They said that they were not going to give their seeing and...

They said that they were not going to give their seeing and understanding into the hands of others, so that when these people made mistakes they themselves would also make mistakes. In reality the spirit of these people was a spirit over which principles and truths held command, not individuals and personalities. One of 'Ali's companions was badly seized by doubt during the battle of Jamal.

He looked round about himself, and saw on one side `Ali and great figures of Islam who were gathered round him striking away with their swords; and on the other side he saw the wife of the Prophet, `A'ishah, about whom the Qur'an said: And his wives are as their mothers.

Gathered round `A'ishah he saw Talhah, one of the forerunners in Islam, a man with a good past record, an expert fighter in the field of battle for Islam, a man who had done valuable services for Islam; and he saw az-Zubayr, too, a man with an even better past record than Talhah, who had even been among those who had gathered in 'Ali's house on the day of Saqifah." This poor man was in a state of great bewilderment. What was going on!

Are 'Ali, Talhah and az-Zubayr not among the forerunners of Islam, the most devoted men, the strongest forts of Islam? Now they are fighting face to face. Who is the nearer to the truth? What must be done in this conflict? But take care: this man must not be blamed too much in his confusion. Perhaps if we found ourselves in the same situation as he had found himself, the personalities of Talhah and az-Zubayr would also dazzle our eyes.

Now that we see 'Ali and `Ammar, Uways al-Qarani and others face to face with `A'ishah and az-Zubayr and Talhah, we do not feel any hesitation, for we were the second group as people with the look of criminals, that is, the effects of evil and treachery are evident on their faces; and when we look at the faces and their characters we guess that they are people of the Fire.

But if we had lived in those times, and had known their pasts from close-up, perhaps we would not have been immune from doubt. Today, when we know that the first group were for truth and the second group for falsehood, it is because we have come to know 'Ali and `Ammar, on the one hand, and az-Zubayr, Talhah and `A'ishah, on the other, as a result of history's passing and the clarification of the facts, and in this context we have been able to judge correctly.