Then he said to his companions: “Let not those people show more earnestness in their misguidance than you show in pursuing your right and obeying your Prophet.” In my judgment this report is not soundly attributed to ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him).
Ibn Dīzīl relates, through ʿAmr ibn Saʿd with his chain, that the Qur’an-reciters of Iraq (while the reciters of Syria had camped to one side, nearly thirty thousand in number) and that a group of the Iraqi reciters—among them ʿUbayda al-Salmanī (1), ʿAlqama ibn Qays, ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Qays, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUtba ibn Masʿūd, and others—came to Muʿāwiyah (2) and said, “What is it that you are seeking?”
He replied, “I am seeking vengeance for ʿUthmān’s blood.”
They asked, “Against whom will you seek it?”
He answered, “Against ʿAlī.”
They said, “Did he kill him?”
He said, “Yes—and he sheltered his killers.”
They returned to ʿAlī and told him what Muʿāwiyah had claimed. ʿAlī said, “He lies! I did not kill him, and you know that I did not.”
They went back to Muʿāwiyah, who said, “If he did not kill him with his own hand, he ordered the killing and colluded in it” (3).
They returned to ʿAlī [and reported this]. He said, “By Allah, I neither killed him, nor ordered it, nor abetted it.”
They went back [to Muʿāwiyah]. Muʿāwiyah said, “If he is truthful, then let him hand over to us the killers of ʿUthmān, for they are in his camp and among his troops.”
They returned [to ʿAlī]. ʿAlī said, “Those men construed the Qur’an against him during the turmoil; division arose on that account, and they killed him while he was in authority. I have no power over them.”
They went back to Muʿāwiyah and informed him. He said, “If matters are as he says, then why did he carry the affair through over us without any consultation with us or with those who are here?” (4)
They returned to ʿAlī, who said, “The people follow (5) the muhājirūn (the early Emigrants) and the anṣār (the Helpers); they are the witnesses of the ummah concerning leadership and the affairs of its religion. They approved (6) and pledged allegiance to me, and I do not deem it lawful to allow someone like Muʿāwiyah to rule the ummah and tear its unity apart.”
They went back to Muʿāwiyah, who said, “Why is it that the muhājirūn and anṣār who are here have not entered into this matter?”
They returned, and ʿAlī said, “This affair belongs solely to the veterans of Badr; there is not a single Badri left on earth but that he is with me—he has followed me, pledged allegiance to me, and is satisfied [with me]. Do not let your religion and yourselves be deceived.”
He narrates: They continued exchanging messages about this throughout Rabīʿ al-Ākhir and both Jumādā months, drawing lots time after time. Each side would advance against the other, while the reciters held them apart so that no fighting occurred. During those three months they drew lots eighty-five times.
He continues: Abū al-Dardāʾ and Abū Umāmah came and entered upon Muʿāwiyah. They said, “Muʿāwiyah, why are you fighting this man? By Allah, he preceded you and your father in accepting Islam (7), he is nearer to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he is more entitled to this authority than you.”
He replied, “I am fighting him over ʿUthmān’s blood, because he protected his killers. Go to him and say: Let him hand over to us the killers of ʿUthmān, and then I will be the first among the people of Syria to pledge allegiance to him.”
So they went to ʿAlī and delivered the message. He said, “These whom you see …” and a great many people stepped forward, proclaiming, “All of us are the killers of ʿUthmān!”