imagination nor measured by understanding. He who begs from Him
does not divert Him (from others), nor does giving away cause Him diminution. He does not
see by means of an eye, nor can He be confined to a place. He cannot be said to have
companions. He does not create with (the help of) limbs. He cannot be perceived by senses.
He cannot be thought of after the people.
It is He who spoke to Musa clearly and showed him
His great signs without the use of bodily parts, the organ of speech or the uvula. O' you
who exert yourself in describing Allah if you are serious then (first try to) describe
Gabriel, Michael or the host of angels who are close (to Allah) in the receptacles of
sublimity; but their heads are bent downwards and their wits are perplexed as to how to
assign limits (of definition) to the Highest Creator. This is because those things can
only be perceived through qualities which have shape and parts and which succumb to death
after reaching the end of their times. There is no god but He. He has lighted every
darkness with His effulgence and has darkened every light with the darkness (of death).
An account of past peoples and about
learning from them
I advise you, creatures of Allah, to practise fear
of Allah Who gave you good clothing and bestowed an abundance of sustenance on you. If
there was anyone who could secure a ladder to everlasting life or a way to avoid death it
was Sulayman ibn Dawud (p. b. u. h. ) who was given control over the domain of the jinn
and men along with prophethood and great position (before Allah), but when he finished
what was his due in food (of this world) and exhausted his (fixed) time the bow of
destruction shot him with arrow of death. His houses became vacant and his habitations
became empty. Another group of people inherited them. Certainly, the by-gone centuries
have a lesson for you.
Where are the Amalekites (1)
and the sons of Amalekites? Where are the Pharaohs? (2) Where
are the people of the cities of ar-Rass (3) who killed the
prophets, destroyed the traditions of the divine messengers and revived the traditions of
the despots? Where are those who advanced with armies, defeated thousands, mobilised
forces and populated cities?
A part of the same sermon about the
Imam al-Mahdi
He will be wearing the armour of wisdom, which he
will have secured with all its conditions, such as full attention towards it, its
(complete) knowledge and exclusive devotion to it. For him it is like a thing which he had
lost and which he was then seeking, or a need which he was trying to fulfil. If Islam is
in trouble he will feel forlorn like a traveller and like a (tired) camel beating the end
of its tail and with its neck flattened on the ground. He is the last of Allah's proofs
and one of the vicegerents of His prophets.
Then Amir al-mu'minin continued:
On the method of his ruling, and
grief over the martyrdom of his companions
O' people! I have divulged to you advice which the
prophets used to preach before their peoples, and I have conveyed to you what the
vicegerents (of the prophets) conveyed to those coming after them. I tried to train you
with my whip but you could not be straightened. I drove you with admonition but you did
not acquire proper behaviour. May Allah deal with you! Do you want an Imam other than me
to take you on the (right) path, and show you the correct way?
Beware, the things in this world which were forward
have become things of the past, and those of which were behind are going ahead. The
virtuous people of Allah have made up their minds to leave and they have purchased, with a
little perishable (pleasure) of this world, a lot of such (reward) in the next world that
will remain. What loss did our brothers whose blood was shed in Siffin suffer by not being
alive today? Only that they are not suffering choking on swallowings and not drinking
turbid water. By Allah, surely they have met Allah and He has bestowed upon them their
rewards and He has lodged them in safe houses after their (having suffered) fear.
Where are my brethren who took the (right) path and
trod in rightness. Where is Ammar? (4) Where is Ibn
at-Tayyihan? (5) Where is Dhu'sh-Shahadatayn?
from among their comrades who had pledged themselves to death and whose (severed) heads
were taken to the wicked enemy.
Then Amir al-mu'minin wiped his hand over his
auspicious, honoured beard and wept for a long time, then he continued:
Oh! my brothers. who recited the Qur'an and
strengthened it, thought over their obligation and fulfilled it, revived the sunnah and
destroyed innovation. When they were called to jihad they responded and trusted in their
leader then followed him.
Then Amir al-mu'minin shouted at the top of his
voice:
al-jihad, al-jihad (fighting, fighting), O'
creatures of Allah! By Allah, I am mobilising the army today. He who desires to proceed
towards Allah should come forward.
Nawf says: Then Amir al-mu'minin put Husayn
(p.b.u.h.) over (a force of) ten thousand, Qays ibn Sad (mercy of Allah be upon him) over
ten thousand, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari over ten thousand, and others over different numbers,
intending to return to Siffin, but Friday did not appear again and the accursed Ibn Muljam
(may Allah curse him) killed him. Consequently, the armies came back and were left like
sheep who had lost their shepherd while wolves were snatching them away from all sides.
(1).
History shows that very often the ruin and destruction of peoples has been due to their
oppression and open wickedness and profligacy. Consequently, communities which had
extended their sway over all the corners of the populated world and had flown their flags
in the East and West of the globe disappeared from the surface of the earth like a wrong
word, on disclosure of their vicious actions and evil doings.
Amalekites: ancient nomadic tribe,
or collection of tribes, described in the Old Testament as relentless enemies of Israel,
even though they were closely related to Ephraim, one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Their name derives from Amalek, who is celebrated in Arabian tradition but cannot be
identified. The district over which they ranged was south of Judah and probably extended
into northern Arabia. The Amalekites harassed the Hebrews during their exodus out of Egypt
and attacked them at Rephidim (near Mt. Sinai), where they were defeated by Joshua. They
also filled out the ranks of the nomadic raiders defeated by Gideon and were condemned to
annihilation by Samuel. The Amelekites, whose final defeat occurred in the time of
Hezekiah, were the object of a perpetual curse. (The New Encyclopaedia Britannica
[Micropaedia], vol. 1, p. 288, ed. 1973-1974; also see [for further reference] The
Encyclopaedia Americana, [International Edition] vol. 1, p. 651, ed. 1975). (2).
Pharaoh: Hebrew form of the Egyptian per-'o ("the great house"), signifying the
royal palace, an epithet applied in the New Kingdom and after, as a title of respect, to
the Egyptian king himself. In the 22nd dynasty the title was added to the king's personal
name. In official documents the full titulary of the Egyptian king contained five names.
The first and oldest identified him as the incarnation of the falcon god, Horus; it was
often written inside a square called serekh, depicting the facade of the archaic palace.
The second name, "two ladies", placed him under the protection of Nekhbet and
Buto, the vulture and uraeus (snake) goddesses of Upper and Lower Egypt; the third,
"golden Horus", signified perhaps originally "Horus victorious over his
enemies." The last two names, written within a ring or cartouche, are generally
referred to as the praenomen and nomen, and were the ones most commonly used; the
praenomen and nomen, and were the ones most commonly used; the praenomen, preceded by the
hieroglyph meaning "King of Upper and Lower Egypt," usually contained a
reference to the king's Unique relationship with the sun god, Re, while the fifth, or
nomen, was preceded by the hieroglyph for "Son of Re," or by that for "Lord
of the two lands." The last name was given him at birth, the rest at his coronation.
(The New Encyclopaedia Britannica [Micropaedia], vol. Vll, p. 927, ed. 1973-1974; also see
[for further reference] The Encyclopaedia Americana, [International Edition], vol. 21, p.
707, ed. 1975).
Among the Pharaohs was the Pharaoh
of the days of Prophet Musa. His pride, egotism, insolence and haughtiness were such that
by making the claim "I am your sublime God" he deemed himself to be holding sway
over all other powers of the world, and was under the misunderstanding that no power could
wrest the realm and government from his hands. The Qur'an has narrated his claim of
"I and no one else" in the following words:
And proclaimed Pharaoh unto his
people, "O' my people! is not the kingdom of Egypt mine? And these rivers flow below
me; What! behold ye not? (43:51)
But when his empire came near the
end it was destroyed in a few moments. Neither his position and servants could come in the
way of its destruction nor could the vastness of his realm prevent it. Rather, the waves
of the very streams which he was extremely proud to possess, wrapped him in and dispatched
his spirit to Hell throwing the body on the bank to serve as a lesson for the whole of
creation.
(3). The
people of the cities of ar-Rass: In the same way the people of ar-Rass were killed and
destroyed for disregarding the preaching and call of a prophet, and for revolt and
disobedience. About them the Qur'an says:
And the (tribes of) Ad and Thamud
and the inhabitants of ar-Rass, and generations between them, in great number. And unto
each of them We did give examples and every one (of them) We did destroy with utter
extermination. (25:38,39)
Belied (also) those before them the
people of Noah and the dwellers of ar-Rass and Thamud; And Ad and Pharaoh, and the
brethren of Lot; And the dwellers of the Wood and the people of Tubba; all belied the
apostles, so was proved true My promise (of the doom) (50:12-14)
(4).
Ammar ibn Yasir ibn Amir al-Ansi al-Madhhiji al Makhzumi (a confederate of Banu
Makhzum) was one of the earliest converts to Islam, and the first Muslim to build a mosque
in his own house in which he used to worship Allah (at-Tabaqat, vol. 3, Part 1, p. 178;
Usd al-ghabah, vol. 4, p. 46; Ibn Kathir, at-Tarikh, vol. 7, p. 311). Ammar accepted Islam along with
his father Yasir and his mother Sumayyah. They suffered great tortures by the Quraysh, due
to their conversion to Islam, to such an extent that Ammar lost his parents; and they
were the first martyrs man and woman in Islam.
Ammar was among those who
immigrated to Abyssinia, and the earliest immigrants (muhajirun) to Medina. He was present
in the battle of Badr and all other battles as well as places of assembly by the Muslims
during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet; and he showed his might and favour in all Islamic
struggles in the best way.
Many traditions are narrated from
the Holy Prophet about Ammar regarding his virtues, outstanding traits and his glorious
deeds, such as the tradition which A'ishah and other have narrated that the Holy Prophet
himself had said that Ammar was filled with faith from the crown of his head to the soles
of his feet. (Ibn Majah, as-Sunan, vol. 1, p. 65; Abu Nuaym, Hilyah al-Awliya', vol. 1,
p. 139; al-Haytami, Majma az-zawa'id, vol. 9, p. 295; al-Istiab, vol. 3, p. 1137;
al-Isabah, vol. 2, p. 512)
In another tradition the Holy
Prophet said about Ammar:
Ammar is with the truth and the
truth is with Ammar. He turns wherever the truth turns. Ammar is as near to me as an eye
is near to the nose. Alas! a rebellious group will kill him. (at-Tabaqat, vol. 3, part 1,
p. 187; al-Mustadrak, vol. 3, p. 392; Ibn Hisham, as-Sirah, vol. 2, p. 143; Ibn Kathir,
at-Tarikh, vol. 7, pp. 268-270)
Also in the decisive and widely
known tradition which al-Bukhari (in Sahih, vol. 8, pp. 185-186), at-Tirmidhi (in al-Jami
as-Sahih, vol. 5, p. 669); Ahmad ibn Hanbal (in al-Musnad, vol. 2, pp. 161,164,206; vol.
3, pp.5, 22, 28, 91; vol. 4, pp.197, 199, vol. 5 pp.215, 306, 307; vol. 6, pp.289, 300,
311, 315), and all the narrators of Islamic traditions and historians transmitted through
twenty-five Companions that the Holy Prophet said about Ammar:
Alas! a rebellious group which
swerves from the truth will murder Ammar. Ammar will be calling them towards Paradise
and they will be calling him towards Hell. His killer and those who strip him of arms and
clothing will be in Hell.
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (in Tahdhib
at-tahdhib, vol. 7, p. 409; al-lsabah, vol. 2, p.512) and as-Suyuti (in al-Khasa'is
al-kubra, vol. 2, p. 140) say: "The narration of this (above mentioned) tradition is
mutawatir (i.e. narrated successively by so many people that no doubt can be entertained
about its authenticity)."
Ibn Abd al-Barr (in al-Istiab,
vol. 3, p. 1140) says:
The narration followed
uninterrupted succession from the Holy Prophet, that he said: "A rebellious group
will murder Ammar," and this is a prophecy of the Prophet's secret knowledge and the
sign of his prophethood. This tradition is among the most authentic and the most rightly
ascribed traditions.
After the death of the Holy
Prophet, Ammar was one of the closest adherents and best supporters of Amir al-mu'minin
during the reign of the first three Caliphs. During the caliphate of Uthman when the
Muslim protested (to Uthman) against his policy on the distribution of the Public
Treasury (Baytu'l-mal) Uthman said in a public assembly that, 'the money which as in the
treasury was sacred and belonged to Allah, and that he (as being the successor of the
Prophet) had the right to dispose of them as he thought fit. 'He (Uthman) threatened and
cursed all who presumed to censure or murmur at what he said. Upon this, Ammar ibn Yasir
boldly declared his disapprobation and began to charge him with his inveterate propensity
to ignore the interests of the general public; accused him with reviving the heathenish
customs abolished by the Prophet. Whereupon Uthman commanded him to be beaten and
immediately some of the Umayyads, the kindred of the Caliph fell upon the venerable
Ammar, and the Caliph himself kicking him with his shoes (on his feet) on Ammar's
testicles, and afflicted him with hernia. Ammar became unconscious for three days, and he
was taken care of by Umm al-mu'minin Umm Salamah in her own house. (al-Baladhuri, Ansab
al-ashraf, vol. 5, pp. 48,54,88; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid, vol. 3, pp. 47-52; al-lmamah
wa's-siyasah, vol. 1, pp. 35-36; al-Iqd al-farid, vol. 4, p. 307; at-Tabaqat, vol. 3,
Part 1, p. 185; Tarikh al-khamis, vol. 2, p. 271)
When Amir al-mu'minin became
Caliph, Ammar was one of his most sincere supporters. He participated fully in all
social, political and military activities during this period, especially in the first
battle (the battle of Jamal) and the second one (the battle of Siffin). However, Ammar was martyred on 9th
Safar 37 A.H. in the battle of Siffin when a he was over ninety years of age. On the day
Ammar ibn Yasir achieved martyrdom, he turned his face to the sky and said: O' my Allah! surely Thou art aware
that if I know that Thy wish is that I should plunge myself into this River (the
Euphrates) and be drowned, I will do it. O' my Allah! surely Thou knowest that if I knew
that Thou would be pleased if I put my scimitar on my chest (to hit my heart) and pressed
it so hard that it came out of my back, I would do it. O' my Allah! I do not think there
is anything more pleasant to Thee than fighting with this sinful group, and if knew that
any action were more pleasant to Thee I would do it.
Abu Abd ar-Rahman as-Sulami
narrates:
"We were present with Amir
al-mu'minin at Siffin where I saw Ammar ibn Yasir was not turning his face towards any
side, nor valleys (wadis [of the land] ) of Siffin but the companions of the Holy Prophet
were following him as if he was a sign for them. Then I heard Ammar say to Hashim ibn
'Utbah (al-Mirqal): 'O' Hashim! rush into enemy's ranks, paradise is under sword! Today I meet beloved one, Muhammad
and his party'.
"Then he said: 'By Allah, if
they put us to flight (and pursue us) to the date-palms of Hajar (a town in Bahrain,
Persian Gulf [i.e., if they pursue us along all the Arabian desert] nevertheless) we know
surely that we are right and they are wrong.'
"Then he (Ammar) continued
(addressing the enemies):
We struck you to (believe in) its
(Holy Qur'an) revelation; And today we strike you to (believe in) its interpretation; Such
strike as to remove heads from their resting places; And to make the friend forget his
sincere friend; Until the truth returns to its (right) path.'"
The narrator says: "I did not
see the Holy Prophet's companions killed at any time as many as they were killed on this
day."
Then Ammar spurred his horse,
entered the battlefield and began fighting. He persistently chased the enemy, made attack
after attack, and raised challenging slogans till at last a group of mean-spirited Syrians
surrounded him on all sides, and a man named Abu al-Ghadiyah al-Juhari (al-Fazari)
inflicted such a wound upon him that he could not bear it, and returned to his camp. He
asked for water. A tumbler of milk was brought to him. When Ammar looked at the tumbler
he said: "The Messenger of Allah had said the right thing." People asked him
what he meant by these words. He said "The Messenger of Allah informed me that the
last sustenance for me in this world would be milk." Then he took that tumbler of
milk in his hands, drank the milk and surrendered his life to Allah, the Almighty. When
Amir al-mu'minin came to know of his death, he came to Ammar's side, put his (Ammar's)
head on his own lap, and recited the following elegy to mourn his death: Surely any Muslim who is not
distressed at the murder of the son of Yasir, and is not be afflicted by this grievous
misfortune does not have true faith.
May Allah show His mercy to Ammar
the day he embraced Islam, may Allah show His mercy to Ammar the day he was killed, and
may Allah show His mercy to Ammar the day he is raised to life.
Certainly, I found Ammar (on such
level) that three companions of the Holy Prophet could not be named unless he was the
fourth, and four of them could not be mentioned unless he was the fifth. There was none among the Holy
Prophet's companions who doubted that not only was Paradise once or twice compulsorily
bestowed upon Ammar, but that he gained his claim to it (a number of times). May Paradise
give enjoyment to Ammar.
Certainly, it was said (by the Holy
Prophet) "Surely, Ammar is with the truth and the truth is with Ammar. He turns
wherever the truth turns. His killer will be in hell."
Then Amir al-mu'minin stepped
forward and offered funeral prayers for him, and then with his own hands, he buried him
with his clothes.
Ammar's death caused a good deal
of commotion in the ranks of Muawiyah too, because there were a large number of prominent
people fighting from his side under the impression created in their minds that he was
fighting Amir al-mu'minin for a right cause. These people were aware of the saying of the
Holy Prophet that Ammar would be killed by a group who would be on the wrong side. When
they observed that Ammar had been killed by Muawiyah's army, they became convinced that
they were on the wrong side and that Amir al-mu'minin was definitely on the right. This
agitation thus caused among the leaders as well as the rank and file of Muawiyah's army,
was quelled by him with the argument that it was Amir al-mu'minin who brought Ammar to
the battlefield and therefore it was he who was responsible for his death. When
Muawiyah's argument was mentioned before Amir al-mu'minin he said it was as though the
Prophet was responsible for killing Hamzah as he brought him to the battle of Uhud.
(at-Tabari, at-Tarikh, vol. 1, pp. 3316-3322; vol. 3, pp. 2314-2319; Ibn Sad, at-Tabaqat,
vol. 3, Part 1, pp. 176-189; Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil, vol. 3, pp. 308-312; Ibn Kathir,
at-Tarikh, vol. 7, pp, 267-272; al-Minqari, Siffin, pp. 320-345; Ibn Abd al-Barr,
al-Isti'ab, vol . 3, pp. 1135- 1140; vol. 4, p. 1725; Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-ghabah, vol. 4,
pp. 43-47; vol. 5, p. 267; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-balaghah, vol. 5, pp. 252-258;
vol. 8, pp. 10-28; vol. 10, pp. 102-107, al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, vol. 3, pp. 384-394; Ibn
Abd Rabbih, al-Iqd al-farid, vol. 4, pp. 340-343; al-Masudi, Muruj adh-dhahab, vol. 2,
pp. 381-382, al-Haytami, Majma az-zawa'id, vol. 7, pp. 238-244; vol. 9, pp. 291-298;
al-Baladhuri, Ansab al-ashraf (Biography of Amir al-mu'minin), pp. 310-319. (5).
Abu'l-Haytham (Malik) ibn at-Tayyihan al-Ansari was one of the twelve chiefs (naqib [of
ansar]) who attended the fair and met at al-Aqabah -- in the first Aqabah and among
those who attended in the second Aqabah -- where he gave the Holy Prophet the 'pledge of
Islam'. He was present in the battle of Badr and all other battles as well as places of
assembly by the Muslims during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet. He was also among the
sincere supporters of Amir al-mu'minin and he attended the battle of Jamal as well as
Siffin where he was martyred. (al-Istiab, vol. 4, p. 1773; Siffin, p. 365; Usd al-ghabah,
vol. 4, p. 274; vol. 5, p. 318; al-Isabah, vol. 3, p. 341; vol. 4, pp. 312-313; Ibn
Abi'l-Hadid, vol. 10, pp. 107-108; Ansab al-ashraf, p. 319).
(6).
Khuzaymah ibn Thabit al-Ansari. He is known as Dhu'sh-Shahadatayn because the Holy Prophet
considered his evidence equivalent to the evidence of two witnesses He was present in the
battle of Badr, and other battles as well as in the places of assembly of the Muslims
during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet. He is counted among the earliest of those who
showed their adherence to Amir al-mu'minin and he was also present in the battle of Jamal
and Siffin. Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Layla narrated that he saw a man in the battle of
Siffin fighting the enemy valiantly and when he protested against his action, the man
said:
I am Khuzaymah ibn Thabit
al-Ansari, I have heard the Holy Prophet saying "Fight, fight, by the side of
Ali." (al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Muwaddih awham al-jam wa't-tafriq, vol. 1, p. 277). Khuzaymah was martyred in the
battle of Siffin soon after the martyrdom of Ammar ibn Yasir.
Sayf ibn Umar al-Usayydi (the well
known liar) has fabricated another Khuzaymah, and claimed that the one who was martyred in
the battle of Siffin was this one and not the one with the surname of
'Dhu'sh-Shahadatayn'. at-Tabari has quoted this fabricated story from Sayf either
intentionally or otherwise, and through him this story has affected some other historians
who quoted from at-Tabari or relied on him. (For further reference, see al-Askari,
Khamsun wa miah sahabi mukhtalaq [one hundred and fifty fabricated companions], vol. 2,
pp. 175-189).
After having denied this story Ibn
Abi'l-Hadid adds (in Sharh Nahj al-balaghah, vol. 10, pp. 109-110) that: Furthermore, what is the need for
those who to defend Amir al-mu'minin to make a boast of abundance with Khuzaymah,
Abu'l-Haytham, Ammar and others. If people treat this man (Amir al-mu'minin) with justice
and look at him with healthy eyes they will certainly realise that should he be alone (on
one side) and the people all together (on the other side) fighting him, he will be in the
truth and all the rest will be in the wrong. (at-Tabaqat, vol. 3, Part 1, pp. 185,188;
al-Mustadrak, vol. 3, pp. 385, 397; Usd al-ghabah, vol. 2, p. 114; vol. 4, p. 47;
al-lstiab, vol. 2, p. 448; at-Tabari, vol. 3, pp.2316, 2319, 2401; al-Kamil, vol. 3, p.
325; Siffin, pp. 363, 398; Ansab al-ashraf, pp. 313-314).
(7).
Among the people who were present in the battle of Jamal on the side of Amir al-muminin
there were one hundred and thirty Badries (those who participated in the battle of Badr
with the Holy Prophet) and seven hundred of those who were present in the 'pledge of
ar-Ridwan' (Bayatu'r-Ridwan) which took place under a tree. (adh-Dhahabi, Tarikh
al-lslam, vol. 2, p. 171; Khalifah ibn Khayyat, at-Tarikh vol. 1, p. 164). Those who were
killed in the battle of Jamal from the side of Amir al-muminin numbered some five hundred
(some said that the number of martyrs were more than that). But on the side of the people
of Jamal twenty thousand were killed. (al-lqd al-farid, vol. 4, p. 326). Among those who were present in the
battle of Siffin on the side of Amir al-mu'minin, there were eighty Badries and eight
hundred of those who gave the Holy Prophet the 'pledge of ar-Ridwan.' (al-Mustadrak, vol.
3, p. 104 al-Istia'b, vol. 3, p. 1138; al-Isabah, vol. 2, p. 389; at-Tarikh, al-Yaqubi,
vol. 2, p. 188).
On the side of Muawiyah forty-five
thousand were killed, and on the side of Amir al-muminin twenty-five thousand. Among these
martyrs (of Amir al-mu'minin) there were twenty-five or twenty-six Badries and sixty-three
or three hundred and three of the people of the 'pledge of ar-Ridwan'. (Siffin, p. 558;
al-Istiab, vol. 2, p. 389, Ansab al-ashraf, p. 322; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid, vol. 10, p. 104;
Abu'l-Fida' vol. 1, p. 175, Ibn al-Wardi, at-Tarikh, vol. 1, p. 240; Ibn Kathir, vol. 7,
p. 275; Tarikh al-khamis, vol. 2, p. 277)
Besides the distinguished and
eminent companions of Amir al-mu'minin like Ammar, Dhu'sh-Shahadatayn and Ibn
al-Tayyihan, who lay martyred in Siffin were:--
i. Hashim ibn Utbah ibn Abi Waqqas
al-Mirqal was killed on the same day when Ammar was martyred. He was the bearer of the
standard of Amir al-mu'minin's army on that day.
ii. Abdullah ibn Budayl ibn
al-Warqa' al-Khuzai was sometimes the right wing Commander of Amir al-muminin's army and
sometimes the infantry Commander.
.Forward to Sermon 182.Back to Sermon 180.
