From al-Hasan ibn Mubarak, from Bakr ibn Isa, who said: Talha and al-Zubayr came to Ali (AS) some days after they had pledged allegiance to him and said: O Commander of the Faithful, you know the severity of the cost of living in Medina and the great number of our dependents, and our stipend does not suffice us. He said: Then what do you want me to do? They said: Give us from this wealth enough to suffice us. He said: Ask the people; if they agree to give you something of their rights, I will do it. They said: We are not ones to ask that of the people, and they would not do it if we asked them. He said: Then I, by God, am all the more bound not to do it. So they departed from him. (al-Kafi'a, vol. 1, p. 14)
The narrator says: After Talha and al-Zubayr, together with the people, had pledged allegiance to Ali (AS) and some days had passed, the two came to Ali and said: Our dependents are many and our income small; we wish to ask that you give us something from the public treasury! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Gather the people and put this matter to them; if they consent that I take something from their rights and give it to you, I will do so. They said: We will not ask anything of the people, and even if we did, they would not give it! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Then all the more reason that I too should give you nothing; for the wealth belongs to the people. So they went their way and departed.
When news reached Aisha that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) had encamped at Dhu Qar, she wrote to Hafsa, daughter of Umar: To proceed: we have alighted at Basra, and Ali has alighted at Dhu Qar. May God crush his neck as an egg is crushed upon the rock! At Dhu Qar he is in the position of the sorrel horse: if he advances, he is slaughtered, and if he retreats, he is hamstrung. When the letter reached Hafsa she rejoiced at it, summoned the boys of Banu Taym and Banu Adi, gave her slave-girls tambourines, and ordered them to beat the tambourines and chant: What is the news, what is the news? Ali is like the sorrel horse: if he advances he is slaughtered, and if he retreats he is hamstrung. Word reached Umm Salama, may God be pleased with her, of the women's gathering for what they had gathered to do — reviling the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and rejoicing over the letter that had come to them from Aisha. She wept and said: Give me my clothes, that I may go out to them and denounce them. But Umm Kulthum, the daughter of the Commander of the Faithful (AS), said: I will go in your stead, for I am better known than you [in this matter]. So she put on her clothes, disguised and veiled herself, took her slave-girls along veiled, and came and entered among them as though she were one of the onlookers. When she saw the frivolity and folly they were engaged in, she lifted her veil and showed them her face, and then said to Hafsa: If you and your sister league together against the Commander of the Faithful (AS), you two leagued together before against his brother, the Messenger of God (PBUH), and God, the Mighty and Majestic, sent down concerning you what He sent down — and God stands behind your warring. Hafsa was crushed and showed shame, and said: They did this out of ignorance — and she dispersed them at once, and they left the place. (al-Kafi'a, vol. 1, p. 16)
When Aisha reached Basra and learned that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) had encamped at Dhu Qar, she wrote a letter to Hafsa, daughter of Umar, in Medina, to this effect: Basra has fallen into our hands, and Ali is at Dhu Qar. God will break Ali's neck as an egg is broken on hard stone. Ali is now like a hobbled camel: if he comes forward, he is slaughtered, and if he retreats, he is hamstrung. When the letter reached Hafsa she rejoiced, summoned the children of Banu Taym and Banu Adi, and gave tambourines to a number of them so that they might parade through the streets of Medina singing: "What is the news, what is the news? Ali is like the sorrel horse: if he advances he is slaughtered, and if he retreats he is hamstrung." When Umm Salama heard that they were reviling the Commander of the Faithful (AS), she grieved, and together with Umm Kulthum she put on disguising garments and set out and went to Hafsa's house; there she drew the veil from her face and rebuked Hafsa for this ugly deed. Hafsa was ashamed and disavowed it, saying: I did not set up this spectacle; these slave-girls did it of their own accord.
He (AS) said: By God, Talha and al-Zubayr both know that they are in the wrong; they are not ignorant of it. And many a learned man is slain by his own ignorance, while his knowledge, though with him, avails him nothing. (al-Kafi'a, vol. 1, p. 19)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS), when on the verge of the Battle of the Camel, said: By God, Talha and al-Zubayr know that they are wrongdoers; they are by no means ignorant. Many a learned man is slain by his ignorance, and his knowledge comes not to his aid.
Umar ibn Shimr, from Jabir, from Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ali (AS): The Commander of the Faithful confronted Talha and al-Zubayr on the day of the Camel and addressed them, saying in his speech to them: The appointed guardians [of knowledge] from the family of Muhammad know — and in another narration: and the companions of Aisha, daughter of Abu Bakr — and here she is, so ask her — that the people of the Camel were cursed upon the tongue of the Prophet (PBUH), "and he who forges a lie has already failed." Talha said to him: Glory be to God! You claim we are cursed, when the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Ten of my companions are in Paradise? The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: This is the hadith of Sa'id ibn Zayd ibn Nufayl, [put about] in the reign of Uthman. Name me the ten. He said: They named nine and withheld one. He said to them: And who is the tenth? They said: You. He said: God is greatest! As for you, you have testified for me that I am of the people of Paradise; but as for what you have claimed, I am among the deniers of it. By Him who split the seed and created the soul, the unlettered Prophet (PBUH) gave me his solemn word that in Hell there is a pit in which are six [of the first and six] of the last, and upon the mouth of that pit is a rock; when God Most High wishes to make Hell blaze against its people, He commands that rock and it is lifted. Among them — or with them — are some of those you have named. If it be otherwise, may God give you victory over me; and if not, may God give me victory over you two and slay you both for those of my Shia whom you have slain. (al-Kafi'a, vol. 1, p. 24)
Imam al-Baqir (AS) said: On the day of the Battle of the Camel, when the Commander of the Faithful (AS) came face to face with Talha and al-Zubayr, he said: The appointed guardians from the family of Muhammad know that the Prophet (PBUH) cursed "the people of the Camel." At the time it was not known what the Prophet meant! Aisha, who is with you, also heard this hadith — ask her. Talha said: Glory be to God! You count me accursed, when the Messenger of God declared ten persons to be people of Paradise, and I am one of them?! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: That hadith was transmitted by Sa'id ibn Zayd in the era of Uthman! But no matter; name those ten. Talha named nine and fell silent. Ali said: Who is the tenth? Talha said: You yourself! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: You yourself bear witness that I am of the people of Paradise, and then you count me an unbeliever and fight against me? Then he said: I heard from the Messenger of God (PBUH) that in Hell there is a pit in which nine of the first and nine of the last are imprisoned. Some of those you have named are people of that pit! If I lie, may God grant you victory over me; and if I speak the truth, may God grant me victory over you, and may I slay you in requital for the Shia of mine whom you have slain.
Khalid ibn Makhlad narrated from Ziyad ibn al-Mundhir, from Abu Ja'far, from his fathers (AS), who said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) passed by Talha as he lay slain and said: Sit him up. So he was sat up, and he said: Indeed, by God, you had companionship [with the Prophet], and you witnessed, heard, and saw; but Satan made you swerve and inclined you, and so brought you down into Hell. (al-Kafi'a, vol. 1, p. 25)
The narrator says: After the end of the Battle of the Camel, Ali (AS) came and stood over the corpse of Talha and said: Sit him up! They sat him up. He addressed him and said: You were a companion of the Messenger of God, and you understood the truth, and heard it, and saw it; but Satan led you astray, destroyed you, and consigned you to Hell!
It is narrated: He (AS) passed by Talha ibn Ubayd Allah and said: This is the breaker of my allegiance, the instigator of sedition in the community, who incited [people] against me and called for my killing and the killing of my family. Sit Talha ibn Ubayd Allah up! So he was sat up, and the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to him: O Talha, I have found what my Lord promised me to be true; have you found what your Lord promised you to be true? Then he said: Lay Talha down — and rode on. One of those with him said to him: O Commander of the Faithful, do you speak to Talha after his death? He said: Indeed, by God, he heard my words, just as the people of the pit heard the words of the Messenger of God (PBUH) on the day of Badr. And thus did he (AS) with Ka'b ibn Sur, when he passed by him slain, saying: This is the one who came out against us with the Qur'an hung about his neck, claiming to be the helper of his mother, calling the people to what is in it while he himself did not know what is in it. Then he sought an opening — "and every obstinate tyrant failed." Indeed, he prayed to God to kill me — and God killed him. (al-Kafi'a, vol. 1, p. 26)
The narrator says: After the Battle of the Camel, when the Commander of the Faithful (AS) reached the corpse of Talha, he said: This is the one who broke his allegiance to me, kindled a sedition in the community, mobilized everyone against me, and called for my killing. Sit him up! They sat Talha's body up. He addressed him and said: Talha! I have attained what my Lord promised me; have you too attained what your Lord promised you?! Then he said: Bury him — and moved away from there. Those around him said: Do you speak with a dead man?! He said: He hears now better than you do — just as the slain of Badr, to whom the Prophet (PBUH) spoke, heard well.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) did the same with Ka'b ibn Sur. He said: This is the one who came out against us with a Qur'an hung about his neck. He imagined he was helping his mother (Aisha). He called the people to the Qur'an, but he had not understood the Qur'an. He constantly called upon God, asking God to kill me — and in the end he himself was killed.
(We say: Ka'b ibn Sur ibn Bakr al-Azdi was one of the great figures among the Followers (tabi'un) and the pioneers of early Islam, whom Umar sent to Basra as judge, and Uthman likewise kept him in his post. In the Battle of the Camel he withdrew from events. It is said he took refuge in a chamber, sealed its door with clay, and left open only a small hole to receive water and food, and in this way kept aloof from the sedition. Talha and al-Zubayr came to visit him, but he refused to receive them. The two told Aisha that if Ka'b joined her, not a single man of the tribe of Azd would stay aside. So Aisha mounted her camel, came beside Ka'b's house, and asked leave to enter. Ka'b granted her leave. Aisha said to him: My son! I sent for you to help me; why have you delayed? Ka'b said: My mother! There is no need for me to enter into this sedition. Aisha said: My son, come with me and take the halter of my camel. And she began to weep, until Ka'b's heart softened and he gave a positive answer, hung the Qur'an about his neck, and left the house. In the Battle of the Camel he held the halter of Aisha's camel with the Qur'an about his neck, while the tribe of Azd surrounded the camel. Before the fighting began, Ka'b opened his Qur'an, came between the two armies, and set about giving counsel, calling them to peace. Suddenly the flame of battle blazed up, and an arrow from an unknown hand arrived and killed him. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) came and stood over Ka'b's corpse and said: Sit him up — and said to him: O Ka'b, I have found what my Lord promised me to be right and true; have you too found what your Lord promised you to be true?!)
From Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Nasr, from Umar ibn Sa'd: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) went in to Aisha in anger when she refused to depart, and said to her: O Shu'ayra', set out, or else I shall speak of what you know. She said: Very well, I shall set out. So he equipped her and sent her off, and with her forty women of Abd al-Qays — the hadith in its full length. (al-Kafi'a, vol. 1, p. 26)
The narrator says: After the Battle of the Camel, Aisha would not consent to leave Basra and return to the Hijaz. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) became angry, went to her himself, and said: O Shu'ayra'! Either you set out, or I shall say something you do not want said! On hearing this, Aisha at once said: Very well, I will set out. So Ali (AS) prepared an outfit for the journey and sent her to Medina accompanied by forty women of Abd al-Qays.
(We say: in another narration it stands that he said: "Return, or else I shall speak a word by which you will be severed unto God Most High and His Messenger." That is: set out for the Hijaz, or I shall utter a word by which you will be parted from God and His Messenger. It would seem that the Messenger of God (PBUH) had delegated to Ali, in the presence of his wives themselves, the power to dissolve their attribution to him after his passing.)
Amr ibn Shimr, from Jabir, from Abu Ja'far (AS): When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) drew near to Kufa, coming from Basra, the people went out with Qaraza ibn Ka'b to meet him, and they met him just short of the canal of al-Nadr ibn Ziyad. They approached him, congratulating him on the victory, while he was wiping the sweat from his brow. Qaraza ibn Ka'b said to him: Praise be to God, O Commander of the Faithful, who has exalted your friend and abased your enemy, and given you victory over the rebellious, wrongdoing people. Then Abd Allah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi said to him: Yes, by God — they are the rebellious, the wrongdoing, the unbelieving, the polytheists! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to him: May your mother be bereaved of you! How strong you are in falsehood, and how bold you are to say what you do not know! You have spoken falsely, O son of the black woman; the people are not as you say. Had they been polytheists, we would have taken captives and seized their wealth as spoil, and we would neither have intermarried with them nor inherited from them. (al-Kafi'a, vol. 1, p. 26)
The narrator says: After the Battle of the Camel, as the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was coming toward Kufa with his army, a number of the people of Kufa hastened out to welcome him. When they reached him, someone said by way of congratulation: Thanks be to God who dispatched to perdition our enemies, who were rebels, wrongdoers, unbelievers, and polytheists! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: May your mother mourn you! How eloquent you are in falsehood! Do not say what you do not know! In what way were our enemies at the Camel polytheists!
(We say: it stands in the narrations that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said of the people of the Camel: They were our brothers who wronged us; that is all!)