Who protects the fortified borderline cities of the people...

Who protects the fortified borderline cities of the people of Iraq after the people of Iraq? Who struggles against the Romans? Who struggles against the Turks? And who struggles against the infidels?” They raised copies of the Qur’an as a trick and cunning. They used them as a pretext to spare their blood, for they did not believe in them nor did they show sorrow at the fate of Islam and the Muslims nor did they respect Allah. Nothing concerned them except government and authority.

If there had been a ray of the light of Islam in their souls, they would not have opened a door to the battle against Imam Ali, the testamentary trustee of Allah’s Apostle, and to shed the Muslims’ blood without any right. The Great Sedition Among the ugliest and worst farces in man’s history was the trick of raising copies of the Qur’an, for the Iraqi troops were deceived by that, and they changed up their minds.

Suddenly, they broke their obedience to Imam Ali, and declared rebellion and mutiny against him without any thinking and considering, while they were about to win a victory over their enemy who had shed their bloods. What a misfortune! What a pity! Falsehood became higher than the truth through the name of the truth! That was when Amr’s trick performed its horrible role in the center of the government of justice and equality.

That was when regiments of the Iraqis rushed like a flood towards the Imam and surrounded him and forced him to yield and submit to Mu’awiya’s summons. They said with one tongue: “He (Mu’awiya) has given you the truth! He has summoned you to Allah’s Book! Accept that from him!” On the top of those who accepted the summons to arbitration was al-Ash‘ath bin Qays, who was like a woodworm boring in the camp of the Iraqis and means for riot and mutiny.

The reason behind that was that he was the leader of the tribes of Kinda and Rabee’a, but the Imam had deposed him and appointed Hassan bin Makhduj instead. Some people talked with the Imam in order not to depose him, but he refused that.[^1] This aroused the hidden malice in his soul against the Imam and made him wait for an appropriate opportunity to take vengeance on him. He could find such an opportunity during that terrible period of time.

It is not correct to say that he was deceived by Mu’awiya’s summons, for he was not among the simple-mined that the affair might be unclear to him.