Hadith No: 3
Al-Bayhaqi - al-I'tiqad wa al-Hidayah ila Sabeel al-Rashad 'ala Madhhab al-Salaf wa Ashab al-Hadith
Chapter on the Successorship 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]
- We were told by the Imam, Abu al-Tayyib Sahl ibn Muhammad ibn Sulayman, who narrated to us, saying: Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Daqqaq narrated to us, saying: Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abdul-Rahman al-Madaini narrated to us, saying: Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Hanzhali narrated to us in his Musnad, from Abdah ibn Sulayman, from Salim al-Muradi, Abu al-'Ala, who said: I heard al-Hasan say: When Ali came to Basra following Talha and his companions .... They said: You are right, so inform us about your fighting these two men - meaning Talha and al-Zubair - your companions in migration, your companions in the Pledge of Ridwan, and your companions in consultation.
He said: They pledged allegiance to me in Medina and opposed me in Basra. And if a man from those who pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr had renounced him, we would have fought him, and if a man from those who pledged allegiance to Umar had renounced him, we would have fought him. I heard the Sheikh, the Imam, Abu al-Tayyib Sahl ibn Muhammad al-Su'aluki, mentioning what encompasses this hadith of the virtues of Ali (peace be upon him), his merits, characteristics, admirable qualities, and indicators of his truthfulness, strength of faith, and soundness of allegiance. He said: Among the major ones is that he did not refrain from mentioning what befell him regarding what transpired with Abdul-Rahman, even if it was a small matter, until he said: And indeed, something clarified in my mind at that time, and in that, there is evidence that if something had confronted him in the matter of Abu Bakr and Umar, and he had experienced differing feelings about it, whether in secret or openly, he would have made it clear either explicitly or hinted at it, as he did regarding what confronted him at Abdul-Rahman's actions. The Sheikh said: The reason for the conflict between Talha, al-Zubair, and Ali was that some people depicted to them that Ali was pleased with the killing of Uthman. So they went to Aisha, the Mother of the Believers, and urged her to leave in pursuit of Uthman's blood and to reconcile the people by allowing Ali to mediate between them and those who had come to Medina regarding Uthman's murder. Thus, the devil instigated between the two groups until they fought, and then they regretted what they had done, and most of them repented. Aisha would say: 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 without weeping until her headscarf became wet, saying: Oh, I wish I had been something forgotten and unremembered. It is also narrated that Ali sent to Talha on the day of the Battle of the Camel, and he came to him, and Ali said: I beseech 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 supporter of those who support him and an enemy of those who oppose him"? He said: Yes. Ali said: Why then do you fight me? He replied: I do not remember. Ali said: Then Talha turned away. It is further narrated that when he was struck, he pledged allegiance to a man from the companions of Ali and then passed away. Ali was informed of this and said: Allahu Akbar! Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth. Allah has refused to let anyone enter Paradise except with my pledge of allegiance around their neck. It is narrated that Ali learned of the return of al-Zubair ibn al-Awwam and said: By Allah, he did not return out of fear, but he returned in repentance. And when Ibn Jurmuz, the killer of al-Zubair, 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 disciple, and my disciple is al-Zubair."