Ali's March to Syria

Ali's army

When war between Ali and Muawiyah became inevitable, preparations for a show down were made by both the sides. Ali managed to raise an army 90,000 strong. It included men from Kufa, Iraq, Basra and Madina. Ali made Malik Ashtar the Commander-in-Chief of his forces. The army was divided into a number of commands and each command had its own commander.

In the correspondence that was exchanged between the two sides, option was given to Ali to lead the force to Syria or let the Syrian forces come to Iraq Ali opted to lead his forces to Syria. In March 657, Ali set out from Kufa at the head of his army. From Rufa the army proceeded to Madina. Here more troops joined the army of Ali. From Madina Ali set out for Syria. His plan was to march through Upper Mesopotamia and invade Syria from the north. The advance guard of the army advanced along the western bank of the Euphrates. The main army under Ali advanced up to the Tigris, and thereafter entered the Mesopotamian desert.

March through the desert

The march of the army through the desert was a great ordeal. The long trek across the desert exhausted the water supplies at the disposal of the troops, and the absence of water became an acute problem. Ali sent his scouts to inquire of the tribesmen in the desert whether there were any wells or springs in the neighborhood which could supply water to the troops. The tribesmen said that there were no wells or spring in the neighborhood.

Ali had heard that some centuries ago the Israeli patriarchs had dug wells in the desert, and he hoped to be able to find out these ancient sites. The scouts who contacted the tribes in the desert were not able to get any clue of a spring or a well in the desert. One of the scouts, however, brought back with him an old Christian hermit who said that there was indeed a cistern in the neighborhood in the past, but it had gone dry. The hermit added that according to old legends, a hidden well existed somewhere in the neighborhood, and its mouth was covered with an enormous stone, but no one knew about the actual site of the legendary well. He observed that according to popular belief no one could locate the hidden well, except a prophet or the representative of a prophet.

Miracle of the well

Ali himself proceeded on a survey of the desert. At one place Ali saw a huge stone, and he asked his men to dig at that site. Miraculously a well was discovered at the site the water supply whereof was more than enough for the needs of the troops. As the ancient well was discovered, the Christian hermit was thrilled at the miracle. Addressing Ali he said that verily he was the representative of the prophet about whose advent the scriptures had predicted. He hastened to accept Islam at the hands of Ali. He presented to Ali an old parchment belonging to Simon, a companion of Jesus Christ on which was recorded a prophesy about the advent of the last prophet. The parchment also foretold of the lifting of the stone of the well by a representative of the last prophet.

The discovery of the source of water in the desert came as a matter of great relief to the troops of Ali. It raised their morale and fortified them with the faith they were fighting for the vindication of the truth. The news of the recovery of the well in the desert impressed the tribes in the neighborhood and they joined Ali in the war against Muawiyah.

Onward to Siffin

After crossing the desert, Ali and his troops pushed on Al-Raqqa on the left bank of the Euphrates, here they had to cross the river. They asked the people of Al-Raqqa to provide them boats and build a bridge of boats for them. The people of Al Raqqa said that in the war between the Muslim people they would remain neutral and as such they could not construct the bridge for them. Thereupon Malik Ashtar the Commander-in-Chief of the forces of Ali challenged the people of Al-Raqqa that unless they provided the necessary boats and constructed the bridge for them, he would declare war against them, and order their massacre. The people of Al-Raqqa consulted among themselves and ultimately agreed to construct the bridge of boats for the army of Ali to cross the river.

After crossing the river, the troops of Ali advanced along the right bank of the river in the direction of Aleppo. Here they came across the Syrian vanguard. The Syrians did not risk a skirmish with the forces of Ali and withdrew precipitately.

At Sur-Rum, along the borders of Syria, the Alid forces had a skirmish with the Syrian guards. The Syrians suffered defeat and retreated. Thereafter the forces of Ali reached the plain of Siffin, where they found the Syrian forces under Muawiyah drawn up in strength and waiting for them.