It is firmly established in the hadith (1) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “I asked my Lord not to destroy my ummah by a universal calamity, and He granted me that request. I asked Him not to let an enemy from outside them (2) gain mastery over them and thus ravage their stronghold, and He granted me that as well. I then asked Him not to set them against one another, but He withheld that from me.”
We mentioned this (3) when commenting on His words: “Or He may divide you into factions and make you taste the violence of one another” (al-Anʿām 6:65). The Messenger of Allah added, “That is the lighter affliction.”
The story of the arbitration (4)
After a series of letters and consultations too lengthy to recount here, the two parties agreed upon arbitration: each of the two commanders—ʿAli and Muʿāwiya—would appoint one representative, and the two representatives would then determine whatever best served the interests of the Muslims. Muʿāwiya appointed ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ. ʿAli intended to appoint ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbbās—if only he had done so—but the qurrāʾ [the Khārijites] we have already mentioned prevented him, saying, “We will accept none but Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī.”
Al-Haytham ibn ʿAdī (5) relates in his book “Al-Khawārij” that the first to propose Abū Mūsā was al-Ashʿath ibn Qays; the people of Yemen supported him, praising Abū Mūsā for prohibiting turmoil and bloodshed. At that time Abū Mūsā had secluded himself in a district of al-Ḥijar.
ʿAli then said, “Very well, I shall make al-Ashtar the arbitrator.” They objected, “Was it not al-Ashtar who stoked the flames of war and set the land ablaze?” He answered, “Do whatever you wish.”
Al-Aḥnaf thereupon said to ʿAli, “By Allah, you have been struck by a stone! No one will suit these people except a man from among them—one who can draw near until he is in their very hands, yet withdraw until (6) he is as distant as a star. If you refuse to appoint me as the sole arbitrator, then make me the second or third member; for, by Allah, he will never tie a knot without my untying it (7), nor will he untie a knot you have tied without my tying another for you like it, or even firmer.”
Nevertheless, they insisted on Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī alone. Envoys were therefore dispatched to him—he having withdrawn from public life. When he was told, “The people have reconciled,” he said, “Praise be to Allah.” He was then informed, “You have been appointed arbitrator,” whereupon he exclaimed, “We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.” They took him and brought him before ʿAli (may Allah be pleased with him), and a document was drawn up between the two sides, the wording of which was as follows (8).