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Who was Ammar ibn Yasir?

SHAFAQNA – “If all people go to one side and Ali adopts another, follow thou the path adopted by Ali and leave the people to have their own way. O Ammar! Certainly Ali will not turn thee away from guidance and take thou on any path against me. O Ammar! Obedience to Ali is obedience to me, and obedience to me is obedience to God.”

The Prophet (ص) Told Ammar that He would be Fought and Killed by an Army of Transgressors

The most mutawatir and widely transmitted tradition in regards to Ammar is the the Prophet’s (ص) saying, “Ammar will be killed (taqtuluhu) by an army of transgressors”. This tradition appears in various forms, all encompassing grammatical variations of this key phrase, in numerous Sunni sources, including Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Tirmidhi, Mustadrak Hakim, Musnad Hanbal, Musnad Tayalisi, Mujam al-Saghir, Tabarani, Sunan al-Kubra Nasa’i, Sunan al-Kubra Bayhaqi, Fath al-Bari, Jami al-Saghir Suyuti, Kanz al-Ummal, Majma al-Zawa’id, Tabaqat al-Kubra, Khaza is Nasa’i, Isabah, Usd al-Ghabah, Isti’ab, Sirah ibn Hisham, Tarikh ibn Kathir, Tarikh Tabari, Ansab al-Ashraf, Ibn Abi al-Hadid, and numerous other Sunni sources. In fact, Ibn Hajar said, “The traditions stating that the Prophet (ص) said, ‘Ammar will be killed by an army of transgressors’, are mutawatir, and there is consensus that he was killed fighting on the side of Ali in Siffin.” Similarly, Ibn Abd al-Barr said, “The accounts of the Prophet (ص) saying, ‘Ammar will be killed by an army of transgressors’, are mutawatir and this is among the most sound of traditions.”

Note that the word “taqtuluhu” can refer both to fighting and killing, as words derived from the root “qatala” are used in both senses throughout the Qur’an. By the definition of fighting, it is clear that Aisha, Talha, and Zubayr were among the transgressors who fought Ammar in the Battle of Jamal, as was Uthman who beat him publicly and in private. In fact, Sunni traditions claim that Zubayr was distraught in the Battle of Jamal when he realized that Ammar was in the army of Ali (ع), presumably because of this tradition. Zubayr, therefore, must have interpreted the word to mean “fight”, as he had not killed Ammar. In any case, Uthman set a precedent for attacking this most holy of companions, and these beatings could have easily caused the death of Ammar.

Shi’ah Islam: Proofs from the Qur’an, Sunnah, and History p. 746-747

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