Historians and other scholars relate that ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) took part in single combat during the days of Ṣiffīn, fought fiercely, and slew many—some claiming he killed five hundred men. One such episode involved Karīb ibn al-Ṣabāḥ, who had just killed four men of Iraq in individual duels, laid their bodies at his feet, and cried out, “Is there anyone who will face me?”
ʿAlī stepped forward; the two sparred for a while, then ʿAlī struck him down and killed him. ʿAlī called out, “Is there another challenger?” Al-Ḥārith ibn Wadaʿah al-Ḥimyarī advanced, and ʿAlī killed him. Next came Ruwād ibn al-Ḥārith al-Kalāʿī; ʿAlī killed him as well. Then al-Muṭāʿ ibn al-Muṭṭalib al-Qaysī stepped forth, and ʿAlī killed him. After that ʿAlī recited (1): “For violations of the sacred months there is retaliation” (Q 2:194). He then cried, “Woe to you, Muʿāwiyah! Come out to me yourself and do not destroy the Arabs between you and me!”
ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ said to him, “O Muʿāwiyah, seize the chance, for he is wearied after killing those four.” Muʿāwiyah replied, “By Allah, you know that ʿAlī has never been overcome. You only want me killed so that the caliphate will fall to you after me. Away with you! A man like me is not fooled.”
They also report that on another day ʿAlī charged ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ, struck him with his spear, and knocked him to the ground; ʿAmr’s nakedness became exposed, so ʿAlī turned away. His companions asked, “Commander of the Believers, why did you turn back from him?” He said, “Do you know what happened?” They said, “No.” He replied, “This (2) ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ confronted me with his bare backside, reminding me of our kinship, so I left him.” When ʿAmr returned to Muʿāwiyah, the latter said, “Thank Allah—and thank your backside!”
Ibrāhīm ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Dizīl said: Yahyā narrated to us, Naṣr (3) narrated to us (4), ʿAmr ibn Shimr narrated from Jābir al-Juʿfī, from Namīr al-Anṣārī, who said: “By Allah, it is as though I can still hear ʿAlī saying to his companions on the day of Ṣiffīn, ‘Do you not fear Allah’s wrath? How long will this go on?’ He then turned toward the qiblah and supplicated, then said: ‘By Allah, we have never heard of a commander who personally killed as many as ʿAlī killed that day; according to those who counted, he slew more than five hundred men. He would go out and strike with his sword until it bent, then come back and say, “An excuse before Allah and before you. By Allah, I was on the verge of casting it aside, but what restrains me is that I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say:
“There is no sword but Dhul-Faqār, and no youth but ʿAlī.” (5)
He would then straighten the blade and return to the fighting.’”
This chain of transmission is weak, and the report itself is deemed objectionable.
Yahyā also narrated to us; Ibn Wahb narrated to us; al-Layth informed me, from Yazīd ibn Ḥabīb, that someone who was present at Ṣiffīn with ʿAlī and Muʿāwiyah told him what he had seen. Ibn Wahb said: Ibn Luhayʿah also informed me, from Yazīd ibn Abī Ḥabīb, from Rabīʿah ibn Laqiṭ, who said: “We witnessed Ṣiffīn with ʿAlī and Muʿāwiyah, and the sky rained down upon us fresh blood.”