2. A Diminished Picture on the Irregular
Situations at al-Mada'in
From the foregoing study, repetitions is necessary for the research, we have have known that the best soldiers of Al-Hasan joined the vanguard that went to Maskan before. However, his soldiers at al-mada'in were the weakest of all soldiers in morale and the nearest of them to desertion, restlessness, and division.
We have also known that Al-Hasan had been suprised by three initiatives before he received any help from his other camps. These three intiatives, that were as warners against the disaster, are as follows:
A. The news of the wide-range treason at Maskan.
B. The provocative rumor that urged the people to desert (the camp) through telling them that Qays b. Sa'd who was the second commander the army of Maskan, had been killed.
C. The discord created by the Syrians delegation that came to show the Imam the letters of the traitorous Kufans, and then the delegation went out saying that Al-Hasan had accepted making peace with
Mu'awiya.
As we have mentioned in chapter 8, in this army were the men of discords, the men of the wish for booty, the Kharijites, and the like. They had not means more useful than these discords which they stirred up among Al-Hasan's army through the above mentioned three sorrowful initiatives.
Moreover, Al-Hasan summoned the people, addressed them, asked them for good intention and patience, reminded them of their laubable days (ie battles) at Siffin, and blamed them for those discords. Among the most winderful things which Al-Hasan achieved through his speech was that he was able to bring the people gradually to confess openly that they recoiled from waging war against Mu'awiya. That occurred when Al-Hasan wanted to ask them for advice concerning what Mu'awiya had written to Him, so, at the end of his speech, he said: "Indeed Mu'awiya has summoned us to matter in which there is neither dignity nor justice. If you wanted death, we would refuse it and judge Him with our swords before Allah. If you wanted life, we would accept it from Him and take contentment for you." So the people called Him from all directions: "The rest! The rest! Carry out peace making!"1
I (i.e., the author): In the history of the matter of Al-Hasan peace be on Him, there are two reports. They have been mentioned to the extent that they have become among he axioms of this history. They are: the narration of the people who requested the rest and carrying out peace making, and the narration of the people who rose in al-Mada'in protesting against making peace insisting on waging war against Mu'awiya. So I wish knew which of the two ideas was the aim of these people?
Aren't these two ideas the signs of the division which we have already mentioned? Rather they indicate the chaos that hindered the battle field, and they indicate that those who called the Imam from all
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1. Ibn Khaldun. Ibn al-Athir. al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar.
We have already mentioned the first part of this oration with in the declaration of the historians in this chapter.
directions to make peace with Mu'awiya were themselves who asked the Imam to wage war against Him.
So chaos, summons to jihad, and making friends with the Imam do not come together.
These were among the aspects of the camp of al-Mada'in, and among the qualities of the mixed of groups of people who had controlled it.
Some soldiers revolted against Al-Hasan. They accused Him of unbelief. This indicates that they belonged to the Kharijites. For the Kharijites accused the Muslims or the Imams of unbelief when they became angry with them. Besides they used such an accusations as a pretext to cover the great crime which one of them committed when he stabbed Al-Hasan in the thigh.
Some soldiers plundered Al-Hasan's tent to the extent that they plundered his cloak and his prayer mat. This indicates that they belonged to "the men of the wish for booty.
The discords in Al-Hasan's army indicates that there were discord makers. They were in this army when it was in Kufa and when it moved to the two camps to wage holy jihad against Mu'awiya.
In this manner the discord quickly spread through the army in al-Mada'in. So even the well organized loyal companions to Al-Hasan were unable to control it. Thus the majority prevented the minority from carrying out its duties. This army lacked tranquility which was important to achieve steadfastness. Meanwhile it had no aims but foolish ones. So this army was not able to fight against Mu'awiya. However, it wanted to fight against its Imam, Al-Hasan. It did not take war booty from their enemy, but it wanted to take booty from its friends through plundering their possessions. It was not able to join Mu'awiya's camp, as its friends in the second camp did, it wrote to Him to come to it.
This is what history has kept for this group of the people. As for what historians have forgotten or tried to forget or they have been prevented from mentioning it, no one knows it but Allah, the Great and Almighty.
I (ie the author) wonder: If Mu'awiya with all his cleverness and generosity faced the situation and the army fo Al-Hasan, would he pass his critical situation in a manner better than that Al-Hasan used to protect his doctrines, his plans, and his future?
To increase looking for the reasons that prevented Al-Hasan from the obtaining holy martyrdom, we will inform the gentle reader of the third stage of this round with sad steps.
3. Mu'awiya's plan towards the aims of Al-Hasan,
peace be on him.
When 'Uthman died, the title 'the governor' (al-wali) with which Mu'awiya was called died, too. We do not know which title he had used to call Himself after that, nor do we know the kind of his responsiblity according to the Islamic Law. However, we have known that the two legal caliphs (ie, Ali and his son Al-Hasan), peace be on them, did not appoint Him as a governor, so he was not a governor. Also we have known that the Islamic Law does not permit two caliphs at one time, so he was not a caliph.
Therefore what was Mu'wiya after Uthman?
We do not know.
Yes, he drew the weapon at the faces fo these two caliphs (ie Ali and his son al-Hassn) from the day when he was removed from the authority of Sham (Syria). We have seen that the Islamic Law gives a title to Him who behaved as Mu'awiya did. We think that Mu'awiya was satisfied with the title, that is al-baghi (ie, the oppressive one).
I (ie the author) wonder: Did Mu'awiya choose a title for Himself other than the leader of al-bughat (ie, the oppressive one).?
I think that Mu'awiya, because of his future ambition, was not annoyed when he took the reins of authority while his title was unknown, nor was worried when he was called al-baghi according to the Islamic Law. That is because he was he was insisting on taking the greatest titles by force regardless of the Islamic Law. So after that,
Sa'd b. Abu Waqas called Him king. Muslim b. Aqaba,1 al-Mughira b. Shu'ba2 and Amru b. al' As3 called Him Amir al-muminin (the
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1. He was the leader at the Battle of al-Hurra, took place at the City of the Apostle of Allah (i,e Medina), may Allah bless Him and his family. He violated the sanctity of the City of three days. He demolished the Holy Kaaba with his mangonels. Mu'awiya advised his son Yazid, after he had paved the affairs for Him, to appoint Muslim b. Aqaba as a governor over Medina. He said to Him: "you will face a day (a battle) headed by the Medinians. If they did that, then punishe the with Muslim b. Aqaba, for he is the man whose advice I have knonw." See al-Tabari, al-Bayqahi, and Ibn al-Athir.
2. In his book al-Mahasan wa al-Masawi, al-Bayqahi told us: "al-Muhira was the fist to b bribed. He (ie al-Mughira) was the mediator in the matter of adding Zyyad (to Abu Sufyan) regardless of the Islamic Laws. He was the first to nominate Yazid, b. Mu'awiya to the Caliphate. It was he who said in this respect: "I have put Mu'awiya's leg in the leader stirrup which is far away from the intention of the community of Mohammed, and I have made a rip for them (ie, Community of Mohammed), which cam never be mended."
It was he whom Hasan b. Thabit (a poet) meant when he said:
If ignobility was ascribed, it would be a one- eyed.
Slave with an ugly face from Thaqif.
I have left the religion and belief because of ignorance
In the early morning when I met the associate of al-Nasif.
I resorted to youth, and I remembered from inside the bowels
Play and the fine waist.
3. He was very famous. His by Wardan, concerning Him, said: "Here and the hereafter quarreled with each other to cotrol his heart." So he preferred the life in this world to the next life. He followed Mu'awiya provided that the latter should appoint Him a governor over Egypt. So may the hand of the seller be unsuccessful and the trust of the buyer be disgreceful!
Ibn Abd Rabba has reported the following on the authority of Al-Hasan al-Basir, who said: "By Allah, Mu'awiya knew that he would not control government completely unless Amru pledged allegiance to Him. So he said to Him: 'Amru, follow me, Amru said: Why? For the hereafter? By Allah, there will not follow you unless I be your partner in it. Then you are my partner in it,' Said Mu'awiya. So give me Egypt and her districts, said Amru. So Mu'awiya gave Him Egypt and her districts, and wrote at the end of the letter: Amru should listen and obey. And write that listening and obedience
should change nothing of his conditions said Amru. No, we will consider this carefully, said Mu'awiya. Till you write that, said Amru,"
The old companion (ie Amru) who died at the age of 98 was pleased to end his long age with such an evil trickery in the religion and began saying without attetion: "Were it not for Egypt and her districts, I would escape from it, for I know that Ali b. Talib was right but I opposed Him."
As for the early life of Amru b. al-As, it harmed Islam and the Prophet of Islam, may Allah bless Him and his family, very much. That is because he was one of the two persons who tried to kill the Prophet, may Allah bless Him and his family, on the Night of the Bed in Mecca. (ie the night when the latter asked Ali sleep in his bed to emigrate from Mecca to Medina).
It was Amru who was the childless (al-abtr) person whom Allah, the Exalted, meant by His words: Indeed your enemy is the childless."
He was among those who provoke the people to kill Uthman. He did not go to palestine till he opened the ulcer as he said concerning Himself on the day when he heard of killing of Uthman.
At last he joined Mu'awiya's cmap accordng to the above mentioned shameful bargaining. He got rid of the sure killing at (the battle of) Siffin through the ugliest means which history has known.
Copies of the Koran were raised in answer to his idea through which he was able to divide the unity of the Muslims.
When Amru was about to die, he said to his son; "I had entered affairs. I do not know what my proof for them will be with Allah.
Then he looked at his plentiful property and said: "I wish it was dung. I wish I died thirty year before this time. I reformed Mu'awiya's life in this world and I corrupted my religion. I preferred my life in this world to my next life. My reason became blind till my death came to me." The property he left behind Him was three hundred thousand gold dinars and a million siver dirhams in addition to his country estates.
Al-Tabarani and b. Asakir have reported the followring traditon of the Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless Him and his family, concerning 'Amru and Mu'awiya: "They do not meet each other but for perfidy." In their two books called 'al-Musnad', Ahmad and Abu Yu'la have mentioned the follwoing tradition on the authority of Abu Barza, who said: "We were with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, so he (i.e., Prophet) heard someone singing and said: Look! Who it is this? I (ie, Abu Barza) ascended. Suddenly, it was Mu'awiya and Amru b. al-As. They were singing. So I came back and told the Prophet, may Allah bless Him and his family, who said: O Allah, sink them into the sduction thoroughly. "O Allah, leave them in the fire for ever".
Commander of the faithful). He was the happiest one in this world, "who obtained all things which the people did not obtain in this world," as he said concerning Himself.
When Amru b. al-As, Muslim b. Aqaba, and al-Mughira b. Shu'ba had appointed Him as a caliph and Commander of the faithful, Mu'awiya was indifferent to the Islamic Law whether it permitted Him to use such a titles or not. That is because the Islamic Law dies nto permit anyone to take the religious titles by forece, nor does it allow anyone to use the title caliph but when the person is similar to the Prophet, may Allah bless Him and his family. Besides the Islamic Law deprives the person of using this title when there is between Him and the Prophet like that which is between two religions.
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In his book Tathir al-Jinan, b. Hajr has narrated the following traditions. "Indeed Amru went up on the pulpit and backbited Ali. Then al-Mughira b. Shu'ba did as he (Amru) did. So it was said to Al-Hasan: Go up on the the pulpit to answer them. However, he refused to do that unless they promised to believe Him when he said the truth and to accuse Him of lying when he said falsehood. They accepted that, so he went up on the pulpit, praised Allah, lauded Him, and said: Amru and Mughira, I want you to swear by Allah, do you know that the Apostle of Allah had cursed the driver and the leader, one of them was so- and so (Mu'awiya)? Yes, they said. Then he (the Prophet) said: Mu'awiy and Mughira, I ask you to swear by Allah, don't you know hat the Prophet had cursed the people of this (ie, al Mughira)? Then Al-Hasan said: "Indeed I thank Allah who has made you from those who renounced this (i.e., 'Ali)."
It was Amru b. al-As whom the great companion Ammar b. Yasir, may Allah be pleased with Him, meant when he said to the mujahidin (holy fighters) at (the Battle of Siffin): "Do you not want to look at Him who showed enmity, towards Allah and His Apostle and fought against them, wronged the Muslims, and supported the polytheist, and when he saw that Allah, the Great and Almity, had strengthened his religion and supported His Apostle, may Allah bless Him had his family, he became Muslim as we think, unwillingly? Then Allah made his Apostle, may Allah bless Him and his family, to die. By Allah, Amru removed a good deed after Allah's Apostle when he showed enmity towards to Muslims and bargained the criminal. so resist Him and fight against Him, for he will extinguish the light of Allah and help the enemies of Allah, the Great and Almighty." See: al-Tabari, Ibn Abu al-Haddid, al-Mas'udi, and the like.
We do not know exactly to what extent these titles costed Mu'awiya in his religion when he ascribed them to Himself and to his son Yazid by force, and when he did not introduce his son to the Muslims.
Also we do not know to what exetent Mu'wiya took care of Himself towards Allah concerning what he had to take care of.
However, in the light of his many disputes, we have known that he did not guard against Himself. Also we have known that the ambitious selfishness had controlled his heart so that he forgot his attitude standing windward, and based on the spidersweb on the day when all titles deserted Him.
Also we have known that unruly tribalism prevented Mu'awiya, the tyrant, from thinking so that it made Him think that had a justification for refusing the clear conditins of Islam concerning the caliph. That is because Amru, b. al-As pledged allegiance to Him, and al-Mughira, b. Shu'ba nominated his son Yazid to be the successor after Him to lead the believers. Wasn't this pledge of allegiance to Mu'awiya and htis nomination to his son Yazid resulted from he cheap bargaining for the authorities of Egypt and Kufa as it is historically known?
No wonder! It was natural for Mu'awiya b. Abu Sufyan to be as he had been before. That is because he was an original Umayyad or an Umayyad associate, but he spared no effort to be original Ymayyad.1
The Umayyads and the Hashimites had their own history that made them ascended till they met and descended with them whenever the time descended.
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1. al-Zamkhshari, Rabi al-Abrar. Ibn al-Sa'ib, al-Mathalib.
Abu al-Faraj al-Asfahani, al-Aghani. Ibn al-Samman, Mathalib bani Umayya, Ja'far b. Mohammed al-Hammadani, Bahjat al-Mustafid.
Then the gentle reader will be free to ascribe Mu'awiya to any of his four fathers whose names have been mentioned there. In his book Nahj al-Balagha, the Lord of Arabs (ie,Imam Ali) referred to that: "The original one is unlike the associate."
It was natural for the person who were used to the tribal backgrounds before and after Islam, who accepted Islam unwillingly on the Day of the Conquest (of Mecca), and who did not understand Islam as it is to keep on their inherited spites and the old heritage with deep injuries.
After the Conquest (of Mecca) and during the time of the Prophet, Mu'awiya was bare-footed freed prisoner of war, as he described Himself. Then the Umayyads became eager to renew their position in society. That is because an Umayyad member was nominated take to part in the consultative Committee (which Umar b. Khattab appointed to elect a new caliph.). This step helped Uthman's cousin (ie Mu'awiya) to be the fearful powerful governor of Sham (syria). So he began to gather helpers and supporters and to please the followers, the soldiers, and the advisers. Then he built palacces, used curtains for them, and ordered the soldiers to stop at their doors. In the meantime his wealth was enough to tempt the men greediness, the men who sold their conscience, and the men who licked the bowl.
As Mu'awiya was deserted subject and was unble to avenge Himself and his tribe on the people who overcame Him and his tribe, it was natural for Him, when he took the reins of the authority, to punish those people severely and to avenge Himself and his tribe on their children, their brothers, their companions, their doctrines and their aims. So it was expected that Mu'awiya would make armed raids on the Ali and Al-Hasan, peace be on them, at the first opportunity, and to wage war against them. Noteworthy this cold war of his was the longest of all wars, and most harmful of them towards Islam.
From the numerous diplomatic acts which Mu'awiya did during his long time, we can conclude that he had decided to make a wide-range cmapaign to destroy the Alid dictrines or to destroy the true Islam which Ali and his pure sons represented.
It seems that Mu'awiya wanted to achieve four aims through this campaign of his. They are as follows:
1. To paralyze the Shi'ites, to destroy gradually all those who adopted Shi,ism, and to divide their unity.
2. To create discords in the areas that followed the members of the House (ahl al-Bayt), peace be on them, so that he (Mu'awiya) would be able to punish severely those innocent people under the pretext of causing riot.
3. To isolate the members of the House( ahl Bayt) peace be on them, from the Muslim world, to force the people to forget them, to prevent them by all means (possible) from having any influence, and then to destroy them through assassinations.
4. To strength war of nerves.
In this respect, Mu'awiya had oppressive deeds, Thus Allah, the Great and Almighty, will expose Him for along time as he has exposed Him throughout history. The research will force us to give some examples of them when we talk about the stipulations of the peace Treaty, which Mu'awiya broke.
The most prominent way Mu'awiya used to show his enmity towards Ali and his sons was that he forced the people in his dingdom to curse them. This means that he forced the people to forget their right to the authority, renounce them, and to leave any tradition concerning their outstanding qualities. Through this act, Mu'awiya was the first to curse the Companions of the Prophet. So he was able to make the people obey Him through this abominable heresy.
Worth mentioning, the people were quickly affected by the powerful propagation, especilly when they were accompanied by money and high ranks.
We do not know why the people were satisfied with Mu'awiya when he cursed Ali, Al-Hasan and al-Husayn, peace be on them. In the meantime we do not know why they harbored malice agaisnt the members of the House(ahl al-Bayt), peace be on them, when Mu'awiya provoked them.
Perhaps Mu'awiya was able to convince the people of that it was the Ali and his sons who waged against the Prophet, may Allah bless Him and his family, when he summoned the people to believe in Islam, and that it was they who made unlawful what Allah had made lawful and made lawful what Allah had made unlawful, and that it was they
who added the illegal child to the lineage, and that it was they who broke the covenants, violated the oath, killed great Muslim figures, buried the innocent alive, and perfomed Friday prayer on Wednesday.1
Perhaps Mu'awiya fed the people but he did not satisfy them, and maybe he terrified them without giving them food. So he assumed "power through them when they obeyed Him and made cursing Ali a sunna (practice) on which the young one grew up and the old one died."2 It seems probable that it was Mu'awiya who called this heresy sunna. In this way the people after Mu'awiya went on adopting his heresy, namely cursing Ali, till Umar b. Abd al-Aziz came to power and abolished it. "The orator of the mosque of Harran deliverd a sermon, then he ended the sermon. However, he said nothing about cursing Abu Turab (ie Imam Ali) as usual. So the people shouted from all sides; Woe unto you! The sunna, the sunna! you have left the sunna!"3
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1. Al-Mas'udi, Muruj al-Dhahab, vol. 2, 72. Also other references have reported that.
2. Al-Mas'udi, Muruj al-Dhahab, vol. 2, 72.
Here we must remember that Ali, peace be on Him, heard a group of people abusing the Syrians at the Battle of Siffin, he presvented them from that and said to them; "I dislike you to start abusing them but if you describe their deeds and recount their conditions that would be a letter mode of speaking and more convincing way of arguing. Instead of abusing them you should say: O Allah, save our blood and their blood, produce reconciliation between us nd them, and lead them out of their misguidance so that he who is ignorant of truth may know it and he who is inclining to rebellion and revolt may turn away from it. Nahj al-Balagha, pp.420 and 421.
One day Mu'awiya's messenger came to Al-Hasan, peace be on Him, and said to Him: "I as Allah to protect you and destroy these people." So Al-Hasan said to Him: "Be kind! Do not betray Him who trusts you. It is enough for you to love father and mother. It is an act of treason is that a certain group of people trust you and you show enmity towards them and invoke Allah against them." See al-Malahim wa al-Fitan, p. 143 (Najaf).
3. Hashim al-Daftardar, al-Islam bayna al-sunna wa al-Shi'a p. 20.
Then the sunna of Mu'awiya became historical rule. It made the word sunna implies anoter idiomatic meaning which the generations handed down, and with which the early political meaning was forgotten.
When you consider carefully Mu'awiya's psychological features, you will be in no need of mentioning many examples of his evil deeds.
After this, what would had happened if Mu'awiya had been victorious at his fighting against Al-Hasan and the latter had died a martyr at that fighting?
Do the back grounds of Mu'awiya indicate that he would be moderate in his victory over Al-Hasan's Shi'a and the rest of the firm believer or would be destroy them all after he had killed the greatest figure in the great Prophetic family/?
Surely, Mu'awiya would never refrain from the doing that. Moreover, he woudl not abstain from destroying the doctrine that shook his entity from the day when Ali became a caliph, rathr from the day when the Hashimites brought light to the life in this world, rather from the day when the Hashimites vied in nobility with the Umayyads so that the latter escaped to Sham (Syria).
Mu'awiya would be able to take other well woven measures to destroy the Shi'a after the killing of al-Husayn and to trick those who were deceived by his leadership from the generation that helped Him to usurp government.
Mu'awiya took measures to curse the members of the House (ahl al-Bayt) and accuse Ali of killing Uthman so that he was ready to take the third measure to destroy Shi,ism materially and spiritually.
In sides the high palaces of Mu'awiya i Sham (Syria) were consciences for sale and hireling pens. So it was natural for such a kind of people to fabricate traditions and ascribe them to the Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless Him and his family. Also it was natural for them to violate the Alid doctrines, to distort them, and to disdain them to the extent the they uprooted their existence from the people. Then they would be able, when the atmosphere was empty to the family of Mohammed (may Allah bless Him and his family), to create another
apostasy from Islam through their fabricated traditions so that they would destroy the true Islam and legislate another Islam that was appropriate for Mu'awiya's ambitions and far away from the inspiration of the sky.
This was what Al-Hasan, peace be on Him, meant when he said: "you do not know what I have done. By Allah, what I have done is better for my Shi'a than what the sun rises over."
There is nothing of what the sun rises over better then protecting the faith and immortalizing the dictrine.
Also this was what Imam Mohammed al-Baqir b. Ali b. al-Husayn b. Ali b. Abu Talib, peace be on Him, meant when he was asked about the Peace Treaty of Al-Hasan, peace be on Him, so he said; "Indeed he (ie, Al-Hasan) was more knowledgeable of what he had done. Were it not for what he had done, there would be a great affair."
