Ibn Kasir (may Allah have mercy on him) says: After the pledge of allegiance to Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was completed, Talha, Zubair, and other leaders of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) came to him and asked him to establish boundaries and avenge the blood of Hazrat Usman (may Allah be pleased with him). Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) apologized and said that the murderers had many helpers and accomplices, and it was not possible for him to take revenge at that time.
Ibn Saad, in the book “Al-Taqabat al-Kubra,” after mentioning the names of the great Companions who pledged allegiance to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and all those who were in Madinah—both companions and non-sahaba—states: Talha and Zubair (may Allah be pleased with them) went to Makkah, and Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) was also there when she went on Hajj. Then, they went to Basra with Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) to seek justice for the blood of Usman. This event came to the knowledge of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), who then moved from Medina to Iraq and initially chose Sahl bin Hanif as his successor.
However, he later wrote to Sahl to join him and appointed Abul Hasan Mazni as his successor in Madinah. He himself camped at a place called “Zhuqar” and sent Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) and Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to Kufa to invite the people to cooperate and leave Bavi. The people of Kufa responded and joined him. He then went to Basra, where he confronted Talha, Zubair, Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with them), and their companions from Basra and others on the day of Jamal.
In the last month of Jumadi in the year (36) of Hijri, he attacked them and won the battle. This war (according to a tradition) left 13,000 dead. Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) stayed in Basra for fifteen nights before returning to Kufa.
From researching the news and historical evidence, it is proven that the outbreak of war in the Battle of Jamal was planned by the Sabaeans, and they bear responsibility for it. Sheikh Mohammad Khuzari Bek writes in the book “History of the Nations of Islam”: When the killers saw that the situation was moving towards peace and tranquility, they felt threatened and used the cover of night to attack the camp of the people of Basra (Talha and Zubair). They asked what had happened, and when told that the people of Kufa (Ali’s army) had attacked them at night, they said: “I knew that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) would not give up without fighting and would not reconcile with us.”
On the other hand, when Hazrat Ali (MAPH) heard the noise, he asked: What is going on? The Sabaeans had appointed a person near Hazrat Ali (MAPH) to tell him what they wanted. When Ali inquired about the situation, the same person replied: A group of opponents attacked us in the night, and we pushed them back. Ali (MAPH) said, I knew that Talha and Zubair would not come back until they had shed blood and violated sanctity.
Allamah Ibn Kasir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes that people had a happy night after hearing the news of peace; but the killers spent that night in distress and panic and consulted all night. Finally, they decided to ignite the fire of war before the night peace agreement in a way that no one would be informed, so they entered the place before dawn… Then the war broke out and both groups started fighting while they were completely unaware of the truth.
Ali (MAPH) treated Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) with immense respect and honor, historians say: Ali (MAPH) sent Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) away and sent a group of guards with her and forty famous women of Basra to accompany her. He chose and ordered to give him twelve thousand dirhams. But Abdullah bin Jafar bin Abi Talib considered this amount to be too low and considered it a large amount of money and said: If umm al-Mu’minin doesn’t agree, it will be my responsibility. Hazrat Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) didn’t have any other injuries except for a slight scratch due to being hit by an arrow. When the day of departure arrived, Ali (MAPH) and other people came to see off the believers, while saying goodbye, he said: O my children! None of us should criticize or blame the other group, by Allah! What happened between me and Ali in the past was nothing but what happens between a woman and her husband’s relatives, and despite this incident, he is one of the righteous. Then Hazrat Ali (MAPH) said: By Allah! she is right. This is what happened between her and me. Indeed, she is the wife of your prophet in this world and in the hereafter. Ali (MAPH) accompanied him several miles to see her off and accompanied her that whole day. This incident took place on the first Saturday of Rajab in 36 AHS. It is frequently mentioned in the narrations that Ayesha expressed her regret after this incident and said: “I wish I had passed away before the Day of Jamal!” And whenever she remembered that day, she would cry until her scarf was wet with tears. After the end of the war, Hazrat Ali (MAPH) passed among the rulers, whenever he saw and knew someone from the people of Basra, he said: People thought that stupid and unknown people participated in this war with him, but this so-and-so is the son of so-and-so) Is. Then he would pray over the victims and give orders to all of them.
Hazrat Zubair (MAPH) returned from the battle on the day of Jamal and landed in a river called “Wadi Sabagh”. A person named Amro bin Jermouz followed him and killed him suddenly while he was sleeping. But Hazrat Talha (MAPH) after being hit by an arrow from an unknown person in the battle (they say it was thrown by Marwan bin Ham), went from there to a house in Basra and died due to bleeding. In another narration, it is said that Talha died on the battlefield.
After the Battle of Jamal, the most important issue for Hazrat Ali, may Allah bless him, was conquering the Levant and obtaining allegiance from Amir Muawiya, MAPH. For this reason, Hazrat Ali, may Allah bless him and grant him, left Basra and entered Kufa on 12 Rajab 36 AH and made Kufa the center of the Caliphate.
Hazrat Ali (MAPH) made Kufa in Iraq the capital and center of his caliphate. Kufa was the center of all his military, police and administrative activities. Hazrat Ali (MAPH) did this because he didn’t want the city of Madinah, his beloved and favored city and the place of migration and burial place of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to become a place of civil wars and military coups, because he was afraid of internal disputes. It predicted war, so the etiquette of the Prophet’s Mosque and the second shrine and the tomb of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) required that Medina shouldn’t be the center of any sedition. Indeed, a person like Ali should have been sensitive and zealous in this matter, as a few years after this action, during the time of Yazid, the Hara incident occurred, which deeply hurt the feelings of Muslims, and the sanctity of the city of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and its inhabitants It was panned. The occurrence of such operations during war and conflict isn’t unlikely.
But Professor Aqad considers the reason for this work to be geographical, administrative and cultural; he writes:
At that time, Kufa was the most suitable capital for the global Imamate; Because this city was a gathering place of various ethnicities and nationalities and a passage for merchants from India, Persia, Yemen, Iraq and other countries, and on the other hand, it was also a cultural capital, and it was considered the center of knowledge, different languages, genealogy, poetry and story-writing techniques, for this reason. This city was the most suitable place for the rule of a leader in terms of the time situation of that day.
In the army of Hazrat Ali, may Allah bless him and grant him, the number of people from Kufa was the most. Also, Kufa was closer to Damascus than Medina, and controlling the situation in Iran from Kufa was less difficult. Most of the noble companions had left Madinah for their missions during the caliphate of Hazrat Usman (MAPH), because every person who went on a mission would take a large number of his friends and relatives with him so that he could better perform his duties at the place of mission. Of course, Farooq Azam (MAPH) always tried to maintain the centrality of Madinah. In any case, during the time of Hazrat Ali (MAPH), Madinah al-Munawaroh didn’t remain in its original state, for this reason, Hazrat Ali (MAPH) moved the center of the caliphate to Kufa. Another factor that caused this action was that Hazrat Ali, unlike the three caliphs, was forced to personally command the armies, although this method proved to be harmful for the caliphate system, but in any case, Hazrat Ali had no choice but to take into account the special circumstances. In this sense, the location of Kufa was more suitable than Madinah.
It goes without saying that many of the rebels and murderers of Hazrat Uthman were under the influence of Abdullah bin Saba and believed in him, and many deceived and gullible Muslims participated in his group without knowing the truth. to have awareness, but the main pillars of this group were a few people who used other people when necessary. It is interesting that they employed different people in different programs, for this reason, we see that Abdullah bin Saba’s group employed rebels in the killing of Hazrat Usman Zul-Nurain, MAPH, and in the Battle of Jamal, but when this group After the Battle of Jamal, he began criticizing and finding fault with Hazrat Ali, a large number of rioters and rebels separated from him and joined Hazrat Ali, may Allah bless him, and considering his sacrifices under the command of Hazrat Ali, in the court of the Caliphate, They gained influence and credibility.
On the other hand, when Hazrat Amir Muawiyah saw that the killers of Hazrat Usman weren’t only part of Hazrat Ali’s army, but also had a special influence and prestige, naturally, this strengthened the position of Hazrat Muawiyah. because all those who considered the revenge of Hazrat Usman’s killers to be necessary saw them in Hazrat Ali’s army, although the superiority of Hazrat Ali over Hazrat Muawiya was an obvious thing for them, but despite this, because of Hazrat Usman’s bloodlust, joined with Amir Mu’awiyah, because Hazrat Amir Mu’awiyah had publicly raised the flag of Usman’s bloodlust.
