Hadith No: 3
Al-Bayhaqi - al-I'tiqad wa al-Hidaya ila Sabeel al-Rashad 'ala Madhhab al-Salaf wa Ashab al-Hadith
Chapter on the Appointment of Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him)
Volume: (1) - Page Number: (371)
[The text is lengthy, so only the relevant excerpt is provided here]
- Narrated to us by Imam Abu al-Tayyib Sahl ibn Muhammad ibn Sulayman, who related it from memory, and he said: Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Daqqaq narrated to us, and Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abdul-Rahman al-Madani narrated to us, saying: Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Hanthalī narrated to us in his Musnad, from Abdah ibn Sulayman, from Salim al-Muradi Abu al-‘Alaa, who said: I heard al-Hasan ibn Ali say: When Ali arrived in Basra following Talhah and his companions.... They both said: You have spoken the truth, so tell us about your fighting these two men - meaning Talhah and al-Zubayr - your companions in migration, your companions in the Pledge of Ridwan, and your companions in consultation.
He said: They swore allegiance to me in the city (Medina) and opposed me in Basra. If a man from those who pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr had rejected him, we would have fought him, and if a man from those who pledged allegiance to Umar had rejected him, we would have fought him. I heard the Sheikh Imam Abu al-Tayyib Sahl ibn Muhammad al-Su'aluki mentioning what this hadith encompasses of the virtues of Ali (peace be upon him), his commendable traits, qualities, and marks of righteousness, as well as signs of his truthfulness, strength of faith, and soundness of pledge. He said: Among the major signs is that he did not omit to mention what transpired with him in what Abd al-Rahman initiated, even if it was a small matter, until he said: And indeed, what passed through my mind at that time made it clear that if something had arisen for him regarding the matter of Abu Bakr and Umar, and he had experienced conflicting feelings about it, whether in private or public, he would have expressed it plainly or hinted at it, just as he did regarding what occurred to him during Abd al-Rahman's actions. The Sheikh said: The reason for Talhah and al-Zubayr fighting Ali was that some people portrayed to them that Ali was pleased with the killing of Uthman, so they went to Aisha, the Mother of the Believers, and persuaded her to join them in seeking Uthman's blood and reconciling the people by removing Ali from between them and those who had come to the city (Medina) regarding Uthman's murder. Thus, the devil instigated discord between the two groups until they fought, but they later regretted what they had done, and most of them repented. Aisha was often heard saying: I wish I had been bereaved of ten like the children of al-Harith ibn Hisham, and that I had not made the journey I made. It is narrated that she never mentioned her journey except that she wept until her headscarf was soaked, saying: Oh, I wish I had been forgotten, a thing unnoticed. It is narrated that Ali sent a message to Talhah on the day of the Battle of the Camel, and Talhah came to him, and Ali said: I implore you by Allah, did you hear the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) say: "Whoever I am his mawla, Ali is his mawla. O Allah, be a friend to whoever befriends him and an enemy to whoever enemies him"? Talhah replied: Yes. Ali asked: Why then did you fight me? Talhah said: I did not remember. Ali replied: Then Talhah turned away. It is further narrated that when Talhah was struck, he pledged allegiance to a man from Ali's companions and then passed away. When Ali was informed of this, he said: Allahu Akbar! Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth. Allah has refused to allow anyone to enter Paradise except that my pledge of allegiance is upon them. It is reported that Ali learned of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam's return and said: By Allah, he did not turn back out of fear, but he returned in repentance. And when Ibn Jurmuz, the killer of al-Zubayr, came, he said: Let the killer of the son of Safiyyah enter the Fire. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) say: "Every prophet has a supporter, and my supporter is al-Zubayr."