They thought that they had paid homage to the Imam according...

They thought that they had paid homage to the Imam according to some material objectives. They sought authority and bargained with the Imam for power. But the Imam thought that they were his partners in righteousness and in establishing justice among the Muslims. When they came to know that he would not entrust them with anything, they complained to the people of him and announced their rebellion against him. Al-Zubayr said before some Qurayshi people: “This is our reward from Ali.

We supported him in respect of the matter of Uthman, to the extent that we proved that he was guilty and brought about his murder, while he was sitting in his house, and the matter was over. However when he (Imam Ali) obtained through us what he had wanted, he appointed other than us (as governors).” As for Talha, he said: “The blame (is for nothing) except that we were three persons of the Consultative Committee; one of us hated him. We paid homage to him.

We gave him that which was in our hands, while he has deprived us of that which in his hand. Therefore, we have made mistake in respect of that which we had hoped.[^1] ” When the Imam heard their sayings, he summoned Abdullah bin Abbas and asked him: -Have you heard the sayings of the two men (Talha and al-Zubayr)? -Yes, I think they have liked authority; therefore appoint al-Zubayr (as governor) over Basra, and appoint Talha over Kufa.

However, the Imam refuted Ibn Abbas’s viewpoint and explained to him that appointing them as governors would bring about some dangers, saying: “Woe unto you! There are men and properties in the two cities. When they rule the people, they will attract the foolish through greediness, strike the weak with an affliction, and be powerful over the strong through authority. If I appointed someone as governor out of his harm and profit, then I would appoint Mu’awiya as governor over al-Sham.

Were it not for that I came to know that they showed craving after authority, then I would have another opinion of them.”[^2] This initiative indicates that Talha and al-Zubayr were very desirous for power and authority, that they moved the displeasure of the people with Uthman out of ambition for the caliphate and government, and that they were [^1] He meant Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas, who refrained from paying homage to the Imam, and was among the members of the Consultative Committee.

The reason was that he had harbored malice against the Imam and hated him, as Talha said. [^2] Al-Imam was al-Siyasa, vol. 1, p. 52.