Malik al-Ashtar

While, according to Shias, he was one of the loyal companions of Ali ibn Abi Talib, cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

After listening to the complaints, Mu'awiya accused Kumayl and Malik of disuniting the religion and disobeying their leader, and exiled from Shaam to Homs.

[5][self-published source] Eventually, Malik al-Ashtar, Kumayl ibn Ziyad, and the delegation made it back to Kufa.

[5] After coming back to Kufa and failing to remove al-Waleed, the delegation, including Kumayl ibn Ziyad, was led by Malik al-Ashtar on a journey to Medina, the capital of the Muslim empire, to address the issue with Uthman.

[5] On their way to Medina, Malik al-Ashtar and the delegation stopped at Al-Rabadha to visit Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, whose health at the time was deteriorating.

Muhammad had told Abu Dharr al-Ghifari and some other companions that one of them would die in the desert, and a group of believers would attend his death.

However, all of the other men present had since passed away in their houses, suggesting that Abu Dharr al-Ghifari would be the one to die in the desert.

[citation needed] After the event of Al-Rabadha, Malik and the delegation continued on their long journey to Medina.

[6] As a result, they planned to launch an offensive against Ali in the year 656 AD under the claim that they wanted revenge for Uthman's killing.

[6] When Ali received news that a mutiny was going to occur, he formed an army to combat the rebel forces.

[3][6] As a firm and loyal supporter of Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Malik rallied up the Kufians with a powerful speech.

Malik and a large group of fighters then seized the palace to remove Abu Musa al-Ashary; however, he was actually at the mosque at the time.

Once Abu Musa al-Ashary left, Malik delivered another powerful speech (in the mosque) that captivated the hearts of the Kufains.

[6] On the day of the Battle of Camel, Ali put Malik al-Ashtar in charge of the right wing of his army, Ammar ibn Yasir in charge of the left wing, and gave the flag to his son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah.

[7] Both Malik and Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr carried out their assignments, thus ending the battle.

[6] Noticing that most of the soldiers were thirsty, Malik went to Ali, who subsequently wrote a letter to Muawiyah asking for water.

[2] Ali Ibn Abi Talib called Malik and asked him to lead his soldiers in an attack to gain possession of the Euphrates River.

As the battle continued, Malik al-Ashtar fought his way through the opposing army until he was two rows away from Mu'awiya's tent.

[6][7] However, Mu'awiya wanted to trick Ali's army to stop fighting and disunite them by creating confusion and ordered his soldiers to place the Quran on their spear.