'Ali, peace be on him.

'Ali, peace be on him. Then he went out with the people till he stopped at al-Mada'in. He sent Qays b. Sa'd to lead his vanguard (so and- so) that was composed of twelve thousand fighters. (In the meantime) Mu'awiya and the Syrians moved till they stopped at Maskan. While al-Hasan had been at al-Mada'in, a caller called in the army: `Qays b.

Sa'd has been killed, so desert (al-Hasan).' So they deserted him, and plundered his tent to the extent that they plundered even his prayer mat from under him. Then al-Hasan went out till he stopped at the white compartment at Maskan. The uncle of al Mukhtar b. Abu `Ubayd was governor over al-Mada'in. His name was Sa'd b. Mas'ud. So al-Mukhtar, who was a young man, said to him: `Have you anything of riches and honor?' He (i.e., Sa'd b.

Mas'ud) said: `What is that?' He (i.e., al-Mukhtar) said: `Bind al Hasan's legs together and ask Mu'awiya for safety through this act.' So Sa'd said to him: `May Allah's curse be on you! Do you want me to attack the son of the daughter of the Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless him and his family, and to bind his legs together? How a bad man you are!' So when al-Hasan knew that the people deserted him, he-sent (a man) to Mu'awiya and asked him to make peace with him.

Thus Mu'awiya sent to him `Abd Allah b. `Amir, and `Abd al-Rahman b. Samra b. Habib b. 'Abd Shams. So they came to al-Hasan at al Mada'in, then they gave him what he wanted and made peace with him." In his book `al-Kamil', Ibn al-Athir said: "When al-Hasan stopped at al-Mada'in, a caller called in the army: `Qays b.

Sa'd has been killed, so desert.' Then they attacked al-Hasan's tent and plundered his provisions." Also Ibn al-Athir has mentioned the previous text of al-Tabari, then he said: "It was said that al-Hasan handed over the authority. That is because Mu'awiya exchanged letters with him to hand over the authority. Then al-Hasan addressed the people. He praised Allah, lauded Him, and said: `By Allah, neither doubt nor regret prevents us from the Syrians.

Rather we fought against them with safety and patience. However, safety was mixed with enmity, and patience with impatience. Your religion was before your life in this world during your advancing against (them at the Battle of) Siffin. However, today your life in this world has become before your religion.