That the Commander of the Faithful—may His Might be exalted—stood as a preacher upon the pulpit of the Great Mosque of Kufa after His return from Siffin during the truce. Mu'awiya had breached the truce, and his raids had reached al-Anbar and the regions of Iraq. The Commander of the Faithful mentioned this in the sermon and called the people to mobilize, saying to them:

"Indeed, the duration of the truce has ended." Then Ibrahim ibn al-Hassan al-Azdi rose and stood facing the pulpit while the people were listening, and said to Him: "O Commander of the Faithful! There is no Messenger but that he has a Legatee (Wasi); the Messenger of Allah is the best of Messengers, and You are the best of Legatees. We have heard of the wonders manifested by Joshua son of Nun, the Legatee of Moses; Asaph ibn Barkhiya, the Legatee of Solomon; and Simon Peter (Sham’un al-Safa), the Legatee of Jesus—wonders by which they humbled the tyrants and established signs and proofs. Whatever they possessed belongs to You, and Allah has given You what He did not give them. What, then, shortens Your hand from [reaching] the Son of Hind (Mu'awiya) and diminishes Your power over him?"