36 – Al-Ḥusayn told us; ʿAbd Allah told us; Khalf ibn Sālim told us; Abū Nuʿaym ⦗44⦘ told us; Faṭr told us, from Abū al-Ṭufayl, who said:

Ali summoned the people to give him the pledge of allegiance. ʿAbd al-Rahmān ibn Muljam al-Murādī came, and Ali sent him back twice; the third time he took his pledge. Then Ali remarked, “What is keeping the most wretched of this nation? He will surely dye this with this,” pointing to his beard and then to his head (meaning: his beard will be stained with the blood from his head). He then recited:

Gird yourself firmly for death—
for death is surely coming to you;
Do not despair of death
when it settles in your valley.