He deposed 'Ali and I do the same...

He deposed 'Ali and I do the same, and replace him by Mu'awiyah, since he is the friend of 'Uthman, and avenger of his blood, and the most deserving and meritorious person to succeed him." Abu Musa who was greatly enraged at this cunning and perfidy of 'Amr ibn al-'As shouted: "Why have you acted in this way? May God never help you! You have resorted to treachery.

In your sin you are like a dog which in being attacked, lets its tongue hang out and breathes hard, and if it is left alone, it does the same thing." 'Amr ibn al-'As retorted at once: 'and you are Like a donkey laden with books."(148) The arbitrators and their companions separated abusing each other while they had achieved nothing by their arbitration, except placing Mu'awiyah in the same rank as Imam 'Ali, whereas until that moment he could claim no title but an unruly and rebellious governor, and now his name was mentioned as a nominee for the position of a ruler over the realm of Islam.

In the battle of Siffin the number of men killed were forty-five thousands of the army of ash- Sham, and twenty-five thousands of the army of Iraq.(149) ash-Shami plunderers After his return to ash-Sham, Mu'awiyah dispatched some plunderers to 'Ali's dominion to kill and plunder. In the year 37 of the Hijrah, Mu'awiyah and his remaining army returned to ash-Sham, but he prepared a new plan for the destruction of the righteous army of Imam 'Ali.

From time to time he sent small military units to various regions under rule of Imam 'Ali, to kill, burn, plunder, take captives, and destroy everything that flourished!

Those who were given these criminal missions included such persons as an-Nu'man bin Bashir, Sufyan ibn 'Awf, 'Abd Allah ibn Mus'adah, ad-Dahhak ibn Qays and Busr ibn Abi Artat who carried out the order of Mu'awiyah in the flourishing lands of Islam, namely Iraq, Hejaz and Yemen, and brought souvenirs of death, destruction, fear and panic for innocent Muslims. Here we will narrate the tragic story of these bloodshed's, massacres and inhumane acts and give a description of these hirelings.

A) an-Nu'man ibn Bashjr Mu'awiyah sent an-Nu 'man ibn Bashkr with one thousand men to 'Ayn at-Tamr and they destroyed the city. He was one of the Ansar and of the al-Khazraj tribe who was born six or eight years before the Prophet's decease. In the riots and rebellions of 'Uthman's time, which had started because of 'Uthman's wrong deeds, he was a supporter of 'Uthman.