Zayd ibn Arqam said: After that I heard Ali (AS) in the Rahba adjuring the people by God: Whoever heard the Messenger of God (PBUH) say, 'Whoever's master I am, Ali is his master,' let him stand up. So sixteen men of those present stood up and bore witness to it. I was among those who concealed it, and so my sight was taken from me — and he used to relate this after he had gone blind. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 100)
The narrator says: Ali (AS) called upon the people in the Rahba (the central square of Kufa) for witnesses and said: Let whoever heard from the Messenger of God (PBUH) the words 'Whoever's master I am, Ali is his master' stand up and bear witness. Only sixteen men stood up and bore witness. I and many others, although we had ourselves heard such a thing from the Messenger of God (PBUH), were afraid and said nothing. Of those who concealed it, I was struck blind; and now, though my eye cannot see, as long as I live I shall keep proclaiming aloud what I heard.
He (AS) used to wear a coat of mail with a breast but no back. He was asked about this, and he said: If I turn my back to my enemy, then let him do with it what he will. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 112)
It is related that the coat of mail of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) had no back. They asked why it was so. He said: If I turn my back to the enemy and flee, then let him do with me whatever he wishes!
By another chain, from Karim, who said: I was present at the Battle of the Camel with A'isha, being a slave; the standard of A'isha was with my master, and I was before her litter, which was covered over with coats of mail. While we were thus, Ali (AS) came forward wearing two mantles, with a black turban, girded with his sword, until he halted before the litter and said: O A'isha, fear God and do not shed this blood today by your hand and on your account, for you have no part in these matters; you are a woman, so turn back. But she gave him no answer. He said: I remind you of God, and of the Qur'an which He sent down upon His Messenger in your house. Do you not know that the Messenger of God (may God's blessings be upon him and his family) made me the legatee over his household? By whose permission, then, have you come out? Return! But she was silent and did not answer him a word. So he adjured her by God to go back, and spoke to her and admonished her, but she would not speak to him; so he turned away, and the battle began. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 125)
The narrator says: At the Battle of the Camel I was in attendance upon A'isha's litter. We had armoured the litter with coats of mail. Before the fighting began, we saw from afar a single rider coming toward the litter. When he drew near, we saw that it was the Commander of the Faithful (AS). Ali (AS) was wearing a Yemeni mantle (the Yemeni burd was among the most splendid cloths of that age, woven in stripes and combining white, black, yellow and red), and he had put a black turban on his head, and in his hand was a sword drawn from its scabbard. When he came close, he addressed A'isha and said: A'isha! Fear God, and do not let all this blood be shed today by your hand and on your account. You have no business here. O woman! Turn back. A'isha was silent and said nothing. Ali (AS) went on: I remind you of God, and of the Qur'an that was sent down upon the Messenger of God in your house. Have you forgotten that the Messenger of God, at the time of his passing, appointed me legatee over his household? By whose permission, then, have you come out of your house? A'isha still did not say a word. So Ali (AS) returned to his army, and the Battle of the Camel began.
Ali ibn Amir, tracing it back to Abu Ma'shar, who said: I entered the Rahba, and there was Ali (AS) with wealth heaped out before him, saying: By Him who split the seed and created the soul, no servant dies loving me but that he and I shall come on the Day of Resurrection like these two — and he joined together the two index fingers of his hands — and I do not say like these two — and he joined the index finger and the middle finger of his right hand. And he said: I am the prince of the believers and their guardian, and this — and he pointed to the wealth — is the prince of the hypocrites and their goal. The believers take refuge in me, and the hypocrites take refuge in this. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 226)
The narrator says: One day, when I came into the main square of Kufa, I saw that the people had gathered and that a great quantity of wealth was heaped up in the middle of the square, with the Commander of the Faithful (AS) standing beside that mountain of gold and silver. Ali (AS) was saying: By the One Creator, whoever loves me from the bottom of his heart will be beside me in the hereafter, like this — and he pressed the index fingers of his two hands together and showed them to everyone; and he added: not like this — and he pressed together the index finger and the middle finger of his right hand and showed them to everyone. (That is: the rank of one who loves me is equal to mine, and his love brings him to my own rank.) Then he said: I am the prince of the believers and their guardian, and this gold and silver that you see is the prince of the hypocrites and their goal. The believers take refuge in me, and the hypocrites in wealth.
Alqama related from Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud, who said: We were sitting with the Messenger of God (may God's blessings be upon him and his family) when Ali (may God's blessings be upon him) passed by in haste. The Messenger of God (may God's blessings be upon him and his family) called him and said to him: Why do I see you hurrying, O Ali? He said: For a need of the People of the House, O Messenger of God. He said: Go, may God help you; you have never ceased to be a helper and a remover of distress. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 322)
Ibn Mas'ud says: We were sitting with the Prophet (PBUH) when Ali (AS) passed by quickly. The Messenger of God (PBUH) called out to him and said: Where are you going in such haste? Ali (AS) said: The household need something, O Messenger of God. The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Go; may God help you. Then he said: You are ever a helper and a remover of difficulties!
The ninefold praise of the prophet Daniel, which the Commander of the Faithful (AS) kept to after the salawat, and which is held to be a cause of increase in blessings and of the warding off of calamities. This praise occurs, with slight verbal differences, in Tafsir al-Qummi and in Thawab al-A'mal:
Praise be to God, who does not forget the one who remembers Him. Praise be to God, who does not disappoint the one who hopes in Him. Praise be to God, who answers the one who calls upon Him. Praise be to God, who suffices the one who relies upon Him. Praise be to God, who does not entrust to another the one who puts his trust in Him. Praise be to God, who repays goodness with goodness and patience with deliverance. Praise be to God, who removes our affliction and our distress. Praise be to God, who is our confidence when all our devices fail. Praise be to God, who is our hope when our opinion of our own deeds has grown ill.
Abu Salih, by his chain, from Musa ibn Uqba, who said: On the day of the Confederates, Amr ibn Abd Wudd al-Amiri came forward — and he was among the most valiant and daring of men. He spurred his horse and made it cross the trench, then began to call out: Is there any man to fight in single combat? No one answered him, until Ali ibn Abi Talib (may God's blessings be upon him) rose. The Messenger of God (may God's blessings be upon him and his family) said: O Ali, it is Amr ibn Abd Wudd. Ali said: I seek God's help against him, O Messenger of God. So the Messenger of God (may God's blessings be upon him and his family) gave him leave and handed him his sword Dhu al-Fiqar. And the Messenger of God (may God's blessings be upon him and his family) raised his hand and said: O God, protect him from before him and from behind him, from his right and from his left, from above him and from below him. And Ali (may God's blessings be upon him) went forth. Amr said: Who are you? He said: Ali ibn Abi Talib. He said: A noble match — but you are not one of the men I would fight. Ali (may God's blessings be upon him) said: O Amr, it has reached me concerning you that you vowed that no one would call you to two things without your granting him one of them. He said: Indeed! He said: Then I call you to God and to His Messenger and to Islam. He said: I have no inclination to that. He said: Then I call you to combat. He said: Yes, that is the easier of the two for me. So they fought with their swords for a while, and the dust rose up. And the Messenger of God (may God's blessings be upon him and his family) prayed much for Ali (may God's blessings be upon him), and God, Mighty and Majestic, gave him the victory over Amr ibn Abd Wudd, and he killed him. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 322)
The narrator says: One day in the Battle of the Trench, Amr ibn Abd Wudd, the bravest champion of the Arabs, spurred his horse, crossed the trench and, on the side where the Muslims were, called for single combat. Time passed and no one answered him, until Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) rose. The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: O Ali, that is Amr ibn Abd Wudd! Ali (AS) said: I seek God's help for the fight against him. So the Messenger of God (PBUH) gave Ali leave to fight, gave him his own sword Dhu al-Fiqar, raised his hands to heaven and prayed: O God, guard Ali from behind and before, from left and right, from above and below. When Ali went toward Amr, Amr asked: Who are you? He answered: Ali, the son of Abu Talib! He said: You are no match for me, and besides, your father was a friend of mine! I will not fight you. Ali (AS) said: I have heard that you made a vow that whenever two things are asked of you, you will grant at least one of them! Amr said: Yes. Ali (AS) said: The first thing I ask of you is that you believe in God and His Messenger! Amr said: And the second? Ali (AS) said: That you accept combat with me! Amr said: This second is the easier for me — and he drew his sword and rushed at Ali. After a time of striking and parrying, Ali (AS) at last brought down Amr ibn Abd Wudd, and all the Muslims cried out the takbir. It has been said that there was none older or more experienced than he in war.
I say: Amr ibn Abd Wudd was of the clan of Banu Amir of the tribe of Quraysh, and the wealthiest and most valiant of them. He was called Faris Yalyal, that is, one who is a match for a thousand horsemen. On one of the days of the Battle of the Confederates, he, together with Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl, Hubayra ibn Abi Wahb, Nawfal ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Mughira and Dirar ibn al-Khattab, crossed with difficulty at the narrowest point of the trench that the Muslims had dug. Amr ibn Abd Wudd kept calling for a challenger and taunting the Muslims, saying: My voice has grown hoarse from shouting for combat among you. He also cried out, in reproach and mockery of the Muslims: Where is that paradise of yours, into which you suppose that whoever among you is slain enters? According to the sources, Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) rose each time Amr called for combat, in order to fight him, but at the Prophet's wish he sat down again. Finally, on the third occasion, the Prophet gave him leave to fight, bound his own turban upon his head and gave him his sword, that he might fight Amr. It is related that when Ali (AS) had moved off, the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: 'The whole of faith has gone forth against the whole of unbelief!' Ali (AS) first invited Amr ibn Abd Wudd to testify to the oneness of God and to the prophethood; and when he refused, he asked him to return by the same road he had come; and when he did not accept that either, he told him to dismount from his horse and fight, and he agreed. According to this account, Amr had vowed to accept one of any three things asked of him, and it was the third that he accepted from Ali (AS). It is striking that one of the proposals of the Master of the God-fearing was that he abandon the combat and return to the polytheists, which Amr did not accept. According to Ibn Abi al-Hadid's report, Amr hamstrung his own horse, or else struck a wound to the horse's face so that it fled. According to the report of Jabir ibn Abd Allah al-Ansari, the fight between Ali ibn Abi Talib and Amr ibn Abd Wudd grew fierce, until the cry of Ali's takbir rose up and the Muslims understood that Amr ibn Abd Wudd had been killed. It seems that the details of the fight were as follows: first Amr aimed a sword-blow at the Imam's head; Ali (AS) raised his shield and turned the blow aside. Even so, Amr's sword split the shield and wounded the front of Ali's head. In some reports it is said that the mark of that wound remained with the Imam (AS) to the end of his life. After what Amr did — by which he in effect lost his sword — Ali (AS) gave him no respite and brought Dhu al-Fiqar down upon Amr's neck, and by this blow Amr fell to the ground, though he was still alive. In the narration of Hudhayfa it is said that the Imam (AS) struck his sword at one of Amr's legs and cut the leg to the ground. Amr picked up his severed leg and hurled it at Ali (AS), but a few minutes later he collapsed. In any case, Ali (AS) at last sat upon Amr's chest to finish him. At that moment Amr said with vexation: You have seated yourself upon a great man! And he asked Ali (AS) not to strip the garments from his body after killing him; and the Imam (AS) answered him: Your request will be granted. Jabir ibn Abd Allah likened the killing of Amr at the hands of Ali (AS) to the killing of Goliath at the hands of David (AS). Just as the killing of Goliath led to the defeat of his army, so the killing of Amr played a decisive role in the defeat of the polytheists at the Battle of the Confederates. In some reports it is said that after killing Amr, Imam Ali (AS) laid his head before the Messenger of God (PBUH). At this Abu Bakr and Umar rose and kissed Ali's face, and the Prophet (PBUH), with joy evident in his countenance, said: This is victory! Or he said: This is the first victory; the might and awe of the polytheists is gone, and from this day on they will no longer fight us, but it is we who will fight them. And so it came to pass. The killing of Amr opened a new chapter for Islam, and for this reason the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: 'The blow of Ali on the day of the Trench is better than the worship of the two weighty species.' That is: the blow by which Ali took the life of Amr ibn Abd Wudd at the Trench is superior to the worship of jinn and mankind in all of history.
Ibn Shahrashub says in al-Manaqib that Amr, in the course of the combat — or at the moment when Ali (AS) was about to sever his head from his body — spat in his face; and Ali (AS), in order to avoid killing Amr out of anger and the satisfaction of a personal grudge, left him for a few moments, and only after his anger had subsided did he kill Amr for the sake of God.
Jalal al-Din Rumi and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, recalling this story, stress that whoever intends to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong must first have overcome selfishness in all its dimensions.
He said: I strike with the sword only for the sake of the Truth; I am the servant of God, not the agent of my body. I am the lion of God, not the lion of passion; my deeds bear witness to my religion. I have lifted my own baggage out of the road; all that is other than God I have counted as nothing. I am a shadow whose master is the sun; I am His chamberlain, not a veil upon Him. Blood does not cover over the jewel of my blade; when shall the wind carry off my cloud? I am not straw; I am a mountain of forbearance, patience and justice; when does a raging wind snatch a mountain away? I am a mountain, and my very being is founded upon Him; and if I become like straw, my wind is His wind. My inclination stirs by nothing but His wind; my captain is nothing but love of the One. Anger is king over kings, yet a slave to us; I have bound anger itself beneath the bridle. I am drowned in light, though my roof has fallen in; I have become a garden, though I am Bu Turab (father of dust). When a taint entered into the holy fighting, I saw that it was fitting to hide the sword away. My withholding is for God, my giving is for God alone; I am wholly God's — I am no one else's. There is no way to say more than this to created beings; the sea has no room within a streamlet.
One of the points reported about this combat in the early sources, among them Tafsir al-Qummi, is that in the midst of the fight Ali (AS) said to Amr: O Amr! You who are among the champions of the Arabs, why have you taken the help of others in fighting me?! Amr looked behind him, and Ali (AS) used that opportunity, cut off his leg and then killed him. In some historical reports it is said, in explanation of this, that besides Amr several others had crossed the trench with their horses along with him — among them Hubayra, Dirar, Ikrima, and apparently Amr's son. For this reason Ali (AS) did not resort to a lie even in order to distract Amr; rather, he said something true in order to distract him. Allama Majlisi, in explaining the report of Tafsir al-Qummi, has related that after Amr was killed, the Messenger of God (PBUH) asked Ali (AS) whether he had used a stratagem, and the Imam (AS) confirmed it and held that war is deception.
It is related from Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, that he addressed the people two days after they had pledged allegiance to him, with the sermon in which he alluded to matters by the similitudes he mentioned. It was this: he, upon whom be blessing and peace, praised God, Mighty and Majestic, and extolled Him as He deserves, and invoked blessings upon the Prophet (PBUH) and his family, then said: O people, I counsel you to fear God, for therein is deliverance, and it is the best thing with which servants counsel one another, and the closest of them to God's good pleasure, and the best of gains with God. By the fear of God the righteous attained good, gained excellence, and came to dwell in Paradise. Then he (AS) said: Whoever works for other than God, God consigns him to the one for whom he worked; and whoever works for God in obedience to Him, God Himself takes charge of his affair. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 369)
The narrator says: Two days after the people pledged allegiance to the Commander of the Faithful (AS), he mounted the pulpit and delivered an outstanding sermon. In this sermon he first praised and extolled God at length and invoked blessings upon the Prophet (PBUH), and then said: O people, I counsel you to fear God, for deliverance lies in the fear of God, and the best counsel for a human being is counsel to fear God, and what brings us to God's good pleasure and nearness is the fear of God and nothing else. The righteous attained good through observing the fear of God, gained excellence over others, and reached Paradise. Then he said: Whoever works for other than God, God leaves him to that very one; and whoever works for God and according to God's pleasure, God Himself takes charge of his affairs.
Muhammad ibn Sallam, with his chain of transmission, from Abu Rafi': When authority passed to Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, he began with the treasury: he gathered everything that was in it and ordered that it be divided among the Muslims equally, in the same manner in which the Messenger of God (PBUH) used to divide whatever of their fay' came to him and whose division among them was obligatory. But afterwards those who had held authority had accustomed them to favouritism and to preferring some of them over others. So Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, ordered the man he had appointed to distribute it to make the people equal in it, and to set aside from it one share like the share of any one of them — and they did so. Then he went out to his estate, and Talha and Zubayr came to him while he was standing in the sun supervising a hired labourer working for him on his land. They greeted him and said: Would you care to move with us into the shade? He did so. They said: We went to those whom you ordered to divide this wealth among the people, and each of us had his son with him, and they gave us the same as they gave our sons and the rest of the people; yet those who went before us used to give us preference on account of our precedence in Islam, our kinship and our striving in battle. So if you see fit to order for us what others used to order for us, then do so. Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, said to them: Are you two earlier in Islam, or am I? They said: Rather you. He said: Are you two nearer to the Messenger of God (PBUH), or am I? They said: Rather you. He said: Is your striving in battle greater, or mine? They said: Your striving. He said: Then by God, I have ordered nothing to be set aside for me from this wealth beyond what this hired labourer receives of it — and he pointed with his hand to the labourer working before him — in accordance with what I witnessed, and what you two witnessed, of the Messenger of God (PBUH) dividing in just this way; and his sunna has a better right to be followed than that one who opposed it after him should be followed. They were silent for a while, then said: We did not come for this; it is only something that we happened to mention. Rather, we intend the umra, and we have come to you to ask your permission to set out for it. Now Aisha had left Mecca and had not yet reached Medina, and they wished to meet her because of what was between them and her. So Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, said to them: Go — but it is not the umra that you intend; I have been informed of your affair and of what will come from you. So they set out and met Aisha, and their affair turned out as it did. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 374)
The narrator says: The first thing that Ali (AS) did after taking hold of the caliphate was to divide all the wealth of the treasury equally among the Muslims, as the Messenger of God (PBUH) had done, and to turn away from the custom which the previous caliphs had established, whereby some were preferred over others and more was given to their own relatives. So he ordered the distributor to give everyone an equal share, and to set aside for him too a share like that of the rest. Ali (AS) gave this order and immediately went out of Medina toward one of his gardens. Ali (AS) was standing in the sun in his garden, supervising the work of a labourer whom he had hired, when Talha and Zubayr arrived. They stood for a little while with Ali (AS) under the sun and then said: Will you not come with us into the shade so that we may talk? Ali (AS) came with them into the shade. The two said: Today, when we had gone to take our share of the treasury, they gave us a share like our sons' and like the rest of the Muslims! Whereas the previous caliphs used to take into account our precedence in religion, our kinship with them, and the efforts we had made in struggle for Islam, and would give us a larger share. We thought that perhaps you too intend such a practice but have forgotten to instruct the distributor. Ali (AS) said: Is my precedence in religion greater, or yours? They said: Yours. He said: Is my kinship to the Messenger of God (PBUH) closer, or yours? They said: Of course yours. He said: Have I wielded the sword for Islam more, or you? They said: You. He said: Yet I have told the distributor to set aside one share for me too. My share from the treasury is equal to that of this labourer who works in my garden. This was the practice of the Messenger of God (PBUH). Is this way better, or the innovation that the caliphs after him introduced?! Talha and Zubayr said nothing and were silent for some moments, then they opened their mouths and said: We did not come to you to say this; it just came to our minds here! What we wanted to say is that we intend to perform the umra; if you permit, we will leave Medina. Ali (AS) said to them: Go! But you do not intend the umra, and I know your real intention. (This was at a time when Aisha had left Mecca after the umra but had not returned to Medina, and Talha and Zubayr wanted to join her and set in motion the sedition of the Camel.)
From Abu Bashir al-Aidi, who said: I was in Medina when Uthman was killed. The Muhajirun and the Ansar gathered, and among them were Talha and Zubayr, and they came to Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, and said: O Abu al-Hasan, come, that we may pledge allegiance to you! He said: I have no desire for your affair; whomever you choose, put him forward. They said: We choose none but you! He refused them, and they came to him about this repeatedly after the killing of Uthman; then at last they came and said: The people cannot be set right except by a ruler, and this matter has dragged on, and we choose none but you, and we cannot do without you; and if you do not accept it, we fear that a rent will be torn in Islam, if the people remain with no one to watch over them — so God, God, in this matter!! Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, said: I will say a word to you; if you accept it from me, I will accept from you. They said: Say what you wish, for it is accepted from you. So he came and mounted the pulpit, praised God and extolled Him and invoked blessings upon the Prophet (PBUH) and his family. Then he said: To proceed: your coming to me again and again about what you want from me has been long, and I disliked your affair; but you would have nothing from me except what you wanted of me. I know what has gone before among you. If I take charge of your affair on the basis of justice among you and equality between you, and that though the keys of your treasury be with me I shall have from it only the like of what any one of you has, and no one else shall have other than that — then I will take charge of your affair. They said: Yes. He said: Are you content with that? They said: We are content. He said: O God, bear witness against them. Then he, the blessings of God be upon him, came down and took their allegiance on that basis. Abu Bashir said: On that day I was beside the pulpit of the Messenger of God (PBUH) and heard what he said. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 376)
The narrator says: When Uthman was killed, I was in Medina. All the Ansar and the Muhajirun, among them Talha and Zubayr, turned toward Ali (AS) and said to him: Stretch out your hand so that we may pledge allegiance to you for the caliphate! Ali (AS) said to them: I have no inclination for the caliphate and rule; choose someone yourselves, and I too will help him in managing affairs. They said: Our choice is you alone! Ali (AS) again refused. For several days they kept coming and going to Ali's house. They said it was not right for the religion to remain without a ruler. They said this situation had dragged on and was not in the interest of the Muslims. They said that if he did not accept the caliphate, harm might befall Islam. They said it was dangerous if time passed and there was no one over the people. In the end Ali (AS) said: I set a condition for you; if you accept it, I too will accept the caliphate. They said: We accept. He said: Let everyone gather, so that I may state my condition upon the pulpit of the Messenger of God (PBUH). So Ali (AS) sat on the pulpit in the mosque of the Messenger of God (PBUH), and I, beside the pulpit, heard with my own two ears that after praising and extolling God and invoking blessings upon the Messenger, he said: O people, for some time you have been insistently offering me the caliphate, and I do not love ruling over you. In my rule you are seeking something you will not find, and tomorrow you will regret it; I know the record of you people. If I become the guardian of your affair, I will act with justice and will treat you all equally. If the key of your treasury is in my hand, my own share is equal to the share of the rest. Everyone cried out: Excellent! Ali (AS) said: Are you truly content with this? They cried out: Of course, we are content. So Ali (AS) raised his head to the sky and said: O God, be Yourself the witness! Then he came down from the pulpit and took their allegiance.
Zayd ibn Suhan came to Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, and said: O Commander of the Faithful, I saw as though a hand looked out at me from the sky, and I see myself as none other than one who will be slain; so give me leave to go against this woman — meaning Aisha. Now the hand of this Zayd had been cut off on the day of Jalula in the struggle for God. He said: Go, O Abu Salman, rightly guided, without farewell. So he set off with a band of men. When those around Aisha saw him, they said: This is Zayd ibn Suhan. Aisha said: O Abu Salman, do you march against me and intend to fight me?? He said: I have marched in that which God commanded me, and you have marched in that which God forbade you. God commanded me to strive and to fight in His way, and He commanded you to remain settled in your house. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 379)
The narrator says: At the beginning of the Battle of the Camel, Zayd ibn Suhan came into the presence of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and said: Last night I dreamt that a hand appeared in the sky and beckoned to me. I understood that it was the very hand I had already given in the way of God, and that it was announcing my martyrdom. Now I ask leave to charge, before all the others, against the army of this woman (Aisha). The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Go, Abu Salman, for I am pleased with you! So Zayd, with a group of men, threw himself into the heart of the army of the Camel, and when he came near Aisha's litter, Aisha asked: Who is it? They said: Zayd ibn Suhan! Aisha cried out: Abu Salman, do you mean to kill me? I did not expect this of you! Zayd cried out: I am walking a road that is God's good pleasure; but what of you? You have set foot on a road that God forbade you. My duty is to strive in battle, which I am doing, and your duty was to sit in your house — and you have acted contrary to it!
We say: Zayd ibn Suhan was the elder brother of Sa'sa'a ibn Suhan and one of the intimate companions of the Commander of the Faithful (AS); he was martyred at the Battle of the Camel in the year 36 AH. He was seriously present in the various political, military and social arenas of his age, and used to call the people to support the Commander of the Faithful (AS).
Zayd had earlier been among the Companions of the Messenger of God (PBUH), and the Messenger of God (PBUH) had foretold concerning him that one of the limbs of his body would enter Paradise before him. This prediction came true, and Zayd lost one of his hands at the battle of Jalula or of Qadisiyya. It is reported that when his hand was cut off and the blood was flowing from him, he was laughing. Someone said to him that this was no place and no state for laughter! Zayd said: I expect a reward for this; why should I destroy it with cries of pain?!
Zayd was among the closest friends of Salman al-Farisi and narrated hadith from him. According to the historians, Zayd had a particular devotion and attachment to Salman, and there was a pact of brotherhood between them. As a blessing upon this bond, he chose for himself the kunya Abu Salman. According to the report of al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, in one of the battles of early Islam in which Salman al-Farisi was commander of the army, he made Zayd the prayer leader of the army; and when Salman was governor of Mada'in, on Fridays after the prayer he would command him, saying: 'O Zayd, rise and admonish the people and deliver a sermon for them.'
Zayd was among the ascetics of his time. News of the intensity of Zayd's continual fasting and night-long vigils reached Salman; he sent for him and ordered that food be brought, and said to Zayd: 'Eat of the food.' Zayd said: 'I am fasting.' Salman said: la yanqus dinuka, inna sharra al-sayri al-haqhaqa — that is, breaking this fast will do no harm to your religiousness; what is harmful is excess. And he said: Your eye, your body and your wife all have a claim upon you, and this way of yours is not sound. In worship one must observe balance and moderation, so that the soul does not grow weary of worship. In the Sufi sources Zayd is counted among the abdal. During the uprising against Uthman, when the revolutionaries called the people to rise against him and had designated four regions for the people to join and assemble, Zayd had charge of the direction and leadership of one of these assemblies and was among those who protested against the caliph; he would say to Uthman: 'You have deviated, and for that reason your community too has deviated.' And because he had an eloquent and outspoken tongue in stating the truth, he incurred Uthman's wrath, and Uthman could not tolerate his presence in Kufa, so he banished Zayd, together with his brother Sa'sa'a — both of them at that time being among the well-known Qur'an reciters of Kufa — once to Syria and once to Kufa, and then from Kufa to Hims. According to history: when he saw that he was being driven from place to place, he divorced his wife and set out for Syria. Before the beginning of the Battle of the Camel, the people of Kufa were divided as to whether to support Ali (AS) or Aisha, or to abandon them both. Zayd was among those who called the people to pledge allegiance to Ali (AS). For that reason Aisha sent him a letter summoning him to stay at home and abandon his support of Ali (AS), and even asked that he call the people to abandon Ali (AS). But Zayd paid no heed to the letter and continued to support Ali (AS). At the Battle of the Camel Zayd was the commander of the tribe of Abd al-Qays and their standard-bearer. According to some sources, the standard of the whole army at the Battle of the Camel was in Zayd's hand until he was martyred. Zayd was martyred in the middle of the battle during single combat with a man named Amr ibn Sabra. According to the reports, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) wept at his martyrdom. When Zayd fell from his horse to the ground, the Imam (AS) hastened to him, sat at his side and said: rahimaka Allah ya Zayd, kunta khafif al-mu'una, azim al-ma'una — O Zayd, may God have mercy on you, for you were of little cost and of great help. He said that he had supported Ali (AS) with full awareness, and he cited the event of Ghadir. According to some sources, Aisha too was distressed at hearing the news of Zayd's martyrdom and asked for mercy upon him. Zayd left instructions that before burial the blood should not be wiped from his face and his garment should not be removed, so that he might be raised up on the Day of Resurrection in these very clothes. Ibn Abbas says: I asked Sa'sa'a about Zayd, and he described his brother thus and said: He was foremost in chivalry, noble in brotherhood, and always honoured. He had a heart empty of rancour, and he was not swayed by the temptations of the age. Day and night he was occupied with worship, and satiety and hunger appeared alike in his eyes. In worldly affairs he did not push himself forward. He kept silent for the most part. He was watchful over his own speech and spoke with caution. Wicked men kept away from him, and free and virtuous men found intimacy with him.
According to what is recorded in history, Zayd ibn Suhan was also seriously engaged in serving the people, and strove greatly in this. One day in Basra he saw men who were constantly at worship and had withdrawn their hands from the world. Seeing their condition, Zayd built a house for them and then advised them to work to meet the needs of their own lives and of their children. He would continually look in on them and keep himself informed of their circumstances.
Love of martyrdom was among the outstanding qualities of Zayd ibn Suhan. Having already sent his hand ahead to Paradise, he was always eager for martyrdom. The story of his dream before the Camel has also been told in this way: that he said to the Commander of the Faithful (AS) that he had seen in a dream that his hand came down from the sky to the earth and, while beckoning to him, said: Come to me.
The tomb of Zayd ibn Suhan, known as the shrine of Zayd al-Khayr, is situated south of Basra, on the left of the road from Basra to Faw, in the village of Kut al-Zayn on the bank of the Arvand (Shatt al-Arab) river, and now has an elaborate dome and shrine complex. This shrine can also be seen from this side of the Arvand, from within Iranian territory, in the Shalamcheh region.
Among the enduring good works and memorials of Zayd ibn Suhan in Kufa is a small mosque built by him to the southwest of the Sahla Mosque, which was his place of worship. In the course of time this mosque has been repaired and rebuilt many times, and it is now in good order. According to some reports from the Shi'i Imams, supplication in this mosque is answered.
From Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, that he said: When the people confronted one another on the day of the Camel, Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, came out until he stood between the two ranks, then raised his hand toward the sky and said: O best of those to whom hearts flee and who is called upon by tongues, O You who test with beautiful trials, O You of abundant giving, judge between us and our people with truth, for You are the best of judges. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 379)
The narrator says: On the day of the Battle of the Camel, before the fighting began, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) stood between the two armies and raised his hands toward the sky and prayed, saying: O best of those to whom hearts flee and whom tongues call upon! O You who test Your servants well! O You whose reward is abundant! Judge between us and our people with truth, for You are the best of rulers.
From Musa ibn Talha ibn Ubayd Allah — who was among those taken captive on the day of the Camel and imprisoned in Basra along with the other captives — who said: I was in Ali's prison in Basra when I heard the crier calling out: Where is Musa ibn Talha ibn Ubayd Allah?? I said 'To God we belong and to Him we return', and the people of the prison said the same!! They said: He is going to kill you!! So he brought me out to him. When I stood before him, he said to me: O Musa. I said: At your service, O Commander of the Faithful! He said: Say 'I ask forgiveness of God and I turn to Him in repentance' three times. So I said: I ask forgiveness of God and I turn to Him in repentance, three times. Then he said to those of his men who were with me: Release him! And he said to me: Go wherever you wish, and whatever you find of your own weapons or mounts in our camp, take it; and fear God in what you face hereafter in your affairs, and sit in your house. So I thanked him and departed. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 389)
Musa the son of Talha relates: After the Battle of the Camel, I too was among those taken captive. They took us all to prison in Basra. We were in the prison when we heard a crier call out: Let Musa the son of Talha show himself! When I heard this I said: To God we belong and to Him we return; he means to kill me! The other prisoners too uttered the words of return to God. They brought me into the presence of Ali (AS). He said: Musa! I said: At your service, O Commander of the Faithful! He said: Say three times: astaghfiru Llaha wa atubu ilayh (I ask forgiveness of God and turn to Him in repentance). I said it three times. He said to the guards: Release him! And he said to me too: Go wherever you wish! And if you find your weapon and your mount among our troops, take them and carry them away with you. Then he said: From now on be mindful of God and sit in your house! I thanked him and left his presence.
From Hisham ibn Musahiq, from his father, who said: I was present on the day of the Camel with Aisha. When the people were routed, I found myself together with a number of men of Quraysh, among them Marwan ibn al-Hakam. He said to some of those present: By God, we have wronged this man and broken our allegiance to him without any cause on his part; then he prevailed over us, and after the Messenger of God (PBUH) we have never seen a man of nobler conduct or better pardon than he. So come, let us go in to him and apologize to him for what we have done. He said: So we went in to him, and when the one who was to speak for us went to speak, he said: Be silent — I will spare you the trouble. I am only a man like you: if I say what is true, confirm me; and if I say otherwise, refute it to me. I adjure you by God: do you know that when the Messenger of God (PBUH) passed away I had the greatest claim to him and to the people after him? We said: By God, yes. He said: Yet you pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr and turned away from me; then Abu Bakr assigned it to Umar after him (while you knew that I had the greatest claim to the Messenger of God (PBUH) and to the people after him). We said: By God, yes. He said: Until, when Umar was killed, he made me the sixth of six; then you found fault with Uthman and killed him; then you came to me while I was sitting in my house — you came to me, I neither calling you nor being compelled, and you pledged allegiance to me as you had pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr and Umar and Uthman; then you broke your allegiance to me. They said: O Commander of the Faithful, be like the righteous servant when he said: 'No reproach shall be upon you this day; may God forgive you, and He is the most merciful of the merciful' [Qur'an 12:92]. He said: Among you is one who, though he pledge allegiance to me with his hand, will break it against me with his backside. He said: And we understood that he meant Marwan. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 392)
The narrator says: After we were defeated by Ali (AS) at the Battle of the Camel, we were all taken captive. Among us were several men of Quraysh, including Marwan ibn al-Hakam. Marwan began to speak and said to the rest: We did wrong to this man, that is, to Ali, and broke our allegiance to him without cause. Now he has prevailed over us. Yet, after the Prophet, I know of no one more forgiving than he. Let us go to see him and apologize to him. So we asked to meet Ali (AS). At the meeting with him, after our spokesman had spoken, Ali (AS) said: Enough; be silent! Silence fell over the gathering. Then he said: I too am a man like you; if I speak correctly, confirm me, and if not, point out the flaw in what I say. Then he said: I ask you by God, was it not so that when the Messenger of God (PBUH) passed away, no one was closer to him than I? They said: Yes. He said: Yet you pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr! And you left me aside, and after Abu Bakr you gathered around Umar! And after Umar you placed me in the ranks of the men of the consultative council; and when Uthman's affair fell into ruin, you took action against him, and after you had killed him you came insistently to me, so that I might accept rule over you although I was unwilling. I was sitting in my house and wanted nothing from you. But you yourselves came and insisted. Then, without cause, you broke your allegiance to me and drew swords against me. When his words reached this point, we cried out: O Commander of the Faithful! Be like the righteous servant, and forgive us! Be like Joseph, who said to his brothers: No reproach is upon you; God forgives you, for He is the most merciful of the merciful. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Very well; but among you there is one who, though he pledges allegiance to me with his hand, breaks that allegiance with his backside! We knew that he meant Marwan.
From Abu Rafi': that the Messenger of God (PBUH) said to Ali, the blessings of God be upon him: There will be war between you and Aisha. He said: O Messenger of God, I, of all your companions? He said: Yes. He said: Then I am the most wretched of them. He said: No, rather the most excellent of them; but when that happens, return her to her place of safety. Abu Rafi' said: So the Commander of the Faithful, the blessings of God be upon him, did that: he sent her back with women of the people of Iraq, until she came to her place of safety. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 395)
The narrator says: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: One day the Messenger of God (PBUH) said to me: After me, a war will break out between you and Aisha. I asked: Between me and her?! The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Yes. I said: In that case shall I be the worst of your companions? The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: No; you are the best of them; but when this happens, return Aisha safe and sound to her house. The narrator says: For this reason, after the Battle of the Camel, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) sent Aisha back to Medina with women of the people of Iraq.
Abbad ibn Ya'qub, with his chain of transmission, from Abu Ariyya, who said: We were sitting with Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, on the day of the Camel, and the people of Basra had taken their stand and were showering us with arrows, but he did not give permission to fight. A group came to him complaining of their wounds. He said: Who will excuse me concerning these people, who order me to fight when the angels have not yet come down? He said: We remained seated thus until a sweet wind blew from behind us, and I felt its coolness between my shoulder blades beneath my coat of mail. When it had ceased, he moved and said: God is greatest. Then he rose, put on his coat of mail, marched toward the enemy and ordered the people to fight. And I never saw a victory swifter than that one. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 397)
The narrator says: On the day of the Battle of the Camel we were sitting with Ali (AS). The archers of the enemy army kept shooting arrows, and a number of our men had been wounded, but the Commander of the Faithful (AS) would not give permission to fight. Some of the commanders came to Ali (AS) and complained: We are taking wounded; when do you intend to begin the fight?! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Who will take responsibility for the fighting? You tell me to begin the battle, but the angels have not yet come down to help! The narrator says: A little later, while we were sitting, a fragrant wind blew, and we felt its coolness even through our coats of mail. When the wind died down, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) rose, said the takbir, put on his coat of mail, went toward the army and gave the order for battle. In all my life I never saw a victory swifter than that of the Camel!
Muhammad ibn Dawud, with his chain of transmission, from Ali, the blessings of God be upon him: that he was asked about those slain at the Camel — were they polytheists? He said: No; rather they had fled from polytheism. It was said: Then were they hypocrites? He said: No, because the hypocrites do not remember God save a little! It was said: Then what were they? He said: Our brethren who wronged us and rebelled against us, and we were granted victory over them. He, the blessings of God be upon him, thus reported that they were among the people of rebellion (baghy) whom God, Mighty and Majestic, commanded to be fought and killed until they return to the command of God, Glorified be He; and it was on that basis that he dealt with them. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 399)
The narrator says: Ali (AS) was asked about those slain in the Battle of the Camel, whether they were counted as polytheists. He said: No; they had escaped from polytheism. They asked: Then were they hypocrites? He said: No; God has described the hypocrites as those who do not remember God except a little (and they do not remember God save a little). They asked: Then what were they? He said: Our brothers in religion, who wronged us, and God gave us victory over them. The Messenger of God (PBUH) had told me that I would face the people of rebellion, whom God has commanded to be fought. Fight them until they return to the command of God. ('And if two parties of the believers fight, make peace between them; but if one of them rebels against the other, then fight the one that rebels until it returns to the command of God.' [Qur'an 49:9])
It is said that when Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, had finished with the war against the people of the Camel, he intended to dismiss Mu'awiya from Syria. Mu'awiya secretly sent someone to ask him to confirm him in his governorship, but he refused him that. And some of those who wished him well advised him (peace be upon him) — and it is said that Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas was among those who gave him that advice — (that he should write him a document of appointment, so that once he had called the people to him and taken their allegiance for him, he might then dismiss him). But Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, said: That is indeed the expedient opinion of the moment; but as for what is between me and God, Mighty and Majestic, I find no excuse for myself in that: 'And I would not take those who lead astray as supporters' [Qur'an 18:51]. As for Mu'awiya and Amr ibn al-As, they followed the path of the people of the Camel in professing to rise up to avenge the blood of Uthman: they took a shirt, stained it with blood, raised it on a spear and went about with it among a company whom they sent through the regions of Syria, saying: This is the blood of your caliph, slain unjustly, so rise up to avenge his blood. Great numbers gathered around Mu'awiya on that account; yet in all this Mu'awiya claimed nothing more than that he was Uthman's governor over Syria, and on that basis he was called 'the commander' (al-amir) — until the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib, the blessings of God be upon him, was killed, whereupon he named himself Commander of the Faithful. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 405)
The author of Sharh al-Akhbar says: When Ali (AS) had finished with the Battle of the Camel, he intended to dismiss Mu'awiya from the governorship of Syria. A number of people, out of goodwill, proposed to him: For now, keep Mu'awiya in place so that he may take the allegiance of the people of Syria for you; then dismiss him. But the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: That is a worldly opinion, and I will not give office to Mu'awiya, who leads astray, as God has said: 'And I would not take those who lead astray as supporters' [Qur'an 18:51]. On the other side, in Syria, Mu'awiya and Amr ibn al-As joined forces and took a worn shirt, smeared it with blood, raised it upon a standard and carried it from city to city in Syria, saying: This is the shirt of your murdered caliph; do you not wish to take vengeance for him?! By this trick a great number gathered around Mu'awiya. Mu'awiya presented himself as Uthman's governor and the avenger of his blood, with the title amir, until Ali (AS) was martyred. After that he stole the title Commander of the Faithful and placed it upon himself.
Abu Nu'aym, with his chain of transmission, from Yahya ibn Mutarrif, who said: Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, passed by us on the day of Siffin while we were standing beneath our banners. He said: Whose banners are these? We said: The banners of Rabi'a, O Commander of the Faithful. He said: Rather, they are the banners of God. May God preserve their people and make their feet firm. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 3)
The narrator says: Ali (AS) passed by us while we were resting beneath our own banners. He said: Whose banner is this? We said: The banner of the tribe of Rabi'a, O Commander of the Faithful. He said: It is the banner of God! May God preserve its people and make their feet firm.
Amr ibn Abi Jundab said: We were sitting with our chief Sa'id ibn Qays at Siffin when the Commander of the Faithful came, leaning on a spear-staff, while the two ranks could still make each other out after the darkness had closed in. Sa'id said to him: O Commander of the Faithful. He said: Yes. He said: Glory be to God! Do you not fear that someone may assassinate you [while you are near your enemy]? He said: No; for there is no one who does not have with him guardians from God, lest a stone strike him, or he fall from a mountain, or tumble into a well, or a beast attack him — until, when the decreed term comes, they leave him to it. And indeed the appointed term is a well-fortified shield. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 5)
The narrator says: We were sitting with our chief Sa'id ibn Qays at Siffin when the Commander of the Faithful (AS) came, having in his hand only a staff whose head was an axe-blade. Night had fallen, the air was dark, and Siffin was very unsafe at night. We said: O Commander of the Faithful, do you not fear that they may assassinate you, when these surroundings are full of your enemies? He said: No; there is no one but that guardians from God are always with him, such that they do not let a stone fall on his head, or him be thrown from a mountain, or tumble into a well, or an animal attack him — unless the appointed term arrives. At that moment those guardians leave him alone with the affliction. The appointed term is itself like a protecting shield.
Al-Asbagh ibn Nubata said: Ali, peace be upon him, said on the day of Siffin: Where are the troops of death? Ninety-nine men rose. Ali, peace be upon him, said: This is not the full number that was promised to me. Then a man rose who was wearing a woollen cloak. Ali, peace be upon him, said to him: Who are you? He said: I am Uways al-Qarani. Ali, peace be upon him, said: God is greatest — and they advanced to the fighting. And Uways was the first to be slain. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 12)
Asbagh ibn Nubata relates that one day at Siffin the Commander of the Faithful (AS) called out: Where are the death-defying ones? Ninety-nine men rose. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: This is not the whole of what has been granted to me! At that moment one more man rose, wearing a woollen cloak. Ali (AS) asked: Who are you? He said: Uways al-Qarani. Ali (AS) said the takbir, and those hundred men set out for the field. The first person to be martyred was Uways.
We say: Abu Amr Uways ibn Amir al-Qarani, known as Uways al-Qarani, was a renowned Successor (tabi'i) and one of the companions of the Commander of the Faithful (AS). Among the Sufis, Uways is known for asceticism and piety and is counted among the eight ascetics (al-thamaniya).
In the time of the Prophet (PBUH) he came to Medina to visit him, but did not succeed in meeting him; in the time of the Commander of the Faithful (AS), however, he was among those who pledged allegiance to him, and he was martyred at the Battle of Siffin. A shrine attributed to him now stands in Raqqa in Syria.
According to some reports, in the time of the second caliph Uways came to Medina with a delegation from Yemen, and by the signs which the Prophet (PBUH) had given concerning Uways, Umar recognized him. Uways then chose Kufa as his place of residence.
Uways has been reckoned among the earliest examples of asceticism and piety among the Muslims, and later attained a lofty rank among the Sufis.
All those who saw Uways described him as living in poverty, wandering and obscurity even while he was famous, and said that he had no suitable clothing — and this itself was one of the causes of his seclusion. In some reports it is said that he wore a garment of wool (suf). In the anecdotes, wise sayings about the worthlessness of this world and the nearness of death are generally attributed to Uways.
In Sufi literature there are extensive allusions to the states of Uways. The hadith attributed to the Prophet (PBUH), in which he said 'I sense the fragrance of the All-Merciful from the direction of Yemen', is famous, and is taken as a reference to Uways. According to one report, Uways, though very far from the Messenger of God (PBUH), was aware of his states. Particular interpretations have also been offered of the fact that Uways never met the Prophet. Uways has been named as the first of the 'wise madmen' (uqala al-majanin). His seclusion and solitude, and his unveilings and spiritual tastes in these states, without having personally known a 'master' on the path of wayfaring, have greatly attracted the Sufis — so much so that this became the cause of the appearance of a particular Sufi path called the 'Uwaysiyya', whose distinguishing feature is wayfaring in solitude and without a guide. Haydar Amuli placed the name of Uways beside the special companions of the Prophet, such as Salman, Abu Dharr, Ammar and the People of the Bench (ahl al-suffa), distinguished them from the later generations of Sufis, and called them 'the disciples of the infallible Imams' (talamidhat li'l-a'immat al-ma'sumin).
From Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah al-Kinani — one of the people of Medina, an ally of the Banu Umayya — who said: Mu'awiya performed the pilgrimage and came to Medina, and sat in the mosque in a circle in which were companions of the Prophet (PBUH) and his family, among them Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. He said: And you, O Sa'd, are the one who did not distinguish our truth from the falsehood of others, so as to be with us or against us. Sa'd said: By God, when I saw that the darkness had covered the earth, I said to my camel: Move on! And when it grew light, I went forward. Mu'awiya said to him: I have read what is between the two covers, and I have not heard in it 'Move on'. Sa'd said: Well then, since you refuse — I heard the Messenger of God (PBUH) and his family say to Ali, peace be upon him: You are with the truth and the truth is with you. Mu'awiya said to him: Now, by God, you are the most blameworthy of men in my eyes; by God, had I heard this from the Messenger of God, I would have remained a servant of Ali until I died. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 66)
The narrator says: When Mu'awiya had become the undisputed caliph, he performed the pilgrimage. Then he came to Medina. In the Mosque of the Prophet he met with the Companions of the Messenger of God (PBUH). When his eye fell on Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, he said: Sa'd! When are you going to acknowledge that we are in the right and our enemies in the wrong?! Sa'd, who in the conflicts between Mu'awiya and Ali (AS) had held himself aloof from both Ali (AS) and Mu'awiya, said: When I saw that darkness had covered the earth, I urged on my camel and set out for the solitude of the desert and withdrew from everyone! Mu'awiya said: This deed of yours has no witness from the Qur'an! Sa'd said: Now that you will not be satisfied, know that I heard the Messenger of God (PBUH) say to Ali: The truth is always with you, and you are with the truth! Mu'awiya said: That is enough to show your baseness; you had heard such a thing and yet abandoned the support of Ali?!
It is related from Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, that he tested the followers of Mu'awiya and his own followers before setting out against Mu'awiya. He sent a man from Kufa to Hims, where Mu'awiya then was, and said to the man: Mount your riding beast and travel; and when you enter Hims, do not turn aside to anything, and do not change your clothes; make for the congregational mosque, make your mount kneel and tether it at its door, and enter the mosque just as you are. The people will ask you where you have come from; say: From Kufa. Then they will ask you about my affair; say: I left him resolved to make war on you, having finished with most of what he needs for that, and I think he must have set out right behind me. Then watch what they do, and come back to me with the news. The man did that. When the people of the mosque heard his words they plunged into the matter, and the people were in an uproar, and the news reached Mu'awiya. He came to the mosque and mounted the pulpit, praised God and extolled Him and invoked blessings upon the Prophet (PBUH) and his family, then said: O people, what has spread among you has reached me, and news has reached you of Ali's coming against you with the people of Iraq to make war on you. So what do you say and what will you do about this? They fell silent, as though birds were perched upon their heads. Then a man of the chiefs of Himyar rose and said: O commander, yours is the speech and ours is the doing. (Infi'al is a Himyarite usage: they put nun in place of lam.) He said: I hold that you should march out tomorrow with the blessing of God. Then he came down, and they made themselves ready to march out. The man returned to Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, and told him the news. So he ordered the call to be made among the people, 'To the gathering prayer!', and he went out to the congregational mosque, where the people had already assembled. He mounted the pulpit, praised God and extolled Him and invoked blessings upon the Prophet (PBUH) and his family, and said: O people, it has reached me that Mu'awiya has marched out of Hims with the people of Syria and those who are with him, intending to fight you. So what do you say and what will you do about this? A man stood and said: The matter should be thus. Another said: No, the right view is thus. Another stood and said something else, until a number of them had risen and the talk became a confused clamour. So Ali, the blessings of God be upon him, came down, saying: To God we belong and to Him we return — by God, the son of the liver-eater has prevailed. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 89)
The narrator says: Before setting out toward Syria, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) decided to put Mu'awiya and the people of Syria to the test. So he sent a man to Hims, where Mu'awiya was residing at that time. He said to him: You will go to Hims and do nothing at all except that, in these very clothes of the people of Iraq, you will ask for the congregational mosque; and when you reach it you will tie your horse at the door of the mosque and enter. The people will ask you where you have come from. You will say: From Kufa. They will ask: What is the news there? You will say: They have resolved to make war on you and are coming toward you. I think that after I left Kufa they too set out from Kufa behind me. That man did so, and this rumour spread through Hims and reached the ears of Mu'awiya. Mu'awiya came to the mosque and mounted the pulpit and said: O people, what has spread among you has reached me: Ali with the army of Iraq has resolved to come against you. Now what is your opinion? All fell silent, and silence filled the mosque. A Himyarite chief rose and said: What do you mean, what is our opinion?! You are the commander; give the order and we will carry it out. Mu'awiya said: My order is that tomorrow we put on our battle dress and, with the help of God, march out against them. All cried out and confirmed Mu'awiya's view, and the next day a great army was ready to move toward Iraq. The Imam's messenger returned to Kufa and informed him of what he had seen. Ali (AS) mounted the pulpit and, while all the people were gathered, said: News has reached me that the army of Syria has been equipped and is coming toward you; what is your opinion? One man rose and said something; another rose and contradicted his words; and a third had yet another opinion. When Ali (AS) saw this, he came down from the pulpit and said: To God we belong and to Him we return; by God, the son of Hind the liver-eater is the victor in this war.
There came the report of Aqil ibn Abi Talib, which is this: that he came to Ali, peace be upon him, asking him to give him something. Ali, peace be upon him, said to him: Stay with me until my own stipend comes out, and I will give you. He said: Have you nothing besides this? He said: No. So he joined Mu'awiya. When he came to him, Mu'awiya made much of him, was delighted at his arrival, gave him lavishly and honoured his lodging. Then he gathered the notables among those who were with him, and sat and mentioned to them the coming of Aqil, and said: What do you think of a man who found no good in his own brother, so that he parted from him and preferred us to him? Then he summoned him; and when he entered, he welcomed him, drew him near, turned to him, jested with him and said: O Abu Yazid, who is better for you, I or Ali? Aqil said to him: You are better for us than Ali, but Ali is better for himself than you are for yourself. Mu'awiya laughed — wishing by his laughter to conceal from those present what Aqil had said — and passed over it in silence. Then Aqil began to look at those in Mu'awiya's assembly and to laugh. Mu'awiya said to him: What makes you laugh, O Abu Yazid? He said: By God, I laughed because I used to be with Ali, and I would look at those who sat with him and see none but the Muhajirun, the Ansar, the men of Badr, the people of the Pledge of Ridwan and the best of the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH); and I have looked over those in this assembly of yours and see none but the 'freed ones' (al-tulaqa) as my companions and the remnants of the Confederates as yours. Now Aqil was among those taken captive on the day of Badr, and among those released by the ransom which al-Abbas paid for him along with himself. So Mu'awiya said to him: And are you not one of the freed ones, O Abu Yazid? He said: Yes, by God — but I returned to the truth, while these men with you went out of it. He said: Then why did you come to us? He said: Seeking the world. Mu'awiya wished to cut short his words, so he turned to the people of Syria and said: O people of Syria, have you heard the word of God, Mighty and Majestic: 'Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab' [Qur'an 111:1]? They said: Yes. He said: Abu Lahab was the uncle of this old man who is speaking — meaning Aqil — and he laughed, and they laughed. Aqil said to them: And have you heard the word of God, Mighty and Majestic: 'and his wife, the carrier of firewood' [Qur'an 111:4]? She is the aunt of your commander Mu'awiya; she is the daughter of Harb ibn Umayya, the wife of my uncle Abu Lahab, and the two of them are together in the Fire. So consider which of them is the better: the rider or the ridden? When Mu'awiya saw his reply, he said: If you have come to us, O Abu Yazid, only for the sake of the world, we have granted you of it what was apportioned to you, and we will give you more — now rejoin your brother, for we have had enough of you. Aqil said: By God, I left religion behind with him and turned toward your world, and I have gained nothing of his religion, nor have I obtained from your world any recompense for it; and much giving from you and little are alike in my eyes, and all of it is little in my eyes beside what I left of Ali. And he went back to Ali, peace be upon him. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 100)
The narrator said: Aqil, the brother of Ali (AS), came to him in Kufa and asked for a grant. Ali (AS) said: I will give you out of what is my own personal property. After receiving the grant, Aqil said: Is this all?! He broke with Ali in anger and went off to Mu'awiya. Mu'awiya honoured him and arranged a gathering so that the notables of Syria might see Aqil, the brother of Ali (AS), joining him. At that gathering Mu'awiya said: Look at a man whose own brother was of no use to him, until he was forced to abandon him and come over to us. Then he turned to Aqil and said: Aqil! Was I better for you, or Ali? Aqil said: For me, you were better than Ali; but Ali, in every respect, is better than you! Mu'awiya burst out laughing so as to neutralize the sting of Aqil's words. Everyone laughed along with Mu'awiya. Aqil laughed too. Mu'awiya said: And what are you laughing at, Aqil?! Aqil said: I laugh because when I was with Ali and in his assembly, I would look and see the assembly filled with the Emigrants and the Helpers, the veterans of Badr, the people of the Pledge of Ridwan, and the great Companions of the Prophet (PBUH); but when I look at your assembly, they are all either freedmen like myself, or men who, like you, came out to fight the Prophet at the Battle of the Confederates. (Aqil himself was among those who had come out to fight the Prophet at Badr, was taken captive, and was afterwards set free by the Prophet.) Mu'awiya said: So you yourself are one of the freedmen! Aqil said: Yes. But after I was freed, I truly embraced Islam. Mu'awiya said: Then why have you come to us now? Aqil said: For the world! Mu'awiya, flustered, cut Aqil short and said: O people of Syria, the verse "Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab" was revealed concerning this man's uncle! Aqil then addressed the assembly and said: And "the carrier of firewood," who is the wife of Abu Lahab, is likewise the aunt of your commander Mu'awiya! She too is in the Fire along with Abu Lahab! Mu'awiya turned to Aqil and said: Aqil! If you have come to us for the world, I have already given to you in the past and I shall increase it in the future. Now go back to your brother Ali, for the barbs and taunts you have aimed at us are enough for us. Aqil said: I left my religion behind with Ali and came to you for the world. Now I have neither any share in Ali's religion, nor will your world, however much of it there may be, fill the void it has left! Then he departed from Mu'awiya and never returned.
Ali, God's blessings be upon him, used to say: Had I sought the way of cunning — meaning in a matter such as this — Mu'awiya would not have been more cunning than I. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 106)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) used to say: If I wished to resort to guile, I would be craftier than Mu'awiya.
Ali, God's blessings be upon him, was asked: Who are the people of the community (jama'a), and who are the people of innovation (bid'a)? He said: As for the people of the community, they are I and whoever follows me, even if they be few; and as for the people of innovation, they are those who oppose the command of God, Mighty and Majestic, and His Book and His Messenger, and who act according to their own opinions and their own whims in His religion. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 125)
Ali (AS) was asked: What is meant by the "community" that the Prophet enjoined upon us? He said: The people of the community are I and my followers, even if they be few. They asked: Who are the people of innovation? He said: Those who act not according to the Book of God and the practice of His Messenger, but according to their own opinion and caprice.
From al-Zuhri and from Muhammad ibn Ishaq, both of whom said: The settlement between Ali (AS) and Mu'awiya read: In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate. This is what Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, and Mu'awiya have agreed upon. Mu'awiya said: Had I acknowledged that you are the Commander of the Faithful, I would not have fought you; and were it not that you are older than I, I would not have placed you first. So write: This is what Ali ibn Abi Talib and Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan have agreed upon — and drop the mention of "Commander of the Faithful." Ali (AS) refused to drop it for a part of the day, and then he allowed it to be dropped. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 134)
The narrator said: When the text of the truce agreement between the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and Mu'awiya was being written down, they had written: In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate. This is an agreement between Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, and Mu'awiya. Mu'awiya objected and said: If I regarded you as the Commander of the Faithful, I would not be fighting you. And the reason I have let your name come first is only that you are older than I. Write: Ali son of Abu Talib and Mu'awiya son of Abu Sufyan, and strike out the words "Commander of the Faithful"! At first Ali (AS) refused, but after a few hours had passed he consented to the title being erased.
Isma'il ibn Aban, with his chain of transmission, from Ali, God's blessings be upon him: When he looked at the banners of Mu'awiya on the day of Siffin, he said: These are the banners of Abu Sufyan under which he fought the Messenger of God (PBUH). Then Ali (AS) said: By God, these people did not embrace Islam; they merely submitted, and concealed their unbelief until they found helpers for it. They have returned to their enmity toward us — except that they have not abandoned the ritual prayer. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 155)
The narrator said: On the day of Siffin, when Ali (AS) saw the banners of Mu'awiya's army, he said: These banners are the very banners of Abu Sufyan under which he fought the Messenger of God (PBUH). Then he said: By God, these people did not embrace Islam; they only submitted. They concealed their unbelief until they could find supporters and return to their enmity toward us. The only difference between them and their former selves is that they now perform the prayer.
Ali (AS) heard a man cursing the people of Syria and said: Woe to you, do not curse them; rather curse Mu'awiya and Amr ibn al-As and their partisans. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 165)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS), hearing someone curse the people of Syria, said: Do not curse the people of Syria; curse Mu'awiya and Amr ibn al-As and their supporters!
From Uthman ibn al-Mughira, who said: When the month of Ramadan arrived in which Ali, God's blessings be upon him, was struck down, he would break his fast one night with al-Hasan and one night with al-Husayn (AS), taking no more than three morsels. They would speak to him about this, and he would say: My sons, these are but a few nights; the decree of God Most High is coming, and I prefer to meet it with an empty stomach. And he was killed that very month. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 291)
The narrator said: The month of Ramadan came in which Ali (AS) was struck down and martyred. Ali (AS) was the guest of al-Hasan (AS) one night and of al-Husayn (AS) the next, alternating between them. On no night did he break his fast with more than three morsels. They would say: Why do you not eat? He would say: I shall be your guest only a few nights more! My departure is near, and I would rather meet death with an empty stomach. The narrator said: At dawn a few nights later, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was struck down.
From Abu Yahya, who said: Ali (AS) said: This shall surely be dyed from this. We said: By God, no one shall do that but that we will wipe out his clan. He said: Stop! That would be manifest transgression; it is only a life for a life. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 293)
The narrator said: One day the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: It has been so decreed that soon the blood of my head will dye my beard. We were distressed and said: By God, we shall kill the entire tribe of anyone who lays a hand on you! He said: Never! Such an act would certainly be transgression. God has said: one life for one life!
Sa'id, with his chain of transmission, from Ali (AS), that he said: I fell ill with an illness that overwhelmed me. So I said: O God, if my appointed term has come, then grant me rest; and if it is deferred, then be gentle with me; and if this is a trial, then grant me patience. And behold, the Messenger of God (PBUH) heard what I was saying. He said: What was it you said, O Ali? So I repeated to him what I had said. He said: O God, grant him well-being and heal him. [Then he said: Rise. And I rose.] He said: And I never suffered from that pain again. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 302)
The narrator said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: One day I fell so ill that I said: O God, if my appointed term has come, then relieve me swiftly; and if not, then come to my aid; and if this illness is a test, then grant me patience! The Prophet (PBUH), hearing my supplication, said: What sort of prayer was that?! I repeated the prayer for the Prophet (PBUH). He said: O God, grant Ali well-being and healing! After that I never again complained of pain.
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said: We performed the pilgrimage with Umar. When he entered upon the circumambulation, he faced the Black Stone and kissed it. Then he said: I know full well that you neither harm nor benefit, but I saw the Messenger of God (PBUH) kiss you, so I kissed you. Ali (AS) said to him: Do not say that. For the Messenger of God (PBUH) never performed an act, nor established a practice, save by the command of God, Mighty and Majestic — an act that points to a wisdom and conveys a meaning. Indeed it does harm and benefit, and on the Day of Resurrection it will bear witness for whoever comes to it in fulfilment of his covenant. Umar said: I seek refuge in God from living among a people in whose midst there is no Abu al-Hasan. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 317)
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said: We performed the pilgrimage with Umar. When he reached the Black Stone, he touched and kissed it, but said: I know that you are nothing but a stone, that you bring no benefit and cause no harm to anyone! I kiss you only because I saw the Messenger of God (PBUH) kissing you. The Commander of the Faithful (AS), who was present, said: Do not say such a thing. If the Messenger of God (PBUH) did something and established it as a practice, it was by God's command, founded upon a wisdom, and it had an inner meaning. The Black Stone brings benefit to some and harm to others, and on the Day of Resurrection it will testify as to who kept faith with God's covenant, came to the pilgrimage, and touched it. Umar said: God forbid the day when we should be without Abu al-Hasan!
From Abu Rafi', who said: I was with Ali (AS) in Kufa as he was walking near the house of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, and a crowd was following him until they made his heels bleed. He turned to them and said: O God, give me rest from them; may God separate me from you. O God, replace them for me with better than them, and replace me for them with worse than me. He said: And it was no more than that same day before he was killed, God's blessings be upon him. (Sharh al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 429)
The narrator said: We were passing through a district of Kufa with Ali (AS). A group set off behind us, and their numbers kept swelling. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) looked at them and said: O God, deliver me from these people! Set a separation between me and them! Grant me better than these, and set over them one worse than me! The narrator said: The very next day the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was struck down and killed.