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In the Footsteps of Al-Husayn (peace be upon him)
Dr. Ahmad Rasm Al-Nafis
“Every group is judged by the leader they follow?” He replied: “No. I dislike that the Arabs should say among themselves that Muhammad fought alongside a people until, when Allah granted him victory through them, he then turned against them and killed them.” Then he said: “O Allah, strike them with the Dabīlah.” We said, “O Messenger of Allah, what is the Dabīlah?” He said: “A meteor of fire that strikes the heart of one of them and destroys him.” (1)
Imam Ahmad also narrated the same report. It appears in the interpretation of the Almighty’s saying in verse (74) of Surat al-Tawbah:
“They swear by Allah that they did not say it, but they certainly uttered the word of disbelief and disbelieved after their Islam, and they planned that which they could not attain.” (2)
Ibn Kathir also narrated in the same place, quoting Sahih Muslim, from ‘Ammar ibn Yasir, from Hudhayfah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:
“Among my companions are twelve hypocrites. They will not enter Paradise nor even smell its fragrance until a camel passes through the eye of a needle…”
For this reason Hudhayfah was called “the keeper of the secret,” known only to him—that is, the identification of the group of hypocrites. (3)
This grave incident in Islamic history occurred during the expedition of Tabuk in Rajab of the ninth year after Hijrah. It is not mentioned in the books of biography or elsewhere under major headings, but rather under subheadings, despite being firmly established by the text of the Qur’an and occurring among the events of the Tabuk campaign—where hypocrisy raised its head and emerged from its source. It is mentioned in Surat al-Tawbah, also called “al-Fāḍiḥah” (“The Exposer”), because it exposed and unmasked the hypocrites.
(1) Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 2/453–454, Dar al-Fikr, Beirut, 1414 AH – 1994 CE.
(2) Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 2/454.
(3) Ibid.
Its seriousness lies in the fact that those who saw in the noble Messenger an obstacle to achieving their ambitions must have set before themselves a great objective, for the sake of which every crime would seem insignificant—even killing the noble Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), or al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali (peace be upon him), or violating the sanctity of Madinah, or demolishing the Ka‘bah, as indeed occurred later.
Chapter One
The Sons of the Accursed Tree: Pioneers of Sedition in Islam
“Ṣiffīn,” a place located near the bank of the Euphrates between Syria and Iraq, witnessed the Battle of Ṣiffīn, which took place between the army of Imam ‘Ali—representing the legitimate leadership of the Muslim nation—and the army of the unjust rebels, led by Mu‘awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (known as “the son of the liver-eater”) and his chief minister, ‘Amr ibn al-‘As.
The prophecy was on the verge of being fulfilled: those against whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) had warned were about to ascend his pulpit. The conflict raged between the authentic Muhammadan Islamic values, embodied by the rightful Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), and the rebellious faction led by the son of the liver-eater and his chief minister, the son of al-Nabighah.
We shall present contrasting examples of the discourse and conduct of each side, then observe the tragic conclusion of this conflict—or rather, the end of the beginning of Islam’s radiant dawn at the hands of this faction. It was precisely what they had attempted on the night of the ‘Aqabah of Tabuk, though they did not succeed then.
1 – The Discourse of the Pioneers of Sedition Who Rebelled Against the Legitimate Leadership
Mu‘awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan raised the شعار of avenging the blood of ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan. But were the son of the liver-eater and his chief minister sincere in their claim? Let us read together from the pages of history.
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari narrates in his History:
“When ‘Uthman was killed, al-Nu‘man ibn Bashir came to the people of Syria carrying the shirt of ‘Uthman, and Mu‘awiyah placed the shirt…”