Peak of Eloquence Nahjul Balagha By Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib - English Translation - Letter 14

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To the Army Before the Encounter with the Enemy at Siffin

Do not fight them unless they start the fighting because, by the grace of Allah, you are right, and to leave them till they begin fighting will be another point from your side against them. If, by the will of Allah, the enemy is defeated, do not kill those who flee away, do not strike a helpless person, do not finish off the wounded and do not inflict pain on women even though they may attack your honor with filthy words and abuse your officers because they are weak in character, mind and intelligence. We have been ordered to avoid them although they may be unbelievers. Even in pre -Islamic (jahiliyya) period, if a man struck a woman with a stone or a stick, he was rebuked along with his posterity after him..

The responsibility for the war and fighting that took place between Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (x) and Mu`awiyah lies solely on Mu`awiyah because the latter brought about the war by laying the blame for Othman’s blood on Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (x) erroneously, although

the facts about the causes of Othman’s killing and by whom he was killed were not unknown to Mu`awiyah. But since there was no way for him to achieve his objective save by creating an excuse for war, he started the war in order to retain his illegitimate authority. This evidently was offensive. It cannot by any means be considered as permissible because rebellion and rebellion against the rightful Imam is unlawful according to the general consensus of Muslims. Thus, “Abu Zakariyya” Yahya ibn Sharaf an-Nawawi (631/1233 - 676/1277) writes the following: “Do not fight those in authority with regard to matters of governing, nor should you raise objections against them except when you observe them committing things which you know are definitely against Islam. If you see them doing such things, regard it as bad for them and speak the truth wherever you may be. But rising against them or fighting them is prohibited by the consensus of Muslims (Sharh Sahih Muslim, Vol. 2, p. 125). In agreement with this view, see also: judge Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn at-Tayyib al-Baqillani [338/950 - 403/1013], the Ash`arite great scholar, in Al-Tamhid, p. 186, and Sa`d ad-Din Mas`ud ibn Umar at-Taftazani [712/1312 - 793/1390] in Sharh al-Maqasid, Vol. 2, p. 272.