Ziyarat of AL-ZAHRA’ (A.S.), the Truthful Lady

1. Shaikh al-Mufid has recorded one ziyara for Fatima (A.S.) saying, “Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah (A.S.)! Peace be upon your daughter, the truthful, the purified one! Peace be upon you, O Fatima daughter of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.)! O Head of the Women of the World! O batal, martyr, purified..., etc.”¹

2. Another text reads: “Peace be upon you, O martyred batal, daughter of the Prophet of Mercy!”²

There is another text that says, “Peace be upon you, O truthful martyr!”³

3. Another text says: “Peace be upon you, O martyred truthful one whose inheritance was confiscated, whose rib was broken, whose husband was oppressed and whose son was killed!”⁴

Shaikh al-Saduq, may Allah have mercy on him, has said, “I have not found any specific ziyara for the Truthful Lady, so I have commended what I have stated in this book to my reader what I commend for my own self.”⁵ He said so commenting on the afore-mentioned ziyara which contains this statement: “Peace be upon you, O Truthful Lady, Martyr!”⁶

4. Shaikh al-Tusi, may Allah have mercy on him, citing her ziyara, addresses her thus: “O one who was tried, tried by Allah...” I found this narrative about Fatima (A.S.). As regarding what I found our own folks saying when reciting her ziyara, you must stand at one of the two locations which we mentioned⁷ and say: “Peace be upon you, O daughter of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.)... Peace be upon you, O truthful lady, martyr..., etc.”⁸

5. Another text reads: “O Lord! Bless the bereaved lady, the honorable and the praised one, the lofty martyr.”⁹

6. Al-Kaf`ami has said that Fatima’s children were five and that the cause of her death was beating and miscarriage.”

As regarding the details of the oppression to which she was exposed, some such details have been cited above as well as what the historians and authors have written in their books. We started by what SALIM ibn Qais has narrated in his valuable book which is one of the reliable references which contain details of what took place.

7. Islam’s mentor, `allama Shaikh al-Majlisi, has narrated reliable transmissions by SALIM ibn Qais al-Hilali and others from both Salman and al-`Abbas saying (the following text is from SALIM’s book):

SALIM ibn Qais said, “When Ali (A.S.) saw how people betrayed him and were reluctant to support him, agreeing with Abu Bakr and paying homage to him and respecting him, he remained at home. `Omer said to Abu Bakr, `What stops you from calling upon him to swear the oath of allegiance to you since nobody else remains to do so except him and these four men?’ Abu Bakr was more soft-hearted than `Omer and more intelligent as well as more far-sighted, whereas the other (`Omer) was the most rough, rude and crude. Abu Bakr said, `Who should we send to him?’ `Omer said, `Let us send Qunfath to him, for he is a rough and tough man and a taleeq, one of the Bani `Adiyy ibn Ka`b.’ He sent him together with helpers to Ali (A.S.). He sought Ali’s permission to enter, but Ali (A.S.) refused to let him in. Those in Qunfath’s company returned to Abu Bakr and `Omer who were sitting at the Mosque surrounded by people and told them that they were not granted permission to enter. `Omer said, `Go back. If he permits you, enter, but if he does not, enter without his permission!’”

They returned and again sought permission to enter. Fatima (A.S.) said to them, “I shall expose you to embarrassment if you enter my house without permission.” They returned as the accursed Qunfath remained. They narrated what Fatima (A.S.) had told them adding, “We felt too embarrassed to enter without permission.”+

`Omer then was angry and said, “Why should we pay attention to women?!” Then he ordered some men to carry firewood, and `Omer, too, carried firewood with them, placing it around the house where Ali (A.S.) and Fatima (A.S.) and both their sons (A.S.) lived. Then `Omer called out so Ali (A.S.) and Fatima (A.S.) could hear him saying: “By Allah! You shall have to come out, O Ali (A.S.), and you shall have to swear the oath of allegiance to the successor of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) or else I shall set your house ablaze!”

Fatima (A.S.) said, “O `Omer! What feud is there between us and you?” He said, “Open the door or else I shall burn your house!” She said, “O `Omer! Do you not fear Allah so you want to enter my house by force?” He refused to leave.

`Omer now ordered fire to be lit at the door. Then he pushed the door and forced himself inside. He found himself face-to-face with Fatima (A.S.) who called out: “O father! O Messenger of Allah (A.S.)!” `Omer raised his sword which was still inside its scabbard, hitting her side with it. She screamed: “O father!” `Omer raised his whip and hit her arm. She called out: “O Messenger of Allah (A.S.)! How badly have Abu Bakr and `Omer succeeded you!”

Ali (A.S.) leaped and pulled `Omer’s clothes, then he pulled him and wrestled him to the ground, fracturing his nose and neck and was about to kill him. Then he remembered what the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) had told him and how he admonished him to deal with those folks. Ali (A.S.), therefore, said to `Omer, “I swear by the One Who honored Muhammed (A.S.) with Prophethood, O son of Sahhak¹⁰, that had it not been because of a Book from Allah and a covenant entrusted to me by the Messenger of Allah (A.S.), you would have come to know that you are not such who would enter my house!”

`Omer cried out for help. People came and entered the house. Ali (A.S.) took to his sword, so Qunfath returned to Abu Bakr fearing that Ali (A.S.) would kill him, knowing his might and prowess.

Abu Bakr said to Qunfath, “Go back. If he comes out, that is alright, otherwise, enter his house by force. If he refuses to come out, set their house to fire.” The accursed Qunfath set out. He and those in his company entered Ali’s house by force and without permission.

Fatima (A.S.) intercepted them at the door. The cursed Qunfath hit her with the sword. When she died, her wrist had a mark looking like a bracelet because of being whipped by that damned slave.

Ali (A.S.) was taken by force and brought to Abu Bakr. `Omer was standing next to him with his sword unsheathed. Khalid ibn al-Walid, Aba `Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah, Salim (slave of Aba Huthayfah), Mu`th ibn Jabal, al-Mugharah ibn Shu`bah, Aseed ibn Hasan, Bashar ibn Sa`d and other people were all sitting around Abu Bakr, all armed.

I said to Salman, “Did they really enter the house of Fatima (A.S.) without permission?!” He said, “Yes, by Allah, and she did not have a veil, so she cried out, `O Father! O Messenger of Allah (A.S.)! O how badly you have been succeeded by Abu Bakr and `Omer while your eyes can still see though you are in your grave!’ She called that out as loudly as she could. I saw Abu Bakr and those around him weeping (as they heard her say those words). They all wept except `Omer, Khalid ibn al-Walid and al-Mugharah ibn Shu`bah. `Omer kept saying, `We have nothing to do with what women say.’ They took Ali (A.S.) to Abu Bakr as he was saying, `O by Allah! Had I had my sword in my hand, you would surely know that you would not be able to do what you are doing at all. By Allah! I do not blame myself if I fight against you. Had I only had forty supporters, I would have been able to disperse all the people you have rallied behind you. But the curse of Allah be on people who swore the oath of allegiance to me then betrayed me. When Abu Bakr saw Ali (A.S.), he shouted, ‘set him free!’ Ali (A.S.) said, `O Abu Bakr! How swiftly you have transgressed against the Messenger of Allah (A.S.)! What gives you the right or which status permits you to invite the people to swear the oath of allegiance to you? Did you not yourself swear the oath of allegiance a few days ago as ordered by Allah and as enjoined by the Messenger of Allah (A.S.)?’”

Qunfath, the curse of Allah be upon him, hit Fatima (A.S.) with the whip when she threw herself between him and her husband. `Omer had instructed him thus: “If Fatima (A.S.) intercepts you from reaching him (reaching Ali [a]), you should whip her.” Qunfath, the curse of Allah be upon him, cornered her at the knob of her house’s door, pushed her and broke one of her ribs, so she miscarried a fetus. She remained in bed since then till she (A.S.) died as a martyr in the aftermath.

When Ali (A.S.) was brought to Abu Bakr, `Omer rebuked him and rudely said to him: “Swear the oath of allegiance (and leave such falsehood of yours aside).” He (A.S.) said to `Omer, “And if I do not, what are you all going to do?” They said, “We shall kill you in the most humiliating and contemptible way.” He (A.S.) said, “You will then kill a servant of Allah and a Brother of His Messenger.” Abu Bakr said, “As regarding you being a servant of Allah, yes, I agree with that. But as regarding you being the Brother of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.), we do not recognize you as such.” Ali (A.S.) said, “Do you deny that the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) had established Brotherhood between himself and myself [when he established brotherhood between the Ansar and the Muhajiran in Medina in the first Hijri year]?!” Abu Bakr said, “Yes.” Ali (A.S.) repeated his question to them three times! Then Ali (A.S.) said, “O Muslims! O Muhajiran and Ansar! I ask you in the Name of Allah (A.S.), have you heard the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) on the Day of Ghadir Khumm say such-and-such?! And have you heard him in the Invasion of Tabuk say such-and-such?!” Ali (A.S.) continued reminding them of what the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) had said about him. They said, “Lord! We testify that he (A.S.) said it.”

When Abu Bakr was afraid of a change of public opinion in favor of Ali (A.S.) and that they would now oppose him, he said to Ali (A.S.), “Any word of truth you have said we have heard it with our ears and recognized it, and our hearts have understood it. But we have also heard the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) say, `We are members of a House whom Allah chose and honored, choosing for us the Hereafter over the temporal life. Allah decreed not to grant us both Prophethood and Caliphate.” Ali (A.S.) asked Abu Bakr, “Has any of the sahaba of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) ever heard the Prophet (A.S.) says so besides yourself?” `Omer immediately said, “The successor of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) has said the truth, and I have heard it just as he stated it.” Aba `Ubaydah, Salim (slave of Aba Huthayfah) and Mu`ath ibn Jabal said, “He said the truth; we, too, heard the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) say it.” Ali (A.S.) said to all of them, “You have all fulfilled the promise which you had vowed as recorded in your (damned) sahifa to whose contents you swore at the Ka`ba saying, `If Allah causes Muhammed (A.S.) to be killed, or if he dies, we shall shift this matter (caliphate) from Ahl al-Bayt.’”

Abu Bakr asked Ali (A.S.), “How do you know about it and we never acquainted you with what is in it?!” Ali (A.S.) said, “You, Zubayr, and you, Salman, and you, Abu Tharr, and you, Miqdad! I ask you in the Name of Allah (A.S.) and in the name of Islam, did you hear the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) say as you heard: ‘so-and-so, till he counted the names of these five individuals, wrote a covenant and made a pledge and an agreement to which they all swore to do such-and-such if I am killed or if I die’”? They all said, “We invoke Allah to witness that yes, we have heard the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) say so to you, that they made an agreement and a covenant to do what they have already done, writing a document to this effect that if the Prophet (A.S.) was killed or if he died, they would oppose you and shift this (caliphate) from you, O Ali!” You yourself said, “May my parents be sacrificed for your sake, O Messenger of Allah (A.S.)! What do you order me to do if this comes to pass?” He (A.S.) said to you, “If you find supporters, you should oppose and fight them. But if you do not find enough supporters, you should swear fealty and safeguard your own blood.”

Ali (A.S.) then said, “By Allah! Had those forty men who swore allegiance to me fulfilled their promise, I would have fought you, but by Allah! None of your offspring shall ever achieve it till the Day of Judgment. What proves that you have told a lie about the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) is the verse of the most Exalted One wherein He says, `Or do they envy the people for what Allah has bestowed upon them of His grace? But indeed We have given Abraham’s children the Book and the wisdom, and We have given them a grand kingdom’ (Holy Qur’an, 5:54), for the Book, the Prophethood, the wisdom, the Sunnah, the kingdom and the caliphate are all ours, for we are from the family of Abraham.”

Al-Miqdad stood up and said, “O Ali (A.S.)! What do you order me to do? By Allah! If you order me to strike anyone with my sword, I will do it. And if you do not, I shall refrain.” Ali (A.S.) said, “Stop it, Miqdad, and remember the covenant with the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) and what he ordered you to do.”

I stood up and said, “By the One in Whose hand my life is, had I known that I keep away oppression and thus strengthen the creed of Allah, I would have take out my sword and strike with it one after another. Do you really all leap like that on the Brother of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) and his successor over his nation and the father of his offspring?! Then receive the good news of tribulation and lose hope of prosperity!”

Abu Tharr stood up and said, “O nation confused after its Prophet (A.S.), betrayed because of its mutiny, Allah says, ‘surely Allah chose Adam and Noah and the descendants of Abraham and the descendants of `Imran (Amram) above all nations: offspring, one of the other, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.’ (Holy Qur’an, 3:33-34). The Progeny of Muhammed (A.S.) are the descendants of Noah, the family of Abraham are he descendants of Abraham, and the elite from among the lineage of Ishmael, the family of Prophet (A.S.) Muhammed (A.S.)! They are the household of Prophethood and the place of the Message. Angels visit them, and they are like the raised heavens, the fixed mountains, the veiled Ka`ba, the pure spring, the guiding stars, the blessed tree which emits light and whose decoration is blessed! Muhammed (A.S.) is the seal of all the prophets, the master of the offspring of Adam, while Ali (A.S.) is the wasi of all wasis, the Imam of the righteous, the leader of the good ones, the greatest Siddaq, the greatest Faraq, the wasi of Muhammed (A.S.), the heir of his knowledge and the one who has more authority over the believers than the believers have over their own selves just as the Almighty says, `The Prophet (A.S.) has a greater claim on the Faithful (A.S.) than they have on their own selves, and his wives are their mothers; and those of kinship have better claim in the ordinacne of Allah (A.S.) to inheritance, one with respect to the other than (other) believers, and (than) those who have fled (their homes), except that you do some good to your friends; this is written in the Book’ (Holy Qur’an, 33:6). So now you should prefer those whom Allah has preferred, and let others behind you, those whom Allah left behind, and make the authority and inheritance to those for whom Allah assigned them.”

`Omer stood up and said to Abu Bakr as the latter was sitting on the pulpit, “What keeps you sitting on this pulpit since this man is fighting you and not swearing the oath of allegiance to you? Do you issue an order to kill him so we may strike his neck with the sword?” Al-Hasan (A.S.) and al-Husain (A.S.) were both present... When they both heard what `Omer said, they wept. Ali (A.S.) hugged them and said, “Do not weep, for by Allah, they both (`Omer and Abu Bakr) shall never be able to kill your father.”

Umm Ayman, who nursed the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) in his childhood, came in and said, “O Abu Bakr! Who swiftly you have revealed your envy and hypocrisy!” Abu Bakr ordered her to be kicked out of the Mosque saying, “Why should we bother about women?”

Buraydah al-Aslami stood up and said, “O `Omer! Do you really leap against the Brother of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) and the father of his offspring while you are one whom we, Quraishites, know very well who he is?! Are you both not the Ones (A.S.) to whom the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) said, `Go, both of you, to Ali (A.S.) and address him as the Commander of the Faithful (A.S.)’ and you both asked him, `Is this an order from Allah and His Messenger?’ and he said to you, `Yes,’?” Abu Bakr said, “This did, indeed, take place, but the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) said after that, `My Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) shall not have both Prophethood and caliphate’.” He said, “By Allah do I swear that the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) never said so! By Allah do I swear that I shall never live in a town where you sit in charge.” `Omer ordered him to be beaten and expelled! Then `Omer said, “Stand up, O son of Aba Talib, and swear the oath of allegiance.” Ali (A.S.) said, “And what if I do not?” `Omer said, “Then by Allah we shall kill you.” Ali (A.S.) argued with them in vain three times after which he stretched his hand without opening it. Abu Bakr slapped on it and accepted it as a token of his allegiance. But before doing so, Ali (A.S.), while the rope was still around his neck, loudly recited this verse: “O son of my mother! Surely the people deemed me weak and almost killed me” (Holy Qur’an, 7:150)

Al-Zubayr was told to swear the oath of allegiance, but he refused, whereupon `Omer, Khalid ibn al-Walid, al-Mugharah ibn Shu`bah and other people leaped at him and took his sword away from him, hitting it on the ground and breaking it. Al-Zubayr, while `Omer was on his chest, said to the latter, “O son of Sahhak! By Allah! Had my sword been in my hands, you would not have had the courage to stand in my way.” Then he was forced to swear it.

Salman said, “Then they took me and crushed my neck till they left it like a goiter. Then they took my hand and twisted it, so I swore the oath of allegiance even against my wish.”

Then Abu Tharr and al-Miqdad swore it against their will. Only Ali (A.S.) and these four men were forced to swear the oath of allegiance against their will. Al-Zubayr was the toughest in his speech. Having sworn it, he (addressing `Omer ibn al-Khattab) said, “O son of Sahhak! By Allah! Had it not been for the tyrants who supported you, you would never have had the courage to face me while my sword is with me due to your well known cowardice and meanness. But you found oppressors whereby you deem yourself strong, so you use them as your weapon.” `Omer was angry and asked him, “Do you mention the name of Sahhak (at this place)?” “And what stops me from mentioning her?!,” answered al-Zubayr, and she was a prostitute. Do you deny it?! Was she not a slave woman from Ethiopia and the property of my grandfather `Abd al-Muttalib?! Your grandfather, Nufayl, committed adultery with her, so she gave birth to your father al-Khattab. `Abd al-Muttalib then gave her away to your grandfather after the latter had committed adultery with her, so she gave birth to him [to al-Khattab]. Is he not a slave of my grandfather and the son of a prostitute?!” Abu Bakr interceded between both men, pushing each one of them aside from the other.

SALIM ibn Qais said, “I asked Salman [al-Farisi], `Did you really swear the oath of allegiance, O Salman, to Abu Bakr without saying anything at all about that?’ He said, `Having sworn it, I said, `Woe unto you for eternity! Do you not know what you have committed against your own souls? You hit the mark while missing it! You followed the way of the people before you, the people of dissension and disunity, and you missed the Sunnah of your Prophet (A.S.), so much so that you took this Sunnah out of its substance and out of the hands of its people.’” `Omer said, “O Salman! Since your friend has sworn it, and since you yourself have done likewise, you may say whatever you wish to say, and you may do whatever you please, and let your friend, too, say whatever he likes.” Salman said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) saying that upon you (O `Omer!) And upon your fellows fall the like of the sins of all his [Prophet ‘s] nation till the Day of Judgment and the like of all their torment.” He (`Omer) said, “Say whatever you wish to say. Have you not sworn the oath of allegiance and Allah did not cool your eyes by seeing your friend [Ali (A.S.)] taking charge of it?” Salman said, “I testify that I have read in some of the Books revealed by Allah about the people of this Household that you, in your name and in your lineage and characteristics, are one of the Gates of Hell.” `Omer said to Salman, “Say whatever you wish to say. Has Allah not removed it [caliphate] from the people of this House which you chose as lords besides Allah?” Salman said, “I testify that I heard the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) that you yourself are implied in the following verse about which I asked him (A.S.): `On that Day, no one shall chastise with (anything like) His chastisement, and no one shall bind with (anything like) His binding’ (Holy Qur’an, 89:25-26).” `Omer said, “Shut your mouth, may Allah shut it forever, you slave and son of the stinking woman!” Ali (A.S.) said to Salman, “O Salman! I ask you in the Name of Allah (A.S.) to remain silent.”¹¹

8. In another text by SALIM ibn Qais, the following is stated:

Ali (A.S.), Bani Hashim, Abu Tharr, al-Miqdad, Salman and a few others did not swear the oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr. `Omer said to Abu Bakr, “Look, you, all people have sworn the oath of allegiance to you except this man and his family members and these individuals; so, send someone to fetch him.” Abu Bakr sent a cousin of `Omer named Qunfath to fetch Ali (A.S.). He said to him, “Qunfath! Set out to Ali (A.S.) and say to him, `Answer the call of the successor of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.).’” Qunfath set out and conveyed the message. Ali (A.S.) said, “How swiftly you all are in telling lies about the Messenger of Allah (A.S.)! You have reneged from your oath [to the Messenger of Allah (A.S.)] and you have betrayed [the one whom he (A.S.) had assigned as his successor, namely Ali (A.S.)]! By Allah! The Messenger of Allah (A.S.) did not leave a successor to him besides myself. So, O Qunfath! Return, for you are only a bearer of a message, and tell him that by Allah, the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) never assigned you as his successor, and you know exactly who the successor of the Messenger of Allah really is.”

Qunfath went to Abu Bakr and conveyed the message. Abu Bakr said, “Ali (A.S.) has said the truth! The Messenger of Allah (A.S.) did NOT assign me as his successor!” `Omer became angry and leaped from his place, but Abu Bakr told him to sit down. Then Abu Bakr said to Qunfath, “Go back and say to him, `Answer the call of the commander of the Faithful Abu Bakr.’”

Qunfath returned, entered Ali’s house and conveyed the message. Ali (A.S.) said, “By Allah do I swear that he (Abu Bakr) has lied! Set out to him and say to him, `By Allah! You have assumed a title which is not yours, and you know very well that the commander of the faithful is someone else other than yourself!’”

Qunfath returned and did so. `Omer, now even more angry, leaped again and said, “By Allah! I know how silly he is and how weak his view is, and we shall never be able to take full control unless we kill him, so let me bring his head to you!” Abu Bakr said, “Sit down,” but `Omer refused to sit. Then Abu Bakr pleaded to `Omer in the Name of Allah to sit, so he sat. Abu Bakr then said, “Qunfath! Set out to him and say, `O Ali! Answer the call of Abu Bakr.’”

Ali (A.S.) said to Qunfath, “I am too busy to be concerned about them, and I am not going to abandon the will of my friend and Brother (A.S.). Go back to Abu Bakr and to whatever oppression you all have set your minds upon.”

Qunfath set out and conveyed the above to Abu Bakr, whereupon `Omer, outraged, leaped out of his place and called on Khalid ibn al-Walid and Qunfath and ordered them to carry firewood and a torch of fire. He went to Ali’s house door while Fatima (A.S.) was sitting behind it, her head bandaged and body extremely thin due to the effects of the demise of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.). `Omer came and knocked at the door then shouted out, “O son of Aba Talib! Open the door!” Fatima (A.S.) said to him, “O `Omer! What feud is there between us and yourself? Why don’t you leave us in our pain?” He said to her, “Open the door or else I shall burn you all!” She said, “O `Omer! Don’t you have any fear of Allah, the most Exalted and the most Great, at all? Do you want to enter my house (by force) and to assault my home?” But he refused to leave. Then `Omer ordered the door to be set to fire, burning it. `Omer pushed the door. Fatima (A.S.) met him face-to-face and screamed, “O Father! O Messenger of Allah (A.S.)!” He lifted his sword as it was still in its scabbard and hit her side with it, so she screamed. He raised the whip and hit her on her arm, causing her to scream, “O Father!”

Ali (A.S.) ibn Abi Talib then leaped and pulled `Omer by his clothes, shaking him and throwing him on the ground. He smashed his nose and neck and was about to kill him. But he remembered what the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) had told him and how he enjoined him to be patient, so he said to Omer, “I swear by the One Who honored Muhammed (A.S.) with Prophethood, O son of Sahhak, that had it not been for a Book from Allah which He already revealed, you would know that you would not be able to enter my house!”

`Omer sent for help. People came and entered the house. Khalid ibn al-Walid pulled his sword out of its scabbard in order to hit Fatima (A.S.)! Ali (A.S.) attacked Khalid with his own sword, but `Omer pleaded to Ali (A.S.) in the Name of Allah (A.S.) not to kill Khalid, so he abstained.

Al-Miqdad, Salman, Abu Tharr, `Ammar and Buraydah al-Aslami came and entered the house to support Ali (A.S.). A great dissension was about to befall the Islamic nation. Ali (A.S.) was taken out, followed by people and by Salman, Abu Tharr, al-Miqdad, `Ammar and Buraydah al-Aslami (may Allah have mercy on them all) as they were saying to Omer, “How swiftly you have betrayed the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) and let the grudge come out of your chests!”

Buraydah ibn al-Khasab al-Aslami said, “O `Omer! Do you really leap on the Brother of the Messenger of Allah (A.S.) and his wasi and on his daughter, so you hit her, and you are the one who we all, Quraishites, know who he is?!” Khalid ibn al-Walid raised his sword, while still in its scabbard, to hit Buraydah, but `Omer held him back and forbade him.

Finally they brought Ali (A.S.) to Abu Bakr handcuffed. Once Abu Bakr laid his eyes on him, he shouted at the men to release him. Ali (A.S.) said to Abu Bakr, “How swiftly you all have attacked the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) of your Prophet (A.S.)! O Abu Bakr! By what right or by what will, or by what merit of your own, do you urge people to swear the oath of allegiance to you?! Did you not yourself swear the oath of allegiance days ago as ordered by the Messenger of Allah (A.S.)?!” `Omer interrupted saying, “Leave such talk aside, O Ali (A.S.), for by Allah, if you do not swear the oath of allegiance, we shall kill you.”

`Omer again said, “Stand up and swear fealty.” Ali (A.S.) asked him, “And what if I do not?” `Omer said, “Then we, by Allah, shall kill you.” Ali (A.S.) said, “You, by Allah, have lied, O son of Sahhak! You cannot do that! You are more mean and more weak to do it!” Khalid ibn al-Walid jumped and pulled his sword out as he said, “By Allah! If you do not do it, I shall kill you!” Ali (A.S.) stood up and pulled Khalid by his clothes then shoved him, throwing him on the ground on his back. The sword fell from Khalid’s hand. `Omer said, “Stand up, Ali, and swear the oath of allegiance.” Ali (A.S.) said to him, “And what if I do not?!” `Omer said, “We by Allah will then kill you.”

Three times did Ali (A.S.) argue with them, but in vain. Then he stretched his hand without opening it. Abu Bakr slapped on it, accepting this as a token of his fealty. Then Ali (A.S.) went back home followed by people.¹²

9. SALIM ibn Qais has also recorded the following:

Ibn `Abbas said, “... Then they cooked a plot and rehearsed their roles. They said, `We shall never be in full charge as long as this man (Ali [a]) is alive!”

Abu Bakr asked, “Who can kill him for us?” `Omer said, “Khalid ibn al-Walid!” So they asked for him. Both men (`Omer and Abu Bakr) said to Khalid, “O Khalid! What would you say if we ask you to undertake a very serious errand?!” He said, “Order me to do anything at all as you please, even if you order me to kill Ali (A.S.) ibn Abi Talib, and I shall do it.” They said to him, “We do not want you to do anything other than it!” He said, “I am the man for it!” Abu Bakr said, “Once we perform the Fajr prayers, stand beside him, and let your sword be with you. Once I offer the Tasleem, you should kill him.” Khalid agreed.

They dispersed following their agreement. Abu Bakr contemplated a great deal on his plot to get Ali (A.S.) killed. He realized that if he did so, a devastating war and a great calamity would take place, so he regretted ordering Khalid to do it. He could not sleep that night till dawn. At dawn, he went to the Mosque after the call for the prayers had already been made. He advanced and led the prayers, contemplating, not knowing what to say.

Khalid came, carrying his sword and stood beside Ali (A.S.). Ali (A.S.) was able to guess some of the plot against him. Once Abu Bakr finished the tashahhud, he called out, before the Tasleem, “O Khalid! Do not do what I ordered you to do, for if you do it, I shall kill you!” Then he made the Tasleem on his right and left sides.