Are you the man who spoke their biting words to my sister's son?

Are you the man who spoke their biting words to my sister's son?" Abu Sa'id looked round and saw no one. So he shouted: "The devil sees you, but you cannot see him." 'A'ishah laughed on hearing these words and said: "May God bless your father! How sharp and biting your tongue is!"318 The above incident shows that Mu'awiyah's intention was to produce a clash between Imam al-Hasan and 'Abd Allah ibn az-Zubayr and cause hostility.

This was a policy he constantly adopted towards the Quraysh chiefs, and roused one group against another. In the above incident 'Abd Allah was unconsciously caught in the webs of Mu'awiyah cunning and followed the course envisaged by Mu'awiyah, while Imam al-Hasan, who was acquainted well with the character of Mu'awiyah, safely escaped from his trap.

The role of 'A'ishah, too, in this incident was in accordance with what she did all her life, namely to support her kith and kin, and oppose their enemies. Another anecdote in her life is a story narrated by Ahmad ibn Hanbal in his book of Musnad. He writes: 'Ammar ibn Yasir accompanied by Malik al- Ashtar went to 'A'ishah's house and asked for admission.

When they entered, 'Ammar said: "O mother!" 'A'ishah said: "But I am not your mother!" 'Ammar said: "But you are, even though you dislike it."319 'A'ishah asked: "Who is the man with you?" 'Ammar said: "al-Ashtar." 'A'ishah turned to him and said: "Was it you who wanted to kill my sister's son?" al-Ashtar said: "Yes, he wanted to kill me, and so I desired his death." 'A'ishah said: "If you had killed him you would never have received salvation; for, I have heard the Prophet say: 'Killing a Muslim is not permissible except in one of the three following cases: if he has killed someone, and he is killed, or a married man who commits adultery, or a man becomes an apostate after embracing Islam.' "320 Here 'A'ishah should have been asked: "O mother of the faithful!

Why did 318. al-'Iqd al-farid 4/14-15, and Description of Nahj 3/7. Even if the narration is true, it means that Muslim men cannot marry 'A'ishah! 320.Musnad of Ahmad 6/205. you not remind your sister's son, 'Abd Allah ibn az-Zubayr, of the Prophet's words? Was he not eager to kill such a Muslim as al-Ashtar?

Was the consideration about the death of a Muslim confined only to the person of 'Abd Allah, and was the verdict not applicable to thousands of Muslims who had innocently been killed in that fearful battle in the way of whim and fancy?