This man was my servant yesterday and I freed him.

This man was my servant yesterday and I freed him.” Ali said, “We will give him the same portion as you.” And he gave everyone three dinars and did not give anyone superiority over another. Talha, Zubayr, ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar, Sa’d b. ‘As, Marwan b. Hakam, and some men from the Quraysh and other tribes refused [to accept] such division. Abu Ja’far says, “’Ubayd Allah b. Abi Rafi’ heard from ‘Abd Allah b.

Zubayr saying to his father and Talha and Marwan and Sa’id, ‘What Ali meant by his words yesterday did not remain covered to us’. Sa’id b. ‘As faced toward Zayd b. Thabit, and said, “He was talking to the wall so that the door would hear!”[^1] Then ‘Ubayd Allah b. Abi Rafi’ said to Sa’id and ‘Abd Allah b. Zubayr, ‘Allah says in His Book: (But most of you were averse to the truth.) ’[^2] Then ‘Ubayd Allah b. Abi Rafi’ reported the event to Ali (a.s.).

He said, “By Allah, if I remain safe and sound, I will take them to the bright path. May Allah kill the son of ‘As! He found out from the words I said yesterday that I was talking about him and his companions; the ones who are among the perished.” He [Abu Ja’far] said, “While people were gathered in the mosque after dawn, Talha and Zubayr entered and sat in a corner away from Ali (a.s.). Then Marwan, Sa’id and Ibn Zubayr arrived and sat next to the two. Later on, a group of Quraysh joined them.

They whispered together for a while. After that, Walid b. ‘Aqaba stood up, went near Ali (a.s.) and said, “O Abu al-Hasan! You killed our near of kin. As for me; you killed my father in the battle of Badr in captivity and let down my brother in the event of Yawm al-Dar. As for Sa’id; you killed his father in the battle of Badr, although he was the champion of the Quraysh.

As for Marwan; you humiliated his father before ‘Uthman when ‘Uthman called him to join his gathering, even though we are your brothers and peers from among the children of ‘Abd Manaf. Today, we swear allegiance to you on the condition that you let us keep the possessions left to us from the time of ‘Uthman and kill the murderers of ‘Uthman.