Arbitration (Battle of Siffin): Difference between revisions

'''Al-Taḥkim''' (Arabic: {{ia|التَحکیم}}) or The '''Arbitration''' is a historical event concerning the [[Battle of Siffin]]. In this event, [[Abu Musa al-Ash'ari]] was elected as the representative of the army of [[Kufa]] [army of Imam 'Ali (a)] and [['Amr b. al-'As]] as that of the army of [[Syria]] [army of Mu'awiya], and they decided to judge according to the [[Qur'an]]. The arbitration, was proposed as a solution for disputes between the two parties after the cunning of 'Amr b. al-'As and Mu'awiya b. [[Abi Sufyan]] to prevent the imminent defeat of the army of Syria. [[Imam Ali (a)]] resisted the suggestion of arbitration from the beginning. 'Amr b. al-'As, the arbitrator of Syria, managed to deceive Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, the arbitrator of Kufa, by announcing Mu'awiyya as the [[caliph]] although they had agreed on a different verdict, the arbitration failed to solve the dispute, and it only managed to save the army of Syria from its imminent defeat.

In 37/657 he Battle of Siffin broke out between the army of Kufa under the commandership of [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] and that of Syria under the commandership of [[Mu'awiya]]. After successive days of heavy fight, the army of Kufa was about to defeat that of Syria. At the suggestion of [['Amr b. al-'As]] and Mu'awiya's proposal, people of Syria put volumes of the Qur'an on spears and chanted the slogan: "O people of Iraq! Let the [[Book of God]] be our arbiter!" Also, the army of Syria yelled: "O people of Arab! Think about your wives and daughters! If you get killed, who is going to fight the Romans, the Turks, and the Persians in the future?!"

==Riot in Imam 'Ali's (a) Army==

There was a division within the army of Imam 'Ali (a). Some of them said that the enemy has accepted the arbitration of the Qur'an and so we have no right to fight them. The Imam (a) opposed their views and told them that this was just a deception. However, under the pressures by some people in his army, including [[al-Ash'ath b. Qays]] and his tribe, the Imam (a) wrote a letter to Mu'awiya and officially accepted the arbitration with the qualification that Mu'awiya was not a "man of the Qur'an".

People of Syria elected 'Amr b. al-'As as their representative and arbitrator. Al-Ash'ath b. Qays and some others, suggested [[Abu Musa al-Ash'ari]] as the arbitrator from Kufa. But Imam 'Ali (a) suggested [['Abd Allah b. al-'Abbas]] or [[Malik al-Ashtar]]. Imam 'Ali (a)'s suggestions were opposed by al-Ash'ath and his friends; they refused Malik al-Ashtar on the grounds that he is pro-war, and they rejected Ibn 'Abbas on the grounds that 'Amr b. al-'As is from the tribe of [[Mudar]] so his interlocutor should be from [[Yemen]].

 

Moreover, the date of the arbitration was postponed to the end of [[Ramadan]] (8 months after the battle). The negotiations were planned to be held in [[Dumat al-Jandal]].

When the representatives of the two armies were selected, Mu'awiya sent 'Amr b. 'As, Abu l-A'war al-Sulami and some others to negotiate about the arbitration and its conditions to Imam 'Ali (a). They negotiated the contents of the peace treaty with Imam 'Ali (a) and his companions. According to [[al-Ya'qubi]], when there was a disagreement between the representatives of the two parties over whether Imam 'Ali's (a) name should be written with the title, [[Amir al-Mu'minin]], in the peace treaty, al-Ash'ath agreed with the elimination of the title, but Malik al-Ashtar strongly objected to him.

The date of arbitration was deferred to the end of the [[Ramadan]] month (8 months after the negotiations) and it was agreed to hold it in [[Dumat al-Jandal]].

* If both arbitrators fail to give verdicts on the basis of the [[Quran]] and the Tradition, then Muslims will have the right to continue to fight, and all their mutual commitments will be abolished.

==Advices of Imam 'Ali (a) and His Companions==

Imam 'Ali (a) sent 400 people with [[Abu Musa al-Ash'ari]] under the commandership of [[Shurayh b. Hani]]; he also sent [['Abd Allah b. al-'Abbas]] as the leader of their congregational prayers. Moreover, he gave a great deal of advice to Abu Musa, informing him of Mu'awiya's evil character.

Shurayh warned Abu Musa for his lack of sagacity. He told him that if the outcome of the arbitration is the [[caliphate]] of Imam 'Ali (a), then people of Syria would be safe, but if it is the dominance of Mu'awiya over Iraq, then people of Iraq would be in danger. Shurayh said: "O Abu Musa! You are facing the worst rival. Do not let Iraq down! Never entitle Syria [in this dispute] and never take their side! Do not let 'Amr deceive you! He has various tricks in his hand that is astonishing and he has gilded them all with decorations. So, do not treat Mu'awiya as a senior, and an unrivaled, flawless leader!" [[Ahnaf b. Qays]] took Abu Musa's hand and told him: "O Abu Musa! Be aware of the significance of this task and its consequences. If you destroy Iraq, there will never be any Iraq." He even suggested Abu Musa not to begin greetings, handshakes, and the like in his encounters with 'Amr b. al-'As. Ahnaf told him: "do not let 'Amr have you seated in the top place in meetings, because it is a trick. And never meet him alone."

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari's negotiations led to the arbitration that both rulers, Mu'awiya and 'Ali (a), should be dismissed from power. 'Amr b. al-'As pretended that he accepted the arbitration. However, in order to execute his trick, he asked Abu Musa to announce the arbitration ahead of him. 'Abd Allah b. al-'Abbas made a lot of efforts to make 'Amr b. al-'As announce the arbitration sooner than Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, but Abu Musa did not take Ibn al-'Abbas's warnings seriously, telling him that he and 'Amr b al-'As had made an agreement, and there would be no problem.

Abu Musa went on minbar and said: "O people! In order for Muslims to live in peace and unity, 'Amr b. al-'As and I have agreed to dismiss Mu'awiya and 'Ali from [[caliphate]] so that Muslims can elect a council for selecting the next caliph. So as a representative of people in [[Hijaz]] and [[Iraq]], I hereby dismiss 'Ali from caliphate, just as I take out this ring from my finger". Then 'Amr b. al-'As went on minbar and said: "you heard what Abu Musa said. He had the right to dismiss 'Ali and he did it. I agree with him on that. But as I put this ring on my finger, I assign the caliphate to Mu'awiya. For he deserves this position, and he has to avenge [['Uthman]]'s murder.

The meeting turned into a turmoil. Abu Musa was strongly upset by 'Amr b. al-'As's cunning and told him: "you have deceived, and you are vice. You are like a dog that barks if hit and barks if left alone"{{enote|Referring to the verse of the Quran: {{ia|فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ إِنْ تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ أَوْ تَتْرُكْهُ يَلْهَثْ}} [[Quran 7]]:176}}. 'Amr b. al-'As replied: "and you are like a donkey that carries books"{{enote|Referring to the verse of the Quran: {{ia|كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا}} [[Quran 62]]:5}}.

Thus the arbitration was not based on the Quran and the Prophet (s)'s Tradition. Instead of making peace, it gave rise to more hostility between Iraq and Syria. And its most important upshot for people of Syria was that they gave Mu'awiya the title of [[Amir al-Mu'minin]] since then.

After the ceasefire for the sake of arbitration, another group of Imam 'Ali's (a) army chanted the slogan, "there is no verdict except for God", and thereby they expressed their will to continue the battle and considered arbitration to amount to infidelity, calling the Imam to [[tawba|repent]] to God. However, the Imam (a) appealed to the Quranic verse, "fulfil your indentures", and thus he refused to violate his agreement with Mu'awiya. When Imam 'Ali (a) returned to [[Kufa]] and Mu'awiya returned to Syria, opponents of the arbitration left Imam 'Ali (a) and resided in the village, Harura', near Kufa. Thus, a group called [[Khawarij]] appeared.

* The material for this article is mainly taken from {{ia|[[:fa:حکمیت|حکمیت]]}} in Farsi Wikishia.

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