SERMON 217


When Amir al-mu'minin passed by the corpses of Talhah ibn `Ubaydullah and `Abd ar-Rahman ibn `Attab ibn Asid who were both killed in the battle of Jamal, he said:

Abu Muhammad (Talhah) lies here away from his own place. By Allah, I did not like that the Quraysh should lie killed under the stars. I have avenged myself with the descendants of `Abd Manaf, but the chief persons of Banu Jumah (1) have escaped me. They had stretched their necks towards a matter for which they were not suited, and therefore their necks were broken before they reached the goal.

(1). In the battle of Jamal a group of Banu Jumah was with `A'ishah, butthe chief men of this group fled away from the battle-field. Some of them were: `Abdullah at-Tawil ibn Safwan, Yahya ibn Hakim, `Amir ibn Mas`ud and Ayyub ibn Habib. From this group (Banu Jumah) only two persons were killed.

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