Hadith 380

Nasr said, ‘It was narrated to me by Umar Bin Sa’ad, from Sa’ad Bin Tareyf, from Al Asbagh Bin Nubata who said, ‘Muawiya wrote to Ali-asws, ‘May Allah-azwj Pardon us both! And beware, the justice and the fairness is not good with the ones who work, and ugly is the recklessness’. Then he inflated regarding the man, and wrote after it (a poem), ‘Tie your donkey and do not remove its whip when it returns, and imprisoning the camel is worrisome, and the chief Zayd did see into their souls, just as the clan of Kowz had seen and were intimidated. If you were to ask for the truth, the one asking would be given it, and the shied is covered and the sword is drawn near. If you are regretting, then we are a community of pride, we will not feed the inferior even if the poison is drunk’. Ali-asws ordered that the people hold back from the fighting until the people of Syria take their groups, then he-asws said: ‘This is a pause! One who is composed during it would be composed on the Day of Qiyamah, and one who cracks, would crack on the Day of Qiyamah! ’
Then he-asws said (a poem) when he-asws saw the descent of Muawiya at Siffeen: ‘He has come to us uncovering from his cannon, and the people would be admired upon his admonition, so let the time come to us with whatever it comes with’. Nasr said, ‘And Ali-asws wrote to Muawiya in answer to his letter: ‘As for after, for the war there is an evil swarm, upon it is a severe guide, being fair to the one who flees or made to flee, upon its area is a mixture of snarls, when the time is right you would be deceived’. And he-asws wrote after it: ‘Did you not see my-asws people when their brethren called them, they responded, and if someone is angered upon the people, they are angered. They have protected my-asws people in my-asws absence just as I-asws used to protect, against like it when they are absent. The sons of war, their mothers did not sit with them, and their fathers are fathers of truthfulness, so they are excellent’. He (the narrator) said, ‘The people returned, each one of the two groups to their soldiers, and youths from the people went to the water in order to be quenched, but the people of Syria prevented them’’. [65]
And it is reported by Nasr, from Abdullah Bin Awf who said, ‘When we arrived to Muawiya and the people of Syria, we found them to have descended (and) encamped, having chosen to even out like one carpet, and they had seized the river bank, so it was in their hands (control), and Abu Al-Awr had formed towards at it, the cavalry and the infantry, and the archers arrived and with them people spearmen, and the swordsmen, and upon their heads were helmets, and they had gathered upon preventing us the water. So, we panicked to Amir Al-Momineen-asws and informed him of that. He-asws called Sa’sa’a Bin Sowhan and said, ‘Go to Muawiya and say to him, ‘We have travelled to you this journey of our, and we dislike fighting you before the excusing to you, and you have sent your cavalry ahead to fight us before we had fought you, and you began us with the war, an