"Al-Hasan learned of that when a letter came to him from Qays b.

"Al-Hasan learned of that when a letter came to him from Qays b. Sa'd. He had sent Qays with `Ubayd Allah b. `Abbas (to go on ahead) when he had set out from Kufa to meet Mu'awiya and to drive him out of Iraq, and make himself a commander of a unified people (lama `a). He had said to `Ubayd Allah: `If you are struck down, then the commander…