It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Shaddad bin al-Had; he said: I came to the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), while she was staying, on her return from Iraq, during the days when Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) fought (the Khawarij). She asked: "O Abdullah bin Shaddad, will you tell me the truth about what I ask you? Tell me about these people whom Ali killed." I said: "Why would I not tell you the truth?" She said: "Then narrate their story." I said: "When Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) and appointed the two arbiters (for reconciliation), eight thousand of the Qur'an reciters rose against him and camped in a village on one side of Kufah called 'Harura'. They objected to him, saying: 'You have come out of the shirt (of the caliphate) which Allah clothed you with, and the name (Commander of the Believers) with which He honored you; then you made people judges in the religion of Allah, whereas La hukma illa lillah (judgment belongs to Allah alone).' When news of their objections and their separation reached Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), he had it announced that no one should come to the Commander of the Believers except one who had memorized the Qur'an. When the house was filled with reciters, he called for a large copy of the Qur'an, placed it in front of him and began striking it with his hand, calling out: 'O Mushaf, speak to the people!' The people said: 'O Commander of the Believers, what are you asking it? It is only paper and ink; we speak from it what we have seen in it. What do you want?' He said: 'Your companions who have rebelled against me, between me and them is the Book of Allah (to decide). Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says concerning a man and a woman (in dispute): "And if you fear a breach between the two (then appoint arbiters)" [Surah Al-Nisa: 35] . The Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is far more sacred than one man and one woman. They also objected that in my letter to Mu'awiyah I wrote my name as "Ali bin Abi Talib" (and not Commander of the Believers). Yet when Suhayl bin Amr came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at Hudaybiyah to make peace, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) dictated: "Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)." Suhayl said: "Do not write Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim." He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Then how should I write?" He said: "Write: Bismika Allahumma (In Your name, O Allah)." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Write that." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Write: This is from Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah." He said: "Had we known that you are the Messenger of Allah, we would not have opposed you." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) dictated: "This is the peace which Muhammad bin Abdullah has made with Quraysh." Allah says in His Book: "Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example, for whoever hopes in Allah and the Last Day" [Surah Al-Ahzab: 21] .' Then Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) to them, and I went with them. When we reached the middle of their camp, Ibn al-Kawwa stood up and said to the people: 'O bearers of the Qur'an, this is Abdullah bin Abbas. Whoever does not know him, I will tell him in the light of the Book of Allah: he is among those about whom Allah said: "Rather, they are a quarrelsome people" [Surah Al-Zukhruf: 58] . So send him back to his companion and do not put the Book of Allah before him.' But their preachers stood up and said: 'By Allah, we will certainly put the Book of Allah before him; if he brings the truth, we will recognize it, and if he brings falsehood, we will silence him with his falsehood and send him back.' So for three days the Book of Allah was put before them, as a result of which four thousand people repented, among them Ibn al-Kawwa, and they came to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Then Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent word to the rest of them: 'You have seen what happened between us and the people. Now stay wherever you wish until the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) agrees upon something. Between us and you is this covenant: as long as you do not block the roads, shed blood or kill anyone, we will not raise weapons against you; but if you do that, we will declare open war against you. Indeed, Allah does not love the treacherous.'" Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) asked: "O Ibn Shaddad, did Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) (eventually) kill them?" I said: "By Allah, he did not attack them until they had blocked the roads, shed blood unjustly, martyred Ibn Khabbab, and regarded the ahl al-dhimmah (non-Muslim citizens) as fair game." She asked: "By Allah, truly?" I said: "By Allah, besides whom there is no god!" She asked: "What is this that has reached me from the people of Iraq, that they talk about Dhu al-Thudayyah, 'the man with the small breast'?" I said: "I saw him, and I stood with Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) by his body among the slain. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) called the people and asked: 'Do you know him?' Most people said: 'I saw him praying in such-and-such mosque.' Apart from that, no firm identification came forward." She asked: "What did Ali say when he stood over him (his body), as the people of Iraq claim?" I said: "I heard him say: 'Sadaqa Allahu wa rasuluhu' (Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth)." She asked: "Did you hear anything besides that?" I said: "No." She said: "True, Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth. May Allah have mercy on Ali; it was his habit that whenever he saw something that pleased him, he would say: Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it, except for the mention of Dhu al-Thudayyah, which Imam Muslim recorded with many chains.