Ali Departing from Kufa

preparing for a battle to demand retribution of the murderers of Usman. Earlier, when Ali wrote a letter to Ameer Muawiya inviting him to pledge allegiance to him, he in turn had sent him a blank letter. Ali sent Jarir ibn Abdullah al-Bajali, the governor of Hamdan and Ashath ibn Qays, the governor of Azerbaijan as his ambassadors to Ameer Muawiya. When they reached Syria, Ameer Muawiya welcomed them and invited them to stay for a couple of days so they could witness the condition of Syria. He wanted them to know how people felt about the murder of Usman and its retribution so they could convey that to Ali. Thus, Jarir on his return briefed Ali about the situation in Syria.

The battle was inevitable after the attempt of reconciliation failed. Ali appointed Abu Masud al-Ansari as his deputy in Kufa and headed towards Nukhaylah. There he organized his troops. Abdullah ibn Abbas also came there with troops from Basra. It is said that when Ali headed towards Syria with his forces, eighty thousand soldiers gathered under his flag. It was the month of Dhul al-Hijjah 36 AH. Along with him accompanied seventy Companions who participated in the Battle of Badr and seven hundred Companions who had the honour of taking Pledge of the Tree.

Ali sent vanguard troop led by Zayd ibn Nasr and Shurayh ibn Hani and instructed them:

“Beware! Do not fight unless they initiate. Do not go after personal issues. Repeatedly invite them towards reconciliation. Neither get too close to them that they might think you intend to fight nor go too far that they perceive it as your cowardness.”

Ameer Muawiya with his troops had already camped at Siffin near the bank of river Euphrates. They had the opportunity to gauge the surroundings and set their trench. They had taken