Hadith 238

night vacant from the month of Ramazan in the year forty from the emigration. She supplicated for them. She called for some silk cloth and tied their chests with it, and they collared their swords and went and sat down facing the door which Amir Al-Momineen-asws used to come from to pray the Salat. And before that, they had cast to Al-Ash’as Bin Qays whatever was in their chests of their determination upon killing Amir Al-Momineen-asws, and he obeyed them upon them, and Al-Ash’as Bin Qays was present on that night to assist them upon what they had gathered upon. And it so happened that Hujr Bin Aday was spending the night in the Masjid on that night, and he heard Al-Ash’as saying, ‘O Ibn Muljim-la! The salvation! The salvation to your need, for the morning has exposed you (emerged)! ’
Hujr sensed what Al-Ash’as had intended. He said to him, ‘You (want to) kill him-asws, O one-eyed! ’ And he rushed to go to Amir Al-Momineen-asws to inform him-asws the news and caution him-asws from the group, and Amir Al-Momineen-asws took a different street. He-asws entered the Masjid. Ibn Muljim preceded him-asws and struck him-asws with the sword, and Hujr and the people came back saying, ‘Amir Al-Momineen-asws has been killed! ’
And Abdullah Bin Muhammad Al-Azdy mentioned saying, ‘I was praying Salat in the grand Masjid during that night along with men from the people of Egypt. They were praying Salat during that month from its beginning to its end, when I looked at some men praying Salat nearby from the door, and Ali-asws Bin Abu Talib-asws came out (in) for the Salat Al-Fajr. He-asws went on to call out: ‘The Salat! The Salat! ’ I do not know whether I called out (as well) or I saw the flashing of the sword, and I heard a speaker saying, ‘The Judgment is for Allah-azwj! It is neither for you-asws, O Ali-asws nor for your-asws companions! ’ And I heard Ali-asws saying: ‘Don’t miss the man! ’
And there, he-asws was struck, and Shabeeb Bin Bajarah had struck him, but he missed, and his strike fell in the arch, and the group fled to around the doors of the Masjid, and the people rushed to seize them. As for Shabeeb Bin Bajarah, a man seized him and wrestled him to the ground and sat upon his chest and took the sword to kill him with it. He saw the people coming towards him, and he feared that they might be hasty upon him (instead) and would not listen from him. He leapt up from his chest and freed his way and dropped the sword from his hand, and Shabeeb went fleeing until he entered his house. His cousin entered to see him and saw him releasing the silk cloth from his chest. He said to him, ‘What is this? ’ Perhaps it was you who killed Amir Al-Momineen-asws! ’ He wanted to say no, (but) he said, ‘Yes’. His cousin went and donned his sword, then entered to him and struck him with it until he killed him. And as for Ibn Muljim-la, a man from Hamdan caught up with him-la and dropped upon a cloak upon him-la which was in his hand, then wrestled him-la and came with him-la to Amir Al-Momineen-asws. And the third one escaped mingled between the people. When Ibn Muljim-la was brought to Amir Al-Momineen-asws, he-asws looked at him, then said: ‘The soul for the soul! If I-asws die, then kill him like what he would have killed me-asws, and if I-asws live, I-asws shall give my-asws view regarding him-la’. Ibn Muljim-la said, ‘By Allah-azwj! I had bought it (sword) for a thousand and had it poisoned for a thousand, so if he has betrayed me-asws, then may Allah-azwj Distance him! ’
He (the narrator) said, ‘And Umm Kulsoom-asws called out at him-la, ‘O enemy of Allah-azwj! You-la have killed Emir of the Momineen! ’ He-la said, ‘But rather, I-la have (only) killed your-asws father-asws! ’
She-asws said, ‘O enemy of Allah-azwj! I-asws hope that there is no problem upon him-asws’. He-la said to her-asws, ‘But rather I-la see you-asws crying upon me-la then. By Allah-azwj! I-la have struck him-asws with such strike, if (its poison) were to be divided upon the people of the earth, it would destroy them! ’
He-la was brought out from in front of him-asws, and the people were snapping at his-la flesh as if they were wild animals, and they were saying, ‘O enemy of Allah-azwj! What have you-la done? You-la have destroyed the community of Muhammad-saww and have killed best of the people! ’ And he-la was silent, not speaking’. They took him-la to the prison, and the people came to Amir Al-Momineen-asws. They said to him-asws, ‘O Amir