Ubaidullah bin al-Abbas was bribed by Mu'awiyah.

Ubaidullah bin al-Abbas was bribed by Mu'awiyah. The military forces led by Imam Hasan (as) were torn between slogans, desires, interests and ideologies. [^1] There were some who were only seeking spoils of war! There were those who held grudges against the Umayyad house, but who, at the same time, concealed their hatred of the Imamate of Imam Hasan (as) and his household...!

In the army a great number of people who were sympathizers of the Umayyad party in Syria, cherished the rewards Mu'awiyah had promised them. To make matters worse, boredom began to creep into the camp of the Imam, particularly after the army had fought the three wars of Imam ‘Ali (as), namely: Jamal, Nahrawan, and Siffin. Their memories were still alive in their minds. Next to these people, there was a group who were loyal to Ahlul Bayt (as).

They were a small number in comparison to the increasing number of the rag-tag, and the intensity of the hostile schemers. Mu'awiyah showered large sums of money on the chieftains and the men who held sway in the Iraqi community, in unparalleled generosity. They were left listless and irresolute. They gave up their earlier plans of going hand in hand with the Imam to fight Mu'awiyah.[^2]30 Money was a doubled-edged sword.

In addition to its sharp effect in changing the balance of power to the interest of Mu'awiyah, it left its most surprising imprints in the hearts of the Iraqis. They flooded Mu'awiyah with their letters declaring their loyalty and obedience to him.

They promised to hand Imam Hasan (as) over to him as a prisoner when the fire of war blazed and zero-hour came![^3]31 Imam Hasan (as) referred to this treachery when he said: “By Allah, if I had fought Mu'awiyah, they would have taken hold of my neck and handed me peacefully over to him.

By Allah, making peace with him with nobility, is more lovable to me than being killed by him as a captive, or set free, which would be a stain for the tribe of Hashim.” [^4]32 The grandson of the Messenger of Allah (S) saw to it that no drop of blood should be shed, especially the blood of the faithful. Following are some of the statements of the Imam which display his noble intentions: “I feared lest the Muslims should be uprooted from the surface of the earth.