4. In a Hadith from Malik ibn A’yan the following is narrated: “In the battle of Siffin, Amir al-Mu’minin , encouraging people said, ‘Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, has shown you a bargain and a deal which will save you from the painful torment. Belief in Allah and Jihad for the cause of Allah bring you very close to goodness. He makes your reward to be forgiveness of your sins and fine dwellings in paradise of Eden. Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, has said, “Allah certainly loves those who fight for His cause and stand firm as solid and strong structures.” (61:4) ‘You must form yourselves in straight lines like solid and strong structures. Allow those with coats of arms to be in front and those without it to be the next. You must fix your back-teeth against each other; it makes the sword strike harder on the head of the enemy. Launch your spears, they move swiftly. Look with a lower angle; it ties down excitement and relaxes the heart. Silence voices; it keeps failure away and it is better for dignity. You must not allow your banners to incline and you must not remove them. You must not allow anyone other than brave people to carry them. The defenders of what is very important, who can exercise patience in difficult conditions, deserve to be the protectors. You must not mutilate those who are killed, and when you reach the men of the enemy you must not expose privacies, you must not enter any house, you must not take anything of their properties except what you find with their army. You must not disturb any woman with mistreatment; and if they use bad words against your honor, men, virtuous ones among you, it is because they suffer from physical, psychological and intellectual weakness. We were ordered to hold our hands back from them and they were pagan women. If a man would take upon women this would remain a flaw in him and in his descendants after him. You must take notice, people capable of protecting important matters deserve to carry the banner to provide it protection and others walk on the sides, behind and in front of them, and they must not lose sight of it (the banner) and must not remain far behind nor must they go far ahead to become separated. I pray to Allah to grant blessings to one who cooperates with his brother (in faith) with his person. One should not leave his peer against his brother so that his peer and his brother fight. This brings regret and humiliation. This inevitably becomes his (enemy’s) fight against two people if he holds his hands back and has left his peer alone against his brother and has run away. He just looks to him and this one. If one does it he has angered Allah. You must not expose yourselves to the anger of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious. “Running away does not benefit you even if you run away from death, or from being killed, because thereafter you will not benefit more than very little.” (33:16) I swear by Allah, if you run away from the swords nearby, you will not escape from the swords later on. You must seek help by exercising patience and truthfulness. Victory comes only after exercising patience. You must do Jihad for the cause of Allah, the way Jihad should be done and there is no power without Allah.’ “He (the Imam) , passed by the banner of the people of al-Sham and found them holding their position. He said, ‘They will not move from their position without a blow which is hard and expels the soul out, and a blow that splits the skull, crushes the bones and makes the arms and the hands to fall off so that their forehead is crushed by the iron bars, their eyebrows scatter over their chest and chin. Where are people of patience and seekers of reward?’ A group of the Muslims marched to them. The right flank of this group returned back to the center and exposed those opposite to them. He , moved forward until he reached them and said, ‘I saw your attack and retreat away from your positioned lines. It was your moving that provided a chance for the unjust and tyrants of al-Sham. You are the top most among Arab and the great peak, the beauty of the nights because of your recitations of the Holy Quran and the callers from among the people of the truth, while the sinners are lost. Were it not for your advance after your retreat and your regrouping after giving way to the enemy, you could have become subject to what those fleeing from the enemy during an advancing operation need to face for turning their backs to the enemy. I would find you of those being destroyed. My concerns are to a small degree reduced and my chest to a small degree is comforted. This happened when I saw you gain the ground over them as they had against you and you were able to remove them from their positions as they had done to you. I saw you strike them with your sword until their first line was toppled over the last line like the camel driven away. You must exercise patience. Comfort has come upon you and Allah has made you steadfast with certainty, so that the defeated notice that he is making his Lord angry. He hates his own self. In fleeing from the battle there is the anger of Allah, the inevitable humiliation, and a remaining stigma and destruction of ways of one’s living. There is no increase in the longevity of life of the fleeing person, no barrier between him and his day of death, and his Lord does not become happy with him. One’s death with truthfulness before achieving such characteristics is better than remaining with them and dwelling upon them.’ “In another of his speech he , has said, ‘When you face these people (the enemy) tomorrow do not fight them before they attack you. When they attack you then rise against them. You must remain calm and dignified. You must fix your backside teeth against the teeth of opposite side. It delivers a harder hit on the skulls. Keep your eyes lower and look at the foreheads of the horses and the faces of men. Reduce your speech; it keeps failure and argumentations away. You must settle your souls up facing the enemy openly, to advance and to attack. You must remain steadfast and speak of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, very often. One who protects what is important in difficult times is of the protecting people who keep their banner on the side and others walk on its sides and in front. When you attack do it with such coordination as if it is one man’s attack. You must be protective; war is bitter. You must not allow them (enemy) to attack you after retreat or to advance to you after an unpredictable move. If one surrenders, accept it from him. Seek help from exercising patience; victory from Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, follows exercising patience. Allah’s servants will inherit the earth and the good end belongs to those who maintain piety before Allah.’”