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That was a small picture of
Mu'awiyah's evil role during Imam 'Ali's rule.
Mu'awiyah in the time of
Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba
I did not fight
you for religion's sake but only to govern you.
Mu'awiyah
When Imam 'Ali was martyred with the sword of
Ibn Muljam, one of the wickedest men of all ages
and eras, and for the second time in their history
the Muslims chose a ruler for themselves through
a free allegiance and Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba
succeeded his father as caliph, he wrote a letter
to Mu'awiyah asking for his allegiance; for, on
the one hand he was a rightful Imam, and on the
other hand he was freely elected as a ruler by
the people with their open allegiance. But Mu'awiyah,
as we know him, would not submit to the right,
and as he had always been accustomed to reject
the right and the truth, now he refused to obey
the Imam's demand, and proceeded towards Iraq
with a large army to fight the Imam.
Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba, too, left Kufah with
his army to confront that guardian of paganism
and infidelity, and as a preliminary step he dispatched
his cousin, 'Ubayd Allah ibn al'Abbas with twelve
thousand of the finest warriors of Iraq and Kufah,
and let Qays ibn Sa'id ibn 'Ubadah, his loyal,
valiant and devout companion, to accompany him.
'Ubayd Allah was ordered not to disregard the
views of ibn Sa'id and to benefit from them in
all matters. The two armies camped facing each
other for several days during which some small
clashes took place. But Mu'awiyah preferred to
resort to cunning rather than to the sword. Therefore
he pulled a trick which caused some disruption
in the Imam's army.
One night Mu'awiyah's envoy secretly visited 'Ubayd
Allah, delivering this message of Mu'awiyah: "al-Hasan
has sent me a letter for peace. If now, before
it is too late, you obey us, you will gain high
position and command, but if you hesitate and
come
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