the next day he set out on foot for the rendezvous and camped there, yet not a single soldier came out to meet him. When evening drew near he summoned the notables, and they entered(1) upon him while he was sorrowful and downcast. Rising to address them he said: “Praise belongs to God for whatever He decrees and ordains, and for having tested(2) me with you and with those who neither obey when I command nor respond when I call. Is it not astonishing that Muʿāwiyah summons the coarse rabble(3) and they follow him without stipend or support, answering his call two or even three times a year, to any front he chooses—whereas I summon you, the people of intellect and the very best of mankind, asking only for your help—and, for some of you, even offering pay—yet you disperse from me, disobey me, and oppose me?”

Mālik ibn Kaʿb al-Arḥabī(4) then rose and urged the people to comply with ʿAlī’s command and to hear and obey him, whereupon two thousand volunteered. ʿAlī placed this same Mālik over them, and he marched with them for five days. Shortly thereafter a group of men who had been with Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr in Egypt reached ʿAlī and informed him(5) of how events had unfolded, how Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr had been killed, and how ʿAmr had secured control of the province. ʿAlī therefore sent word to Mālik ibn Kaʿb, recalling him from the road, for he feared that the Syrians might overtake them before they could reach Egypt.

The people of Iraq then settled into opposing ʿAlī in whatever he commanded or forbade,(6) rebelling against him and distancing themselves from his rulings, words, and deeds—out of their ignorance,(7) feeble-mindedness, harshness, coarseness, and the rampant immorality of many of them.(8) At that point ʿAlī wrote to Ibn ʿAbbās—his deputy in Basrah—complaining of the defiance and obstinacy he was encountering from the people. Ibn ʿAbbās replied, consoling him, offering condolences for Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr, and urging him to treat the people gently(9) and to be patient with those who wronged him, for the reward of Allah is better than this world. He then rode from Basrah to ʿAlī, who was in Kufah, leaving Ziyād as his deputy over Basrah.

Around this time(10) Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān sent a letter with ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥaḍramī to the people of Basrah, calling upon them to accept the judgment that ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀs had rendered in his favor. When al-Ḥaḍramī arrived, he lodged with Banū Tamīm, who granted him protection. Ziyād therefore moved against him and dispatched Aʿyan ibn Ḍubyah(11) with a contingent of men. They advanced on them, battle was joined, and Aʿyan ibn Ḍubyah was killed. Ziyād then wrote to ʿAlī informing him of the dissension that had broken out in Basrah after Ibn ʿAbbās’s departure, whereupon ʿAlī dispatched