Abū Isḥāq narrated, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Maymūn, who said: “I was present with ʿUmar the day he was stabbed. He spoke about the consultative council (shūrā), and when its members rose to leave, ʿUmar remarked, ‘If they place the matter in the hands of the bald one (al-Ajlaḥ—meaning ʿAlī), he will lead them along the straight path.’ His son ʿAbd Allāh then asked, ‘What is keeping you from appointing him yourself?’ ʿUmar replied, ‘I do not wish to bear that responsibility, whether in life or after death.’

Sufyān al-Thawrī transmitted—through al-Aswad ibn Qays—from Saʿīd ibn ʿAmr, who said: ʿAlī once addressed us, declaring, ‘The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—left us no specific directive concerning political authority. It was a judgment we ourselves arrived at: Abū Bakr was chosen, he assumed the office and matters remained sound; then ʿUmar succeeded him, he assumed the office and matters remained sound. Thereafter the religion planted its stake firmly in the ground, yet some people began chasing the life of this world. Those whom Allah wills to punish, He punishes, and those to whom He wills to show mercy, He shows mercy.’

ʿAlī ibn Zayd ibn Judʿān reported—through al-Ḥasan—from Qays ibn ʿAbbād, who said: I heard ʿAlī say, ‘By Allah, the Messenger of Allah entrusted me with no private covenant except what he entrusted to the people at large. But the people attacked ʿUthmān and killed him, and no one’s situation or action toward him was worse than mine. Later I perceived that I had the strongest claim to this matter, so I seized it. Allah knows best whether we were right or wrong.’

It was read before Abū al-Fahm ibn Aḥmad al-Sulamī: Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad, the jurist, informed you in the year 617 AH; he said: Abū al-Fatḥ Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Bāqī narrated to us; he said: Mālik ibn Aḥmad informed us in 484 AH; he said: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Muʿaddil dictated to us in 406 AH; he said: Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad ibn al-Faḍl ibn Khuzaymah narrated to us; he said: