Under the wing of darkness, among the quiet, drowsy houses of Kufa wrapped in night, at a late hour before dawn.. and after tense nerves had settled into rest and begun to surrender to sleep.. the Sabai'ite group, some 2,000 men, slipped in, carrying deep inside them an order they had spent the whole night plotting.
Ibn Kathir says in al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya: "The people spent the night in the best of nights, while the killers of Uthman spent it in the worst of nights, consulting one another, and they agreed to stir up war".. The Sabai'ites begin to make contact with the "Qurra" (the reciters).. and tell them that our master "Ali" and Lady "Aisha" had reconciled over the blood of "Uthman", may God be pleased with them.. and that they had agreed to contravene the Book of God, and that revenge must be taken on the killers of the Caliph whatever the cost.
Look at the distortion and the inversion of facts.. the killers of the Caliph are demanding revenge on the killers of the Caliph!
And this group of Qurra were a body of people from the era of prophethood.. from their connection with the recitation of the Quran came their name "al-Qurra" (the reciters), and they used to travel to every corner of the state, especially the places the Muslims had newly entered.. teaching people to read.
This matter gave them influence and prestige among the Muslims.. and the truth is that some of them were against "Uthman" and rose up against him along with the rebels.. but they were not a single "sect" with a leadership like the Kharijites.. so you would find, for example, some of them in the ranks of the Imam "Uthman ibn Affan" and some against him.. there are narrations about some of them taking part in the siege of the Caliph and his killing, against others of them rejecting that.. you find a group of them in Syria and a group in Iraq.
But wherever they settled.. these people were influential.. and the crowds listened to them.. later, three of these Qurra would turn into leaders of the Kharijites.. "Husayn al-Ta'i", and "Shurayh ibn Awfa al-Absi", and "Hurqus ibn Zuhayr al-Sa'di".. this is very important, so that you know that the "Kharijites" can be people of Quran, prayer and fasting, appearing to everyone as respectable religious men.. while inside they are the exact opposite.
The point is that the factions were gathering, evil was toying with every mind, and masked and wrapped up, the Sabai'ites attacked together with a group of the Qurra, each one against the nearest quarter to him, and they began killing everyone.. civilians.. soldiers.. whoever they came across.
And after the town had settled into sleep and rest and been covered by peace, panic spread through it, and every man leapt from his bed to his weapon to protect his family.. and a crier cried out among the people that the Caliph "Ali ibn Abi Talib" was attacking the army of Lady "Aisha".. and another cried out in the opposing camp.. that "Talha", from the army of Lady "Aisha".. was staging a coup against the Caliph in Kufa.
The game of the Kharijites in every time and every age.
And without prior warning.. matters went back to square one.. and the two armies gathered again and stood facing each other... and with the first light of dawn tearing the cloak of darkness apart.. the army of the Imam "Ali ibn Abi Talib" was engaging the army of Lady "Aisha" under the command of "Talha ibn Ubayd Allah" and "al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam".
A violent, terrible battle raged, in which blood flowed in rivers.. and each side imagined that the other had betrayed and double-crossed it.. and in the thick of the fighting, "Talha" was struck by an arrow in his neck, and fell dead.. this caused enormous confusion in the midst of the two sides.. and the fall of "Talha" pushed everyone to stop the fighting.. because "Talha" was a friend of our master "Ali" and loved him.. and at the same time he was a dear friend "of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam".. and his blood made everyone wake up for a moment and realize that they had fallen into sedition.. and "al-Zubayr" ordered the fighting stopped and went to talk with "Ali", may God be pleased with them.
"al-Zubayr" met the Caliph.. and it was said that he reminded him of a hadith from the Prophet ﷺ in which he said that "al-Zubayr" would fight "Ali", may God be pleased with him.. and that at that moment he would be the wrongdoer.. and that "al-Zubayr" replied: "Yes! I did not recall it except in this stance of mine".. It was said that this narration is very weak, because among its transmitters is "al-Ajlah al-Kindi", the father of "Abdullah", and he is weak in chain of transmission.
This battle stirred deep grief in our master "Ali".. and it was related that he said of it, "I wish I had died twenty years before this".. and it was said that he also said several times, in bitter regret: "Would that I had obeyed Abbas".. when "al-Abbas", may God be pleased with him, asked to pledge allegiance to him immediately after the death of the Messenger, if you remember, as we mentioned in the first episodes of this series, that is because "Ali", may God be pleased with him.. believed at the time that had he listened to the words of al-Abbas, the meeting of the Saqifa would not have taken place.. and politics would not have dressed itself in the cloak of religion, nor would people's lives have been ruined, nor would this sedition have happened in the first place.
The point is that after their meeting, whatever took place in it.. "al-Zubayr" departed, having decided once and for all to stop fighting, and he laid down his weapon and withdrew.. and parted from his army, and decided to return to Medina.
And the Imam "Ali" met Lady "Aisha".. and said to her, "May God forgive you".. and she replied, "And you.. you intended nothing but reconciliation".. so he prepared for her the house of "Abdullah ibn Khalaf".. to stay in.. and it was the greatest house in Basra.. and he visited her and sat with her, the two of them talking.. and for the first time Lady "Aisha" pledged allegiance to the Imam "Ali ibn Abi Talib" as Caliph of the Muslims.. and after that she began to make ready to set out for Medina.. and peace prevailed once again.
And during the return of "al-Zubayr" alone to Medina.. one of the Kharijites, named "Amr ibn Jurmuz al-Sa'di", set off after him.. he tracked his trail and lay in wait for him.. and while "al-Zubayr" stood praying in the area of "Wadi al-Siba" near Basra.. "Ibn Jurmuz" pounced on him and killed him.. with the aim of igniting the war anew.
Many narrations tell that "Ali", may God be pleased with him, took revenge on this "Ibn Jurmuz".. and narrations say that he refused to meet him and merely gave him the tidings of the Fire.. and narrations say that the companions of "al-Zubayr" finished him off.. but in any case.. the sedition died down for a while.. and the Imam "Ali" began to move forward in governing the state, and he had been informed of the moves of "Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan", and his rallying of the people of Syria against him, after the latter considered himself "the avenger of the blood" in the killing of "Uthman".
So he took the decision to depose "Muawiyah".. the latter refused.. and he displayed the shirt of Uthman on the pulpit along with the severed hand of his wife "Na'ila bint al-Furafisa".. and he began to gather his army.. but he realized at a certain stage that the forces of the Caliph surpassed his by far.. so he began to cast his gaze toward the Egyptian forces, so that they might join him in his personal battle.
And because the Egyptians had throughout their history been partial to the Family of the House.. they were among the supporters and backers of our master "Ali".. and in order for "Muawiyah" to try to win over the Egyptian army, he tried several methods.. in all of which he failed.. and the story of that would take long to tell.
And there remains more of the talk.. to come.
-------------
Previous posts:
-------------
1 - http://bit.ly/2Rm5tBs
2 - http://bit.ly/2RACrOV
3 - http://bit.ly/2NeseJs
4 - http://bit.ly/2XoDruI
5 - http://bit.ly/2IAYulr
6 - http://bit.ly/2IYrjHm
7 - http://bit.ly/2IKnM0s
8 - http://bit.ly/2FBavFz
9 - http://bit.ly/2YkwqIt