Yahya narrated to us; Nasr (1) narrated to us; Hafs ibn ‘Imran al-Burjumi narrated to us—he said: Nafi‘ ibn ‘Umar al-Jumahi related to me, from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, that ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr said to his father, “Were it not that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded me to obey you, I would never have set out with you on this march. Have you not heard the Messenger of Allah say to ‘Ammar, ‘The rebellious faction will kill you’?”

Yahya also narrated to us; ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ziyad narrated to us; Hushaym narrated to us, from Mujalid, from al-Sha‘bi, who said: “The man who had killed ‘Ammar came asking permission to enter upon Mu‘awiyah while ‘Amr [ibn al-‘As] was with him. ‘Amr said, ‘Let him in, and give him the glad tidings of the Fire.’ The man said, ‘Do you not hear what ‘Amr is saying?’ Mu‘awiyah replied (2), ‘He speaks the truth; the ones who actually killed him were those who brought him out.’ ”

Ibn Jarir (3) said: Ahmad ibn Muhammad narrated to us; al-Walid ibn Salih narrated to us; ‘Ata ibn Muslim narrated to us, from al-A‘mash, who said: Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami related: “We were with ‘Ali at Siffin, and we had appointed two men to guard his horse, keeping him from charging the enemy himself for fear for his safety. Whenever their attention lapsed, he would charge and would not return until his sword was crimson. One day he charged and did not come back until his sword had bent; he threw it to them and said, ‘Had it not bent I would not have returned.’

“I saw ‘Ammar: he would not enter a single ravine of Siffin without everyone there from among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ following him. I also saw him approach Hashim ibn ‘Utbah, the bearer of ‘Ali’s banner, and say, ‘Advance, O Hashim (4)! Paradise lies beneath the shade of swords, and death is at the tips of lances. The gates of Paradise have been flung open (5) and the wide-eyed maidens have adorned themselves. Today I shall meet the loved ones—Muhammad and his party.’

“Thereupon he and Hashim both charged and were killed—may Allah Most High have mercy on them. ‘Ali and his followers then fell upon the Syrians in a single, united assault, as though the two of them—meaning ‘Ammar and Hashim—had been their standard.

“When night fell I said to myself, ‘Tonight I will enter the Syrian camp to learn whether the killing of ‘Ammar has affected them as it has affected us’—for whenever we agreed to a truce we would converse with them and they with us. I mounted my horse after things had quieted down and entered their camp. There I found four men chatting together (6): Mu‘awiyah, Abu al-A‘war al-Sulami, ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, and his son ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr, who was the best of the four.

“I guided my horse in among them lest I miss anything they might say to one another. ‘Abd Allah then said to his father, ‘Father, today you have killed this man, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said about him what he said.’ His father asked, ‘And what did he say?’ He replied (7), ‘Was he not with us when we were building the mosque, while the people were carrying one stone at a time and one brick at a time, and ‘Ammar was carrying two stones at a time and two bricks at a time? Then he came to him…’”