ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Sulh al-Hasan The Number Of The Army The number of the army that was in Kufa in the middle years of the first century, A.H. was forty thousand fighters. Every year ten thousand fighters of it made a campaign (against the enemies of Islam). (This is what the reliable books have mentioned).

We have known that the Commander of the faithful (Imam 'Ali), peace be on him, prepared forty thousand or fifty thousand fighters according to two different reports- to attack the Syrians. However, he had died before he made an attack with them. We think that al-Hasan's army was a group of the army which the Commander of the faithful prepared to fight against Mu'awiya. Then we know nothing about the attitude of these armies towards al-Hasan b.

'Ali, peace be on them, when he summoned them to jihad (armed struggle). Besides we have known, from more than one reference book, that the vanguard which al-Hasan sent to meet Mu'awiya at Maskan was estimated at twelve thousand fighters. The acceptable idea is that this vanguard was from the groups of the army which the Commander of the faithful formed before he died. So some of these groups supported al-Hasan while the rest refused that. Then, from another reference, we have known that the.

Kufans became excited on the day of al-Hasan, so they called up other four thousand fighters.[^1] Thus these are sixteen thousand fighters whom the unquestionable text have shown. There also are other figures concerning the number of the army. The historians have mentioned them, and the important declarations have included them. However, their correctness is liable to test and discussion. The following are some texts about these different figures. First we will mention these figures as they are.

Then we will check them properly. In his book (Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 10, p. 110), he (i.e., Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi) said: "Then he (i.e., al-Hasan) dispatched to him (i.e., Mu'awiya) a leader with four thousand (fighters). He (the leader) was from Kinda. He (al-Hasan) ordered him (the leader) to camp in Anbar[^2] and not to do anything till his (al-Hasan's) order came to him. When he (the leader) headed for Anbar and stopped there, Mu'awiya knew of that.

Thus he sent messengers to him, and wrote to him: `Indeed, if you came to me, I would appoint you as a ruler over some districts of Sham (Syria) and of the Island (al-jazirah), and the like.' He (Mu'awiya) sent him (the leader) five hundred thousand dirhams.