Then he said: “The oppressed Uthman has been killed and what are you doing now?

Then he said: “The oppressed Uthman has been killed and what are you doing now?” The people of Syria shouted: “We are pledging allegiance to you for the revenge of Uthman’s blood and we will avenge his blood and we will not spare our lives and property on this path.” Similarly, Mu’awiya wrote a letter to Amr ‘Ᾱs and invited him to Syria to assist him on his mission. Amr ‘Ᾱs was the one who conquered Egypt and ruled there for a while and had good memories of it.

He also had a strong attachment to the government of Egypt and finally, the same interest in the government seduced him and he preferred this unstable world over the Hereafter and sold his religion for the material world. At that moment, a letter from the Commander of the Faithful reached Jarīr thus: “When you receive this letter, force Mu’awiya to give the last word.

Either a ruinous battle or a blessed peace… Thus, if he chooses battle, throw his treaty back to him, but if he chooses peace, then take his oath of allegiance…” Mu’awiya also declared his readiness to fight with Ali in the reply he wrote to the Imam through Jarīr. The Commander of the Faithful wrote letters to his governors about the incident and invited them to fight against this internal and traitorous enemy of Islam.

The Imam did not consider delay any longer and in order to move the people towards the battle with Mu’awiya, gathered the elders of his companions and consulted them and said to them thus: “You are men blessed with judgment, meek and tolerant, your deeds are blessed and your words are true.” We have now decided to fight with our enemy and your enemy, so express your opinion about this.” Among the people of Kufa and the companions of the Commander of the Faithful, there were many hypocrites and weak-minded people who constantly defied the orders of the Imam and perhaps protested against his orders and gave excuses for not participating in the battle proposed by the Commander of the Faithful.

Imam Ali appointed ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amr Anṣārī as his vicegerent in Kufa and he left for Nakhliyah with a group of armies and stopped there to wait for the upcoming army to arrive and thereafter, they moved towards Siffin. According to the famous report, it was on the 22nd of Muharram of the year 37 Hijrah that the Commander of the Faithful arrived in Siffin and the number of his troops was more than one hundred thousand people.