Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 2 of 2

'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib 163
fabricated false reports and poehy, which they then falsely amibuted
to the most prominent Companions and Tibi'oon who took part in
the Battle of Siffeen. They tried to make them appear very eager for
this war, so as to instil hatred in people's hearts; they did their utmost
to perpetuate the
The call for referring to the Book of Allah for judgement
without any assurance that the killers of 'Uthmk would be banded
over to Mu'iiwiyah, and the acceptance of this arbitration without any
assurance that Mu'iwiyah would obey 'Ali and swear allegiance to
him, are developments that were dictated by the consequences of
Siffeen. The battle had led to the killing of a large number of
Muslims, and it created a common inclination towards the idea that
stopping the fighting and bloodshed had become a necessity because
it was important to preserve the Ummah's strength against its
enemies. This was indicative of the vitality and awareness of the
Ummah and its impact on decisi~n-makin~.~~~
Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) agreed to stop fighting at
Siffeen and he agreed to arbitration, which he regarded as a
breakthrough; then he went back to ~ufah.~~' He hoped that the
arbitration would put an end to the dispute, unite the Ummah,
strengthen the state and revita!ise the conquest movement. A number
of factors contributed to both sides reaching the idea of arbitration
and accepting it:
(a) It was a final attempt to stop the conflict and bloodshed.
Previous attempts, both collective and individual, had
begun after the Battle of the Camel but had not succeeded.
The letters that had been exchanged between the two sides,
expressing the view of each, did not lead to any resolution
either. The last of these attempts was that made by
Mu'iwiyah during the days when fighting had intensified.
He wrote to 'Ali (&), .. asking him to stop fighting; he said,