He found no excuse but denying the delight he showed at the death of Imam Ali.

He found no excuse but denying the delight he showed at the death of Imam Ali. There was no harm on him in telling lies, for he had regarded it as permissible and lawful, and it was all what he had in himself. As for sending spies, he thought that he had to overlook mentioning it, to turn away from answering it, and to neglect the excuse for it. This is his letter: “Now then, certainly your letter has come. I have understood what you have mentioned in it. I know what has happened.

I have shown neither delight nor sadness. I have not gloated over (the murder of Ali) nor have I grieved.[^1] Ali is your father, and he belongs to you both…” From this letter we understand Mu’awiya’s slyness and deception. We also understand his weakness, his weak determination, and his fear of Imam al-Hasan. For this reason, he praised and lauded Imam Ali (a.s) and denied that he showed happiness and delight at his death.

📌Had it not been for that, he would not have praised his opponent in such a beautiful way. Ibn Abbas’s Note Abdullah bin Abbas, Imam al-Hasan’s governor over Basra, sent Mu’awiya a note in which he condemned him for his sending spies to Basra and threatened him for this aggression.

This is the text of the note: “Now then, most surely, through your sending the man from Banu al-Qayn as a spy to Basra, you seek the inattentiveness of Quraysh through what you have obtained…”[^2] Mu’awiya’s Answer When Ibn Abbas’s letter came to Mu’awiya, he answered it with an answer in which equivocation and deception appeared. This is the text of the answer: “Now then, most surely, al-Hasan has written (a letter) to us in the same manner you have written.

He has rebuked me through that which has not brought about mistrust and an opinion of me. You have not got the like of me [^1] In his book al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, Ibn Katheer has said: “Mu‘awiya showed sadness, sorrow, and pain at the murder of Imam (‘Ali).” I (the author) say: “Firstly, (this statement) does not agree with what Mu‘awiya mentioned regarding his showing no sadness at the death of Imam ‘Ali.

Secondly, it does not agree with Mu‘awiya’s line of conduct and his flagrant enmity towards the Imam, for he regarded cursing him (Imam Ali) as one of the religious duties. He chased his followers and companions, and killed them everywhere.” [^2] Abu al-Farajj al-Asfahani, al-Aghani, vol. 8, p. 62. Ibn Abi al-Hadeed, Sharh Nahjj al-Balagha, vol. 4, p. 12. and the like of you.

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