Name : Zainab Bukhari, MF19182

Areeba Zahid ,MF19178

SUBMITTED TO: SIR YAQOOB

SUBJECT: ISLAMIAT

TOPIC: Battle of Siffin

Siffin: The Battle of Siffin was fought between the Rashidun army of the fourth caliph Ali (r.
656–661) led by Malik ibn al-Harith and the Syrian forces of Mu'awiya commanded by Amr ibn
al-As. The battle took place at the village of Siffin in Syria on the banks of the Euphrates in July
657.

Background:
Hazrat Ali was made 4th caliph after the assissination of Hazrat Usman .
Rebellions assassinated Hazrat Usman and his wife Hazrat Naila while she was trying to save
Hazrat Usman.

● Battle of siffin occurred during the first Fitna

● Fought between Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muawiyah
● Imam Ali(a.s.) returned from Basra to Kufa in Rajab of 36 A.H.
● Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib tried to to settle matters peacefully but Muawiaya's army pledged
an oth that they would not settle until Usman's murderers were brought to justice.
● Imam Ali(a.s.) attacked directly, marching through the Mesopotamian desert.
● The people of Riqqa were hostile to Imam Ali(a.s.)
● So in ZulHijjah 36 A.H. (May 657), the army of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib(a.s.) came into
sight of Muawiya’s main forces, which were encamped on the river plain at Siffin.
Rebellions after assassinating Hazrat Usman wanted to make a new caliph and they gave 24
hours to make a new caliph after that they would start killing people .
Three groups were made, some favoured Hazrat Ali , some favoured Hazrat Talha and some
Hazrat Zubair.
Three of them rejected the caliphate and went to Ansars , Ansars also rejected . And Hazrat Ali
was made the caliphate.
First thing he did was he removed the governor's which were appointmented by Hazrat Usman .
Ali issued orders for the deposition of the Governors. Ali appointed
● Suhail b Hanif as the Governor of Syria
● Saad b Ubaidah as the Governor of Egypt
● Ummara b Shahab as the Governor of Kufa
● Othman b Hanif as the Governor of Basra
● Abdullah b Abbas as the Governor of Yemen
When the nominee of Ali went to Basra, he was able to assume the charge and no resistance
was offered to him. Similarly there was no resistance to the new Governor in Egypt and he
assumed charge without any difficulty. Abdullah b Abbas succeeded in assuming the charge in
Yemen but the previous Governor escaped to Makkah and carried away the entire treasure with
him. When the nominee of Ali for the governor of Syria reached Tabuk on the border of Syria he
was met by the Syrian force who advised him to go back as they did not acknowledge Ali as the
Caliph. Similarly the nominee of Ali to the governorship of Kufa had to return to Madina after
having failed to assume the charge of his office.

Arbitration
Waiting for the arbitration, Muawiya ruled over Syria, Imam Ali(a.s.) over the rest of the Muslim
Empire.
Abdullah bin Abbas, urged Abu Musa to keep in his mind the fact that Imam Ali(a.s.) had no
blemish to render him incapable of government, nor Muawiya any virtue to qualify him for
it.When Abu-Musa reached Duma, Amr bin Aas and Abu Musa had a private conference.
He made Abu Musa admit that Osman was foully murdered.
Amr bin Aas asked Abu-Musa to reject both Ali and Muawiya, and let the Faithful elect a third.

Reasons
Muawiyyah (R.A) demanded that Ali (R.A) find and prosecute Usman’s killers.
Muawiyyah (R.A) refused to recognize Ali (R.A) and he demanded the right to avenge Usman’s
death.
The Shia say that Ali (R.A) fought Muawiyah (R.A) for denying the Shia concept of the Imamah.
Ali (R.A) clearly said in Nahjul Balagha:
“In the beginning of our matter, the people of Syria [Muawiyyah’s forces] and us met. It is
obvious that our God is one, our Prophet is one, and our call in Islam is one. We do not see
ourselves more in faith in Allah or more in believing in His messenger than them, nor do they.
Our matter is one, except for our disagreement in Uthman’s blood, and we are innocent from his
murder.