Battle of Siffin

وقعة صفين

37 AH

Between Ali ibn Abi Talib (may God be pleased with him) and Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan in 37 AH. Before the fighting Ali addressed his companions, urging them to keep their line firm and guard the banners ¹. During the battle Amr ibn al-As (may God be pleased with him) proposed to Mu'awiya that the copies of the Qur'an be raised; the people of Syria raised them on their lances and called for the Book of God, and many of the people of Iraq responded ². The index of that volume mentions the night of al-Harir and the account of Hashim ibn Utba al-Mirqal (may God be pleased with him) ³. In al-Mas'udi's account, the dead at Siffin were seventy thousand: forty-five thousand from Syria and twenty-five thousand from Iraq. They stayed there one hundred and ten days, with seventy engagements. Among the Companions who fell fighting with Ali were twenty-five men, including Ammar ibn Yasir (may God be pleased with him), who was seventy-three years old. Eighty-seven veterans of Badr fought with Ali: seventeen of the Muhajirun and seventy of the Ansar; nine hundred of the people of the Pledge of Ridwan; and the Companions in all numbered two thousand eight hundred ⁴. Ali left Kufa on the fifth day of Shawwal 36 AH, passed by Raqqa and crossed on a bridge. It is agreed that he had ninety thousand men and Mu'awiya eighty-five thousand. Mu'awiya got there first and seized the water-point with Abu al-A'war al-Sulami and forty thousand men, and Ali's men were cut off from water. Mu'awiya said, 'Let them die of thirst as Uthman died', until a note was dropped into al-Ash'ath's tent; he went out with four thousand horsemen and broke the siege of the water ⁵. Ammar ibn Yasir, aged ninety-three, fell there, along with Hashim ibn Utba al-Mirqal, Dhu al-Kala', Safwan and Sa'd, the two sons of Hudhayfa. As the killing intensified, ten thousand or more men, mostly from Rabi'a and others, volunteered for Ali; he charged with them in a single charge, on his white mule, saying, 'From which of my days of death shall I flee?' until he reached Mu'awiya's pavilion ⁶.

Overview

The battle of Siffin took place in 37 AH between Ali ibn Abi Talib and Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan. ¹

Its course

al-Tabari reports that Ali addressed his companions before the fighting and urged them to hold the line firm and guard the banners. ¹

In the course of the fighting, Amr ibn al-As suggested to Mu'awiya that the Qur'ans be raised. The people of Syria raised them on their spears and called for the Book of God, and many people of Iraq answered that call. ²

The index of the volume mentions the "night of al-Harir" and the report of Hashim ibn Utba al-Mirqal. ³

The numbers according to al-Mas'udi

al-Mas'udi relates that the dead numbered seventy thousand, of them forty-five thousand from Syria and twenty-five thousand from Iraq. He says that the stay there lasted a hundred and ten days, and that the engagements were seventy. Twenty-five of the Companions were killed with Ali, among them Ammar ibn Yasir. ⁷

The figures come from al-Mas'udi's account, and checking them needs an additional source.

Opinions on the question

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

al-Sallabi, from a Sunni standpoint, holds that Ali was in the right and Muawiya a mujtahid who was mistaken, and that Muawiya fought for qisas first rather than for the caliphate; he grades the Abu Mikhnaf and Nasr ibn Muzahim narrations weak.

More opinions (1)

Academic viewSecondary opinion

The academic view of Siffin is not yet set out from this volume; to be added from an academic source.

Sources

Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk — al-Tabari (ed. Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim) , j.5 p.17

Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk — al-Tabari (ed. Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim) , j.5 p.48

Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk — al-Tabari (ed. Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim) , j.5 p.627

Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p. 645-646

Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p. 667-668

Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p. 673-677

Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p.645-646

Asma al-Matalib fi Sirat Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2

Battle of Siffin

At a glance