The Battle for water

Muawiyah's command of water supply

As the troops of Ali arrived in the valley of Siffin, it was found that the forces of Muawiyah had already occupied the best part of the valley. There was only one source of water supply in the valley, and Muawiyah had so arrayed his forces that they controlled the water supply of the whole valley, and the troops of Ali had no access to water at any place. The strategy of Muawiyah obviously was to force a defeat on Ali by exposing his troops to the rigors of thirst.

Negotiation for access to water supply

The first task of Ali was to gain an access to the source of water supply. Ali sent a letter to Muawiyah through a delegation. Ali pointed out to Muawiyah that according to the injunctions of Islam as well as according to the rules of warfare, access to water supply could not be denied to the combatants. Ali observed that any armed conflict between the two rides would lead to great loss of life on both the sides. He was therefore keen that the disputes between the two sides should be decided through peaceful negotiations. He added that he was not going to lead an attack unless all possibilities of peace had been exhausted. He brought home the point that in this context it was necessary that both the sides should have equal opportunities of access to water, and the area around the source of water supply should be declared a neutral zone. On receiving the letter of Ali, Muawiyah called his council of war. 'Amr b Al Aas the Commander-in-Chief of the forces of Muawiyah observed that according to the rules of warfare access to water had to be provided to the combatants from both the sides. He suggested that while maintaining over all control over the source of water supply they should allow the men of the forces of Ali to obtain water for their needs at specified hours subject to terms which might be mutually agreed upon.

Abdullah b Abi Sirah, a former Governor of Egypt, and a foster brother of Othman suggested that they should adopt the tactics of delay by neither providing access to the water supply to the other side, nor refusing to do so. He was of the view that because of such delay the forces of Ali would have no option but to retreat from the valley, and when they were on a retreat they could be attacked in the rear.

Some counselors of Muawiyah held that they were seeking vengeance for the blood of Othman. The rebels had denied access to water to Othman. It was accordingly necessary that those who had subjected Othman to the rigors of thirst should likewise be subjected to the suffering. Muawiyah gave an evasive reply to the delegation that he had received from Ali. He did not refuse the demand outright, but did not accept it either. His game was to play for time. In the meantime, he sent reinforcements for his troops that guarded the source of water supply.

Battle for water

When the delegation of Ali returned from Muawiyah, Ali called for his own council of war. After deliberations it was decided that an immediate attack should be made to gain control of the source of water supply. In the action that followed there was hard fighting with lances and swords. Some persons were killed from both the sides, but ultimately the forces of Ali had the upper hand, and they dislodged the Syrians from all the points commanding access to the source of water supply.

Now the position was reversed, and Muawiyah had to approach Ali to allow the Syrians access to the source of water supply. Some of the counselors of Ali advised him to pay the Syrians in their own coin, and to refuse them access to the source of water supply. Ali overruled them saying that Islam did not permit them to stop the supply of water to their enemy. He said that he had to be guided by the Book of God, and he could not act in the way the people acted during the Age of Ignorance. While the troops of Ali maintained the over all control of the source of water supply, the troops of Muawiyah were allowed to have the water they needed at specified hours. During such hours men from both the sides came in contact, and the general feeling was that instead of resorting to an armed conflict, the disputes between the two sides should be settled through peaceful means.