Hadith 162

hesitation? O Ibn Qays! But, by the One-azwj Who Split the seed and Formed the person! If I-asws had found, on the day Abu Bakr was pledged allegiance to – which is what you are faulting me-asws of having entered into his allegiance – forty men, all of them being upon the insight of the four which I-asws did find, I-asws would not have restrained my-asws hand, and would have fought the people. But, I-asws could not even find a fifth! ’
Al Ash’as said, ‘And who are the four, O Amir Al-Momineen-asws? ’
He-asws said: ‘Salman-ra, and Abu Zarr-ra, and Al-Miqdad-ra, and Al-Zubeyr Bin Safiya, before he broke my-asws allegiance, for he has pledged allegiance to me-asws twice. As for his first allegiance which he was loyal with, it was when Abu Bakr was pledged allegiance to. There came to me-asws, forty men from the Emigrants and the Helpers, and they pledged allegiance to me-asws, and among them was Al-Zubeyr. I-asws instructed them that they should come in the morning to my-asws door having shaved their head, having the weapons upon them. No one from them was loyal nor did anyone accompany from them apart from our – Salman-ra, and Abu Zarr-ra, and Al-Miqdad-ra, and al Zubeyr. And as for the other allegiance, he came to me, he and his companion Talha, after the killing of Usman, and they pledged allegiance to me willingly, without coercion. Then they returned from their religion, renegades, breakers (of the covenant), arrogant, obstinate, jealous. Allah-azwj Killed them both (Sending them) to the Fire. And as for the three – Salman-ra, and Abu Zarr-ra, and Al Miqdad-ra, they-ra were steadfast upon the Religion of Muhammad-saww and Religion of Ibrahim-as until they-ra met Allah-azwj. May Allah-azwj have Mercy on them-ra. O Ibn Qays! By Allah-azwj! If those forty, the ones who had pledged allegiance to me-asws, been loyal to me-asws and had come to my-asws door in the morning having shaved their heads before the allegiance to Ateeq (Abu Bakr) was forced in my-asws neck, I-asws would have fought him and judged him to Allah-azwj Mighty and Majestic. And if I-asws had found supporters, before the allegiance to Usman, I-asws would have judged them to Allah-azwj. Surely, Ibn Awf made it (caliphate) to be for Usman, and stipulated upon it in what was between him and him, that he (Usman) would return it to him at his death. As for after my-asws having pledged allegiance (being compelled) to them, there wasn’t any was for me to fight them’. Al-Ash’as said, ‘By Allah-azwj! If the matter was just as you-asws are saying it, the community has been destroyed, apart from you-asws and your-asws Shias! ’
He-asws said: ‘By Allah-azwj! The truth is with me-asws, O Ibn Qays, just as I-asws am saying, and no one from the community is