Aban says: “I heard Sulaym ibn Qays when I asked him: “Were you present in Siffin?” He replied: “Yes” I asked: “Were you present on the Day of Harir?” He replied: “Yes” I asked: “How old were you then?” He replied: “Forty years.” I requested: “Tell me about that time, May Allah have mercy on you.”
He said: “Yes, even if I forget everything I cannot forget this hadith.” Then he cried.
“He (Ali AS) said: “Stand in line” and we stood in line. Malik Ashtar came out with a horse that was very tall that he had with him and his arms were hanging on his horse. He had a spear in his hand and with that spear he was knocking on our heads and said: “Make your lines proper.”
When he had the army arranged properly and established lines; he turned to his horse until he stopped in the middle of the two lines. His back was towards the people of Shaam and his face towards us. He thanked Allah and praised Him and invoked blessing of Allah on the Holy Prophet (SAW) and then said:
“After that, it is Allah’s fate and destiny, what He chooses, that we gather in this part of the earth for that appointed time that has come near, and for those matters that have passed in which we are lead by Sayyidul Muslimmen (the leader of Muslims), by Amirul Mumineen, Khayrul Wasiyeen (the best of successors) and the paternal cousin of our Holy Prophet (SAW) and his brother, his inheritor and our swords are swords of Allah, and their leader is Ibn Akilatil akbad (the son of the woman who ate liver) who is the place for refuge of hypocrisy and is the remainder of AHZAB (a group), who is leading them to misfortune and Hell. And we hope or Reward from Allah in fighting against them and they are waiting for punishment. When the flames of war flare up and the dust of war rises and the army get inspired by our killed ones and their killed ones, we will be hopeful of help from Allah by killing them. At that time I do not listen anything except the striking of the swords and the noise of horses.
O people, close your eyes, clench your molars – this is useful to hit the head. Attack the opponents facing them and hold the handle of the sword in your right hand. Then hit the skull. Hit the spear with part which is near the left side, because this is killer, and attack in the style of that community which is taking revenge for the ancestors, taking revenge for the killing of their brothers, are angry with their enemies and who have prepared their lives for death, so that you are not humiliated and shame is not compulsory for you in Duniya.”
Then the war started and extreme difficulties befell during that time. On parting 70,000 very important Arabs had been killed and this incident started on Thursday at sun rise, and until a third of the night was over in which in neither armies, not one prostration was done for Allah, until the time for the four prayers elapsed, Zohr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha.”
“Sulaym said: “Then Ali (AS) stood up to give a sermon and said: “O People, you can see what happened to you, and your enemies also suffered like you, except one breath nothing is left. When matters arise, the end result is taken from the beginning and your opponents became faithless and attacked you until they reached where they should have reached. InshaAllah tomorrow morning, I will myself attack them and will present them in front of Allah for judgment.”
This matter reached Muawiyah so he was very frightened. He, his companions and people of Shaam started feeling defeated. He called Amr ibn Aas and said: “O Amr, this is the only night. In the morning he will attack us, what is your opinion?” He replied: “I can see that men have decresed and those remaining cannot attack them, and you are also not like him. For whatever his is fighting against you, and for what you are fighting against him is different. You want to remain and he wants to expire. People of Shaam are not as afraid of Ali if he succeeds, as the people of Iraq are afraid of you if you succeed, but present one thing to him. If he does not accept it even then there will be dispute and if he accepts it even then there will be dispute. Call all of them towards the Book of Allah and raise the Quran high on the heads of spears – you will reach your aim. I had thought about this for a long time for you.” Muawiyah understood this and said: “You have said truth but I have established a thought with which I cheat Ali. I asked him for Shaam in return for leaving everything else and that is the first thing that Ali had not agreed with me.”
Amr laughed and said: “O Muawiyah, you cannot cheat Ali, if you wish to write it, write.”
“He (Sulaym) said: “Muawiyah wrote a letter to Ali (AS) and sent it with a person from people of Sakasik, named Abdullah ibn Akba.
‘After that, had you known that the war would lead you and me to here, and had I known that neither of us would overpower the other even if our intelligence was overpowered, but whatever is passed we put it right and whatever remains we correct it. I had, before this, asked you for Shaam on the condition that your allefiance and obedience does not become compulsory on me. At that time you refused me that. The matter, which stopped you, Allah gave it to tme. Today I am inviting you to what I invited you yesterday because you want life just as much as I want it and you are not scared of expiring but as much as I am scared, and by God, hearts have softened, men are finished, and we are children of Abde Manaf and neither of us has priority over the other by which any reputable one is humiliated, and any humiliated is enslaved.
Wassalam.’
“Sulaym said: “Having read the letter Ali (AS) laughed and said: “I am surprised at Muawiyah and his wanting to cheat me.” Then he called his writer Ubeydullah ibn Abi Raffia’ and said to him “Write”
‘After that, your letter came to me in which you mention that if you and I knew that the war will lead you and me to where one would not defear the other – I and you, O Muawiyah, have such aims for it that we have not reached them. Your asking for Shaam – I will not give it to you like I refused it yesterday, and to be equal in our hopes and fears – surely you have gone into doubts as far as I have gone into surety. People of Shaam are not as greedy of Duniya as people of Iraq are of Aakhirah. Your saying that we are Abde Manaf’s children who do not have priority over one another – we are like that but Umayyah is not equal to Hashim and Herb is not equal to Abdul Muttalib, and Abu Sufyan is not equal to Abu Talib. Taliq (those that were forgiven after victory in Makkah) is not equal to Muhajir, and a hypocrite is not equal to a faithful, and falsehood is not equal to truth. We have the merits of Prophethood in our hands, the Prophethood through which we have power over Arab and through which we made Ajam slaves. Wassalam.’
He said: “When the letter of Ali (AS) reached Muawiyah, he first kept it secret from Amr, then he called him and asked him to read it. Amr swore at him because he had advised him not to, and there was no one in Quraysh who respected Ali (AS) more than Amr after that day when he (ALI AS) had made him (Amr) fall down from his horse.
Poem of Amr:
‘O the son of Hind, good be with you, and the goodness of a human being is at the time when he gets leadership. What, are you greedy, may your father not remain, about Ali, when iron is striking against iron and you are hoping that you cheat him by surrounding him by doubts. And you are hoping that he will be afraid by your scaring him. Of course, the matter is clear and he is experienced in wars, the fear of which makes the hair of children Grey. He has dark wells, and the ones with very strong levers are very brave who are roaring like lions. And he tells them when they return and when they attack the community with your spears that you return to them, so when they go to wars they go like camels who go into water for the first time, and when they come out they do not come out in the manner that they went. This is not surprising for Abul Hasan and this is not a matter that is far. You have spoken to him like a beggar, a person who is weak at heart and has his neck slain. You asked for Shaam, O son of Hind, so for you these evils and weak advice are sufficient. If he gives Shaam to you it will not increase your reputation, and there will not be increase in your asking. With this advice you cannot even break a stick, it will remain as it is – no, no, even lesser than a stick.’
So Muawiyah said: “By God, I knew how you will interpret it.” Amr asked: “How did I interpret it?” He replied: “To think little of my opinion and to disagree with me and to your respecting Ali because of the day when he humiliated you when you went against him.” Amr laughed and said: “Yes, I did disagree with you and disobey you but as far as my humiliation is concerned, any person who fights against Ali cannot feel humiliated, so if you wish to read it, read it.” Muawiyah kept quiet and the matter between the two spread in Shaam.”