It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): "O Ibn Mas'ud, do you know what the ruling of Allah is concerning those of this Ummah who rebel?" He said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The ruling of Allah concerning them is that those of them who turn and flee are not to be pursued, their captives are not to be killed, and their wounded are not to be finished off." A musnad (connected) hadith has also been narrated on this subject.

Abu Bakr bin Muhammad bin Amr bin Hazm narrates from his father that when Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred, Amr bin Hazm went to Sayyiduna Amr bin al-As and said: Ammar has been killed, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had said: "A rebellious group will kill him." On hearing this, Amr bin al-As rose up in alarm and went to Mu'awiyah. Mu'awiyah asked: What is the matter with you? He said: Ammar has been killed. Mu'awiyah said: Ammar has been killed, so what? Amr said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "A rebellious group will kill him." At that Mu'awiyah said to him: You are talking nonsense. Did we kill him? Rather, Ali and his companions are responsible for killing him, for they brought him with them until they threw him in front of our spears (or he said: our swords). This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it with this context.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her); she said: I have not seen this Ummah turn away from anything as it has turned away from this verse: "And if two groups of the believers fight each other, then make peace between them; but if one of them transgresses (rebels) against the other, then fight the one that transgresses until it returns to the command of Allah." [Surah Al-Hujurat: 9] This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Muslim, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.