Siffin and the Arbitration

Mu'awiyah, governor of Syria and a kinsman of 'Uthman, would not pledge to 'Ali until 'Uthman's killers were punished. 'Ali saw this as refusing the authority of the rightful caliph. The two armies met at Siffin by the Euphrates, and after weeks of letters, truces and skirmishes, heavy fighting broke out.

Among those killed on 'Ali's side was the aged Companion 'Ammar ibn Yasir. The Prophet ﷺ had said of him: "Alas for 'Ammar — the transgressing party will kill him" (Sahih al-Bukhari 447). Sunni scholars take this, with other hadith, as proof that 'Ali's side was closer to the truth; yet the Qur'an still calls both sides of such a conflict believers: ﴿وَإِن طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا﴾ (“If two parties of the believers fight, make peace between them”) (49:9).

When the Syrian side raised copies of the Qur'an on their spears and called for the Book of Allah to judge, 'Ali agreed — pressed hard by many in his own army — to arbitration. Abu Musa al-Ash'ari represented 'Ali and 'Amr ibn al-'As represented Mu'awiyah. Months later the arbiters met, but they reached no agreement that ended the division.

01Why it matters

Holding to the truth and longing for reconciliation are not opposites; 'Ali fought for what was right and still accepted a call to let the Book of Allah decide.

02Reflection

When you are confident you are right, are you still willing to sit down and be judged by something higher than yourself?

03Sources

Sahih al-Bukhari 447 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
Sahih Muslim 2916Sahih · in the two Sahihs
Qur'an 49:9
Ibn al-'Arabi, al-'Awasim min al-QawasimHistorical report
Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah wa al-NihayahHistorical report
al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-MulukHistorical report

What the hadith grades mean

Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.

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