But this treatment could not last long...

But this treatment could not last long, since al-Ashtar and his friends were valiant, honest and devout individuals who could not sincerely associate with such a cunning, hypocritical and ungodly man as Mu'awiyah. At last what was expected to happen, took place and a violent altercation occurred between Mu'awiyah and al-Ashtar, and a severe quarrel ensued. Al-Ashtar was seized and imprisoned for quite a long time. After he was set free, conditions assumed a different form.

Now al-Ashtar and his friends, who stayed away from the ruler of ash-Sham, chose to associate with the people of the streets and markets of Damascus. Mu'awiyah reported this matter to 'Uthman and stated: "You have sent to me such individuals who have corrupted their own city and caused a riot there. I am not secure from the danger of there corrupting my entourage and the people of Damascus, too, and teach them things, which they had not known so far.

Thus the people of ash- Sham will be as corrupt as the Kufans and will lose their mental health and equilibrium." 'Uthman thought of a way, namely to send al-Ashtar and his friends to a remote and insignificant town where they could not do much harm.

So he ordered to deport them to the town of Hims, and this order was carried out.127 Al-Mada'ini, the famous historian of the early centuries of Islam, narrates that they had some gatherings with Mu'awiyah in ash-Sham where they had heated arguments with each other. For instance, one day Mu'awiyah said to them: "All the Qurayshis know that Abu Sufyan was the noblest and most exalted member of them, with the exception of the Prophet who was chosen by God and respected by all.

If Abu Sufyan had been the father of everyone, all of them would have been great, docile and forbearing men." SA'sa'ah ibn Sawhan retorted at once: "You are lying Mu'awiyah! Human beings are produced by someone (meaning Adam) who had definitely been better than Abu Sufyan, by a man whom God created with His own hand and by His own power, and into whom He breathed His own spirit, and ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before him.

Nevertheless among his offsprings there appeared good and wicked ones, intelligent and stupid ones and they were not all the same in character."128 As we saw, Mu'awiyah was displeased with the stay in ash-Sham of the Prophet's true friends and companions and of such individuals as Abu Dharr and 'Ubadah.