Hadith 126

zed their wealth, nor made captives of their offspring, nor spoils of war of anything from their wealth. And had he-asws so desired to do all that, he-asws could have done so, but he-asws refused except the pardoning and the excusing, and you are (all) accepting the Sunnah of Rasool-Allah-saww on the day of the conquest of Makkah, for it is a pardon and the hatred (of the Polytheists) had not cooled down and the abuse (by them) had not been forgotten (by the Muslims). And when the army of Muawiya controlled the water upon him-asws and they had surrounded the banks of the Euphrates, and the chiefs of Syria said to him, ‘Kill them by the thirst like what they had killed Usman thirsty’. Ali-asws and his-asws companions asked them to grant access to them to drink the water. They said, ‘No, by Allah-azwj, and not even a drop until you all die of thirst like the son of Affan had died thirsty’. When he-asws saw that the death was inevitable, he-asws went ahead with his-asws companions and attacked upon the soldiers of Muawiya with intensive attacks until he-asws moved them from their positions after rapid killings, the chief, and the hands fell, and they controlled the water upon them, and the companions of Muawiya came to be in the wilderness, there being no water for them. His-asws companions and his-asws Shias said to him-asws, ‘Prevent them the water, O Amir Al-Momineen-asws and do not quench them a drop from it, and kill them with the swords of thirst, and seize them by a grip of the hands, for there is no need for you to (fight) the war! ’
He-asws said: ‘No, by Allah-azwj! I-asws will not deal with them with the like of their deeds. Release for them from part of the banks, for there substitute in the blade of the sword from that’. So, if we were to attribute this to the leniency and the pardoning, it would be beautiful and excellent, and if we were to attribute it to the religion and the piety, then it would be most ethical for the like of it to be implemented by the like of him-asws. As for the Jihad in the Way of Allah-azwj, so it is known in the presence of his-asws friend and foe that he-asws is chief of the Holy fighters, and is the Jihad for anyone from the people except for himself? And it has been recognised that the mightiest of the battles Rasool-Allah-saww had battled and the most difficult of it in spite among the Polytheists, was Badr the great. Seventy of the Polytheists were killed in it. Ali-asws had killed half of them and the Muslims and the Angels killed the other half. And when you return to (the books) ‘Maghazy’ of Muhammad Bin Umar Al-Waqidy, and ‘Tareekh Al-Ashraaf’ of Yahya Bin Jabir Al-Balazuri, and other, we know the correctness of that, let alone the ones who fought him-asws in other (battles), like Ohad, and Al-Khandaq and other. And this is the merit there is no meaning to be pretentious in it because it is from the necessary information like the knowledge of the existence of Makkah and Egypt and approximate to that. As for the eloquence, he-asws is the leader of eloquence, and chief of the articulators, and about his-asws speech it is said, it is lowe