It is narrated from Abdullah bin Harith that I presented myself before Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) when he had finished with the Battle of Jamal. He took me by the hand and led me to his house. There, his wife and two daughters were weeping, and a maid had been seated at the door so that she could inform them if anyone came. Seeing the women weeping, she became inattentive, until Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) entered inside and I stayed behind, standing at the door. Thus, they became silent. Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said to them, "Why are you weeping?" Then he scolded them once or twice. Then one of the women said, "We are only saying what you told us about Hazrat Uthman and his relationship (with the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him), Hazrat Zubair and his relationship." Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I hope that we will be among those about whom Allah Almighty has said: 'We will remove whatever is in their hearts of resentment; they will be brothers, facing each other on thrones.' (__QUR_N__) Then Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, 'Who will they be if not us? Who will they be?' He repeated this several times until I wished in my heart that they would become silent."

It is narrated from Hazrat Talha bin Musarrif that on the day of the Battle of Jamal, Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) made Hazrat Talha sit down and wiped the dust from his face. Then, looking towards Hasan, he said, "I wish I had died before them."

It is narrated from Hazrat Humair bin Malik that on the day of the Battle of Jamal, Hazrat Ammar asked Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), "What is your opinion regarding the prisoners?" Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, "We have only fought against those who came to fight us (that is, we will not make the prisoners slaves)." Hazrat Ammar said, "If you had said anything contrary to this, we would have opposed you."

It is narrated from Hazrat Ahnaf bin Qais that we reached Madinah with the intention of performing Hajj. After reaching our destination, we unloaded our luggage when suddenly someone came and said that people are gathered in the mosque in a state of distress. So I went to the mosque and saw people gathered there. Hazrat Ali, Zubair, Talha, and Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas were also present. I stood there as Hazrat Uthman also arrived. Someone said,“This is Uthman,”and he had a yellow cloth covering his head. He asked,“Is this Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)?”The people replied,“Yes.”Then he asked,“Is this Zubair?”The people replied,“Yes.”Then he asked,“Is this Talha?”The people replied,“Yes.”Then he asked,“Is this Sa’d?”The people replied,“Yes.”Then he said,“I ask you by Allah, besides whom there is no deity, do you know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whoever buys the enclosure of such-and-such tribe, Allah will forgive him?’ So I bought it for twenty or twenty-five thousand dirhams and presented myself before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, ‘I have bought it.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Make it a mosque and you will have the reward.’ The people said, ‘It is exactly so.’ Then Hazrat Uthman said, ‘I ask you by Allah, do you know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whoever buys the well of Rumah, Allah will forgive him?’ Then I bought it and presented myself before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, ‘I have bought the well.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Dedicate it for the Muslims and Allah will reward you.’ The people said, ‘It is exactly so.’ Then Hazrat Uthman said to the people, ‘I ask you by Allah, do you know when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, while looking at some faces, ‘Whoever provides equipment for these people (in the Battle of Tabuk), Allah will forgive him?’ So I provided them with equipment, even the bridles and ropes for tying camels?’ The people said, ‘It is exactly so.’ Hazrat Uthman said three times, ‘O Allah, bear witness.’ Ahnaf says, ‘I left and went to Hazrat Talha and Hazrat Zubair and asked them, ‘Now what do you command me to do? And whom do you prefer for me (for allegiance)? Because I see Hazrat Uthman being martyred.’ Both replied, ‘We command you to pledge allegiance to Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).’ I asked again, ‘You are commanding me regarding Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and you are pleased with him for me?’ Both replied, ‘Yes.’ Then I set out for Hajj to Makkah, and during this time the news of Hazrat Uthman’s martyrdom reached me. In Makkah, Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was also staying. I met her and asked, ‘Now whom should I pledge allegiance to?’ She also mentioned Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). I asked, ‘Are you commanding me to pledge allegiance to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and are you pleased with him for me?’ She replied in the affirmative. On my return, I pledged allegiance to Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in Madinah. Then I returned to Basra. Then I saw the matter becoming firm. Meanwhile, someone came to me and said, ‘Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), Hazrat Talha, and Hazrat Zubair are staying at the place of Khuraibah.’ I asked, ‘Why have they come?’ He replied, ‘They seek your help in avenging the blood of Hazrat Uthman, who was unjustly martyred.’ Ahnaf said, ‘Never has a matter more distressing come upon me than this. It is very difficult for me to separate from them (Talha and Zubair) while the Mother of the Believers and the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) are with them. And on the other hand, fighting against the cousin of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is not a small matter, especially when they themselves (Talha, Zubair, and the Mother of the Believers) have commanded allegiance to him.’ When I presented myself before them, they said, ‘We have come to seek help in avenging the blood of Hazrat Uthman, who was unjustly killed.’ Ahnaf says, ‘I said, O Mother of the Believers! I ask you by Allah, did I not ask you whom you command me to pledge allegiance to? You said, Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). I asked again, do you command me regarding Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and are you pleased with him for me? You said, yes.’ Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) replied, ‘It is exactly so, but now Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) has changed.’ Then I said the same thing addressing Hazrat Talha and Hazrat Zubair, and they...

It is narrated from Tariq bin Shihab who says: When Hazrat Uthman was killed, I thought to myself, what is keeping me in Iraq when the congregation is in Madinah, with the Muhajirin and Ansar? He says: I set out and received news that the people had pledged allegiance to Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). He says: When I reached the place of Rabdhah, Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was there. A person had arranged a seat for him to sit. So Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was standing. He praised and glorified Allah, then said: Talha and Zubair pledged allegiance willingly, not under compulsion. Now they want to spoil the matter and break the staff (unity) of the Muslims. Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) urged the people to fight against them. Then Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said: Did I not tell you that the Arabs would unite with them if this person (Hazrat Uthman) was martyred? If you had stayed in your house, that is, in Madinah, I feared that you too would be killed with the same carelessness and you would have no helper. Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Sit down, you hum like a maiden hums, or he said: For you, there is such humming as there is for a maiden. By Allah, I was sitting in Madinah like a wolf who hears the sound of stones falling on the ground. So I observed this matter very deeply; I found nothing except the sword or disbelief.

Saif bin Fulan bin Muawiyah Anzi narrates from his maternal uncle, and he from my grandfather, that when the day of the Battle of Jamal came, the people were anxious. People would stand before Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and make various claims. When the voices increased and Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) could not understand the people’s voices, he said,“Is there not anyone who can sum up his words in five or six phrases?”So I quickly stood up on one leg and said,“If I cannot sum up my words, I will sit down nearby.”Then I said,“O Commander of the Faithful! My speech is not of five or six words, but only two words: Attack or Retribution.”He looked at me and counted up to thirty with his hand. It is said that Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) looked at me and said,“What you have counted is beneath my feet.”

It is narrated from Abu Nadrah that once, in the presence of Hazrat Abu Saeed, mention was made of Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), Hazrat Usman, Hazrat Talha, and Hazrat Zubair. He said: "They were such people whose circumstances were different; refer their matter to Allah."

It is narrated from Habib bin Abu Thabit that Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was saying on the day of the Battle of Jamal: O Allah, I did not intend this.

It is narrated from Qais that Marwan was with Hazrat Talha on the day of the Battle of Jamal. When the battle had begun, Marwan said, "After today, I will not seek revenge," then he shot an arrow at him which struck Hazrat Talha in the knee, and blood continued to flow until he was martyred. Before his martyrdom, Hazrat Talha said, "Leave this wound; this is the arrow that Allah has sent."

It is narrated from Hazrat Sawar that Musa bin Talha called me to him for some need. I presented myself before him. While I was sitting with him, some people from the mosque came to Hazrat Musa bin Talha and said, "O Abu Isa, tell us about our prisoners of the night." Hazrat Sawar said, "They will be killed in the morning." So when I performed the morning prayer, a man came running, calling out, 'The prisoners! The prisoners!' Then another man came following in his footsteps, calling out, 'Musa bin Talha! Musa bin Talha!' Hazrat Sawar says, "So I went and came to the Commander of the Faithful and greeted him. The Commander of the Faithful said, 'Have you pledged allegiance? Did you enter where the people entered?' I said, 'Yes.' Sawar says that in this way (with his hands spread out), the Commander of the Faithful spread out his hands. Then he said, 'You have pledged allegiance.' Then he said, 'Return to your family.' When the people saw me leaving, they began to enter and started pledging allegiance."