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THE BATTLE OF NAHRAWAN

Abū-Mūsa announced the deposing of `Ali (a.s) and with this `Amr ibn al-`As announced the appointment of Mu`awiyah. The way they played with the norms set by the Qur’an and Shari`ah, is a part of the history. Those who could not defeat Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) in the battlefield, scored a point in stealth and treachery. They turned their faces from the truth and honesty and became an instrument to comply with Mu`awiyah’s demands.

The verdict of the referees was not a surprise for `Ali (a.s). He knew that the referees would do everything to protect the interests of Mu`awiyah. Although the Khawarij were forcing the Imam (a.s) to declare a war before the decision about the arbitration, he patiently awaited the outcome. The referees bypassed their terms of reference and, instead of limiting their work to the inquiry about the killing of `Uthman, they pronounced their verdict about the caliphate. Further, they neither referred to the Holy Qur’an nor the Traditions of the Prophet (a.s) for their deliberations and decisions. In these circumstances Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) had to decide to renew the fight with the Syrians. For the Imam (a.s), they were only two alternatives—either to bow down his head to the forces of evil or to attack Syria once again. His duty demanded that he should adopt the second alternative.

When Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) decided to wage a war against the Syrians, he wanted to register the cooperation of the Khawarij who were themselves keen to settle scores with Syria. Therefore, he wrote to `Abdullah ibn Wahab and Yazid ibn Husayn, “The two persons whom we had accepted as the referees, acted against the norms of the Qur’an and were overwhelmed with their selfish motives. They neither made access to the norms of the Qur’an nor the Sunnah of the Prophet (a.s). Now our position is the same as was there before the arbitration. Therefore, you must cooperate with us and we shall make a joint and concerted move towards the enemy, until Allah decides between us and them; and Allah makes the best decisions!”

The Khawarij wrote in their reply that he was now preparing for the fight to satisfy his own psyche and not to please Allah. They added that if he


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confessed about his infidelity and expressed his penitence, they would then consider cooperation with him. They also threatened that if he did not express penitence, they would fight with him. When the Imam (a.s) saw that the Khawarij were adamant, he ignored them and started mobilizing his army. He addressed a sermon to the people of al-Kūfah:

“O People of al-Kūfah! Remember! One who does not take part in jihad will certainly be confronted with destruction and damnation! Rise and tighten your belts to fight with those who are the enemies of Allah and His Prophet (a.s). They want to extinguish the Radiance of Allah. They are unjust, wayward and deviants from the Right Path. They neither understand the Qur’an nor the Shari`ah! They are not qualified for the caliphate. By Allah! If they come to power, they will trample the Islamic norms and establish the Herculean and Khusrowite system! Rise and fight those enemies of the Faith! We have sought military help from al-Basrah as well. As soon as it arrives, we shall march towards Syria.”

The Imam (a.s) wrote to the governor of al-Basrah, Ibn `Abbas, that he was starting for war with the Syrians. He asked him to mobilize men and come expeditiously to al-Nukhaylah, their cantonment for the mobilization of troops. On receiving this message Ibn `Abbas and al-Ahnaf ibn Qays informed the people of al-Basrah about the Imam’s decision and asked them to get ready for departure. At this call, 1,500 men volunteered to join. When Ibn `Abbas saw this meager number of volunteers, he arranged a meeting of the people of al-Basrah and told them, “O people! I have advised you the command of Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s)! He has ordered you to come for fighting with the enemy. I am disappointed that from this big city where sixty thousand warriors live, only 1,500 have volunteered to join! If you shirk participating in the war and keep sitting at home, you will repent your inaction! I have nominated Jariyah ibn Qudamah al-Sa’idi for the mobilization of troops. Gather under his flag.” With this exhortation a further one thousand and seven hundred persons reported. This small contingent of three thousand and two hundred men marched towards al-Kūfah.

When this contingent arrived, the elite of al-Kūfah came to the presence of the Imam (a.s). He told them that the cooperation extended by the people of al-Basrah was before them. You are my supporters and protectors. Every chief from you must persuade his tribe to come for fighting the jihad. Every able-bodied man must join. At this point Sa`id ibn Qays al-Hamdani, `Adi ibn


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Hatam, Ziyad ibn Khasfah, Hijr ibn `Adi and other chiefs said that they will extend the fullest cooperation in mobilizing men for the war. Therefore, at their instance, they could mobilize 65,000 men. Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) wrote to Sa`d ibn Mas`ūd, the governor of al-Mada’in to raise troops Thus 70,000 men were mobilized under the standard of Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s).

When all the preparations for war were over, some people said that it would be better to deal with the Khawarij first, before proceeding to Syria. The Imam (a.s) said it would be better to leave the Khawarij alone at the moment and proceed towards Syria. He said that if they got busy elsewhere, Mu`awiyah would get more time to strengthen himself further. The people said that he should do what he thought was the best. They again assured that they were with him. Sayfi ibn Fasil al-Shaybani said, “O Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s)! We are in your group and your strength! We are the friends of those who are your friends and the enemies of those who are your enemies! You will, Allah willing, find no dearth of friends and supporters and there would not be any diminution in our determination. “Muhriz ibn Shihab al-Tamimi said, “O Amir al-Mu’minin! We are under you and your followers! For your succor we have become one! Whether you attack the Khawarij or the Syrians, we shall not hesitate to fight with your enemies! Battle with your enemies is a great jihad and will bring wondrous rewards!”

In this time, the mischief of the Khawarij had assumed serious proportions. They had become brigands and attacked all the travelers who passed their way. Whoever came across them on the way, they would ask him about the arbitration. If the person expressed his unhappiness about it, they would leave him. Otherwise, they would kill him. However, they left the non-Muslims unmolested saying that they were Dhimmis. They considered that beating a pig was a sin and killing a Muslim an act of piety. Al-Mubarrad writes in al-Kamil that Khawarij found a Christian and a Muslim on the way to Nahrawan. They killed the Muslim and left the Christian saying that the Prophet (a.s) has termed the Christians as Dhimmis and harming them is a sin and a transgression of the agreement made by the Prophet (a.s) with them. If someone wanted to save his life from them, the only way was to pretend that he was a Dhimmi or a polytheist. Wasil ibn `Ata called himself a polytheist and escaped from their harm. The story goes that Wasil and some of his companions came across a band of Khawarij. Wasil warned his men that they were faced with Khawarij and must maintain their silence and that he would speak on their behalf. Saying this he went near the Khawarij and said, “We are polytheists and want to seek your protection and to learn about the do’s


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and don’ts of the Qur’an and act according to them.” Wasil said that they believed him and started teaching about the norms of the Qur’an and they kept nodding their heads. When Wasil and his men agreed to what the Khawarij talked about, they said that now they were brothers and could go wherever they wanted to. Wasil said that Allah has observed:

وَإِنْ أَحَدٌ مِنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ اسْتَجَارَكَ فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّى يَسْمَعَ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ أَبْلِغْهُ مَأْمَنَهُ.

“And if one of the idolaters seeks protection from you, grant him protection till he hears the word of Allah, then make him attain his place of safety. (9/6)”

Therefore, you must guide us safely to our home.

The Khawarij looked at each other in surprise and said, “Their demand, in the light of the Qur’an is right. Therefore, we must take them until their homes.” They therefore guided Wasil’s group safely until their destination. Thus, he acceded to taqiyyah to save his and his companions’ lives.

Similarly, `Abdullah, the son of the Prophet’s companion Khabbab ibn al-Aratt came across the Khawarij with a copy of the Qur’an tied to his neck. They asked who he was. He said that he was the son of the Companion of the Prophet (a.s), Khabbab. They said that if he was frightened coming across them, he should chase away the fear. They said that they wanted to hear the traditions narrated by his father. `Abdullah said that his father had heard the Prophet (a.s) say:

“A mischief will rise when the hearts of men will be dead and the bodies inanimate; men will be mu’min in the evening and by the morning they will be infidels. Again by the evening they will become mu’min.”[1]

The Khawarij said that they wanted to hear the same tradition from him. They asked him, “Now tell us what do you say about `Ali (a.s) when he accepted the idea of the arbitration?” He replied, “He understands Allah more than you and is very careful in the matters of the Faith and has a perfect vision.”

They said, “You are a worshipper of personalities, and instead of deeds, you look for names. By Allah! We shall punish you for following the demands of your psyche! We shall kill you in such a manner that none else was ever killed that way.” Saying this, they tied him up with ropes. Then they took him and his pregnant wife near a date palm. One date fell down from that tree


[1] Al-Kāmil fit-Tārīkh, Vol 3, Page 172

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which one Khariji picked and put in his mouth. Others shouted, “Haram! Haram!” The person immediately threw away the date. Then a pig passed that way and one Khariji killed it. The other Khawarij said that what he did was mischief and until they convinced the owner of the pig, they were restless. When `Abdullah saw this attitude of the Khawarij he said, “When you exercise such great care in small matters, I have no fear of harm from you because I am a Muslim and have not committed any crime to deserve to be killed!” But they did not pay any heed to his words and throwing him to the ground killed him heartlessly. They slit the stomach of his pregnant wife and killed her too.

They also killed three women of Banū-al-ta’i and Ummu-Sinan al-Saydawiyyah. After these heartless murders, they wanted to buy the fruits of a date palm from a Christian. He said that he did not need any payment and they could take the fruits if they wanted. They said that they would not take a Dhimmi’s material without paying for it. The Christian said that he was surprised that they had killed a good person like Ibn Khabbab for no sin of his and do not want at the same time to even take the fruits of a tree without paying for it!

Seeing these acts of barbarity, it was not possible to leave them any more to their scruples. Further, Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) had the program of leaving al-Kūfah for Syria. With little protection there, the Khawarij could take advantage of the situation. It was possible that they occupy the capital and commit massacre of the innocents there. In the army of the Imam (a.s), the majority was of the men from al-Kūfah and their families would be vulnerable to attack in their absence. It was therefore thought necessary to deal with the Khawarij before proceeding to Syria. Therefore, the Imam (a.s) ordered his army to move towards Nahrawan. When the army started its journey, Musafir ibn `Afif al-Azdi said, “O Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s)! I know about the movement of the stars and this is not auspicious time to start the journey. There may be great harm in store for us!”

The Imam (a.s) said, “Can you tell me what is inside the belly of my horse?” He said, “I can calculate and say!” The Imam (a.s) said, “One who believes in what you say, will be denying the writ of the Holy Qur’an. The Holy Book says:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ وَيُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْأَرْحَامِ وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ.


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“Surely Allah is He with Whom is the knowledge of the hour, and He sends down the rain and He knows what is in the wombs; and no one knows what he shall earn on the morrow; and no one knows in what land he shall die; surely Allah is Knowing, Aware. (31/34)”

Then the Prophet (a.s) chided the astrologer and told his troops that they should not give any cognizance to such words of superstition and trust on Allah.

When the army moved towards Nahrawan, they learned that the Khawarij had crossed the canal of Tabristan somewhere between Halwan and Baghdad. When Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) knew about this, he said, “It cannot be! They are still on this side of the river and will be killed on the land of Rumaylah.” At that moment a trooper of the advance guard came running and said, “I have seen with my own eyes those men crossing the bridge.” The Imam (a.s) asked for his confirmation thrice and every time he swore that he had seen the Khawarij crossing the bridge to the other side. The Imam (a.s) then said:

“By Allah! They have not crossed the bridge! Their place of death is this side of the bridge! By Allah! Even ten of your men will not be killed and even ten of them (the Khawarij) will not survive.”[1]

On the one hand there were messages that the Khawarij had crossed over to the other side and here Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) was insisting they will meet their end only this side of the canal. With these exchanges, some people started getting doubts in their minds. One youth knit his brows and said, “If the Khawarij have already crossed the canal, I shall aim my spear at the chest of the Imam (a.s)! Now he has started predicting about the things to come!”

When Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) saw this state of mind of the people, he spurred his horse and galloped fast towards the canal. When he reached near the bank, he found the Khawarij camped this side of the canal. In that time, the army too reached the spot. When they found the Khawarij on their side of the bank, they raised the slogan of “allahu-akbar”! The Imam (a.s) addressed his army:

“By Allah! Neither have I told a lie nor was a wrong message at all given to me!”[2]

[1] Al-Kāmil fit-Tārīkh, Vol 3, Page 174
[2] Al-Kāmil fit-Tārīkh, Vol 3, Page 174

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The Imam (a.s) established his camp at a distance of three miles from the camp of the Khawarij. When the Khawarij saw the Imam’s army, they started raising slogans of “There is no referee but Allah”. They sent a word to the Imam (a.s) that he still had the time to repent, and then they would enter into his bay`ah. As a second alternative, he should demit his office of caliph to enable them to select an imam of their choice. The Imam (a.s) sent them word to hand over the killers of his men, otherwise his army would claim qisas for their blood. He also informed them that if they agreed to this offer, they would be left alone until the army returned from Syria. In that time, they could think over and decide to seek forgiveness for their past misbehavior. The Khawarij replied, “We have all killed your men. We all consider it legitimate to shed their and your blood!”

Instead of getting angry over this reply, Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) tried to make them see reason by sending Qays ibn Sa`d al-Ansari to ask them to shun mischief. He reached the camp of the Khawarij and told them, “O people! You are committing a grave sin. Unnecessarily you are calling us infidels. Beware of thoughtless killing of men! Join with us to do jihad against the enemy. “At this `Abdullah ibn Shajarah al-Salami said, “Now the curtains have been raised from our eyes! The darkness of vice has vanished! The radiance of the Truth is everywhere. We cannot cooperate with you now at any cost! “Qays said, “I plead with you in the name of Allah! Do not indulge in mischief and do not cause your own deaths!” After him Abū-Ayyūb al-Ansari went to their camp and tried to stop them from doing mischief and said, “We do not understand what is the cause of your enmity for us? Why are you determined on fighting and battling?” If you are so fond of fighting, come, we shall together fight with our common enemy! “The Khawarij said, “If we side with you, you might once again impose on us the arbitration.”

Abū-Ayyūb said, “You must first look to the present and then you can bother about the future!” But the Khawarij remained adamant. All efforts at putting sense in them went futile. In the end Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) himself went to their camp. And said, “O people! For lack of vision and understanding, you have veered away from us. Because of your false emotions, you have gone astray from the Right Path. I want to warn you! You will be killed in this valley and the turnings of this valley! The Ummah will demean you and there will be comments against you from all sides. Your stand was certainly wrong. And your ire unreasonable. You might remember that I had warned you against accepting the arbitration and said that it was a trick. But you did not listen to my repeated appeals and stopped fighting. If I had accepted the


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arbitration, it was under pressure from you people. Even then, I did not accept it with closed eyes. I had taken a commitment from the referees that their verdict must be only in the light of the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet’s traditions. But they ruled against the Book and the Prophet’s Sunnah. Therefore, we have rejected their verdict.

The Khawarij said, “No doubt! We did accept the arbitration and because of that act, we rendered ourselves infidel. But we have repented. You too must express penitence for accepting the arbitration and thereby becoming an infidel. Then we shall enter your bay`ah and fight with the enemy.” The Imam (a.s) said, “After embracing the Faith with the Prophet (a.s), migrating from Makkah with him, taking part with him in the ghazawat that he fought do you want me to accept that I committed an act of infidelity? How is it possible?” At this juncture, Khuraj raised noises and said, “If you do not confess that you committed an act of infidelity, we do not want to talk any more with you!” The Imam (a.s) said, “By making senseless noises matters cannot be resolved! Let us decide in this manner. You send a representative to me to discuss the matter. If he convinced me, I shall agree that the act of accepting the arbitration was infidelity and I express repentance for that. But if I convince him, then you must shun the adamant attitude.”

In the beginning, the Khawarij were reluctant. But in the end, they relented. They appointed `Abdullah Kava as their mouthpiece. The Imam (a.s) told Ibn al-Kawwa, “On what matter you are upset that earlier you had very willingly owed your allegiance to me? You also fought with my opponents in the Battle of the Camel.” He said, “At that point the need for the arbitration had not arisen.” The Imam (a.s) said, “O Ibn al-Kawwa! Is my decision more correct or that of the Prophet (a.s)?” Ibn al-Kawwa said, “Certainly the Prophet’s decision!” Then the Imam (a.s) asked, You must have heard these words of Allah:

فَمَنْ حَاجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنْ الْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا نَدْعُ أَبْنَاءَنَا وَأَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَنِسَاءَنَا وَنِسَاءَكُمْ وَأَنْفُسَنَا وَأَنْفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَلْ لَعْنَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَاذِبِينَ.

“But whoever disputes with you in this matter after what has come to you of knowledge, then say: Come let us call our sons and your sons and our women and your women and our near people and your near people, then let us be earnest in prayer, and pray for the curse of Allah on the liars. (3/61)”


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“Did Allah ask the Prophet (a.s) to do Mubahalah because he had any doubt about the Prophet (a.s) being truthful and those Christians the liars and He wanted to remove the doubt?” Ibn al-Kawwa said, “Neither Allah had any doubt nor His Prophet (a.s). It was just a protest against the Christians.” The Imam (a.s) said, “Then the arbitration too was a protest” Ibn al-Kawwa said, “Your agreeing to the appointment of the referees was a proof that you had a doubt whether you are on the right or not! Although the war was fought on the basis that you were on the right and the Syrians were wrong. Therefore, you had said in clear terms to Mu`awiyah, ‘If the Book of Allah decided in our favor, you follow us and if It decided in your favor we shall follow you. What other meaning could be attached to this that you yourself were doubtful whether you were right or not. When you yourself had a doubt, then we too are justified to doubt about you.”

The Imam (a.s), “This agreement was conditional that when an agreement is conditional, there is no question of our doubting the stand we had taken. Even the Prophet (a.s) had made such conditional agreements. Therefore, the Holy Qur’an says:

قُلْ فَأْتُوا بِكِتَابٍ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ هُوَ أَهْدَى مِنْهُمَا أَتَّبِعْهُ إِنْ كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ.

“Say: Then bring some (other) book from Allah which is a better guide than both of them, (that) I may follow it, if you are truthful. (28/49)”

Ibn al-Kawwa said, “This is true. But by agreeing to the appointment of the referees, you had entrusted Allah’s work to others and thus you committed infidelity.” The Imam (a.s) said, “I had only appointed Abū-Mūsa as the referee.” Ibn al-Kawwa said, “Abū-Mūsa is an infidel!” The Imam asked, “Since when he is an infidel? When he was appointed a referee for the arbitration or when he gave his verdict?”

Ibn al-Kawwa said, “When he gave the verdict!” The Imam (a.s) said, “Then you have accepted that when he was appointed as a referee he was a Muslim and you had expected that he will give the verdict according of the Commands revealed by Allah. Therefore, it was right to appoint him as a referee.”

Ibn al-Kawwa said, “But when he gave the verdict he did become an infidel!” The Imam (a.s) said, “If the Prophet (a.s) sent a Muslim to some infidels to invite them to the Faith and, instead of preaching Islam, he started preaching them wrong things, will the Prophet (a.s) be responsible for the person’s act?”


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Ibn al-Kawwa said, “No!” The Imam (a.s) added, “Then! If Abū-Mūsa turned an infidel, why do you blame me? What justification you have to keep the swords over your shoulders and keep killing the Muslims? As far as the second referee, `Umar ibn al-`As is concerned, he was appointed by Mu`awiyah. How could I name him arbitrator? If `Umar ibn al-`As had his way, he would even kill me.”

Now Ibn al-Kawwa asked, “Then, how did you agree to one Muslim and the other infidel referee in the arbitration?” The Imam (a.s) said, “Allah has said the following permitting appointment of an arbitrator in the matters of dispute between man and wife:

وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ شِقَاقَ بَيْنِهِمَا فَابْعَثُوا حَكَمًا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ وَحَكَمًا مِنْ أَهْلِهَا.

“And if you fear a breach between the two, then appoint judge from his people and a judge from her people. (4/35)”

If a Muslim marries a Jewish or Christian woman and differences arise between them, then it is natural that the man will have a Muslim referee from his family and the woman an infidel referee from her family! Then, from the Holy Qur’an, is it not proved that while one referee is a Muslim, the other can be an infidel?”

When the Khawarij saw that Ibn kava was not able to give satisfactory arguments, they sent word to him to terminate the discussion and go back. He therefore left the talks half way and went back to his people. Although Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) proved his point, there was no change in the adamant attitude of the Khawarij. Now there was no other alternative than fighting with them. The Imam (a.s) arranged his troops in proper formations The right flank was in the command of Hijr ibn `Adi and the left under Shabath ibn Ruby. The cavalry was under Abū-Ayyūb al-Ansari and the footmen under Abū-Qutadah al-Ansari. The men from al-Madinah, who were 700 or 800 in number, were put under Qays ibn Sa`d al-Ansari. The Prophet (a.s) himself took position at the heart of the formation. The Khawarij too organized their rows.

When rows were arranging opposite rows, (a.s) gave a white banner to Abū-Ayyūb al-Ansari and sent him with a contingent of two thousand men to go towards the Khawarij. He went ahead with his men and announced, “O people! Amir al-Mu’minin says that those of you who decide to come under this banner, or return to al-Kūfah or al-Mada’in, or leave company of that group, there is amnesty for them! “The effect this announcement had was that


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Farwah ibn Nawfal al-Ashja`i, who was among the elite of Khawarij, started telling to his tribesmen, “By Allah! I do not know with what justification we have decided to confront `Ali (a.s)? Neither we have any proof to justify this conflict, nor there any reasonable justification for fighting. We shall stay away from these people and can later on decide on our course of action!”

Saying this, he moved away from the Khawarij with his five hundred tribesmen and went to Bandnajin. Another group went towards al-Kūfah. A hundred persons came under the flag of Abū-Ayyūb joining the Imam’s army. This was a proof of the just stand of the Imam (a.s) and his spirit of forbearance and peace.

Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) talked to the rest of the Khawarij about the terrifying effects of war. But they were adamant on their stand. Now only the Khawarij had to make their initial strike for the battle to commence because the Imam (a.s) had instructed that his men should not be the first to start fighting. At last one Khariji came out and killed three men from the Imam’s army. The Imam (a.s) moved forward and attacked him. When the sword hit him, the man said, “How sweet is going to the Heaven!”

When `Abdullah ibn Wahab heard this, he said, “By Allah! I do not know if you are going to heaven or the Hell!” When one Khariji of Banū-Sa`d heard this he said, “I have come here at the temptation of `Abdullah ibn Wahab and even he does not know whether our stand is right or not and is not sure whether fighting for this cause we go to Heaven or the Hell?” Then along with the men from his tribe, he moved away from the ranks of the Khawarij. Instead of combating man-to-man, the Khawarij very soon started general fighting. Therefore, they broke the sheaths of their swords, put arrows in their bows, put up the spears and shouting the slogan, “No judgment except Allah’s” started a concerted attack. It was such a severe attack that the feet of the cavalry were uprooted.

They moved back a little and consolidated their positions once again. (a.s) told his men, “O youth! Move forward and fight like tigers!” Saying this he too stood up. Now, when the army attacked as a single unit under his command, there was blood everywhere. With this concerted attack, the rows of the enemy troops got uprooted. The Imam’s sword got twisted with the intensity of use. He had to straighten it putting on his knee. His army was moving forward killing the enemy troops until they surrounded the Khawarij from all sides. Now there was no way of escape for them. Four hundred Khawarij were severely wounded and not fit for fighting. Nine persons


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escaped and saved their lives. Out of them two went to Oman, two to Sajistan, two to Kirman two towards al-Jazirah, and one reached Taymūrin in Yemen. The rest of the Khawarij were killed. From the chiefs of the Khawarij, `Abdullah ibn Wahab was killed by Ziyad ibn Khasfah, Yazid ibn Husayn al-ta’i by Abū-Ayyūb al-Ansari,, Hurqūs ibn Zuhayr by Jaysh ibn Rabi`ah al-Kinani, `Abdullah ibn Shajarah al-Salami by `Abdullah ibn Zahr al-Khawalani and Shurayh ibn Awfa was killed by Qays ibn Mu`awiyah. Only eight persons were killed from the army of Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s). They were Rawbah ibn Wabar al-Bujali, Sa`id ibn Khalid al-Subay`i, `Abdullah ibn Hammad al-Ajni, Fayyad ibn Khalil al-Azdi, Kaysūm ibn Salamah al-Juhani, `Ubayd ibn `Ubayd al-Khawalani, Jami` ibn Jath`am al-Kindi and Habib ibn `Asim al-Asadi.

When Amir al-Mu’minin’s men saw that most of the Khawarij were killed, they said, “Now! They have been obliterated from the face of the Earth!” The Imam (a.s) said:

“Not at all! They are still there in the backbones of men and the wombs of women. Whenever any group of them rises, it will be cut off until the last of them turn into thieves and brigands.”[1]

When the battle was over a search was made for a person, Dhul-Thadiyah, from the ranks of the Khawarij because Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) used to say before their rebellion:

“One group will veer away from the Faith in a manner the arrow goes piercing through the game. Their sign is that among them there will be a person with a maimed hand.”[2]

Some persons searched for him among the dead, but were unable to find his body. They returned to the Imam (a.s) and said, “We have searched all over and have failed to find the body of the person.” The Imam (a.s) said, “By Allah! His body is there among the dead!” Saying this he took Sulayman ibn Thumamah al-Hanafi and Rayyan ibn Sabrah to search for the body. When they reached the bank of the canal, about fifty bodies were lying in a ditch. When they removed some of the bodies, they found the body of Dhul-Thadiyah. The Imam (a.s) told his companions:

“Allah is the Greatest! I neither told a lie nor was false information given to me. If I had not the doubt that you will

[1] Nahj al-Balāghah
[2] Al-Kāmil fit-Tārīkh, Vol 3, Page 175

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turn your faces from action, I would have informed you about those who fought invisibly with the Khawarij and the right on which we are, they recognize it. I would have also informed you of the blessings that Allah has promised through the Prophet (a.s).”[1]

While returning through the piles of dead Khawarij, the Imam (a.s) said, “Pity on you! One, who beguiled you, has harmed you!” People asked, “O Amir al-Mu’minin! Who has beguiled them? “The Imam (a.s) replied, “Satan and their own baser instinct! These two had spread the web of guile for them and gave them false hopes. It was etched on their minds that they would succeed in their nefarious designs.”

After success in this battle, the Imam (a.s) reminded his men about the astrologer’s forecast that the moment of their departure for the campaign was inauspicious. The Imam (a.s) said:

“If we had started at the moment the astrologer had recommended, the ignorant people would say that the victory has come because of the astrologer’s advice!”[2]

The attitude of the Khawarij was very surprising. In the battle of Siffin they put down their swords almost at the moment of victory and paved the way for the swords to kill them ultimately. They themselves insisted on the arbitration and they turned against it. They shattered the unity of people through mischief. Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s), who was a paragon of virtue, closeness with him was termed infidelity by the Khawarij. They wanted him to break the agreement of the arbitration and fight with Mu`awiyah. If that was their intent, they should have fought in the battle of Siffin instead of supporting the idea of the arbitration initially and then turning against it immediately once an agreement was reached.

The intention of the Khawarij was only to oppose Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s). They created mischief and rebellion against him and made all sorts of false accusations. The Imam (a.s) tried his best to reform them. He neither caused them any hardships nor did he stop the stipends to their families. But when they went out of control totally and started harming and killing innocent persons, action against them became necessary. Even in the battleground, the Imam (a.s) made a final effort to bring them back to the right path. But to no avail.


[1] Tārīkh al-Tabarī, Vol 4, Page 366
[2] Al-Kāmil fit-Tārīkh, Vol 3, Page 173

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During this battle, and earlier, the Imam (a.s) had made several predictions that proved true. All these were matters about which he had received information from the Prophet (a.s). It was as if his eyes were piercing through the future and seeing the events that were to take place. Here some of his predictions are mentioned:

(1) The Imam (a.s) told Zar`ah ibn Burūj al-ta’i that he would be killed and told Rabi`ah ibn Shaddad al-Qasimi that his cadaver would be trampled under the hoofs of horses. Therefore, both these persons were killed during the battle and Rabi`ah’s was trampled under the horses feet. Qubaysah says that when he saw that Rabi`ah’s face and head was trampled under the hoofs of the horses he “remembered `Ali’s word when he (Qubaysah) said ‘What to say of Abul-Hasan’s virtues that whenever he said anything, that came out true!”

(2) About the Khawarij the Imam (a.s) said that they would die on a particular side of the canal and would not cross it to the other side. Therefore, they met their end on the side of the canal that is called Rumaylah.

(3) The Imam (a.s) informed that not more than 10 persons from his army would be killed in the battle and not even ten will survive from the army of the Khawarij. Therefore, eight persons died from his army and nine Khawarij escaped alive.

(4) The Imam (a.s) said about Dhul-Thadiyah that he will certainly be killed and his body was found lying in a heap of the dead enemies.

(5) The Imam (a.s) had said that the Khawarij were not totally finished and that they would raise their heads again. Therefore, after the battle of Nahrawan they continued their minor skirmishes and were killed by the army of Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s). They again rose during the Umayyad and Abbasid regimes and al-Muhallab ibn Safrah kept fighting with them for twelve years and creating rifts amongst their rank and file rendered them very weak. They scattered and went towards Oman and parts of Africa. They still are there in Muscat and Zanzibar.

(6) The Imam (a.s) predicted that they would keep raising their heads like brigands and dacoits. Ibn Abil-Hadid writes:

“This prediction of Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) was proved right that the Khawarij will end up as brigands and highwaymen. Therefore, the movement of the Khawarij became weak and their youth were exterminated. Their condition deteriorated so much that their new generations became waylayers who used to commit evil acts and cause mischief.”[1]

[1] Sharh Nahj al-Balāghah by Ibn Abil-Hadīd, Vol 5, Page 248