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`Abu `Abd Ar-Rahman As-Sulamiy reported: "We witnessed with `Aliy (may Allah be pleased with
him) the Battle of Siffiin, and I saw `Ammaar (may Allah be pleased with him) not taking one turn nor
one of its valleys but the Companions of Muhammad (PBUH) would follow him as if he were their
standard!"
When `Ammaar was engaged in the battle he knew he was one of its martyrs. The Messenger's
prophecy was illuminated in big letters in front of his eyes, "The tyrant party will kill `Ammaar." For that
reason his voice was ringing over the horizon of the battle with the following tune, "Today, I meet the
dear ones, Muhammad and his Companions." He would then rush like a high arrow towards
Mu'aawiyah's position and surround him, singing loudly:
We hit you at its first revelation,
Now we hit you again for its interpretation;
A hitting that removes respect from one's eyes,
And distracts the lover from his lass,
Or restores the right to its own place.
He meant by this that the former Companions of the Messenger (PBUH) -`Ammaar was one of
them - had fought Umayyids in the past who were headed by Abu Sufyaan bearing the standard of
polytheism and leading its army. They had fought them in the past as the glorious Qur'aan was openly
commanding Muslims to fight disbelievers. As for today, even though they were Muslims and were not
openly commanded by the Qur`aan to fight them, yet `Ammaar's search for truth and his comprehension
of the aims and goals of the Qur'aan persuaded them to fight so that the usurped right would be restored
to its people and the fire of rebellion and sedition would be extinguished once and for all. It also signified
that in the past they fought Umayyids for their disbelief in faith and in the Qur'aan. Today they were
fighting them for deviating from faith and their turning away from the Qur'aan, their wrong interand
explanation, and their attempts to alter its verses and meaning to their aims and greedy wishes.
This man of 93 was involved in the last battle of his noble and brave life. He was giving the last
lesson about perseverence in truth, and bequeathing to life the last of his great, honest, and edifying
attitudes.
Mu`aawiyah's men attempted to avoid Ammaar as much as they could so as not to kill him with
their swords and people would say they were the "tyrant party". Yet, `Ammaar was fighting as if he were
a whole army and his bravery made them mad, so some of Mu'aawiyah's soldiers waited for a chance to
hit him.
Mu'aawiyah`s army had many regular soldiers from among the new Muslims who had embraced
Islam at the beating of the drums in the Islamic conquest in many of the countries liberated by Islam
from the power of the Romans and Persians. Most of these soldiers were the fuel of the civil war caused
by the rebellion of Mu'aawiyah and his refusal to pledge allegiance to `Aliy as Caliph and Imam. They
were the fuel and the oil of the battle that enflamed it.
The disagreement, in spite of its seriousness, could have terminated peacefully if the affairs had
remained with the early Muslims. However, it was no sooner formed than it was taken by many hands
that did not care about the fate of Islam, and they kept adding fuel to the disagreement. At noon the news
of `Ammaar's death spread, and the Muslims went on repeating to one another the prophecy of Allah's
Messenger (PBUH) which had been heard by all the Companions on the day of the festival while
building the mosque: "Alas for Ibn Sumaiyah, killed by the tyrant party."
Now people knew who was the "tyrant party". It was the one that had killed Ammaar, no other but
Mu'aawiyah's party. Aliy's Companions became more and more convinced of this fact. As for
Mu'aawiyah's party, their hearts became suspicious, and some prepared to mutiny and turn to Aliy.