96 – Al-Ḥusayn narrated to us; ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Ibrahim ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Hatim ⦗82⦘ narrated to us; Hushaym informed us; Ḥuṣayn related from al-Shaʿbi, who said:

Zahr ibn Qays al-Juʿfi told me: When the morning came on which ʿAli (may Allah be pleased with him) was struck, I mounted my beast and set out for al-Madaʾin. When I drew near the city, its people met me and asked, “From where is the man coming?” I answered, “From Kufah.” They said, “What is the news?” I replied, “The Commander of the Believers was wounded during the dawn prayer. Two men confronted him: one struck and missed, while the other struck and wounded him on the head—a wound from which a man might die, though someone else might survive injuries far worse.” They began arguing among themselves and said, “By Allah, even if you brought us his brain in sixty parcels, we would still believe he will not die until he drives the Arabs with his staff.”

I entered al-Madaʾin and stayed in one of its houses until a letter arrived from al-Hasan ibn ʿAli informing us of what had happened: “So fear Allah and hold fast to hearing and obedience.” ⦗83⦘

He added: The two who struck him were ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muljam al-Murādī and Shabīb ibn Bijra al-Ashjaʿī; Shabīb’s blow missed him, whereas Ibn Muljam struck him on the head and killed him. The one who struck Muʿawiya was a man of Banu al-Ṣarīm named al-Bark, and Muʿawiya withheld the stipends of Banu al-Ṣarīm for the rest of his life.