But he insisted...

But he insisted: Even if you multiply it several times over, I shall not recite the Qur'an. When he was told: We shall not leave you till you reveal to us the reason for this behavior of yours, he revealed: Some days back, Ahmad Ibn Tuloon objected to my recitation and said: “Why do you recite the Qur'an over my grave? I said to him: I have been asked to recite the Qur'an for you so that you get its rewards.

He said: Not only do I not get any reward of your recitation on the contrary, with every verse that you recite, the fire, which engulfs me, is increased. I am told: “Do you hear the verses of the Quran? Why, while in the world, did you not act in accordance with the Qur'an? The reciter then pleaded: Relieve me of the responsibility of reciting the Qur'an for that impious king.

[^7] Five Hundred Copies of the Quran atop the Spears In the battle of Siffeen, when the situation turned for the worse for the forces of Shaam, Mua'wiyah sat in consultation with A'mr A'as to find a way to evade the imminent defeat that faced him. A'mr A'as suggested: Whoever has a Qur'an should raise it on a spear and invite the people of Iraq towards an arbitration based on the Qur'an.

Abu Tufail, one of the companions of the Imam Ali (peace be upon him) says: The dawn after the Night of Clamour (lailatul Hareer) , we observed that in front of the soldiers of Shaam there appeared things that were similar to flags. When daylight increased, we realized that they had tied Qur'ans to their spears. The great Qur'an of the mosque of Shaam was tied atop three spears with ten people holding it aloft.

In each of the five sections of their army there were one hundred copies of the Qur'an - for a total of five hundred copies, held atop the spears, before the army of Iraq. In addition, all the while they were heard shouting the following slogan: By God! By God! For your religion, this book of God shall arbitrate between you and us! When Imam Ali (peace be upon him) observed this, he sighed: O’ Lord! You are aware that their aim and objective is not the Qur'an.

You rule between them and us for You are the True Ruler. This act on the part of the people of Shaam caused a split in the ranks of Imam’s companions and there arose a disagreement amongst them. One group of simpleminded individuals said: It is not permissible for us to battle them anymore for they have invited us to the book of God.