Jami' al-Saghir / Jam' al-Jawami' (al-Suyuti) 4-689b

Translation

Machine translation, not reviewed

"From al-Hasan who said: When 'Ali came to Basra regarding the matter of Talhah and his companions, 'Abd Allah ibn al-Kawwa' and Ibn 'Abbad stood up and said: O Commander of the Believers! Inform us about this march of yours: is it a command the Messenger of Allah ﷺ enjoined upon you, or a covenant he made with you, or an opinion you formed when the community split and its word became divided? He said: I will not be the first to lie about him. By Allah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not die a sudden death, nor was he killed. He remained in his illness for all that time, and the muezzin would come to him and inform him of the prayer, and he would say: Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer. He left me while he saw my position. Had he entrusted me with anything, I would have carried it out. Then one of his wives objected and said: Abu Bakr is tender-hearted; if he stands in your place he will not make the people hear, so why not order 'Umar to lead the people in prayer? He said: You are indeed like the companions of Joseph! When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was taken, the Muslims considered their affair, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had appointed Abu Bakr over the affair of their religion, so they appointed him over the affair of their worldly life. The Muslims pledged allegiance to him, and I pledged allegiance to him along with them. I used to go on campaign when he sent me, I took when he gave me, and I was a whip in his hand in enforcing the prescribed punishments. Had there been any partiality at the time of his death, he would have placed it with his son. He pointed to 'Umar and did not fall short, so the Muslims pledged allegiance to him, and I pledged allegiance to him along with them. I used to go on campaign when he sent me, I took when he gave me, and I was a whip in his hand in enforcing the prescribed punishments. Had there been any partiality at the time of his death, he would have placed it with his son. He disliked choosing from among the men of Quraysh a man to put in charge of the community, lest any wrongdoing after him be attributed to 'Umar in his grave. So he chose six of us, I being among them, so that they might choose a man for the community. When we gathered, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf stood up and gave us his share of it on condition that we agree to his choosing from among the five a man to put in charge of the community. We gave him our pledges, and he took the hand of 'Uthman and pledged allegiance to him. I had some thoughts in my mind at that time, but when I considered my matter, my covenant had already preceded, so I pledged allegiance and submitted. I used to go on campaign when he sent me, I took when he gave me, and I was a whip in his hand in enforcing the prescribed punishments. When 'Uthman was killed, I considered my matter, and the bond that was around my neck to Abu Bakr and 'Umar had been dissolved, and the covenant to 'Uthman I had fulfilled. I am a man among the Muslims; no one has any claim or demand upon me. Then there leaped into it one who is not like me - meaning Mu'awiyah - whose recitation is not like my recitation, nor his knowledge like my knowledge, nor his precedence like my precedence, and I had more right to it than him. They said: You have spoken truly. Then tell us about your fighting these two men - meaning Talhah and al-Zubayr - your companions in the Hijrah, 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. If a man who had pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr had renounced it, we would have fought him, and if a man who had pledged allegiance to 'Umar had renounced it, we would have fought him."

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