If you accept my offer now...

If you accept my offer now, you will be given one hundred thousand Dirham, half of which I am sending in haste as cash, while the balance will be given to you on reaching Kufa." The historians write that Ubaidullah b. Abbas fell a victim to this conspiracy and deserting the army and leaving the command, he joined Muawiya the same night.

3 According to Y'qubi and Baladhuri he was not alone in deserting the army but the majority of the vanguard brigade which is said to have numbered eight thousand, also deserted with him. [^3] Some versions mention that after Ubaidullah's desertion, the majority of the leaders and well known personalities of Iraq, coming under similar influence, had joined the army of Muawiya.

It cannot be denied that a majority in the vanguard brigade (nearly two thirds) had earlier or later joined the forces of Muawiya. [^4] The circumstantial evidence shows that apart from Ubaidullah b. Abbas and Qais b. S'ad, Muawiya had tried to bribe other leaders in the Iraqi army as well. But the main reason of his success was that all of them, including Ubaidulah, had become frightened.

They knew Muawiya very well and their national and religious status and interests would not at all allow them to bow to Muawiya. Muawiya had offered cash only to Ubaidullah while others had been given only verbal promises. Without getting any cash, why did they trust the verbal promise? If their attitude is analyzed, lack of leadership and the fear of Muawiya and his army was the main reason for the same.

There is no doubt that against a well organized and armed force of sixty thousand, a disorganized force of twelve thousand, all of whose soldiers could not even be trusted, was no match. Moreover, they were facing not an ordinary person but one like Muawiya.

The leader of the faithful Hazrat ‘Ali (as) had warned his Persian governor in the following words to beware of Muawiya: "Undoubtedly sometimes Muawiya attacks a person from the front, sometimes from back, while on other occasions from right or left. So, you should remain very alert to his moves." [^5] However, it cannot be denied as well that the soldiers in the vanguard brigade were the best soldiers in the army of Imam Hasan (as).

These included a large number of the Shi'a of his father and his own who included a number of the of the Holy Prophet (saws). They included the devotees of "Shurta al Khamis" who had vowed to fight till death and, according to historians, Muawiya was fearful of them.