Abd Allah ibn Zubayr objected to her and said...

Abd Allah ibn Zubayr objected to her and said, "You have been an enemy of the family of Zubayr since past days." Umm Salamah said to him, "Do you think that the people will follow Talhah and your father while Ali is still in their midst about whom the Messenger of Allah (s) said, " Ali is the wali of every believer, man and woman, after me." Abd Allah said, "We have not heard any such thing from the Messenger of God." Umm Salamah said to him, "If you haven't, your aunt, A'ishah, certainly has.

I myself heard the Messenger of Allah say: Ali is my successor (khalifah) amongst you, in my life and after my death; whoever disobeys him disobeys me." A'ishah too confirmed that she had heard such a statement from the Prophet (s).

[^88] On the basis of what has been mentioned, one may say in explanation of certain statements of Imam Ali (a) in the Nahj al-balaghah which refer to the allegiance of the Muhajirun and the Ansars that the popular principle of caliphal election until that time was the allegiance of the Muhajirun and the Ansars, an allegiance which was also pledged by them to the Imam.

The Imam was forced to take recourse to this principle in defence against the opposition of those who had broken the allegiance they had sworn him (nakithin) and those who had rebelled against him (qasitin). As a result of this argument of the Imam, many people accepted his leadership and went to war against his enemies. Verses have been narrated from one of the Imam's supporters in affirmation of the validity of his caliphate and the people's commitment to him.

Their author compares the covenant that the people made with him to those made with the first two caliphs: The people have made with him a pledge and a covenant, Like the covenant made with Abu Hafs (i.e. Umar) and Abu Bakr. So pledge allegiance to him and do not turn back an apostate, I exhort you to take refuge its Allah from apostasy.

[^89] However, the Imam himself did not consider such an approach as the basis of the legitimacy of his Imamate, nor was such a basis subscribed to by his close companions, who considered his Imamate to be something that lay beyond the allegiance of the Muhajirun and the Ansar. That which is certain is that, as was mentioned earlier, Shi'ism grew in l its extent and character during the events that occurred in the aftermath of the assassination of Uthman and the caliphate of Imam Ali.

Earlier, only a few of the Prophet's possessed such a tendency.