After arriving in Kufa, Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) took the necessary preparations to launch an attack on Syria. He appointed Abu Masoud ‘Aqbah ibn ‘Aamir Al-Ansari as his deputy in Kufa and proceeded to the region of Nakheela. There, he focused on preparing his army, and Abdullah ibn Abbas also joined Imam Ali’s forces from Basra at this location.
Hazrat Ali (may Allah honor his face) sent an advance guard of 8,000 soldiers under the command of Ziyad ibn Nadhir Al-Harithi. He then sent a second force of 4,000 men led by Shuraih ibn Haani’ to follow behind the first army. Imam Ali himself traveled from Nakheela to Mada’in, where he appointed Saad ibn Masoud Al-Saqafi, the uncle of Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubaid, as the governor of the region, and sent Ma’qal ibn Qais with 3,000 fighters before proceeding from Mada’in to Raqa. Near Raqa, he crossed the Euphrates River, where Ziyad, Shuraih, Ma’qal, and the other commanders of his army gathered.
Meanwhile, when Muawiya learned that Hazrat Ali (MAPH) was moving with a large army towards Syria, he sent Abu al-Awwar ‘Amr ibn Sufyan al-Salmi with a small military detachment as an advance guard.
After crossing the Euphrates, Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Ziyad and Shuraih as the advance party. Ziyad and Shuraih were unsettled and reported the situation to Hazrat Ali. He immediately appointed Malik al-Ashtar as their commander and instructed him to join them quickly, take command of the army, and place Shuraih and Ziyad on the right and left flanks, respectively. He then instructed them to first invite their opponents to obedience and allegiance, and not to initiate an attack unless they were rejected. The armies of Abu al-Awwar al-Salmi and Malik al-Ashtar were stationed opposite each other at a place called “Sour al-Rum.” In the afternoon, Abu al-Awwar began the attack. After a brief skirmish, both sides separated.
On the second day, Abu al-Awwar returned to the battlefield, and Hashim ibn ‘Utbah confronted him. When they were about to part ways, Ashtar attacked with his army. Abu al-Awwar’s forces also engaged in battle, and fighting continued until sunset. Darkness then fell, and both sides returned to their camps. The following day, at the beginning of Dhu al-Hijjah, Imam Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived.
It became clear that Muawiya had also entered the area of Siffin. Hazrat Ali (MAPH) ordered that no further attacks be made and instructed Malik al-Ashtar to reach the Tigris River and take control of the water. When Ashtar reached near the Euphrates, he found that Muawiya had already sent Abu al-Awwar al-Salmi there and had secured the water.
Upon learning this, Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Sasa’ah ibn Suhan with a message to Muawiya. Sasa’ah relayed Imam Ali’s message, stating: “We had intended not to engage in battle until we had heard your excuses and reasons and given you a final chance. However, your supporters have already initiated the conflict. We now find it necessary to invite you to the path of truth first, and until we have done so, we will not resume fighting. Unfortunately, you have blocked access to the Euphrates water, and the people are suffering from thirst. Therefore, you should instruct your men not to block the water until we resolve the disputed matters. If your intention is for us to abandon our objectives and fight over the water so that only the victor benefits from it, we are also prepared for this.”
When Sasa’ah delivered Imam Ali’s message to Muawiya, he immediately summoned his advisors for consultation. Abdullah ibn Sa’ad, the former governor of Egypt, and Walid ibn Uqbah advised against reopening the water, suggesting they should fight the opponents, as they had previously cut off water from Usman, leading to his death from thirst. However, Amr ibn Al-As disagreed, stating that it was not right to make Imam Ali’s army suffer from thirst while they had access to water. Muawiya remained silent and did not object. When Sasa’ah asked Muawiya for his response, he replied that he would provide an answer later. Sasa’ah left dissatisfied and returned to Hazrat Ali, informing him that they were being denied access to water.
Imam Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) then assigned Ash’ath ibn Qays to lead a group of cavalrymen to seize control of the water source. Meanwhile, Abu al-Awwar al-Salmi confronted them, leading to a battle in which several from both sides were wounded or killed. Before the fighting could conclude, Amr ibn Al-As went to Muawiya and advised him that if he continued to block the water and the enemy’s forces suffered from thirst, many of Muawiya’s men, feeling compassion, would join Imam Ali’s side, accusing Muawiya of cruelty and fighting against him. Muawiya immediately ordered the blockade to be lifted and the water to be made available to both sides. Thus, the fighting subsided. Thereafter, both armies came to the water without obstructing each other and refrained from further fighting. No significant incidents occurred for the next two days.
Imam Ali’s forces numbered around 90,000, including troops from Hijaz, Yemen, and some provinces of Iran. In contrast, Muawiya’s forces numbered approximately 80,000.
Imam Ali (may Allah honor his face) organized his army as follows: Ash’ath was appointed as the commander of the cavalry from Kufa, while the cavalry of Basra was entrusted to Sahl ibn Haneef. The infantry commanders were Ammar ibn Yasir from Kufa and Qais ibn Sa’d from Basra. The battle standard was given to Hashim ibn ‘Utbah ibn Abi Waqas.
In Muawiya’s army, the right flank was led by Dhul-Kala’ al-Himyari, the left flank by Habib ibn Muslimah al-Fahri, and the advance guard by Abu al-Awwar al-Salmi. Amr ibn al-As was in charge of the cavalry, and Muslim ibn Uqbah led the infantry, while Abdul-Rahman ibn Khalid, Ubaidullah ibn Umar, and Bashir ibn Malik al-Kindi were responsible for various parts of the army.
After two days of quiet, on the third day, the 1st of Dhu al-Hijjah in the year 36 AH, Hazrat Ali (may Allah honor his face) sent a three-member delegation consisting of Bashir ibn Amr ibn Mahsaan al-Ansari, Sa’id ibn Qais al-Hamadani, and Shabath ibn Rab’i al-Tamimi to Muawiya to invite him to obedience. When the delegation reached Muawiya, Bashir ibn Amr spoke first, urging Muawiya not to sow discord among Muslims or incite bloodshed. Muawiya responded by asking if they had given similar advice to Hazrat Ali. Bashir replied that Hazrat Ali, being an early Muslim and closely related to the Prophet (peace be upon him), was most deserving of the caliphate and governance, and that Muawiya should pledge allegiance to him.
Muawiya replied that it was impossible for him to abandon the quest for vengeance for Usman and to forego his claim. Shabath ibn Rab’i then accused Muawiya of delaying in aiding Usman so that he would be martyred, thus using the pretext of avenging him to claim leadership. He urged Muawiya to abandon this notion and refrain from fighting Hazrat Ali. Muawiya responded harshly, and Shabath replied similarly. The delegation left without any resolution, and the battle commenced.
