While strategising about how to defeat Muawiyah I's forces, ʿAlī gathered together a group of the Islamic ruling elite that included ʻAmmār, Hashim ibn Utbah, and Qays ibn Sa'd who, collectively, encouraged ʿAlī to wage jihad preemptively against whom they considered to be in the wrong. Malik Al-Ashtar also shared this opinion (albeit in a different incident).Dr. Mohammad Nurul Alam: "Before marching towards Muawiya, Imam Ali (A.S.) tried to settle matters peacefully by sending Jarir, chief of Bani Bajila and the governor of Hamdan, to Syria as an envoy. However, Jarir became so engrossed in the entertainment that Muawiya put his way, that he wasted his time in Syria. He finally returned three months later with the useless message that peace could only be negotiated if the murderers of Uthman were brought to justice. Malik al-Ashtar accused him of having wasted time in effeminate pleasures with Muawiya, who purposely kept him long enough to mature his plans of hostilities. Jarir left Kufa and joined Muawiya", Destruction & Peace, End of Saudi Monarchy with the Arrival of Hazrat Imam Mahdi (A) along with reemergence of Jesus Christ (Nabi Isa A.), retrieved on May 30, 2014 (requires subscription for access) Later in the battle, ʻAmmār's name was brought up during an attempt to negotiate a truce between ʿAlī, represented by Shabath ibn Rib'i, and Muʿāwiya. Shabath is reported to have asked Muʿāwiya, "Would it make you happy, O Muʿāwiya, if you were given power over ʻAmmār, to kill him?" Muʿāwiya's response was, "Why should I not? But, by God, if I were given power over Ibn Sumayya, I would not kill him in revenge for ʿUthmān [only] but for Natil the mawla of ʿUthmān". Shabath's response was defensive and protective of ʻAmmār. In the Battle at Siffin in Al-Sham, ʿAlī placed ʻAmmār in charge of the Kufan infantry, and on the third day of fighting he tries to inspire his forces to victory by reminding them of the impiety of Muʿāwiya and his troops. Eventually, ʻAmmār was martyred in the battle by the forces of Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān in 657.
