In the beginning of the year 36 of the Hegira,* A’li the Commander of the Faithful appointed O’thmân B. Hanyf to the governorship of Bossrah, ordering A’bdullah B. A´amer to be removed. He sent A’mmârah B. Hisân, who was one of the Mohâjer, to govern Kûfah, and having issued letters patent for the Government of Yemen, in the name of A’bdullah B. A’bbâs B. Rabya’h, despatched him to that province. He nominated Qays B. Sa’d B. A’bâdah to Egypt, and requested A’bdullah B. A’bbâs to depart to Syria, and to do his best for the prosperity of the subjects in that country. A’bdullah, however, replied: ‘Moa’wiah, who is the cousin of O’thmân, and was his agent, has been for years governing the worshippers of God there without hindrance or opposition; I fear that if he can get hold of me he will not rest until he has slain me, but if he refrains from shedding my blood, he will undoubtedly keep me a prisoner. There being close consanguinity between thee and me, there is no doubt that my abasement will involve thine. I think it will be proper on thy part to excuse me from accepting a post which will result disastrously to me.’ Having accepted his apology, Murtadza A’li despatched Sohayl B. Hanyf to Damascus. When O’thmân B. Hanyf arrived in the vicinity of Bossrah, A’bdullah B. A´amer, having surrendered the town, departed to Mekkah, whereon O’thmân commenced to regulate the affairs of Bossrah; some people, however, displayed opposition.—When A’mmârah had reached the neighbourhood of Kûfah, he was met by Ttolhah B. Khowylad Asdy and by Qa’qa’ B. A’mru, who said to him: ‘Return, if thou hast any regard for thy life, because the people of Kûfah want no other man besides Abu Mûsa Asha’ry to be their governor.’ Then A’mmârah necessarily returned.—When the news of the approach of A’bdullah B. Abbâs B. Rabya’h reached A’li B. Muniah, who was the Governor of Yemen, he emptied the public treasury of all its cash and merchandise, and, fully preparing himself, hastened to the conflict.—When Qays B. Sa’d arrived in Egypt, some people went to meet him, and entered the town with him; but among the notables there were two factions, one of which submitted to him, but the other said: ‘If he will punish the murderers of O’thmân, we shall obey him, but otherwise not.’ Qays B. Sa’d thought proper to conciliate this party, merely to avoid its opposition.—When Sohayl B. Hanyf alighted in the locality of Tabûk, some troops of Syria who came to him asked him where he was going to and coming from. Sohayl replied: ‘A’li the Commander of the Faithful has sent me to govern Syria.’ They replied: ‘We accept neither thee as our governor nor him as our Khalifah, and retaliation for [the murder of] O’thmân is incumbent on him.’ Sohayl asked: ‘Does anyone agree with you in this matter?’ They replied: ‘All the inhabitants of Syria agree with us, oppose A’li, and will call him to account for having desired to shed the blood of O’thmân.’ When Sohayl B. Hanyf found this to be the state of affairs, he returned from that very spot to Madinah, and when he informed A’li of it, he became sorrowful, but communicated it to Ttolhah and to Zobeyr, who observed: ‘Although we pressed thee much to bestow the governorship of Bossrah and of Madinah on thy intimate friends, thou wouldst not comply. Now thy enemies expect us to cast off allegiance to thee. If thou desirest the disturbance to be quelled, thou must give us leave to depart to Mekkah to engage in adoration in the sanctuary. When thy foes thus perceive that we have no quarrel with thee, they will very likely grasp the handle [i.e., opportunity] to become loyal and obedient; if not, then prepare for hostilities, because in such a case the contest about the Khalifate cannot be quelled except by using the sword and lance:
‘He will embrace the bride of dominion quickly
Who plants a kiss on the blade of the bright sabre.’
The Amir of the Faithful replied: ‘As long as I am able, I shall deal kindly and gently with my opponents, but if the result is contrary to my expectations, I shall have to ward them off with life-destroying spears and bright scimitars, which do the work of lightning; as I, however, know that you wish to separate from me, I give you leave to go wherever you like.’ As Ttolhah and Zobeyr knew that A´ayshah was fomenting opposition in the sanctuary against A’li—p. b. o. h.—they determined to go to the Hejâz, and departed.