They entered the congregational mosque and sat facing the portico from which ʿAlī would come out. When he emerged, he began—as was his custom—to rouse the people from their sleep for the prayer, calling, “Prayer, prayer, servants of Allah!”
Shabīb sprang at him with his sword, but the blade struck the archway. Ibn Muljam then struck him on the crown of his head, and blood streamed down onto his beard (may Allah be pleased with him). As he dealt the blow, Ibn Muljam cried, “Judgement belongs to Allah alone! It is not for you, O ʿAlī, nor for your companions,” and he recited: “And among the people is he who sells himself, seeking Allah’s pleasure; and Allah is Most Kind to His servants” (al-Baqarah 2:207).
ʿAdī shouted, “Seize him!” Wardān fled, but a man from Ḥaḍramawt overtook him and killed him. Shabīb escaped with his life, eluding the people, while Ibn Muljam was captured.
ʿAlī appointed Jaʿdah ibn Hubayrah ibn Abī Wahb to lead the dawn prayer, and ʿAlī was then carried to his house. Ibn Muljam was brought to him—bound, may Allah disfigure him—and made to stand before him. ʿAlī said, “O enemy of Allah, have I not treated you well?” He replied, “Indeed.” ʿAlī asked, “What drove you to this?” He answered, “I sharpened it”—meaning his sword—“for forty mornings, asking Allah that He kill with it the worst of His creation.” ʿAlī said, “I see nothing but that you will be slain by it, and I see you as nothing but one of the worst of Allah’s creation. If I die, kill him; but if I live, I know best what I shall do with him.” (1)
Jundub ibn ʿAbd Allah said, “Commander of the Believers, if you die shall we pledge allegiance to al-Ḥasan?” He answered, “I neither command you nor forbid you; you know best.”
When ʿAlī was at the point of death he repeatedly uttered, “There is no god but Allah,” speaking nothing else. (2) It is said that the last words he spoke were: “So whoever does an atom’s weight of good shall see it, (7) and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil shall see it” (az-Zalzalah 99:7–8).
He counselled his two sons, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, to fear Allah, to uphold the prayer and the zakāt, to forgive wrongdoing, to restrain anger, to maintain the ties of kinship, to be forbearing with the ignorant, to seek understanding of the religion, to be deliberate in their affairs, to keep close to the Quran, to treat neighbours well, to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and to avoid indecencies. He likewise exhorted them concerning their brother Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah, instructing him with what he had instructed them—that he should honour them and decide no matter without them. All of this he recorded in the document of his will (may Allah be pleased with him and grant him His good pleasure).
The text of the will reads:
“In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. This is the bequest of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib. He bears witness that there is no god but Allah alone with no partner, and that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger. He sent him with guidance and the religion of truth that He might make it prevail over all religion, though the idolaters detest it. Surely my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds; He has no partner, and to this I have been commanded, and I am of those who submit.
I enjoin you, Ḥasan, and all my children, [my family] and everyone who receives this letter, to fear Allah your Lord and not to die except as Muslims. Hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah and do not be divided, for I heard Abū’l-Qāsim ﷺ say:
‘Putting matters right between people is better than much of prayer and fasting.’
Look to your kinfolk and maintain them so that Allah may make your reckoning easy. Allah…"