[^1]: Mu`awiyah had written a letter to Amir al-mu'minin in...

[^1]: Mu`awiyah had written a letter to Amir al-mu'minin in which after recalling mutual unity and amicability he laid on him the blame of killing Talhah and az-Zubayr and ousting `A'ishah from her house and objected to his adopting Kufah as his seat of government in place of Medina. In the end, he gave a threat of war and said that he was about to come out with a force of muhajirun and ansar to fight.

Amir al-mu'minin wrote this letter in reply to him, wherein commenting on Mu`awiyah's claim for unity he says that: "There might have been unity between you and us but with the advent of Islam such a gulf has developed between the two that it is not possible to bridge it, and such a separation has occurred which cannot be removed.

This was because we responded to the call of the Prophet and hastened towards Islam but your position was that you were still in the state of unbelief and ignorance whereby we and you came to adopt separate ways. But when Islam secured stability and the chiefs of Arabs entered its fold you too were obliged to, and secured protection of your lives by putting the covering of Islam on your faces, but continued secretly to fan the mischief intended to shatter its foundations.

Since we had accepted Islam of our own free will and pleasure we adhered to the right path and at no stage did any faltering occur in our steadfastness.

Therefore, your acceptance of Islam too could not make us agree with your views." As regards Nlu`awiyah's accusation that Amir al-mu'minin engineered the killing of Talhah and az-Zubayr; then even if this blame is admitted as true, is it not a fact that they had openly revolted against Amir al-mu'minin and had risen for war after breaking the allegiance.

Therefore, if they were killed in connection with the revolt their blood would be wasted and no blame would lie on the killer, because the penalty for him who revolts against the rightful Imam is death, and fighting against him is permissible, without doubt. The fact however, is that this accusation has no reality because Talhah was killed by a man of his own party.

Thus, the historians write: Marwan ibn al-Hakam shot Talhah with an arrow and turning to Aban ibn `Uthman said: "We have killed a killer of your father and relieved you of revenge." (Ibn Sa`d, vol.3, part 1, p.159; Ibn al-Athir, vol.3, p.244; al-Isti`ab, vol.2, pp.766-769; Usd aI-ghabah, vol.3, pp.60,61; al-Isabah, vol.2, p.230; Tahdhib, at-tahdhib, vol.5, p.21).