Islamiyat · Oct / Nov 2024 · Paper 21 · Question 3

Write an account of the causes and events of the Battle of Siffin. Mark according to the marking grid for AO1 – Knowledge on page 5. Answers may include some of the following ideas, but all valid material must be credited.

After the Battle of the Camel, all the people of Basra pledged allegiance to ‘Ali as the Caliph. After settling their affairs ‘Ali left Basra and headed towards Kufa.

Mu’awiyah, the governor of Syria since the caliphate of ‘Umar and ‘Uthman, and as ‘Uthman’s next of kin was adamant on bringing justice and retribution upon those who had martyred ‘Uthman and refused to pledge allegiance to ‘Ali.

Since the killers of ‘Uthman were present within ‘Ali’s army he felt it would be unjust to pledge his allegiance to him without bringing the killers to justice. Verse 33 of Sura 17 of the Qur’an became the cry of Mu’awiyah’s campaign. This disagreement on the timing of the retribution of ‘Uthman’s murder between ‘Ali and Mu’awiyah was the main cause of the Battle of Siffin. The Battle of Siffin was fought in 657. The Caliph led the army out of Kufa and met Mu’awiyah’s forces outside Siffin. ‘Ali’s army was said to be

approximately 50 000; Mu’awiyah’s army was estimated to be around 60 000. Initial attempts at negotiations failed and individual combats were fought which proved indecisive. The actual battle started on 8th Safar. On the first day of fighting the two armies stood firm but neither of them had success over the other. The battle intensified on the second day, and on the third night, Ali’s army pushed the people of Syria back from their positions. After this night both armies found it very difficult to continue and withstand more fighting. Both sides realised that this conflict was only weakening the Muslim state and if they continued, they would be left vulnerable to outside attacks.

Mu’awiyah told his companions to tie the mushaf to the end of their spears, signalling their willingness to mediate by going back to the judgement of the Qur’an rather than fight. ‘Ali accepted, realising that if they continued to fight it would lead to the weakening of the Muslim state. He was however pushed by the extremists to continue to fight but explained to them that there was no option except peace and dialogue because the alternative would mean the potential destruction of the Muslims.

The battle ended with arbitration showing the awareness of the ummah to preserve itself against outside enemies thus concluding with a common inclination towards peace.

No marks are to be awarded for events after the battle as they are not relevant to the question.

In your opinion, what was the most important outcome of the Battle of Siffin? Give reasons to support your answer.

Mark according to the marking grid for AO2 – Understanding on page 5.

Answers may include some of the following ideas, but all valid material must be credited.

There were several outcomes of this battle. However, the candidate needs to choose one which they believe was the most important and give reasons for their choice.

It could be said that Muslims had fought their brothers in faith on opposite sides in this battle and its inconclusive outcome left them disenchanted and disgruntled and weakened unity amongst the ranks of believers.

Or it could be said that the unity of the Muslims was already weakened by the death of ‘Uthman and the Battle of Siffin and its inconclusive end made whatever was left of this unity even more fragile. This caused further divisions as can be seen in the emergence of the Kharijites breaking away from Ali’s army and the subsequent Battle of Nahrawan fought between them and Ali’s army in the year 658.

Another important outcome of the battle is that it led to divisions and the eventual martyrdom of ‘Ali. Both Mu’awiyah and ‘Ali, in their efforts to establish their authority, sent their armies to tour the Arabian Peninsula, forcing the inhabitants of Makka, Madina and Yemen to swear allegiance to them. This upset three Kharijites to the point where they planned the assassination of ‘Ali, Mu’awiyah and Amr ibn al ‘Aas and succeeded in assassinating ‘Ali which broke the unity of the Muslims forever.