1828 — Abū Hafs Umar ibn Ayyūb al-Saqatī narrated to me. He said: al-Hasan ibn Arafa narrated to us. He said: Abū Muawiya al-Darīr narrated to us, from Abū Bakr al-Hudhalī, from al-Hasan, who said:

After Ali ibn Abī Tālib—may Allah be pleased with him—had finished fighting the Battle of the Camel, Abd Allah ibn al-Kawwā and Qays ibn Abbād came to him and said, “Tell us about this campaign you have undertaken. Did you undertake it on the basis of a judgment you formed when the Muslim community became divided and competing claims arose—namely, that you have the greatest right of all people to this authority? If it was a judgment you formed, we will support you in your judgment. But if it was a covenant entrusted to you by the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—then you are trusted and trustworthy regarding whatever you relate from the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him.”

Ali—may Allah be pleased with him—then pronounced the testimony of faith—as people would do before speaking in those days—and said, “As for my having any covenant from the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—by Allah, I do not. Had I possessed a covenant from the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—I would not have left the man of Banū Tamīm ibn Murra or Ibn al-Khattāb upon his pulpit, even if I had found nothing with which to act but this hand of mine. Rather, your Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—was a prophet of mercy. He neither died suddenly nor was he slain. He remained ill for nights and days, and days and nights. Bilāl would come and inform him that it was time for prayer, and he would say, ‘Tell Abū Bakr to lead the people in prayer,’ though he could see me there.

“When the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—passed away, we considered our situation and saw that prayer was the mainstay of Islam and the pillar of the religion. We therefore approved for our worldly affairs the man whom the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—had approved for our religion, and we entrusted authority to Abū Bakr—may Allah have mercy on him. Abū Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—remained among us while our word was united and authority was one: not two of us disputed his authority, no one accused another of shirk, and none of us disavowed another. By Allah, I would accept when he gave to me, join a campaign when he sent me, and carry out the prescribed punishments before him with this very hand.

“When death came to Abū Bakr, he entrusted the office to Umar—may Allah have mercy on him. Umar remained among us while our word was united and authority was one: not two of us disputed his authority, no one accused another of shirk, and none of us disavowed another. By Allah, I would accept when he gave to me, join a campaign when he sent me, and carry out the prescribed punishments before him with this very hand.

“When death came to Umar—may Allah be pleased with him—he believed that he could never appoint a successor who committed a sin without that sin following Umar into his grave. He therefore excluded his son and household from the office and entrusted it to six men from among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him. Abd al-Rahmān ibn Awf was among us. He said, ‘Would you agree that I relinquish my share in it to you, on condition that I choose for the sake of Allah and His Messenger?’ He then exacted our solemn pledge that we would hear and obey whomever he placed in authority over us. He placed his hand in Uthmān’s and pledged allegiance to him.

“I considered my position and found that my commitment to obey had preceded my pledge of allegiance, and that the covenant around my neck now bound me to another. I therefore followed Uthmān in obedience to him until I had rendered him his due. May Allah have mercy on him.”