against ʿAlī, declaring, “Judgment belongs to God alone!” ʿAlī replied, “A word of truth, but what they intend by it is falsehood. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ described a people whose description I clearly recognize in these men: they utter the truth with their tongues, yet it does not pass beyond here”—and he pointed to his throat—“They are the most hated of God’s creation in His sight. Among them is a black-skinned man, one of whose hands looks like the stump of an ewe’s teat or the nipple of a breast.”
When ʿAlī fought them he said, “Search for that man.” They looked but found nothing. “Go back,” he said, “for by Allah, I have neither lied nor been lied to.” They then discovered him in a deserted ruin, brought him, and laid him before ʿAlī. ʿUbayd-Allah remarked, “I was present for all of this—both their affair and ʿAlī’s words about them.”
Yahyā ibn Sulaym narrated from Ibn Khuthaym, from ʿUbayd-Allah ibn ʿIyāḍ, that ʿAbd-Allah ibn Shaddād ibn al-Hād came in to ʿĀʾishah while we were with her, a few nights after ʿAlī had been killed. She said, “Tell me about those whom ʿAlī fought.” He replied, “When ʿAlī corresponded with Muʿāwiyah and accepted the decision of the two arbiters, eight thousand of the Qur’an-reciters—meaning their devout worshippers—rebelled against him. They camped at Ḥarūrāʾ on the outskirts of Kufah and declared, ‘We have shed the shirt with which God clothed you; you have appointed men to arbitrate in God’s religion. Judgment belongs to God alone.’
“When their protest reached ʿAlī, he gathered those versed in the Qur’an, then had a great codex brought and placed it before him. He began to shake it with his hand, saying, ‘O Qur’an, speak to the people!’ The people called out, ‘What are you asking? It is only ink and paper. We are the ones who recite what it contains—what do you want?’ He said, ‘Your companions who have seceded—between me and them stands the Book of God. He says: “If you fear a breach between the two, appoint an arbiter from his family and an arbiter from hers” (Q 4:35). The community of Muhammad is more entitled to justice and sanctity than a single man and woman.’ He recounted the rest of the incident in words similar to what has already been mentioned, whereupon four thousand of them—including Ibn al-Kawwāʾ—returned, while the others went on.
ʿĀʾishah asked, ‘Why did he kill them, then?’ He answered, ‘They waylaid travellers, declared the People under Covenant lawful to attack, and shed blood.’