Ibn Jarīr further relates (1) that ʿAlī went out in person to the rest of them and continued debating with them until they returned with him to Kūfah; this took place on the day of ʿĪd al-Fiṭr—or, some said, on ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā, the narrator being unsure which. Thereafter they began casting insinuations (2) at him in their speech, letting him hear abuse, and twisting the meaning of his words (3).

Al-Shāfiʿī (may Allah have mercy upon him) said:
A man from the Khārijites said to ʿAlī while he was in prayer, “If you associate [anything] with Allah, your deeds will surely be nullified, and you will certainly be among the losers” [al-Zumar 39:65]. So ʿAlī recited, “So be patient; indeed, the promise of Allah is true, and let not those who lack certainty cause you to lose resolve” [al-Rūm 30:60].

Ibn Jarīr (4) reports that these words were actually uttered while ʿAlī was delivering the sermon [not during the prayer].

He also narrates that on another occasion, while ʿAlī was preaching, a man from the Khārijites stood up and said, “O ʿAlī, you have involved men in Allah’s religion; there is no judgement except that of Allah.” People on every side then shouted, “No judgement except that of Allah, no judgement except that of Allah!” ʿAlī kept repeating, “It is a word of truth, but what is meant (5) by it is falsehood.” He then said, “Our obligation to you is that we shall not deprive you of any share of the spoils so long as your hands are with us, that we shall not bar you from the mosques of Allah, and that we shall not initiate fighting against you unless you initiate it against us.” They subsequently left Kūfah altogether and encamped at al-Nahrawān, as we shall mention after the decision of the two arbiters.

The meeting of the two arbiters, Abū Mūsā (6) and ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ, at Dūmat al-Jandal

This took place in the month of Ramaḍān, as they had stipulated at the arbitration in Ṣiffīn. Al-Wāqidī (7) says they met in Shaʿbān. When Ramaḍān arrived, ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) dispatched four hundred horsemen under Shurayḥ ibn Hāniʾ, accompanied by Abū Mūsā and ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās as prayer-leader. Muʿāwiyah sent ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ with four hundred horsemen from among the Syrians, including ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr (8). They converged at Dūmat al-Jandal near Adhruḥ—midway between Kūfah and Syria, nine stages from each. A number of leading figures attended, such as ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr, and al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah,