Hadith 147

slave of the family of Umar. The slave did not cease to mention to Al-Ashtar the merits of Ali-asws and the clan of Hashim-as until he was trusting upon him. One day Al-Ashtar, then he felt heavy and sought water. The slave quenched him a drink of Suweyq wherein was poison, and he died’. He (the narrator) said, ‘And Muawiya had said to the people of Syria when he conspired with a slave of Umar, ‘Supplicate against Al-Ashtar’. They supplicated against him. When (news of) his death reached him, he said, ‘Are you not seeing how it was Answered for you all? ’
And it has been reported from one of the faces that Al-Ashtar was killed at Egypt after a severe battle, and the correct is the he was quenched poison, so he died before he could reach Egypt. And from Ali Bin Muhammad Al-Madainy that Muawiya faced towards the people of Syria saying, ‘O you people! Ali-asws has sent Al-Ashtar to Egypt, so supplicate to Allah-azwj that He-azwj Suffices you all! ’ So, they used to supplicate at the end of every Salat, and the one who had quenched him poison came to Muawiya and informed him of the death of Al-Ashtar. Muawiya, may Allah-azwj Curse him, stood up to address. He said, ‘As for after, there used to be two right hands for Ali-asws Bin Abu Talib-asws. One of them was cut off on the day of Siffeen, and he is Ammar Bin Yasser-ra, and the other one has been cut off today, and he is Malik Al-Ashtar’. And Ibrahim said, ‘When (news of) the death of Al-Ashtar reached Ali-asws, he-asws said, ‘We are for Allah-azwj and are returning to Him-azwj, and the Praise is for Allah-azwj, Lord-azwj of the worlds. O Allah-azwj! I-asws shall reckon it in Your-azwj Presence, for his death is from the calamities of the times’. Then he-asws said: ‘May Allah-azwj have Mercy on Malik, for he had been loyal to his pact and fulfilled his vow and met his Lord-azwj, along with that we had determines ourselves that we shall be patient upon every calamity after our calamity with Rasool-Allah-azwj, for it was the greatest calamity’’. [57]
And from Muawiya Al-Zaby who said, ‘The matter of Ali-asws did not cease to be difficult until Al-Ashtar died, and Al-Ashtar was darker than Al-Ahnas was at Al-Basra’’. [58]
And from a group of elders of Al Nakha’a who said, ‘We entered to see Amir Al-Momineen-asws when the (news of the) death of Al-Ashtar reached him-asws. We found him-asws pitying and regretting upon him. Then he-asws said: ‘By Allah-azwj the loss of Malik! And what was Malik? Had he been from a mountain, would have been majestic, and had been from stones, he would have been solid. But, by Allah-azwj! Your death has demolished world and has made (another) world happy. Upon the likes of Malik, let the wailers lament. And is there anyone hopeful like Malik, and is there anyone existing like Malik? ’
Alqamah Bin Qays Al-Nakhaie said, ‘Ali-asws did not cease to pity and feeling sorry until we thought that it was a calamity for him-asws besides us, and that was recognised in his face for days’’. [59]
Ibrahim said, ‘And it is narrated to us by Muhammad Bin Abdullah, from Al Madainy, from his men, ‘When it reached Muhammad Bin Abu Bakr that A