Battle of Jamal : its real face

We already discussed about intension of aisha[ra] before battle of jamal: here & one of the nice article about relationship between Ahlebayt(ra) and Ayesha(ra) is here.

& the authentic wordings of Ali[ra] for peoples of jamal: here

Let me first i advise our brothers to watch this video from sheikh dimashqiah, answering shia students:

Lets first start with status of muhamamd bin abu bakr in this fitnah:

First of all Muhamad ibn abi Bakr was against ‘Uthman (ra) because the rebels have convinced him of this, he did not hate ‘Uthman (ra) but he thought that ‘Uthman (ra) was not fit for leadership and should step down, when the rebels debated ‘Uthman (ra) they were defeated and their arguments were destroyed and on top of all of this ‘Uthman (ra) gave them everything they wanted, they chose Muhammad ibn abi Bakr as an Ameer on Egypt and he accepted. When this was over the rebels went back to Egypt and Kufa and most of them were happy with this decision except for the likes of Ibn Jabala and Ibn Saba and the other trouble makers, so they forged a letter and it had the seal of ‘Uthman on it and sent it with a messenger to the rebels who were on their way to Egypt, the rebels caught the messenger and they were shocked that ‘Uthman (ra) ordered to kill all their leaders (not just ibn abu Bakr) thus the Rebels accompanied by Ibn Abu Bakr returned to Madinah to continue what they started, they wanted to remove ‘Uthman (ra) and wouldn’t settle for anything less, some also planned to kill him.

When the rebels returned they also found their allies who were going to al-Kufa had returned and suspiciously enough they also knew that ‘Uthman ordered the killing of their leaders, this is why ‘Ali (ra) tells them in the Hadith

كيف علمتم يا أهل الكوفة ويا أهل البصرة بما لقي أهل مصر، وقد سرتم مراحل ثم طويتم نحونا

“If the rebels of Egypt caught the messenger then how come the rebels of Kufa knew about this and returned at the same time? by Allah this matter has been planned carefully.”

Status of Ali[ra] towards killer of uthman[ra]:

وروى الإمام أحمد بسنده عن محمد بن الحنفية قال : أبلغ علياً أن عائشة تلعن قتلة عثمان في المربد . قال : فرفع يديه حتى بلغ بهما وجهه فقال : وأنا ألعن قتله عثمان لعنهم الله في السهل والجبل قال مرتين أو ثلاثاً
موضع قرب البصرة بينهما نحو ثلاثة أميال ويعرف بمربد البصرة وهو من أشهر محالها . انظر معجم البلدان (5/98) فضائل الصحابة (1/455) حديث (733) وقال محققة : إسناده صحيح ، والرياض النضرة (3/70)

Imam Ahmad narrated with its Isnad from Muhammad Ibn al Hanafiyah RA: Ali was told that Aisha is cursing the killers of Uthman in al Marbad(location near al-Basrah) So he lifted his hands until they reached his face and said: “And I curse the killers of Uthman, may Allah curse them in the valleys and the mountains” he said it two or three times.

source: Fada’el al Sahabah 1/455 #733 and the Muhaqqiq of the book said SAHIH, also in al Riyadh al Nadirah fi Manaqib al ‘Asharah 3/70.

Status of Abdullah ibn saba in fitnah:

The first element which is ignored by the ignorant is the Jewish element and let me mention a verse here to clarify how Allah described this element:

You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be]the Jews and those who associate others with Allah [Quran 5:82]

‘Abdullah ibn Saba was spreading his poison since the days of ‘Uthman (ra) and his followers called the Sabains took part in the Fitnah between the Muslims and this is mentioned in a huge amount of Ahadith through countless chains and some are Sahih in both Sunni and Shia books.

The blame is not only directed to Ibn Saba but also many ofthe tribes and tribal leaders and foreign nations who had a grudge against Islam and against the Caliphs and their Ameers in the various provinces and these people were of huge numbers and they were integrated into the Islamic state almost seamlessly.

The first man who was exposed to this heat was Ameer al-Mumineen ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan (ra) and he was one of the kindest and most peaceful leaders this nation has ever had, he refused to fight the rebels and feared that he’d be the first to shed blood in the Nation of Muhammad SAWS and as a result he ended up brutally murdered in his own house in Madinah (Something which drove his cousin Mu’awiyah crazy as he had already asked for permission to send a gigantic army to defend but was refused by ‘Uthman).

In our days we’ve witnessed two small groups of writers, the first group denies the existence of Ibn Saba completely and they’ve been affected by the Orientalists and the modern Shia writers decided to ride this train and hide the existence of the man because it suits their desires and protects their Madhab, the other group are closer to conspiracy theorists andthey will blame almost everything that happened during the Fitnah on the jew Ibn Saba.

Both views are ignored by the respectable Muslim scholars and researchers for obvious reasons.

This jew who decided to split the rows of the Muslims did so by spreading false propaganda and poisonous notions which were sugar coated by ideas such as “The love of Ahlul-bayt” and he did gather quite a good number of supporters by misguiding the naïve and ignorant Ghulat until they started claiming that they saw ‘Ali (ra) in the clouds and other such ridiculous ideas, of course ‘Ali (ra) became quite irritated with these people when they spread rumors that he had secret divine knowledge and we can see what he was going through when we read Ahadith such as these:

SahihBukhari – Volume 1, Book 3, Number 111:

Narrated Ash-Sha’bi: Abu Juhaifa said, “I asked Ali, ‘Have you got any book (which has been revealed to the Prophet apart from the Qur’an)?’ ‘Ali replied, ‘No, except Allah’s Book or the power of understanding which has been bestowed (by Allah) upon a Muslim or what is (written) in this sheet of paper (withme).’ Abu Juhaifa said, “I asked, ‘What is (written) in this sheet of paper?’ Ali replied, it deals with The Diyya (compensation (blood money) paid by the killer to the relatives of the victim), the ransom for the releasing of the captives from the hands of the enemies, and the law that no Muslim should be killed in Qisas (equality in punishment) for the killing of (a disbeliever).

Sahih Muslim- Book #009, Hadith #3601:

Ibrahim al-Taimi reported on the authority of his father: ‘ali b. Abu Talib (Allah be pleased with him) addressed us and said: He who thinks that we (the members of the Prophet’s family) read anything else besides the Book of Allah and this Sahifa (and he said that Sahifa was tied to the scabbard of the sword) tells a lie. (This Sahifa) contains (problems)pertaining to the ages of the camels and (the recompense) of the injuries, andit also records the words of the Prophet (may peace be upon him): Medina is a sacred territory from ‘Ayr to Thaur (it is most probably Uhud). He who innovates(an act or practice) or gives protection to an innovator, there is a curse of Allah and that of His angels and that of the whole humanity upon him. Allah will not accept from him (as a recompense) any obligatory act or supererogatory act, and the responsibility of the Muslims is a joint responsibility; even the lowest in rank can undertake the responsibility (on behalf of others), and he who claims anyone else as his father besides his own father or makes one his ally other than the one (who freed him), there is a curse of Allah. that of His angels and that of the whole mankind upon him. Allah will not accept the obligatory act of the supererogatery act (as a recompense) from him.

Finally ‘Ali (ra) got fed up and he started burning the Sabains alive and according to the narrations Ibn Saba was either killed or expelled to al-Madaen in yemen.

In brief, society was unstable, lies and rumors were being spread, the Caliph was murdered in his house, and during this turbulent period‘Ali (ra) finally accepted to become the Caliph after the Muslims insisted on him, let’s provide a sample Hadith to show in what state he received it:

وروى الحاكم بإسناده عن قيس بن عبادقال : سمعت علياً رضي الله عنه الله عنه يوم الجمل يقول : اللهم إني أبرأ إليك من دمعثمان ولقد طاش عقلي يوم قتل عثمان ، وأنكرت نفسي وجاءوني للبيعة ، فقلت والله إنيلأستحي من الله أن أبايع قوماً قتلوا رجلاً قال فيه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم(( ألا استحيي ممن تستحيي منه الملائكة )) وإني لأستحيي من الله أن أبايع وعثمان قتيلعلى الأرض لم يدفن بعد فانصرفوا ، فما دفن رجع الناس فسألوني البيعة فقلت اللهم إنيمشفق مما أقدم عليه ثم جاءت عزيمة فبايعت فلقد قالوا : يا أمير المؤمنين فكأنما صدعقلبي ، وقلت : اللهم خذ مني لعثمان حتى ترضى

al-Hakim narrated with its Isnad from Qays bin Ubad: I heard Ali may Allah be pleased with him say on the Day of Jamal: (( O Lord I seek refuge in you and I am innocent from the blood of ‘Uthman, I had almost lost my mind the day he was murdered, I denied myself but they came to me offering a pledge of allegiance,I said to them: By God I feel shy from Allah that I would receive a pledge of allegiance from those who killed the Man that the Prophet PBUH described as:”Should I not feel shy of a man of whom the angels are shy?”, and I feel shy from Allah that I would receive allegiance while ‘Uthman is murdered and still lying on the ground without burial. They left me and came back after he was buried asking me for the Baya’ah(Pledge of allegiance), I said: “O Lord I feel pity from what I am about to do” later came determination and I took the pledge when they said: “O chief of believers” I felt my heart ache and I said: “O Lord take from me and give to ‘Uthman until youare pleased.” ))

source: -al-Mustadrak (3/95) and al-Hakim said: Sahih on the condition of Bukhari and Muslim, Imam al Dhahabi agreed with him. -al-Bidayah wal Nihayah(7/202). -al-Riyadh al-Nadirah(3/69,70). -al-Sawa’eq al-Muhriqahp173.

As you can see things weren’t pleasant and ‘Ali (ra) was not happy but he surely proved himself as a worthy leader and he was running the affairs of the state as expected from a rightly guided Caliph who follows the Manhaj of Rassul-Allah SAWS.

One of these affairs that he had to deal with was the murder of his predecessor before him, that was an urgent affair and the companions differed on the issue of Qisas, the difference between ‘Ali from one side and ‘Aisha, Talha, al-Zubair from the other side then between ‘Ali and Mu’awiyah may Allah be pleased with them was not because they disapproved of ‘Ali’s leadership but because of this specific issue.

The Caliphate and superiority of ‘Ali (ra) was agreed upon amongst the Muslims, it still is until today and nothing can change that, Mu’awiyah (ra) never even took a pledge of allegiance or assigned himself as “Ameer al-Mumineen” during the Fitnah, and as the Prophet SAWS says in the Sahih Hadith “If baya’ah is given to two Caliphs then fight the second one”.

Back then when the emotions were still tense and the matters were clouded, it wasn’t quite clear which side was right in his Ijtihad so the companions split to two teams: the first team was a minority and they decided to take part on either the side of ‘Ali or Mu’awiyah but most sided with ‘Ali,the second team decided to follow the Ahadith of the Prophet SAWS and abandon the Fitnah altogether.

How Aisha[ra] got involved in this issue:

After four months from ‘Uthman’s death, Talha and al-Zubair came to Madinah and met ‘Aisha (as) in the year 36 hijra, they couldn’t do anything to stop the murder of ‘Uthman and they thought they let this man down so that played a big role in how their mental state was, they started negotiations and here are a couple of Ahadith to show what was being talked about during the time:

إن عثمان قُتل مظلومًا والله لأطالبن بدمه

‘Aisha said in Tareekh al-Tabari: “’Uthman died as an innocent victim by Allah I will ask for his blood.”

إنه كان منى في عثمان شيء ليس توبتي إلا أنيسفك دمي في طلب دمه

Talha said in Siyar al-A’alam al-Nubalaa: My only Tawbah(repentance) is that I die while asking for the blood of ‘Uthman.

: نُنهض الناس فيدرك بهذا الدم لئلا يَبْطل، فإن في إبطاله توهينسلطان الله بيننا أبدًا، إذا لم يُفطم الناس عن أمثالها لم يبق إمام إلا قتله هذاالضرب

Al-Zubair said in al-Tabari: We need to gather the people to seek his killers otherwise it will be lost, if his blood is lost then the rule of Allah will always be taken lightly (he means Caliphate), If we do not teach the people that they must not commit another like it then there won’t remain an Imam unless he’s exposed to this(danger).

The Ahadith mentioned that the people of Mecca who were very close to ‘Uthman (ra) were extremely sad and they accepted the call of the senior companions and the mother of believers (ra), they spent the day crying as recorded in the Ahadith before they left to al-Basarah and that day was called “Yawm al-Naheeb” “يوم النحيب”.

Other factors which contributed is that many members of bani Umayyah were present in Mecca after they escaped as they were threatened in Madinah. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amir who was the Ameer of Basarah during the days of ‘Uthman was also present in Mecca and he encouraged the men to seek the killers of ‘Uthman and he offered all forms of support. Ya’ala bin Umayyah who took off from Yemen in order to help ‘Uthman had recently reached al-Mecca and he had many men and lots of provisions.

Why Aisha[ra] headed towards al-Sham:

The next topic is where should they head next? One opinion said that they should head to Madinah and this was ‘Aisha’s (as) opinion,another opinion stated that they must head to al-Sham and gather plenty of reinforcements before declaring war on the rebellious tribes, at the end they decided to head to al-Basarah because it would seem like the perfect place to start from since Mu’awiyah has already taken care of the rebels in al-Sham. The plan as mentioned in al-Tabari was to head to al-Basarah especially since it did not contain many rebels and from there they’d head into one of the breeding grounds of rebellion which is al-Kufa in ‘Iraq, there they would ask for the support of the people against the murderers and they would do this in the surrounding provinces until they corner the rebels found in ‘Ali’s army, they knew that they had to expose the Sabains and the rebels in his army and surround them so they’d deal with them with the least possible casualties, they also knew that it was almost impossible for ‘Ali to face them since they’re well integrated into his army and since they’ve increased dramatically in numbers and power.

واللهما مثلي يسير بالأمر المكتوم، ولا يغطى لبنية الخبر، إن الغوغاء من أهل الأمصار، ونزاعالقبائل غزوا حرم رسول الله وأحدثوا فيه الأحداث، وآووا فيه المحدثين، واستوجبوافيه لعنة الله ولعنة رسوله مع ما نالوا من قتل إمام المسلمين بلا ترة ولا عذر

The Wali of ‘Ali on al-Basarah at the time was ‘Uthman ibn Hunayf and he sent the mother of believers a message asking her about why she came to the city and she responded: “I am not the kind that would keep hidden secrets from her children, the rebels from the lands and the tribes have invaded the forbidden sanctuary of Rassul-Allah (Madinah) and committed the events therein, they have given shelter to the innovators and have received the curse of Allah and his prophet in turn by killing the Imam of the Muslims without a reason and with no excuse…”

وروىابن حبان أن عائشة – رضي الله عنها – كتبت إلى أبى موسى الأشعري – والى علىّ علىالكوفة-: فإنه قد كان من قتل عثمان ما قد علمت، وقد خرجت مصلحة بين الناس

Ibn Habban narrated in al-Thiqat that ‘Aisha wrote to Abu Musa al-Ash’ari and to ‘Ali in al-Kufa: “You have witnessed the events leading to the murder of ‘Uthman and I have decided to go and fix the matters between the people…”

وقال:أي أُمه، ما أشخصك وما أقدمك هذه البلدة؟ قالت: أي بنى، إصلاح بين الناس

‘Ali then sent al-Qa’qa’ ibn ‘Amr al-Tamimi to ‘Aisha and he said: “O mother, what brings you to these lands?” she said: “my son I have come to settle matters between the people.”

And after the war of al-Jamal ‘Ali told ‘Aisha:

فقاللها: غفر الله لك. قالت: ولك، ما أردت إلا الإصلاح

“May Allah forgive you” she said: “And you, I only wished to fix the affairs.”

As for the Shia who said that she went to rebel against ‘Ali and take the Caliphate for herself, that is a lie, she went to make reform by punishing the killers of Ameer al-Mumineen and she had a Mahram with her that is her sister’s son ‘Abdullah ibn al-Zubair, because going out to reconcile and fix the affairs of the people in the time of Fitnah is an order from Allah just like Hajj is an order. Another lie being spread is that al-Zubair forced her to go out but this is not true as this was her opinion even before al-Zubair and Talha came to Mecca, we read in the Hadith that when she was on her way back to Mecca:

عبدالله بن عامر الحضرمي فقال: ما ردك يا أم المؤمنين؟ قالت: ردّني أن عثمان قُتلمظلومًا، وأن الأمر لا يستقيم ولهذه الغوغاء أمر، فاطلبوا دم عثمان تعزُّواالإسلام. فكان عبد الله أول من أجابها

‘Aisha met ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amer al-Hadrami who said: “What brings you back O mother of believers?” she said: “What brings me back is that ‘Uthman was killed and he was innocent, the affair of the Muslims will not be fixed while these rebels run rampant, so ask for ‘Uthman’s blood to fortify Islam.” And ‘Abdullah was the first member of their army.

And we read in al-Tabari 5/475 that all the mothers of believers were of her opinion and that a big number of the people in al-Basarah joined her. They were described as the best of people by ‘Aisha and the companions and this is why ‘Ali stood between the dead bodies from ‘Aisha’s men after the battle and he invoked the mercy of Allah on them and mentioned their virtues.

During the fitnah the wives of the Prophet SAWS had left for Hajj but when the news of ‘Uthman’s murder spread they soon returned and awaited to see the reactions of the people, Madinah at the time was full of rebels and thugs that came from the distant lands and led the fitnah so the mothers of believers as well as many of the big companions hated to stay in Madinah and left it, during this time ‘Ali had finally accepted the offer of Caliphate although he had a hatred for it and as for the wives they decided to ask for the blood of ‘Uthman but they decided to travel for Madinah where the thugs are instead of leaving for Basarah as recorded in al-Bidayah wal-Nihayah of Ibn Katheer 7/241, The mother of believers Hafsa bint ‘Umar on the other hand agreed to go to Basarah but her brother ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar decided that she shouldn’t and he swore by Allah that she wouldn’t as recorded in and she said to ‘Aisha:

إنعبد الله حال بيني وبين الخروج

“’Abdullah has stopped me from going.”

As recorded in Dawr al-Maraah al-Siyasi p386 and al-Tabari 5/487.

As for the mother of believers Umm Salamah she saw what ‘Ali saw and she sent her son ‘Umar to support him as recorded in the Ahadith.

‘Aisha’s group reached al-Khareebah which is a location near al-Basarah and they decided to send letters to the influential leaders of the city asking them to join them in battle against the rebels, many of the Muslims wanted to partake in this cause but many of them knew that they shouldn’t go without an order from the Caliph but when they saw the big companions who were promised Jannah and when they saw that it was for a just Islamic cause many of the people in the city joined regardless of their tribes. Al-Zubair even sent a letter to one of the biggest leaders in the entire city called al-Ahnaf ibn Qays al-Tamimi and this man’s word is heard and his status is respected but he was placed in an extremely tough situation so he said:

فأتانيأفظع أمر أتاني قط فقلت: إن خذلاني هؤلاء ومعهم أم المؤمنين وحواري رسول الله لشديد

“There came to me the most shocking news so I said to myself: If I disappoint those men and the mother of believers and the disciple of Rassul Allah SAWS then this is just too much for me.

Then he decided to isolate himself from the Fitnah and refused the offer so six thousand of his followers joined him while many others disobeyed him and went with ‘Aisha as recorded in Khilafat ‘Ali ibn abi Talib p133 and Tabaqat ibn Sa’ad and it has many Shawahid.

Al-Zuhri said that the majority of the people in Basarah joined them and this is found Musannaf ‘Abdul-Razzaq with a Sahih Sanad to al-Zuhri.

As for the Wali of al-Basarah ibn Hunayf he tried his best to cool the situation down and make peace but things got out of hand and some even started describing al-Basarah by saying:

قطعةمن أهل الشام نزلت بين أظهرنا

“a piece of al-Sham fell down on our backs”

How battle started:

One of the famous rebels in al-Basarah was not pleased, al-Hukaym ibn Jabalah led a group of cavalary and attacked ‘Aisha but she and her men went to a defensive position until nightfall came, and Jabalah would walk amongst the people with his spear killing anyone who would not curse‘Aisha (ra), In the morning he went and did the same thing again which angered the tribe of ‘Abd al-Qays and they told him: “You did this yesterday and you go back to it today? Allah will make his Qisas on you” so they abandoned him and his men who then realized they were no longer welcome in the city and while they were leaving they clashed with ‘Aisha’s men and although she kept ordering them to fight only those who fight them yet the men would not listen and this time they insisted on fighting and so did Ibn Jabalah, it became apparent to al-Zubair what the nature of Ibn Jabala’s men was and he realized that he was from those responsible for the Fitnah and that it was all that he wanted so he raised his hands and said:

الحمدلله الذي جمع لنا ثأرنا من أهل البصرة، اللهم لا تبق منهم أحدًا

“Praise be to Allah who gathered for us our targets of revenge from the people of Basarah, O Lord leave none amongst them”

منلم يكن من قتلة عثمان – رضي الله عنه – فليكفف عنا، فإننا لا نريد إلا قتلة عثمان،ولا نبدأ أحدًا، فاقتتلوا أشد القتال

‘Aisha’s men started shouting as recorded in al-Tabari 5/499: “He who was not amongst the killers of ‘Uthman then he must leave us, weonly want the killers of ‘Uthman and we will not initiate the fighting against anybody else.”

The battle was getting heated and all the rebels in the citywere dealt with except one, the men started calling on the battle field:

ألامن كان فيكم من قبائلكم أحد ممن غزا المدينة فليأتنا بهم

“If any of the people from your tribes had taken part in the invasion of Madinah then bring him to us.”

During the battle an attempt on ‘Aisha’s life was thwarted by the grace of Allah as the assassins were caught and killed. ‘Aisha’s army at this point had been left without food and provisions for several weeks so they headed to Bait-al-Maal and took from it what they needed to continue while the wali of al-Basarah went back to inform ‘Ali.

The result was that around seventy of the rebels who took part in the fitnah of ‘Uthman were killed and so was their leader Hukaym ibn Jabalah as recorded with a Hasan Isnad in Ansab al-Ashraf 2/93.

‘Aisha then sent letters to the people of al-Kufa and al-Yamamah and al-Madinah and al-Sham explaining to them why this has happened and telling them to do their part and informing them of the name of the Rebel that managed to get away and he was “Hurqous ibn Zuhair” and she said that Allah will make Qisas on him.

Ali[ra] decided to leave madinah:

It has been recorded in al-Ansar fi al-‘Asr al-Rashidi andal-Thiqat of Ibn Habban that ‘Ali ibn abi Talib (ra) said:

إنالرجال والأموال بالعراق

“The men and the wealth are in ‘Iraq”

He had finally decided that al-Madinah no longer had the qualities of the other lands and he thought al-‘Iraq could do much better as a base for the Khilafah but most of the companions did not feel that this was the right choice and it has been recorded that Abu Ayyub al-Ansari told ‘Ali:

ياأمير المؤمنين، أقمت بهذه البلاد لأنها الدرع الحصينة، ومهاجرة رسول الله، وبهاقبره ومنبره ومادة الإسلام، فإن استقامت لك العرب كنت كمن كان، وإن تشغب عليك قومرميتهم بأعدائهم، وإن ألجئت حينئذ إلى السير سرت وقد أعذرت

“Ya Ameer al-Mumineen, you have been a resident of this land because it was a fortified shield, it is the destination of the emigration ofthe Prophet SAWS and in it is his grave, his Mimbar and the pure Religion, so if the Arabs choose to submit to you then you’ll rule like those before you and if they rise in rebellion against you then you will order the men against them…(until the end of the Hadith).”

‘Ali then agreed to remain in Madinah but many political events forced him to move closer to al-Sham so he chose al-Kufah as his destination.

Who actually took part in jamal:

The news of al-Zubair and Talha also reached him as he was getting ready to travel so he called the people of Madinah for support but they refused and said that the Fitnah was still active and that it was better to be patient and wait until things become much clearer, the rebels in his army were also very hard to deal with and ‘Ali made several sermons in which he complained that the people never gave him the proper support, the big companions who participated in Badr also decided to desert the Fitnah and isolate themselves in their homes, It is recorded in the Sahih Hadith:

أنرجالاً من أهل بدر لزموا بيوتهم بعد مقتل عثمان فلم يخرجوا إلا إلى قبورهم

“The Men of Badr stayed in their homes after the murder of ‘Uthmanand only came out when they went to be buried in their graves.”

اللهمإن لك علىّ أن لا أضحك حتى ألقاك

The big companions felt horrible after the murder of ‘Uthman and we take the example of abu Hameed al-Sa’idee from the people of Badr who said:“O Lord, I give you an oath that I shall no longer smile until I meet you.”

الشعبي:لم يشهد موقعة الجمل من أصحاب رسول الله غير على وعمار وطلحة والزبير، فإن جاءوابخامس فأنا كذاب

The follower al-Shu’ubi says in the Sahih Hadith of Tareekhal-Khayyat and Musannaf ibn abi Shaybah: “None of the companions of the Prophet SAWS took part in the battle of al-Jamal except ‘Ali and ‘Ammar and Talha and al-Zubair, If anyone can name a fifth then I am a liar.”

In another hadith:

منحدثك أنه شهد الجمل ممن شهد بدرًا أكثر من أربع نفر فكذبه؛ كان على وعمار في ناحيةوطلحة والزبير في ناحية

“If any man tells you that more than four from the people of Badr participated in al-Jamal then consider him a liar, it was ‘Ali and ‘Ammar on one side and al-Zubair and Talha on the other.”

In another hadith:

لمينهض مع على إلى البصرة غير ستة نفر من البدريين ليس لهم سابع

“Those who rose with ‘Ali to al-Basarah were no more than six of the people of Badr.”

And whether they are four or five or six the benefit that is drawn is that the vast majority of the companions decided to turn away from what they thought was an evil Fitnah and they did not participate.

In al-Khilafah al-Rashidah min Tareekh Ibn Katheer p356 weread the Hadith of Ibn Sireen and al-Shu’ubi:

. قال ابن سيرين والشعبي: وقعت الفتنة بالمدينة وأصحاب النبي أكثرمن عشرة آلاف، فما يعدون من خف فيها عشرين رجلاً؛ فسميت حرب على وطلحة والزبيروصفين فتنة

“The Fitnah fell on al-Madinah and the companions of theProphet SAWS were more than ten thousand, those who participated in it are around twenty and this is why they called it the war of ‘Ali and Talha and al-Zubair and Siffin was a Fitnah.”

Also from the companions who tried to discourage ‘Ali from leaving Madinah was ‘Abdullah ibn Salam and what is ironic is that he was threatened by the Kouffans and Basarites that accompanied ‘Ali, they told ‘Ali:

دعنافلنقتله

“Let us kill him”

This shows that the people who were part of the army had not one bit of Taqwa or fear of Allah, killing any Muslim that opposes them has become an easy task, they disregarded the narrations in which the Prophet SAWS praises his companions and do not show any respect to those who entered Islam first and made the Jihad with Rassul Allah SAWS, ‘Ali (ra) told those men to leave ‘Abdullah alone, he told them:

إنعبد الله بن سلام رجل صالح

“’Abdullah ibn Salam is a good pious man.”

How battle of jamal happened:

‘Ali and those with him set camp in al-Rabthah a location to the east of al-Madinah around 204 km away from it and a group of 200 Muslims came to him, then al-Hassan ibn ‘Ali went to his father, he was saddened by the state of the Muslims and the divisions within the nation, complained in a long Hadith that his father never listened to him when he told him to leave al-Madinah when ‘Uthman was surrounded so that they wouldn’t accuse him of it, he told him the day he was murdered not to take the Baya’ah until the people of all the provinces came, he told him that when Talha and al-Zubair went out that he should’ve stayed at home until things were settled, ‘Ali then explained his position by saying that the day ‘Uthman was surrounded he was surrounded aswell and so were all the people of Madinah, He said that the ones who have the right to choose the caliph were the people of Madinah before anyone else and he hated to take this away from them, As for sitting at home then who would be responsible for the people?

‘Ali had sent Muhammad ibn Abu bakr and Muhammad ibn Ja’afar to al-Kufah so they could gather the people who were willing to join the army, both men failed their mission because the companion Abu Musa al-Asha’ari who was ‘Ali’s Wali on al-Kufa had narrated many narrations from the Prophet SAWS that he forbade the Muslims to participate in any battle during the Fitnah. He then sent Hashim ibn ‘Utbah ibn abi Waqqas who failed as well.

‘Ali moved with his army to a well called thu al-Qar nearal-Kufah and he was accompanied by around 900 men, this time he sent ‘Abdullah ibn al-‘Abbas who was followed by ‘Ammar ibn Yassir and al-Hassan ibn ‘Ali, he also removed Abu Musa from his position and replaced him with Qarthah ibn Ka’ab as mentioned in Fath al-Bari 13/53 and al-Tareekh al-Saghir 1/109.

Al-Qa’qa’ ibn ‘Amro had a huge role to play as he gave one of his sermons to the people of Kufah telling them about the importance of obedience to the Imam and the importance of the caliph in running the affairs of the people and that ‘Ali only wanted to repair this matter and make Islah(Reform).

Al-Hassan also gave a strong speech asking the people to rise in the support of their Caliph and to join their brethren and resolve this problem that has befallen the nation.

In brief they managed to convince about 7,000 men followed by 2,000 from ‘Abd Qays from al-Basarah and the people of the tribes kept flowing in until his army reached 12,000 before the battle, this is mentioned in Musannaf ‘Abdul-Razzaq 5/456-457 with a Sahih chain to al-Zuhri but Mursal.

ياأهل الكوفة، أنتم وليتم شوكة العجم وملوكهم وفضضتم جموعهم، حتى صارت إليكممواريثهم، فأعنتم حوزتكم، واغتنم الناس على عدوهم، وقد دعوتكم لتشهدوا معناإخواننا من أهل البصرة، فإن يرجعوا فذاك ما نريد، وإن يلجوا داويناهم بالرفق،وبايناهم حتى يبدءونا بظلم، ولن ندع أمرًا فيه صلاح إلا آثرناه على ما فيه الفسادإن شاء الله، ولا قوة إلا بالله

‘Ali then praised the people of Kufah in the Hadith above and said that he will use all peaceful means and that he wishes to stop the army of al-Zubair and make them return to their homes but if they insist then he will treat them with patience and calmness until they transgress against him.Recorded in al-Tabari 5/519.

A sample of how the companions addressed eachother during the Fitnah:

أبىوائل قال: دخل أبو موسى الأشعري، وأبو مسعود وعقبة بن عمرو الأنصاري على عمّار حينبعثه علىٌّ إلى أهل الكوفة يستنفرهم، فقالا: ما رأيناك أتيت أمرًا أكره عندنا منإسراعك في هذا الأمر منذ أسلمت. فقال عمار: ما رأيت منكما منذ أسلمتما أمرًا أكرهعندي من إبطائكما في هذا الأمر

Al-Bukhari narrates from Abu Wael: Abu Musa al-Asha’ari and Abu Mas’oud and ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amro al-Ansari entered upon ‘Ammar when ‘Ali sent him to gather the people of Kufa, they told him: Since you became Muslim you never did anything we detest as much as we detest your hastiness in this affair, he replied: I never saw from you both since you embraced Islam a matter which I detested more than you delaying this affair.

فقالأبو مسعود – وكان موسرًا -: يا غلام هات حلتين فأعط إحداهما أبا موسى، والأخرىعمارًا، وقال: روحا فيه إلى الجمعة

In another Hadith Abu Mas’oud says: Young boy bring me some good clothes for Abu Musa and ‘Ammar, he then told them: both of you wear it to the Friday prayer.

As it is clear above the companions never made Takfeer and Tafseeq on eachother although they clearly differed in opinion in the matter of this Fitnah, yet we see Abu Mas’oud offer his two companions clothing because he hates for them to attend the Friday prayer in war attire and worn-out garments.

أبورفاعة بن رافع بن مالك العجلان الأنصاري لما أراد الخروج من الرّبذة، فقال: ياأمير المؤمنين، أي شيء تريد؟ وإلى أين تذهب بنا؟ فقال: أما الذي نريد وننوىفالإصلاح، إن قبلوا منا وأجابونا إليه، قال: فإن لم يجيبونا إليه؟ قال: ندعهمبعذرهم ونعطيهم الحق ونصبر، قال: فإن لم يرضوا؟ قال: ندعهم ما تركونا، قال: فإن لميتركونا؟ قال: امتنعنا منهم، قال: فنعم إذًا. فسمع تلك السلسلة من الأسئلةوالإجابات فاطمأن إليها وارتاح لها، وقال: لأرضينك بالفعل كما أرضيتني بالقول

Another sample is Rifa’ah bin Rafi’i bin Malik al-‘Ajlan al-Ansari when he wanted to leave al-Rabthah he said to ‘Ali: O Ameer al-Mumineen what do you wish from us? And where are you taking us? ‘Ali: What I want and what we intend is to fix this situation if they agree with us and respond to our call, he said: And if they do not respond? ‘Ali said: We leave them to their excuse and be patient with them, he said: and if they don’t accept? He replied: We leave them if they leave us,he said: and if they don’t leave us? He said: we restrain ourselves from them.So ibn Rafi’i felt comfortable with the answers of ‘Ali and said: By Allah Iwill please you with my actions as you have pleased me with your words.

Another example recorded in al-Bidayah wal Nihayah and Tareekh al-Tabari:

لماقدم أهل الكوفة إلى أمير المؤمنين رضي الله عنه فيِ ذي قار، قام إليه أقوام من أهلالكوفة يسألونه عن سبب قدومهم، فقام إليه فيمن قام الأعور بن بُنان المنْقرىّ،فقال له على رضي الله عنه: علىَّ الإصلاح وإطفاء النائرة لعل الله يجمع شمل هذهالأمة بنا ويضع حربهم، وقد أجابوني، قال: فإن لم يجيبونا؟ قال: تركناهم ما تركونا.قال: فإن لم يتركونا؟ قال: دفعناهم عن أنفسنا، قال: فهل لهم مثل ما عليهم من هذا؟قال: نعم

When the people of Kufah came to ‘Ali (ra) in Thi al-Qar they started asking him about why he came and one of the men that asked was al-A’awar bin Bunan al-Munqari so ‘Ali said: We came to fix this affair and put out the flames of hatred, maybe Allah will unite this nation through us and there wouldn’t be any wars if they respond to me, the man asked: and if they do not respond? ‘Ali said: we leave them if they leave us. The man asked: And if they don’t leave us? ‘Ali said: we push them away from us…

Another example in al-Bidayah wal-Nihayah 7/250:

أبوسلامة الدألانى، ممن سأل أمير المؤمنين رضي الله عنه فقال: أترى لهؤلاء القوم حجّةفيما طلبوا من هذا الدم، إن كانوا أرادوا الله عز وجل بذلك؟ قال: نعم. قال: فترىلك حجة بتأخيرك ذلك؟ قال: نعم، إنّ الشيء إذا كان لا يدرك فالحكم فيه أحوطه وأعمّهنفعًا، قال: فما حالنا وحالهم إن ابتلينا غدًا؟ قال: إني لأرجو ألاّ يقتل أحد نقىّقلبه لله منّا ومنهم إلا أدخله الله الجنة

Abu Sulamah al-Daalanee asked the chief of believers: Do you see that those folks have a strong argument in asking for this blood? Do they seek to please Allah through this? ‘Ali said: Yes, Then the man asked: Do you have a strong argument in delaying this matter? ‘Ali said: yes …(until the man asked him about the possibility of a battle)… ‘Ali replied: I hope that no one will be killed from either of us and I hope if it happens that Allah would grant us all heaven.

Also Malik ibn Habib asked ‘Ali:

فإنابتلينا فما بال قتلانا؟ قال: من أراد الله عز وجل نفعه ذلك وكان نجاءه

If what we fear happens then what is to become of our dead? ‘Ali replied: He who wants Allah and his intentions are to please Allah then this shall save him.

The Hadith above is really important as it shows that the fate of those who fight is not tied to which team they joined but is tied to their intentions and to the reason they fight.

From the benefits of these Ahadith is that we now know that both teams want to achieve their goals through peaceful means and the last thing they asked for was another Fitnah. When ‘Ali chose to delay the Qisas of ‘Uthman the other companions thought that the opportunity of Qisas would be lost and this is why they decided to settle the matter by seeking out the rebels and punishing them.

Other companions who deserted both teams and chose to not participate in the Fitnah tried to make peace, We take several examples starting with ‘Imran ibn Hossein sent letters to both teams discouraging the people from participating and he sent a letter to bani ‘Uday which is a huge group that sided with al-Zubair and told them “I would rather be an Ethiopian shepherd with my sheep living on the top of a mountain than to throw an arrow at any of the two teams or be hit by one.”

Ka’ab ibn Sur one of the greatest of the followers tried his best to stop both teams and he stood between both armies shouting and telling them to use the book of Allah as a judge but he was hit by an arrow by rebels that integrated themselves in both armies.

Al-Qa’qa ibn ‘Amro also tried to make peace when ‘Ali sent him to Talha and al-Zubair telling him:

القَهذين الرجلين، فادعهما إلى الألفة والجماعة، وعظّم عليهما الاختلاف والفرقة.

“Meet them both and invite them with friendliness and kindness and show them the evils of disunity and separation.”

Al-Qa’qa’ told them: “tell me how you wish to fix this affair? Maybe if we knew it we would help you in your cause.”

They replied:

قتلةعثمان، رضي الله عنه، ولابد أن يُقتلوا، فإن تُركوا دون قصاص كان هذا تركًاللقرآن، وتعطيلاً لأحكامه، وإن اقُتصَّ منهم كان هذا إحياء للقرآن.

“The killers of ‘Uthman may Allah be pleased with him, they must be killed, if they are left without Qisas then this would be equal to leaving the Quran and disobeying its laws”

Al-Qa’qa’ ibn ‘Amro al-Tamimi who was an expert war strategist and a warrior that was almost an equal to Khalid ibn al-Walid said:

لقدكان في البصرة ستُّمائة من قتلة عثمان وأنتم قتلتموهم إلا رجلاً واحدًا، وهو حرقوصبن زهير السعدي، فلما هرب منكم احتمى بقومه من بنى سعد، ولما أردتم أخذه منهموقَتْله منعكم قومه من ذلك، وغضب له ستة آلاف رجل اعتزلوكم، ووقفوا أمامكم وقفةرجل واحد، فإنه تركتم حرقوصًا ولم تقتلوه، كنتم تاركين لما تقولون وتنادون بهوتطالبون عليًا به، وإن قاتلتم بنى سعد من أجل حرقوص، وغلبوكم وهزموكم وأديلواعليكم، فقد وقعتم في المحذور، وقوَّيتموهم، وأصابكم ما تكرهون، وأنتم بمطالبتكمبحرقوص أغضبتم ربيعة ومضر، من هذه البلاد، حيث اجتمعوا على حربكم وخذلانكم، نصرةلبنى سعد، وهذا ما حصل مع على، ووجود قتلة عثمان في جيشه.

“In al-Basarah there were six hundred from the killers of ‘Uthman and you have killed all of them except one and he is Hurqous bin Zuhair al-Sa’adi, when this man escaped you he sought refuge with his tribe of bani Sa’ad and when you asked them to hand the man over they refused and blocked you from it, as a result six thousand men became angry with you and stood united against you but if you left Hurqous and did not kill him while you keep asking ‘Ali to do it then you’d become from those who left the laws of the Quran as you said to me, on the other hand if you fight bani Sa’ad because of Hurqous and they defeat you then you’d be in a dire situation and they’d be strengthened by this and you’d hate for that to happen, I add that by asking for Hurqous you have also angered Bani Rabi’ah and the tribe of Mudr and have turned them into enemies as they have agreed on fighting you to support their allies bani Sa’ad and this is exactly what happened with ‘Ali when he tried to deal with the killers of ‘Uthman in his army.”

Ibn ‘Amro at this point had succeeded in convincing them of ‘Ali’s point of view so ‘Aisha decided to take his advice and ask his opinion on what should be done, he replied:

هذاأمر دواؤه التسكين، ولابد من التأني في الاقتصاص من قتلة عثمان، فإذا انتهتالخلافات، واجتمعت كلمة الأمة على أمير المؤمنين تفرغ لقتلة عثمان، وإن أنتمبايعتم عليًا واتفقتممعه، كان هذا علامة خير، وتباشير رحمة، وقدرة على الأخذ بثأر عثمان، وإن أنتمأبيتم ذلك، وأصررتم على المكابرة والقتال كان هذا علامة شر، وذهابًا لهذا الملك،فآثروا العافية ترزقوها، وكونوا مفاتيح خير كما كنتم أولاً، ولا تُعرَّضوناللبلاء، فتتعرضوا له، فيصرعنا الله وإياكم، وايم الله إني لأقول هذا وأدعوكم إليه،وإني لخائف أن لا يتم، حتى يأخذ الله حجته من هذه الأمة التي قلَّ متاعها، ونزلبها ما نزل، فإنّ ما نزل بها أمر عظيم، وليس كقتل الرجل الرجل، ولا قتل النفرالرجل، ولا قتل القبيلة القبيلة

“The only remedy for this affair is leniency and calmness we have to be cautious in the matter of Qisas and when the conflicts end and the nation is united under one word and you have agreed with him(‘Ali) then this would be a blessed sign so you should give baya’ah to ‘Ali that you may leave the matter of Qisas to him but if you insist on fighting then that would be a sign of evil so be keys of goodness as you were before and do not expose us to hardships that will lead to both your destruction and ours. By Allah I say this and invite you to it and I fear that it may not be done…”

They replied to him by saying:

قدأحسنت وأصبت المقالة، فارجع، فإن قدم على، وهو على مثل رأيك، صلح هذا الأمر إن شاءالله

“You have said correct and truthful words so go back and when ‘Ali comes and he holds this opinion then know that this matter is resolved Incha-Allah.”

Tareekh al-Tabari 5/521, al-Bidayah wal-Nihayah 7/739.

‘Ali was pleased with what he heard and he sent two messengers to learn more about the opinions of ‘Aisha and al-Zubair and they returned and told him that they are as al-Qa’qa’ had left them, ‘Ali then moved in with his army and the men were able to meet and they had no doubt that the matter was resolved as stated in tareekh al-tabari 5/539.

Ali declared his decision to go to al-Basarah:

ألاوإني راحل غدًا فارتحلوا – يقصد إلى البصرة – ألا ولا يرتحلن غدًا أحد أعان علىعثمان بشيء في شيء من أمور الناس

“Know that I will leave tomorrow to al-Basarah so prepare to leave, none of those who stood against ‘Uthman or supported those who did is to come with me.”

The books of history clearly state that in the army of ‘Ali were men from the oppressors and the khawarij who rebelled against ‘Uthman, and there were amongst those men who had the support of their tribes, and men who did not realize the error of their ways, and men who had Nifaq and hypocrisy in their hearts that they could not show. Furthermore the Sabains who were at the heart of the Fitnah had agreed to ignite the flames of Fitnah so that they may stop the Qisas, because the greatest danger to them was that if ‘Aisha and the others would reconcile with ‘Ali, that would surely be their end. ‘Ali,Talha and al-Zubair already met face to face and had their talk and they found no better solution than peace as matters started to get clearer, that night the men all returned to their respective camps and this is when the plotting and scheming began by ‘Abdullah Ibn Saba himself:

: يا قوم إن عزّكم في خلطة الناسفصانعوهم، وإذا التقى الناس غدًا فانشبوا القتال، ولا تفرغوهم للنظر، فإذا من أنتممعه لا يجد بدًا من أن يمتنع، ويشغل الله عليًا وطلحة والزبير ومن رأى رأيهم عماتكرهوه، فأبصروا الرأي وتفرقوا عليه والناس لا يشعرون

“If any of you should mix with the people then say good words and play along, and if the people meet tomorrow then make sure to initiate the fighting between them, this will keep ‘Ali and Talha and al-Zubair busy and will lead them away from the matter which you and I hate”

They crossed to the other camp during the night when their neighbours were not wary and they went to their respective tribesmen and attacked them in their sleep and all of al-Basarah was thrown into a tantrum.

Fear & action of followers of ibn saba for starting the battle:

so the Sabains were up to no good and they were planning to initiate the fighting because they feared the alliance as recorded in Tareekh al-Tabari 5/526:

أما طلحة والزبير فقد عرفنا أمرهما، وأما على فلم نعرف أمرهحتى كان اليوم؛ وذلك حين طلب من الناس أن يرتحلوا في الغد ولا يرتحل معه أحد أعانعلى عثمان بشيء، ورأى الناس فينا – والله – واحد، وإن يصطلحوا مع على فعلى دمائنا

They said:“As for Talha and al-Zubair we know them very well but as for ‘Ali we never knew his stance until today when he asked the people to prepare themselves except those who rose up against ‘Uthman. These people have the same opinion when it comes to our fate and if they want to unite then it shall be over our blood.”

And indeed they were able to start a fight at night so al-Zubair and Talha ordered to repel the attack and they placed ‘Abdul-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham on the right flank and on the left flank they placed ‘Abdul-Rahman ibn ‘Itab bin Usaydand when they managed to fight them off Talha and al-Zubair asked:

فقالا: ما هذا؟ قالوا: طرقنا أهل الكوفة ليلاً، فقالا: ماعلمنا أن عليًا غير منته حتى يسفك الدّماء ويستحل الحرمة

“What is this?” they said: “Ahlul-Kufa attacked during the night” they said: “We never knew that ‘Ali changed his intention to spill the blood and make permissible what is forbidden.”

The people inthe other camp heard the noises from afar but the Sabains had their agents on the other side as recorded in al-Tabari 5/541, ‘Ali and Ahlul-kufa heard the voices, they asked about the cause and they were told:

ما فجئنا إلا وقوم منهم بيتونا فرددناهم

“We were surprised when we found a group of them attacking so we pushed them away.”

So ‘Ali prepared his commanders on the right and left flanks in case of an attack.

Still both sides did not attack and waited until things became clearer ‘Ali telling hismen to wait until they have a clear Hujjah and Talha on the other side riding his horse as recorded in Tareekh Khalifah ibn Khayyat page 182:

يا أيها الناس أتنصتون؟ فجعلوا يركبونه ولا ينصتون، فما زادأن قال: أف أف فراش نار

He was shouting to the angry people: “O people will you listen?” and they started riding their horses and camels ignoring him so he complained angrily: “Uff! Uff! You are like moths heading to the fire”

In brief the scholars and historians agree on the role of the Sabains in starting the battle whether they called them “the corrupt elements” or “the thugs from both parties” or “the killers of ‘Uthman” or “al-Sufahaa” or openly calling them“al-Sabaiyyah”

It was not clear for them what the right course of action was, there was confusion,al-Ahnaf ibn Qays went to support ‘Ali ibn abi Talib and on his way he met Abu Bakrah who told him not to participate and scared him by narrating that he heard the Prophet SAWS say that when two Muslims meet both the killer and the one who is killer are in hell-fire, thus al-Ahnaf returned.

إنهذه لهى الفتنة التي كنا نحدّث عنها، فقال له مولاه: أتسميها فتنة وتقاتل فيها؟قال: ويحك؛ إنا نبصر ولا نبصر، ما كان أمر قط إلا علمت موضع قدمي فيه، غير هذاالأمر، فإني لا أدرى أمقبل أنا فيه أم مدبر

The companions knew that it was a Fitnah, Al-Zubair said: “This is definitely the Fitnah we used to narrate about.” His servant asked him: “Do you call it a Fitnah while you participate in it?” he said: “Careful! For it is as if we see but we do not see, I always knew where I stood, except this day, I no longer know whether I am taking a right path or a wrong one.”

Talha said:

بينمانحن يد واحدة على من سوانا، إذ صرنا جبلين من حديد يطلب بعضنا بعضًا

“While we are one hand against our enemies yet today it appears as if we have become two steal mountains clashing together.”

As for ‘Ammar he also knew that this was an evil Fitnah and he said:

إنهازوجة نبيكم في الدنيا والآخرة، ولكنها مما ابتليتم

“She is the wife of our Prophet SAWS in this life and in the after-life but today we are tested.”

The killers of ‘Uthman succeeded in starting a war on Friday 16th of the month of Jamad al-Thani in the thirty sixth year in an area called al-Zabouqah near Basarah, it was called the battle of al-Jamal (camel) because of the Camel that ‘Aisha rode and it was offered to her by Ya’ala ibn Umayyah.

‘Ali told his caller to call: “O people cease the fighting” but he was ignored and the battle raged on and it was divided into two rounds, the first round was from Fajr to Zuhr and the leaders of the army of Basarah were Talha and al-Zubair as recorded in al-Khulafaa al-Rashidun by al-Khalidi page 245.

‘Ali and Talha and al-Zubair called on their men:

لا تقتلوا مدبرًا، ولا تُجهزوا على جريح، ولا تلحقوا خارجًامن المعركة تاركًا لها

“Do not kill anyone who turned his back to you, do not finish-off the wounded, do not follow those who flee the battle.”

Al-Zubair had asked his son ‘Abdullah to pay his debts and his due, he said:

إنه لا يقتل اليوم إلا ظالم أو مظلوم، وإني لا أراني إلا سأقتلمظلومًا، وإن أكبر همي ديَنْي

“No one will be killed today unless he is an oppressor or a victim who’s been oppressed, Isee myself dying as a victim and my biggest concern is my debt.”

During the battle a man came to al-Zubair telling him that he can assassinate ‘Ali if he was able to infiltrate his army.

لا؛ لا يفتك مؤمن بمؤمن

Al-Zubair said that the Prophet SAWS does not allow this, he then said: “No; the Believer does not assassinate a believer.”

Source:Musnad Ahmad 3/19 and Ahmad Muhammad Shakir said: Sahih.

Then when he saw that the matter has gotten completely out of hand and that the soldiers could not be stopped he decided to abandon the battle and the scholars have mentioned these reasons:

1- There is a weak Hadith in which the Prophet SAWS tells al-Zubair a prophecy regarding ‘Ali, he tells him:

لتقاتلنه وأنت له ظالم

“You will fight him and he will be oppressed by you.”

2-He did not narrate the Hadith of ‘Ammar but he might have heard it from someone else and then when he saw ‘Ammar in the army of ‘Ali he left.

تقتل عمار الفئة الباغية

“The transgressing party shall kill ‘Ammar.”

3-Some just say that he revised his position and saw that he was doing the wrong thing so he left.

And it could be one of these or all of them and there is a Sahih Hadith in which ‘Abdullah ibn al-‘Abbas reminds al-Zubair of his closeness to ‘Ali during the battle:

أين صفية بنت عبد المطلب حيث تقاتل بسيفك على بن أبى طالب بنعبد المطلب

“Where is Saffiyah bint ‘Abdul-Muttalib when you fight with your sword ‘Ali ibn abi Talib bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib?”

Source:Tabqat ibn Sa’ad 3/110 & Khilafat ‘Ali page 155.

Saffiyah is the mother of al-Zubair ibn al-’Awwam (ra) and the aunt of ‘Ali ibn abi Talib(ra) and both of them are cousins, the hadith of ibn ‘Abbas (ra) is clear meaning “Did you come here to make reform or fight ‘Ali?”

As for Talha(ra) who was telling his men to back down and stop the fighting, he was hit with an arrow at the beginning of the battle and no one knows who threw that arrow but it is obvious that they were aiming for him and this is one of the reasons the fighting became fierce and al-Zubair could no longer hold back the men.

As for al-Zubair (ra) who had left, he was followed and killed by Ibn Jurmouz and so ends the first round of battle.

‘Ali (ra) would go to al-Hassan (ra) and hug him as recorded in al-Bidayah wal-Nihayah7/521:

وضمّهإلى صدره، وصار يبكى ويقول له: يا بُنى، ليت أباك مات قبل هذا اليوم بعشرين عامًا.فقال الحسن: يا أبت، لقد كنت نهيتك عن هذا، فقال على: ما كنت أظن أن الأمر سيصلإلى هذا الحد، وما طعمُ الحياة بعد هذا؟ وأيُّ خير يُرجى بعد هذا؟

‘Ali hugged al-Hassan and said while he cried: “O my son, I wish your father had died twenty years before this day.” Then al-Hassan would tell him: “Dear father, I told you not to do it.” ‘Ali said: “I never thought it would come to this, what taste life has after this? What goodness would come after this?”

The tragedy reached ‘Aisha (ra) so she went to her camel surrounded by the Azdi tribes and with her is Ka’ab whom she gave a Quran so that he might call the people to stop the war, she had hope that they would listen to her because of her great status in the heart of the Muslims as recorded in the Sahih hadith in Musannaf ‘Abdul-Razzaq 5/456.

Ka’ab stood in front of ‘Ali’s army and said:

ياقوم، أنا كعب بن سور، قاضي البصرة، أدعوكم إلى كتاب الله، والعمل بما فيه، والصلحعلى أساسه. وخشي السبئيون في مقدمة جيش على أن تنجح محاولة كعب فرشقوه بنبالهمرشقة رجل واحد، فلقي وجه الله، ومات والمصحف في يده

“O people, I am Ka’ab bin Sur the Qadi(Judge) of Basarah, I call you to the book of Allah and to work with its laws and to make peace according to it.” The Sabains at the front lines feared that his call may be answered so they fired their arrows and he met his Lord’s face holding the Mushaf in his hand.

Then the real problem started as they pointed their spears to the camel holding ‘Aisha (ra)and they were able to strike the camel while she screamed:

يابنى، الله، الله، اذكروا الله ويوم الحساب، وكفوا عن القتال

“My sons, Allah,Allah, remember Allah and the Day of Judgment and cease the fighting.”

The Sabains and the rebels at the front lines never listened to ‘Ali or ‘Aisha and they kept pushing forward so when she saw this and she knew who were the ones behind the Fitnah she started making Du’ah:

أيهاالناس، العنوا قتلة عثمان وأشياعهم

She said: “O people, curse the killers of ‘Uthman and their followers.”

The army of Basarah started cursing them and making Du’ah on the killers of ‘Uthman, ‘Ali and those around him heard this so he told his men as recorded in al-Bidayahwal-Nihayah 7/253.:

ادعوامعي على قتلة عثمان وأشياعهم والعنوهم

“Make Du’ah with me on the killers of ‘Uthmanand their followers and curse them.”

Also this Hadith:

وروى الإمام أحمد بسنده عن محمد بن الحنفيةقال : أبلغ علياً أن عائشة تلعن قتلة عثمان في المربد . قال : فرفع يديه حتى بلغ بهماوجهه فقال : وأنا ألعن قتله عثمان لعنهم الله في السهل والجبل قال مرتين أو ثلاثاً

Imam Ahmad narrated with its Isnad from Muhammad Ibn alHanafiyah RA: Ali was told that Aisha is cursing the killers of Uthman in alMarbad(location near al-Basrah) So he lifted his hands until they reached hisface and said: “And I curse the killers of Uthman, may Allah curse them inthe valleys and the mountains” he said it two or three times. source: Fada’el al Sahabah 1/455 #733 and the Muhaqqiq of thebook said SAHIH, also in al Riyadh al Nadirah fi Manaqib al ‘Asharah 3/70.

The fighting became fiercer and after they finished throwing their spears they drew their swords and clashed again in a second round of fighting, the battle was very violent especially around the Camel and the Hawdaj(Small tent on top of thecamel) which according to the Hasan Hadith in tareekh Khayat and al-Bidayah wal Nihayah looked like a hedgehog because it was being targeted by the rebels who wanted to kill ‘Aisha (as).

Many Muslims from al-Azd and bani Dubah and the youngsters from Quraysh died while defending the camel, every man who took the rails of the camel met his death until al-Sajjad Muhammad ibn Talha grabbed them and said to ‘Aisha: “O mother, what are your orders?” she said: “Be like the best of bani Adam and sheathe your sword.” But he was killed just like ‘Abdul-Rahmanibn ‘Utayb bin Usayd who tried to kill al-Ashtar even if they both had to die.

‘Ali knew that as long as that camel was standing the battle will never stop, the fighting was taking place around it so ‘Ali ordered Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr and ‘Abdullah ibn Badeel to attack the legs of the camel and then carry the Hawdaj to the safety of ibn Badeel’s house. ‘Ali was right,once the reason that forced the people of Basarah to fight to the death was out of the battle they soon retreated.

‘Ali told his men to only take the spoils of war which are found around the camp, they are not allowed to go beyond this nor did he allow them to enter the houses, he even told the people of Basarah:

منوجد له شيئًا من متاع عند أحد من أصحابه، فله أن يسترده

“If any of you finds any of his belongings with any of us then he can take it back.”

According to the Sahih hadith of ibn abi Shaybah this second round of the battle took place from the after-noon and ended at dusk, as for the number of dead they were greatly exaggerated by the narrations and each narrator mentions a completely different number.

In a Hadith which is graded “Hasan li ghayrihi” ‘Ali went to check on the dead with acouple of his companions, when he saw Muhammad ibn talha al-Sajjad he said:

خرجعلى يتفقد القتلى مع نفر من أصحابه، فأبصر محمد بن طلحة (السجاد) فقال: إنا للهوإنا إليه راجعون، أما والله لقد كان شابًا صالحًا، ثم قعد كئيبًا حزينًا…ودعاللقتلى بالمغفرة، وترحم عليهم وأثنى على عدد منهم بالخير والصلاح

“To Allah we belong and to Allah we shall return”

And he made Du’ah so that Allah would forgive them and he praised many of them.

Finally he returned to his home and saw his wife and two girls crying over ‘Uthman and the companions who died in that battle so he said: “I wish that we be the people whom Allah mentioned { And We will remove whatever is in their breasts of resentment, so they will be brothers, on thrones facing each other. }(15:47) He then said: Who are they if not we!? Who are they if not we!? He said it several times until I hoped that he would stop added the narrator.”

And there is more incha-Allah…

Samples of the beneficial Ahadith related to Fitnah:

عن أيوبالسختياني ، عن محمد بن سيرين أنه قال : لما حدثت الفتنة كان عدد الصحابة عشرة آلاف، لم يخف منهم أربعون رجلا. معمر بن راشد : الجامع ، ج 11ص: 357 واسنادها صحيح

From Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani from Muhammad ibn Sereen: When the Fitnah broke out the number of companions was ten thousand, those who participated never reached forty.
source: Mu’ammar ibn Rashid: al-Jami’i 11/357.
grading: SAHIH.

عن عبدالله بن أحمد بن حنبل ، عن أبيه ، عن اسماعيل-ابن علية- عن أيوب- السختياني- عن محمدبن سيرين ، أن قال : (( هاجت الفتنة و أصحاب رسول الله -صلى الله عليه و سلم- عشرةآلاف ، فما حضر فيها مائة ، بل لم يبلغوا ثلاثين )).الخلال : السنة ، ج2 ص: 466 .واحمد بن حنبل : العلل و معرفة الرجال ، ج3 ص: 182 .والاسناد صحيح

‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal from his father from Ismael from Ayyub from Muhammad: The Fitnah raged and the companions were ten thousand but not even a hundred participated, not even thirty.
source: al-Sunnah by al-Khallal 2/466 and Ahmad ibn Hanbal in al-‘Ilal wa Ma’arifat al-Rijal 3/182.
grading: SAHIH.

Now a few authentic narrations about how the Muslims should act during the time of Fitnah:

عن أممالك البهزية قالت: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم :” خير الناس في الفتنةرجل معتزل في ماله يعبد ربه ويؤدي حقه ورجل آخذ برأس فرسه في سبيل الله يخيفهم ويخيفونه”.مسند أحمد ج6 ص419،تعليق شعيب الأرنؤوط : صحيح لغيره

Umm Malik al-Buhziyah (ra): The Prophet SAWS said: “The best of people during the Fitnah is a man who isolates himself and his wealth and prays to his Lord and fulfils his religious obligations, and a Man who holds the rails of his horse (making Jihad) in the cause of Allah and scaring his enemies.”
Musnad Ahmad 6/419, al-Arnaout said: Sahih li ghayrihi.

عن محمد بن مسلمة رضي الله عنه أن الرسول -صلى الله عليه و سلم – قالله : (( إذا رأيت الناس يقتتلون على الدنيا فاعمد بسيفك على أعظم صخرة في الحرة ، فاضربهبها ، ثم اجلس في بيتك حتى تأتيك يد خاطئة ، أو منية قاضية )) ، ثم قال محمد بن مسلمة: ففعلت ما أمرني به رسول الله -صلى الله عليه و سلم )). الطبراني في المعجم الأوسط، و رجاله ثقات . علي بن أبي بكر الهيثمي : مجمع الزوائد ، القاهرة دار الريان للتراث، 1407 ، ج 7 ص: 301

Muhammad ibn Muslimah (ra): The Prophet SAWS said: “If you see the people fighting for this world then head with your sword to the greatest rock you find and strike it (breaking the sword) then sit in your house until you are assassinated by an evil hand or until your time has come to die.” Ibn Muslimah said: “So I did what the Messenger of Allah ordered me.”
al-Mu’ujam al-Awsat by al-Tabarani and its narrators are trustworthy, Majma’a al-Zawaed 7/301.

أن رسول الله -صلى الله عليه و سلم- أعطى سيفا لمحمد بن مسلمة ، -رضيالله عنه – و قال له : (( جاهد بهذا ، في سبيل الله ، فإذا اختلفت أعناق الناس ، فاضرببه الحجر ، ثم ادخل بيتك ، فكن حلسا ملقى ، حتى تأتيك يد خاطئة ، أو منية قاضية)).رواه الطبراني في المعجم الكبير ، و رجاله ثقات ج 7 ص: 301 .

The Prophet SAWS gave a sword to Muhammad ibn Muslimah and said: “Make Jihad with this but when the people differ then strike the rocks with it, then enter your house until you are assassinated by an evil hand or until your time has come to die.”
al-Tabarani in al-Mu’ujam al-Kabir 7/301 and its narrators are trustworthy.

قالالحسن: ان عليا بعث إلى محمد بن مسلمة فجيء به فقال ما خلفك عن هذا الأمر قال دفع اليبن عمك يعني النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم سيفا فقال:” قاتل به ما قوتل العدو فإذارأيت الناس يقتل بعضهم بعضا فاعمد به إلى صخرة فاضربه بها ثم الزم بيتك حتى تأتيك منيةقاضية أو يد خاطئة”، قال خلوا عنه” . مسند أحمد بن حنبل : ج 4 ص: 225 ،وقالالشيخ شعيب الأرنؤوط:حسن بمجموع طرقه

al-Hassan ibn ‘Ali (ra) said: ‘Ali called for Muhammad ibn Muslimah so he was brought to him and he asked: “Why not participate in this?” Ibn Muslimah said: Your cousin (Prophet) gave me this sword and said: “Fight with it as long as you are fighting the enemy but when you see the people kill each other then seek a rock and strike it then retire to your home until you are dead or killed by a hand.” ‘Ali then told his men: “Leave him be.”
Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal 4/225, Shu’ayb al-Arnaout said: all its chains are Hasan.

الرسول-عليه الصلاة و السلام – قال : (( ستكون فتنة يكون المضطجع فيها خيرا من الجالس ،والجالس خيرا من القائم ،و القائم خيرا من الماشي ،و الماشي خيرا من الساعي ، )) فقالله أبو بكرة : يا رسول الله ما تأمرني ؟ قال : (( من كانت له إبل فليلتحق بإبله ،ومن كانت له غنم فليلتحق بغنمه ،و من كانت له أرض فليلتحق بأرضه ،)) فقال له أبو بكرة: فمن لم يكن له شيء من ذلك ؟ قال : (( فليعمد إلي سيفه فليضربه بحده على حرة ، ثملينجوا ما استطاع النجاء )) .رواه أبو داود في سننه ج4 ص 99 و صححه الشيخ الألباني

Abu Bakrah ibn al-Harith (ra): The Prophet SAWS said: “There will be a Fitnah in which the man who sleeps on his side is better than the man who sits down, and the one who sits is better than the one who stands, and the one who stands is better than the one who walks, and the one who walks is better than the one who marches to war.” So Abu Bakrah said: “O Prophet of Allah, what do you order me?” He replied: “He who has camels let him go take care of them and he who has sheep then let him go take care of them and he who has a land then let him go and take care of it.” Abu Bakrah said: “What about the one who has none of this?” He replied: “Then let him draw his sword and strike its tip against a rock, then keep away and save himself as much as he could.”
Abu Dawood in his Sunan 4/99, al-Albani said Sahih.

عن ابي موسى الأشعري رضي الله عنه أن رسول الله -صلى الله عليه و سلم-قال عن أيام الفتنة : (( كسّروا قسيّكم ،و قطّعوا أوتاركم ،و ألزموا أجواف البيوت ،و كونوا فيها كالخيّر من بني آدم )). رواه أحمد في المسند ج 4ص: 408 وعلق الشيخ شعيبالأرنؤوط:صحيح لغيره .و الترمذي في سننه ج4 ص: 490 و صححه الألباني.وابن ماجة في السننج 2/ص1310 وصححه الألباني.

Abu Musa al-Asha’ari (ra): The Prophet SAWS told us about the days of Fitnah: “Break your swords and cut the strings of your bows and remain in the deepest part of your houses and be like best from amongst the children of Adam.”
Musnad Ahmad 4/408 al-Arnaout said: Sahih li ghayrihi, Sunan al-Tirmithy 4/490 and Ibn Majah 2/1310 al-Albani said Sahih.

أن جرير بن عبد الله رضي الله عنه عندما اعتزل الطائفتين ، أرسل إليهعلي بن أبي طالب ، يقول له : نعم ما رأيت من مفارقتك معاوية ، و إني أنزلك بمنزلة رسولالله -صلى الله عليه و سلم – التي أنزلكها )) ، فرد عليه جرير بقوله : (( إن رسول الله- صلى الله عليه و سلم- بعثني إلى اليمن أقاتلهم حتى يقولوا لا إله إلا الله ، فإذاقالوا حرمت دماؤهم و أموالهم )) ، لذا فأنا لا أقاتل من يقول لا إله إلا الله”.الذهبيفي السير، ج 2 ص : 530

‘Ali ibn abi Talib (ra) sent after Jarir ibn ‘Abdullah (ra) after he abandoned both teams and told him: “You have done well to leave Mu’awiyah and I will treat you according to the high rank that the Prophet SAWS placed you in.” Jariri replied to him: “The Prophet SAWS sent me to Yemen to fight them until they said NO GOD BUT ALLAH and when they say this their blood and money become forbidden, so I will not fight anyone who says NO GOD BUT ALLAH.”
Siyar al-A’alam al-Nubalaa by al-Dhahabi 2/530.
قالتعديسة بنت أهبان : لما جاء علي بن أبي طالب ههنا البصرة دخل على أبي . فقال يا أبامسلمألا تعينني على هؤلاء القوم ؟ قال بلى . قال فدعا جارية له . فقال ياجارية أخرجي سيفي. قال فأخرجته . فسل منه قدر شبر فإذا هوخشب . فقال:” إن خليلي وابن عمك صلى اللهعليه و سلم عهد إلي إذا كانت الفتنة بين المسلمين . فأتخذ سيفا من خشب” . فإنشئت خرجت معك . قال لاحاجة لي فيك ولا في سيفك .سنن ابن ماجة كتاب الفتن ج 2 ص:1309،قال الشيخ الألباني:حسن صحيح،ومسند أحمد ج 5ص: 69، و ج6 ص: 393 وقال شعيب الأرنؤوط: حديث حسن

‘Udaysah bint Ahban (ra) said: when ‘Ali ibn abi Talib came to us in al-Basarah he entered on my father and said: “O Abu Muslim will you not aid me?” He said: yes, then he told his female servant: “bring me the sword” and she did and when he took it out of its sheath it turned out to be a wooden sword, so he told ‘Ali: “Khalili(my beloved companion) who is your cousin(means the Prophet SAWS) may peace be upon him made me give him an oath that when the Fitnah happens I use this wooden sword, so if you want I will accompany you.” ‘Ali said: “I need not your help nor your sword.”
Sunan ibn Majah Kitab al-Fitan 2/1309 al-Albani said: Hasan Sahih, Musnad Ahmad 5/69 & 6/393 al-Arnaout said: Hasan.

عن أبيموسى الأشعري رضي الله عنه قال:قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: سلامة الرجل في الفتنةأن يلزم بيته.صحيح الجامع للشيخ الألباني رقم 3649 وقال:حسن

Abu Musa al-Asha’ari (ra): The prophet SAWS said: “The safety of a man during the Fitnah is to remain in his home.”
Sahih al-Jami’i #3649 and he said: Hasan.

قال عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ : بَيْنَمَا نَحْنُ حَوْلَرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ، صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، إِذَا ذَكَرَ الْفِتْنَةَ أَوْذُكِرَتْ عِنْدَهُ ، فَقُلْتُ : كَيْفَ أَفْعَلُ ، جَعَلَنِي اللَّهُ فِدَاكَ ؟ قَالَ: ” الْزَمْ بَيْتَكَ ، وَامْلِكْ عَلَيْكَ لِسَانَكَ”.
حديث حسن :أخرجه أبو داود (4343) ، والنسائي في ” عمل اليوم” (205) ، وابن المبارك في ” مسنده ” (257) ، وابن أبي شيبة (15/9ـ10) ، وأحمد (2/212) ، والطحاوي في ” بيان مشكل حديث النبي – صلى الله عليه وسلم- ” (2/67 ـ 68) ، وابن السني في ” عمل اليوم (439) ، والحاكم (4/282 ـ238) ، وأبو عمرو الداني في ” الفتن ” (117) ، والطبراني في ” كبيره” (ج 13 رقم 4/قطعة من الجزء الثالث عشر) ، والخطابي في ” العزلة “(ص 63 ـ 64)

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amro ibn al-‘Aas (ra): While we were sitting around the Prophet SAWS they mentioned the Fitnah so I asked him: “May Allah make me a sacrifice for you, what am I to do?” he SAWS said: “remain in your house and guard your tongue.”
Hadith is Hasan from Abu Dawood #4343, Ahmad in his Musnad 2/212, Ibn al-Mubarak in his Musnad p257 and others.