As we delve into the talk, Shaykh YAsir Qadhi makes us acquainted with the circumstances leading to this battle, the incidents that transpire and what was the aftermath of this battle.
The Battle of Siffin took place between Ali RA, the fourth of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan RA, the governor of Damascus, who opposed the caliphate of Ali RA. The Battle took place in Siffin- east of ar-Raqqa in the basin of Euphrates.
The warring parties camped themselves at Siffin for more than 100 days alternating between negotiations due to lack of interest in fighting.Then due to failure of compliance between the armies, a war was waged for three days between the Iraqis under Ashtar's command and the Qurrā', in Ali's RA army.Ali RA boasted of an army of 80,000 men, including 70 Companions who participated in the Battle of Badr, 70 Companions who took oath at Hudaibiya, and 400 prominent Ansars and Muhajirin while Muawiyah had a fleet of 120,000 Syrians.
This battle finally culminated in the legendary appearance of Muʿāwiyah’s troops with copies of the Qurān on their weapons as an indication to let God’s word decide the conflict. ʿAlī agreed to bring the matter to arbitration on the basis of the Qurʾān and delegated Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī as his representative, while Muʿāwiyah sent ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ.
Please do watch the video to find out how the battle ended and what was the greatness in this arbitration.