Nawf Bukāli described the outer appearance of Imām at the time of delivering his exciting sermon along with the way he arrayed the troops:
The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) delivered this sermon to us in Kufa while standing on a rock set up by Ja`da son of Hubayra al-Makhzumi. He was wearing a woolen garment, his sword-belt was made of palm tree filaments and so were the slippers he was wearing. The trace of prostration on his forehead was like the callus on the camel’s knees.
Nawf goes on to say that in the end of his speech, Imām (a.s.) shouted with a loud voice:
الجِهادَ، الجِهادَ، عِبادَ اللهِ... وَإنِّي مُعَسکِرٌ في یَومي هذَا؛ فَمَن أَرادَ الرَّواحَ إلَی اللهِ فَلیَخرُج.Jihād, Jihād (struggle, struggle), O servants of Allah! By Allah, I am preparing the army today. He who desires to proceed towards Allah, let him go forth.
Then, concerning the organization and arraying of the troops he reports:
The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) then allocated Husain (a.s.) over (a force of) ten thousand; Qays ibn Sa`d over ten thousand; Abu Ayyub al-Ansāri over ten thousand and others with different numbers. He was ready to return to Siffin, but it was before the Friday when Ibn Muljam carried out his fatal strike. As a result, the armies came back and we were left like sheep that had lost their shepherd, while wolves were snatching them away from all sides.¹
According to what was said, the painful utterances of Imām Ali (a.s.) and his frequent complaints about his companions were not due to his weakness, failure in leadership and managing people, rather instead of using the language of violence and sword for gaining authority over people, he used this language to motivate them.

retreat or left the society. Nor could it be said that during the final months of his government he lost the power of leadership and management of the society, and until his martyrdom he contented himself only with grieving and complaining about the people’s disobedience and lack of support and the weakness of the elite. Never!
Historical texts and abundant statements reporting about the code of conduct of Imām Ali (a.s.) show that, the most hard-working and diligent period of his (a.s.) government, was during the time of his loneliness. Never did despair overwhelm the matchless hero of the battlefields and the most sagacious figure of resistance in the onslaught of hardships and difficulties. All alone he made reforms, delivered great sermons, created enthusiasm and continued with the path he had delineated at the very outset of his government to the end of his life and never kept quiet or remained idle for even a moment.
In a society where a great part of the elite and influential people did not support Ali (a.s.); and the masses who followed them, in an atmosphere of misconception and ambiguity about fighting against the people of the Qibla and renowned and eminent personalities, turned to disobedience and lassitude, the soldiers were exhausted from fighting three severe battles without gaining any spoils, and at the time when Imām had lost the best of his companions, and when the frequent ambushes by the ignorant, wicked and inhumane troops of Mu`āwiya and their plundering had wearied the people, Imām nevertheless, stood firm. He bravely and persistently pursued the mobilization of people against Mu`āwiya’s iniquities and criminalities. In such surroundings, fraught with disappointment, lassitude, and horror, he controlled the people –without resorting to violence– and brought them again to the battlefront of war against Mu`āwiya. How much power in leadership, how much strength in management and charisma in leadership, Ali (a.s.) must have had to be able to stand up in such an environment and to mobilize the troops to such an extent…?
The last fervent and heroic sermon of Imām Ali (a.s.) delivered before re-dispatching the troops to Siffin attests to the above claim.