I swear that insane is one, who blackens the pages of history in exaggerating
the excellence of a person from the accursed tree of Quran, with these flippant
and worthless words. And Allah is just in judgment.
11. Ibne Asakir1 has narrated from Ibne Abbas as mentioned in Tarikhul
Khulafa of Suyuti2 that:
“If people do not seek revenge for Uthman’s killing, stones would rain from
the sky.”
Allamah Amini says: The researcher has the right to ask the narrator of this
statement, which he attributes to the intellectual of Ummah, whether taking
revenge for killing of Uthman was a lawful matter having religious sanction and
approval of Allah and His Messenger or it was unlawful?
If it was lawful: having religious sanction and approval of Allah, why
Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) advised Ali Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) to fight the
Nakiseen and the Mariqeen, who were seeking revenge for Uthman? And he
encouraged his respected companions to assist Ali (a.s.) when those people attack
him and he threatened his enemies in both the cases and warned them against
fighting Ali (a.s.) and deemed as unjust, if they committed this act.3
Why Maula Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) fought against them – what to say that
he should be their partner in seeking revenge – and killers of Uthman did not
accept it from them and they gave refuge to him? He is such a one that wherever
he turns, the truth turns with him, and the Quran is from him and he is from
Quran, the two shall not separate till they arrive to the Messenger of Allah
(s.a.w.a.) at the Cistern.4
How did the companions, who are supposed to be just, fought the seekers of
Uthman’s revenge at the side of Ali (a.s.)? And on the day of the Battle of Jamal,
how did the senior companions, who were the honor of Ummah, gathered under
his banner?
And in Siffeen, as is mentioned in Mustadrak5 of Hakim, at his side were
two Imams, the two grandsons of Prophet: Hasan and Husain (a.s.) and two
hundred and fifty persons from those, who had pledged at the hands of Prophet
under the tree allegiance of Rizwan, and on the basis of the following report and
that of Hakim,6 there were eighteen persons from the combatants of Badr among
them.
After this, the Allamah has mentioned the names of 145 companions in Al-Ghadeer.7
And on the day of the Battle of Jamal, Imam Ameerul Momineen (a.s.)
exhausted the argument according to the details mentioned before, on Talha8
and Zubair9 and he did not fight them, except after reasoning with them and after
invalidating their false excuses.
Thus, the blood of six thousand or more, who were killed in that battle is the
responsibility of these two men and their mother (Ayesha):
وَمَن يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًۭا مُّتَعَمِّدًۭا فَجَزَآؤُهُۥ جَهَنَّمُ خَـٰلِدًۭا فِيهَا
“And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his punishment is hell; he shall abide in it.”10
ۚأَنَّهُۥ مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًۢا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍۢ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَآ أَحْيَا ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا
“Whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men.”11
And regarding the camel; there was no one, but the most degraded of people,
from the lowest level of men, who were only concerned about satisfying their
carnal desires and were folks of lawlessness – from Banu Zabba and men from
Uzd12 – those who picked up the dried dung of the camel and broke it with their
fingers and smelt it and exclaimed:
“Dung of the camel of our mother has fragrance of musk.”
Just as in the army of Muawiyah, there were none, but ordinary men and
shepherds, whom Maula Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) described that day as: “Make
haste to confront the remaining mercenaries of the Battle of Ahzab, and hasten
with us to what Allah and His Messenger has said, indeed we say that Allah and
His Messenger said the truth and they say: Allah and His Messenger lied.”13
And our master, Qays bin Saad in a statement asked Ali (a.s.): “Is there
anyone with Muawiyah, except the Bedouin freed slaves and the deceived
Yemenis?”
The aim of Muawiyah was not concealed from anyone, not even ladies in
veils, it was this objective that Umme Khair bin Harish said: “Those are grudges
of the Battle of Badr, enmities of the period of Jahiliyya, and hatreds of the Battle
of Uhad. Muawiyah fought Ali (a.s.) in order to take revenge for descendants of
Abde Shams, whereas Quran says:
قَاتِلُوا أَئِمَّةَ الْكُفْرِ إِنَّهُمْ لَا أَيْمَانَ لَهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَنْتَهُونَ
“Fight the leaders of unbelief- surely their oaths are nothing- so that they may desist.”14
How is this revenge lawful, whereas those, who victimized Uthman were all
just companions? So much so that Talha was the most severe of the people upon
him, and Marwan [who killed Talha in the Battle of Jamal] imagined that he was
taking revenge for Uthman’s killing. Due to the arrow that pierced him, Talha
had to drink death in gulps; and Muawiyah refrained from helping Uthman, till
they killed him.