Why would Muawiya choose to place written pages of the Quran on his soldiers spears?

In the aftermath of the murder of the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan in 656, the struggle for the caliphate waged between Ali ibn Abi Talib, who had the support of Iraqi Muslims, the people of Madina, and many new converts, and Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, who represented the Meccan tribal elite, came to a head in 657 at the Battle of Siffin, which took place on July 2628 on the banks of the Euphrates near Raqqa, Syria. Fearing defeat, Muawiya sought to sow dissent among Alis forces by calling for Muslim unity and evoking the authority and sanctity of the Quran, by ordering his troops to affix pages from it on the ends of the spears as they assembled on the battlefield. It was a success: Alis forces split, with the Kharijites refusing to fight, and sparking a second revolt against Ali. Ultimately a Kharijite would assassinate Ali with a blow from a poisoned sword on 29 January 661, when he was at prayer in the mosque at Kufa, Iraq. The Battle of Siffin is an early milestone in the Sunni-Shia schism.

This excerpt is taken from earliest, fully extant account of the battle, Waqat iffn, written by the eighth-century Shii historian Nasr b. Muzahim.

Specific response guidelines:

Why would Muawiya choose to place written pages of the Quran on his soldiers spears?
For the author, who are the good guys and who are the bad guys and how does he distinguish them?
What does the passage reveal about relationship of political authority and interpretation of the Quran in the early caliphate?
What does this passage tell us about the size and character of the early Islamic elite?
Is the fact that the historian is Shi’i significant?

General response guidelines:

Here is what counts as addressing a reading: In order to get full credit, you will need to either quote a passage, explicitly refer to a specific line/ paragraph, or discuss an argument or concept brought up in the readings. You may respond to as many or as few of the prompts provided, as long as you are able to address the minimum number of readings. When in doubt about a person, place, event, or term… Google it!

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