At this point Sa`id ibn Qays al-Hamdani...

At this point Sa`id ibn Qays al-Hamdani, `Adi ibn Hatam, Ziyad ibn Khasfah, Hijr ibn `Adi and other chiefs said that they will extend the fullest cooperation in mobilizing men for the war. Therefore, at their instance, they could mobilize 65,000 men. Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) wrote to Sa`d ibn Mas`ūd, the governor of al-Mada’in to raise troops Thus 70,000 men were mobilized under the standard of Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s).

When all the preparations for war were over, some people said that it would be better to deal with the Khawarij first, before proceeding to Syria. The Imam (a.s) said it would be better to leave the Khawarij alone at the moment and proceed towards Syria. He said that if they got busy elsewhere, Mu`awiyah would get more time to strengthen himself further. The people said that he should do what he thought was the best. They again assured that they were with him.

Sayfi ibn Fasil al-Shaybani said, “O Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s)! We are in your group and your strength! We are the friends of those who are your friends and the enemies of those who are your enemies! You will, Allah willing, find no dearth of friends and supporters and there would not be any diminution in our determination. “Muhriz ibn Shihab al-Tamimi said, “O Amir al-Mu’minin! We are under you and your followers! For your succor we have become one!

Whether you attack the Khawarij or the Syrians, we shall not hesitate to fight with your enemies! Battle with your enemies is a great jihad and will bring wondrous rewards!” In this time, the mischief of the Khawarij had assumed serious proportions. They had become brigands and attacked all the travelers who passed their way. Whoever came across them on the way, they would ask him about the arbitration. If the person expressed his unhappiness about it, they would leave him.

Otherwise, they would kill him. However, they left the non-Muslims unmolested saying that they were Dhimmis. They considered that beating a pig was a sin and killing a Muslim an act of piety. Al-Mubarrad writes in al-Kamil that Khawarij found a Christian and a Muslim on the way to Nahrawan.

They killed the Muslim and left the Christian saying that the Prophet (a.s) has termed the Christians as Dhimmis and harming them is a sin and a transgression of the agreement made by the Prophet (a.s) with them. If someone wanted to save his life from them, the only way was to pretend that he was a Dhimmi or a polytheist.