OPPOSITION OF A´AYSHAH; UNION OF TTOLHAH AND OF ZOBEYR WITH HER, AND THEIR DEPARTURE FROM MEKKAH TO BOSSRAH.

It has been narrated above that when O’thmân was being besieged, A´ayshah, desiring to go on pilgrimage to the Ka’bah, had departed to Mekkah. After she had com­pleted the circumambulation of the house of Allah, she turned the reins of her intention again towards Madinah, and meeting on the road a man arriving from that direction, she asked him about the affairs of O’thmân. The man having informed her of the murder of O’thmân, she asked who had succeeded him on the masnad of the Khalifate, and being told that it was A’li Murtadza, she exclaimed: ‘“We belong to Allah, and unto Him we shall surely return.”* I must again go to Mekkah, because after this Madinah cannot be my residence.’ She thereon imme­diately returned, saying openly and publicly: ‘I swear by God that O’thmân has been killed by the sword of tyranny, and I shall certainly make his murderers give an account for his blood.’ A’tyd B. Solmah, who was one of the brothers of A´ayshah, taking notice of her words and acts, ceased to associate with her, saying to her: ‘Now this is wonderful, as thou hast been the first to open the mouth of reproach and abasement towards O’thmân, and hast said: “Kill Na’shal, because he has certainly become an infidel.”’ —Na’shal was a man with a long beard who resembled O’thmân, and whenever calumniators found fault with the latter or spoke ill of him, they called him by this name. —When O’bayd [supra A’tyd] B. Solmah had reproved A´ayshah by the above words, she replied: ‘After the people had desired O’thmân to repent of acts they did not approve of, and had agreed to kill him.’ On this subject O’bayd B. Solmah recited some distichs, two of which are here given:

From Thee is the beginning, from Thee the end,
From Thee are the winds, and from Thee the rain;
Thou hast commanded the Emâm to be slain:
His slayer is with us, and he governs.

On this occasion the Bani Ommyah, having arrived in Mekkah, made common cause with A´ayshah, the mother of the faithful, in her enmity to the Emâm of the Musal­mâns; in the same manner A’bdullah B. A´amer came with abundant hopes from Bossrah, and A’li B. Ommyah from Yemen with much property, to Mekkah, enrolling them­selves as adherents of A´ayshah. Ttolhah and Zobeyr having arrived from Madinah, met A´ayshah, and openly proclaimed the formula of rebellion against the Emâm of the period, namely, Murtadza A’li. They held a consulta­tion, after which A’bdullah B. A´amer said: ‘It will be proper for us to go to Bossrah, because I have many well-wishers in that province.’ Ttolhah, for whom the inhabitants of that country entertained much affection and love, approved of the suggestion of Ebn A´amer, and when they had all arrived at the conclusion to depart, the following words were proclaimed in the public places of Mekkah: ‘The mother of the faithful, Ttolhah, and Zobeyr are departing to Bossrah, and let everyone accompany them who desires to avenge the murder of O’thmân and to exalt the Musalmâns.’ Thereon a thousand of the people of Mekkah and Madinah, with two thousand from other localities, assembled, who were provided with necessaries by A’li B. Ommyah and A’bdullah B. A´amer, whereon they departed to their destination. After they had travelled from stage to stage for some time they reached the water of Hiwâb, the dogs of which locality all crowded against and barked at the camel of A´ayshah, which had been purchased by A’li B. Ommyah for two hundred dirhems, and given as a present to her. A´ayshah asked for the name of the water, and a guide having replied that it was the water of Hiwâb, A´ayshah exclaimed: ‘“We belong to Allah, and to Him we shall surely return.”* Let me go back. For I have heard the apostle of God—bl. etc.—say to his wives at a time when we were all sitting together: “Who of you will be the possessor of a fleet camel, at which the dogs of Hiwâb will be barking, while she takes part in a rebellion and insurrection?”’ Hereon Ttolhah, Zobeyr, and A’bdullah said: ‘This is not the water of Hiwâb; the guide has told a lie.’ After that they ordered fifty men to bear witness to the truth of their statement.

In some biographical works it is recorded that one day A´ayshah had honoured the house of Omm Solmah with her presence in Mekkah, and had said in a conversation: ‘The blood of O’thmân has been shed with the sabre of unrighteousness, and a great disturbance has arisen, which I fear may violently shake the foundations of the religion. Now, Ttolhah and Zobeyr intend to pacify the nation, and to depart for that purpose to the Arabian E’râq. They are inviting me to go with them, but if thou wilt accompany me it is possible that by thy noble presence this insurrec­tion may be quelled, and hostilities changed into peace.’ Omm Solmah manifesting great distress and embarrass­ment, replied: ‘O A´ayshah, how could we display enmity towards A’li, whose resemblance to the apostle of Allah in person and in character is well known to thee? Yesterday thou hast accused O’thmân of infidelity, and to-day thou callest him Amir of the Faithful! By Allah! the people desire to beguile thee with fraud and evil sug­gestions in order to cause thee to swerve from the straight path. I adjure thee by God the Most High and Glorious, whether thou hast not heard the apostle of God say that “not many days and nights will elapse when the dogs of a water in E’râq, named Hiwâb, will bark at one of my wives, and that wife of mine will be among the partisans of rebellion.” Hearing these words, I unwittingly let a bowl which I was holding in my hand fall to the ground. The apostle of Allah glanced at me, asking, “What is the matter with thee, O Omm Solmah?” I replied: “O apostle of Allah, considering thy words, is there any occasion for asking this question?” Then his lordship smiled, looked at thee, and said: “I think thou art that wife, O little red one.”’* A´ayshah having assented to this declaration of Omm Solmah, thereon said: ‘I renounce this intention, because there is no blessing greater than safety.’ A’bdullah B. Zobeyr, who was the son of the sister of A´ayshah, having obtained cognizance of this resolution, said: ‘If thou wilt not accompany us in this journey I shall destroy myself by walking into the desert bareheaded and bare­footed.’ As Ebn Zobeyr insisted so much, A´ayshah com­plied with his wish; malevolent and cunning persons nevertheless shortly afterwards said to A´ayshah: ‘A’bdul­lah B. Zobeyr has departed to Bossrah without provisions and without a riding animal; if thou wilt not rescue him he is likely to perish on the road.’ As A´ayshah loved him exceedingly she was under the necessity of making common cause with the enemies of the Emâm of the period, and starting for Bossrah. When she reached Hiwâb and heard the barking of the dogs of that locality, she desired to return, and said: ‘O Ttolhah, I adjure thee by God to send me back to the sanctuary.’ Ttolhah having asked for the reason, she informed him of what his holy and prophetic lordship had said, as has been already narrated above. Then A’bdullah B. Zobeyr bribed and gladdened a number of Arabs of the desert to testify [on oath] to A´ayshah that the said locality was another place, and not Hiwâb. It is reported that this was the first false oath which was sworn in Islâm. A´ayshah’s mind, however, could not be changed by their assertion; therefore, A’bdul­lah B. Zobeyr, who superintended the watering of the troops, threw himself running among them, and shouted: ‘Lo! A’li B. Abu Ttâleb has arrived!’ Thereon A´ayshah, dreading a misfortune, gave up her intention of returning. —When A´ayshah called for the guide to ask him again about the true state of the case, Ttolhah informed her that the guide, disgusted at having missed the road, had returned. It is on record that the guide of the troops had at the instigation of Ttolhah and Zobeyr departed to return to Madinah. On the road the guide happened to meet A’li the Commander of the Faithful, who asked him where he was coming from, and what news he had about the troops of A´ayshah. He said: ‘They have departed to Kûfah.’ The guide also informed A’li about the barking of the dogs, the desire of A´ayshah to return, and of the false oath of the Arabs of the desert. A’li Murtadza was dis­pleased on hearing this news, because he apprehended that his antagonists might go to Kûfah and hinder its inhabi­tants from aiding him.