Humayr ibn Jurmuz, Fadalah ibn Ḥābis, and a man known as Nufayʿ set off in pursuit. They continued until they met him coming back with al-Naʿir (1). Approaching him from behind, Humayr gave him a feeble stab. Al-Zubayr wheeled on him, and when he had him at his mercy and supposed that he was his attacker, he cried out,
“Fadalah! Nufayʿ!”
Thereupon they all charged al-Zubayr and killed him (2).
ʿUbayd Allah ibn Mūsā reported: Fudayl (3) ibn Marzūq narrated to us, Shaqīq (4) ibn ʿUqbā related to me, from Qurrah ibn al-Ḥārith, from Jawn ibn Qatādah, who said:
“I was with al-Zubayr on the Day of the Camel, and the people were greeting him with the title of commander, until he said … Then Ibn Jurmuz stabbed him a second time, delivering a mortal blow, so he fell, and he was buried in Wādī al-Sibāʿ. ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, sat weeping over him along with his companions (5).”
Qurrah ibn Ḥabīb reported: al-Faḍl ibn Abī al-Ḥakam narrated to us, from Abū Naḍrah, who said:
“The head of al-Zubayr was brought to ʿAlī. ʿAlī said, ‘Take your seat, Bedouin, in the Fire! The Messenger of Allah ﷺ told me that the killer of al-Zubayr is in the Fire.’” (6)
(1) In the printed edition the word has been mistakenly rendered as “al-nahr.”
(2) Related by al-Fasawi, Maʿrifa wa-l-Tarikh 3/311-312, and quoted by al-Hafiz in al-Matalib al-ʿAliya (no. 4466). See also al-Tabari 4/498-499.
(3) In the printed edition it was corrupted to “Fadl.”
(4) This refers to Shaqiq ibn Uqba al-Dabbi, whose biography appears in Tahdhib and its supplements; he is a transmitter in Muslim’s Sahih. In Tabakat Ibn Saʿd and in the printed text his name was erroneously given as “Sufyan.”
(5) All the transmitters are reliable; the report is also found in al-Tabakat 3/111.
(6) Al-Fadl ibn Abi al-Hakam was narrated from by several authorities. Abu Hatim said: “A Basran shaykh,” and Ibn Hibban listed him among the trustworthy; the rest of the chain is also sound. See Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya 7/250.
Al-Tayalisi 2/145 and Ibn Saʿd 3/1/73 both transmit—through ʿAsim, from Zur—that the killer of al-Zubayr asked permission to enter upon ʿAli. ʿAli said: “By Allah, the slayer of the son of Safiyya shall enter the Fire; I heard the Messenger of Allah say, ‘Every prophet has a close disciple (hawari), and my disciple is al-Zubayr.’ ” Its chain is good. Al-Hakim declared it authentic (3/367) and al-Dhahabi agreed.