Lessons from Nahjul Balagha [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Sermons
Sermon
181

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? (6) And where are
others like them (7) 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 ith 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.