A'YESHA GOES OUT TO FIGHT AGAINST ALI

So Suda was a pious, obedient wife of the Holy Prophet of Allah. A'yesha was a stubborn wife who conspired with Talha and Zubair against Ali and went to Basra. There Uthman Bin Hanafi, a great companion of the Prophet and governor of Basra appointed by Ali, was captured. His hair and beard were pulled out; he was tortured and driven out. More than 100 innocent, helpless persons were killed. Ibn Athir, Mas'udi, Muhammad Bin Jarir Tabari, Ibn Abi'l-Hadid, and others have written in detail about this event.

After this outrage, she mounted a camel named Askar, dressed in the skin of a lion, protected by armor and entered the battlefield like a soldier. Because of her revolt, thousands of Muslims lost their lives. Was this initiative on her part not a transgression against the command of Allah and His Holy Prophet?

ALI'S VIRTUES ARE BEYOND NUMBER

And what is more surprising is that she adopted this shameless stand against Ali Bin Abi Talib, whose virtues and merits have been so extensively recorded by your own distinguished ulema that it is impossible to recount them all.

Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal in his Masnad, Ibn Abi'l-Hadid in his Sharh-e-Nahju'l-Balagha, Imam Fakhru'd-din Razi in his Tafsir-e-Kabir, Katib Khawarizmi in his Manaqib, Sheikh Sulayman Balkhi Hanafi in his Yanabiu'l-Mawadda, Muhammad Yusuf Ganji Shafi'i in Kifayatu't-Talib, ch. 62, and Mir Seyyed Ali Hamadani Shafi'i in his Mawaddatu'l-Qurba, Mawadda V, narrate from the second Caliph, Umar Bin Khattab and Abdullah Ibn Abbas that the Holy Prophet said to Ali: "If all the oceans were ink, all the trees were pens, and all human beings were writers and all the Jinn maintained the records, even then, O Abu'l-Hasan! Your virtues could not be numbered."

When the Holy Prophet states that "all men and jinn combined cannot account for his virtues," how can we, with our limited means, give a complete account of his merits?

Apart from the Shia ulema, your own ulema, for all their fanaticism, have filled their books with only part of his innumerable virtues.

HADITH IN PRAISE OF ALI'S VIRTUES

You should study your Siha-e-Sitta, the six books of hadith. Apart from these, it is stated in Mir Seyyed Ali Hamadani's Mawaddatu'l-Qurba; Tabrani's Mu'ajam Kabir; Muhammad Bin Talha Shafi'i's Matalibu's-Su'ul; Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal's Musnad and Faza'il; Hamidi's Bainu's-Sahihain; Khawarizmi's Manaqib; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid's Sharh-e-Nahju'l-Balagha, vol. II, p.449; Ibn Sabbagh Maliki's Fusulu'l-Muhimma, particularly p.124, from Hafiz Abdu'l-Aziz Bin Al'Akhzaru'l-Janabiz, who writes in his book Ma'alimu'l-'Atratu'n-Nabawiyya that Fatima Zahra said that on the night of Arafa her father, the Holy Prophet of Allah, went to her and said, "Allah Almighty takes pride in you people before the angels and has forgiven you all and particularly Ali. I, the Prophet of Allah, say without any consideration for love due to kinship that verily the most fortunate and prosperous man is he who is a friend of Ali during his life or after his death. The most damned of the damned is he who is an enemy of Ali, during his life or after death."

Also in the above books is a detailed hadith which I think I have referred to in earlier nights, from Caliph Umar Bin Khattab, who said that the Holy Prophet said to Ali: "A liar is he who thinks that he loves me while he is your enemy. O Ali! He who is your friend is my friend. If somebody is my friend, Allah is his friend. If Allah is somebody's friend, He admits him to Paradise. He who is your enemy, is my enemy. If somebody is my enemy, Allah also is his enemy and He throws him into Hell."

FRIENDSHIP WITH ALI IS FAITH AND OPPOSITION TO HIM IS INFIDELITY AND HYPOCRISY

It is also reported from the Kitabu'l-Al of Ibn Khalawayh, narrating from Abu Sa'id Khadiri, that the Holy Prophet said to Ali: "O Ali! Friendship with you is faith and opposition to you is hypocrisy. The first person who enters Paradise shall be your friend, and the first person who is thrown into Hell shall be your enemy."

Mir Seyyed Ali Hamadani Shafi'i in his Mawaddatu'l-Qurba, Mawadda III, and Hamwaini in his Fara'id report that the Holy Prophet said while among his companions: "No one loves Ali except one who is a believer, and no one is hostile to him except one who is an infidel." On another occasion he said: "O Ali! It is only the believer who loves you, and it is only the hypocrite who hates you."

ALI 'BEST OF MANKIND' SAID THE HOLY PROPHET - REPORTED BY A'YESHA

Muhammad Bin Yusuf Ganji Shafi'i in his Kifayatu't-Talib, p. 119, ch.62, quotes from Ta'rikh-e-Damishqi, Muhadith-e-Sham, and Muhadith-e-Iraq, narrating from Hudhaifa and Jabir that the Holy Prophet said: "Ali is the best of mankind; one who refuses to accept this is an infidel."

It is also reported from Ata that people asked A'yesha about Ali and she said: "He is the best of mankind. No one except an infidel has any doubt of it."

He says that Hafiz Ibn Asakir in his Ta'rikh, a work comprised of 100 volumes three volumes of which are written in praise of Ali, has reported this hadith from A'yesha.

Muhammad Bin Talha Shafi'i in Matalibu's-Su'ul, p.17, Ibn Sabbagh Makki in Fusulu'l-Muhimma, report from Tirmidhi and Nisa'i that Abu Sa'id Khudri said: "During the days of the Holy Prophet we used to recognize the hypocrites by their animosity towards Ali."

It is related in Fusulu'l-Muhimma that the Holy Prophet said to Amiru'l-Mu'minin Ali: "O Ali! To fight against you is to fight against me; your blood is my blood. I fight against him who fights against you; it is only the legitimate person who loves you, and it is the illegitimate one who has animosity towards you. It is only the believer who loves you, and it is only the hypocrite who is hostile to you."

Sheikh: Such hadith are not unique to Ali; they have also been narrated about other caliphs.

Well-Wisher: Kindly cite other such hadith by way of example.

Sheikh: Abdu'r-Rahman Ibn Malik Maghul narrates from his sources that Jabir said that the Holy Prophet of Allah said: "A believer has no animosity towards Abu Bakr and Umar, and a hypocrite has no love for them."

Well-Wisher: I am again surprised to hear such a thing from you. Have you forgotten our mutual agreement on the first night that we would not rely on questionable hadith. You should not quote concocted hadith, whose narrators are liars and forgers. Quote authentic hadith.

Sheikh: Your response indicates that you have decided that if you hear any hadith from us, you will reject it.

Well-Wisher: It is not I alone who have rejected it. Even your own prominent ulema have rejected it. Refer to Mizanu'l-I'tidal of Dhahabi and Ta'rikh of Khatib-e-Baghdadi, vol. X, p.236. You will find that most of the eminent commentators have written about the character of Abdu'r-Rahman Bin Malik saying: "Verily, he was such a liar, a blasphemer, and a forger of hadith that no one has any doubt about it."

Please tell us if such a one-sided hadith narrated by a liar and forger, can be compared to those hadith which your prominent ulema have narrated and some of which I have already mentioned. I would advise you to consult Jami'u'l-Kabir, by Suyuti, vol. VI, p.390, Riyazu'n-Nazara, vol. IX, p.215, by Muhibu'd-din; Jami'i Tirmidhi, vol. II, p.299; Isti'ab, vol. III, p.46, by Ibn Abdu'l-Barr; Hilyatu'l-Auliya, vol. VI, p.295, by Hafiz Abu Nu'aim Matalibu's-Su'ul, p.17, by Muhammad Bin Talha Shafi'i; Fusulu'l-Muhimma, p.126, by Ibn Sabbagh Maliki. You will find that every one of them narrated in slightly different words from Abu'dh-Dharr Ghifari who said: "During the time of the Holy Prophet we used to recognize the hypocrites by three signs: the denial of Allah and the Holy Prophet, failing to offer prayers, and animosity towards Ali Bin Abi Talib." It is reported from Abi Sa'id Khudri that Abu'dh-Dharr Ghifari said: "We used to recognize the hypocrites by their enmity against Ali and in the time of the Holy Prophet we had no other sign of finding out the hypccrites except that they were hostile to Ali."

AUTHORS WHO NARRATE HOLY PROPHET'S HADITH ABOUT HYPOCRITES' HATRED OF ALI

In addition, the following authors narrate the hadith concerning hypocrites' hatred of Ali: Imam Ahmad Hanbal in Musnad, vol. I, pp.95, 138; Ibn Abdu'l-Barr in Isti'ab, vol. III, p.37; Ahmad Khatib Baghdadi in Ta'rikh-e-Baghdad, vol. XIV, p.426; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid in Sharh-e-Nahju'l-Balagha, vol. IV, p.264; Imam Nisa'i in Sunan, vol. VIII, p.117 and Khasa'isu'l-Alawi, p. 27; Hamwaini in Fara'id, ch.22; Ibn Hajar in Isaba, vol. II, p.509; Hafiz Abu Nu'aim in Hilyatu'l-Auliya, vol. IV, p.185; Sibt Ibn Jauzi in Tadhkira, p.15; Suyuti in Jami'u'l-Kabir, pp. 152, 408; Muhammad Ibn Talha Shafi'i in Matalibu's-Su'ul, p.17; Tirmidhi in Jami'i, vol. II, p.13, all these have reported in their books in slightly different words from Umme Salma or Ibn Abbas that the Holy Prophet said: "O Ali! A hypocrite is not your friend and a believer is not your enemy. It is only the believer who loves you, and it is only the hypocrite who hates you. A hypocrite does not love Ali and a believer does not hate Ali."

Ibn Abi'l-Hadid in his Sharh-e-Nahju'l-Balagha, vol. I, p.367, reports from Sheikh Abu'l-Qasim Balkhi, the chief of Mu'tazilites, that he said, 'All the hadith unanimously report those correct hadith and there is no doubt in the authenticity of those which say that the Holy Prophet said to Ali, 'No one is hostile to you except the one who is a hypocrite. No one is your friend except the one who is a believer.'

Also, in volume IV of his book, on page 264, he quotes the sermon of Amiru'l-Mu'minin, in which the Holy Imam says: "If I strike a believer with this sword in his face so that he might be hostile to me, he will never be hostile to me; but if I give the whole world to a hypocrite so that he might love me, he will never love me. And this is in accordance with the utterance of the Holy Prophet who said: 'Only believers love you, only hypocrites are hostile to you.'"

There are many hadith of this kind in your reliable books. I have cited only a few of them.

Wasn't A'yesha's revolt against Ali's authority a revolt against the Prophet himself? Was this fighting or her urging the people to fight against Ali, due to her friendship or was it due to enmity? Obviously, it was due to hostility. In all the hadith which I have just related, the Holy Prophet said that one of the signs of infidelity is fighting against Ali. How would you reconcile the stand taken by Ummu'l-Mu'minin A'yesha in fighting Ali with these hadith? It has just come to my mind that Mir Seyyed Ali Hamadani Shafi'i in his Mawaddatu'l-Qurba, Mawadda 3, has reported from A'yesha herself that the Holy Prophet said: "Allah has pledged His word to me that whoever revolts against Ali is an infidel and his place is in Hell."

It is strange that when people asked her why she revolted against Ali having heard such a hadith from the Holy Prophet she merely replied: "I forgot this hadith on the day of the Battle of the Camel. I did not remember it until I came to Basra."

Sheikh: But how can you find fault with Ummu'l-Mu'minin, when it is obvious that to forget is but human.

Well-Wisher: Even if I admit that she forgot that hadith on the day of the Battle of the Camel, didn't she remember it when she was returning from Mecca and all her friends including the pious wives of the Holy Prophet warned her that she should not perpetrate such an action, since opposition to Ali was opposition to the Holy Prophet?

Your own historians who have recorded the Battle of the Camel have drawn attention to the fact that the Holy Prophet said: "O A'yesha! Fear that path on which the dogs of Haw'ab may bark at you." When however, on her way to Basra, she reached the brook of the Bani Kilab, dogs surrounded her litter and began barking. She asked the people what place it was. She was told that it was Haw'ab. Then she remembered what the Holy Prophet had said. Why then did she walk into the trap of Talha and Zubair? Why did she proceed until she reached Basra where she created such a tumultuous uproar? Would you say that she had forgotten this also, or that she trod that path deliberately?

She deliberately transgressed the order of Allah and the Holy Prophet and, having conspired with Talha and Zubair, went to fight against the Caliph and vicegerent of the Holy Prophet, although she had herself reported that the Holy Prophet said: "One who fights against Ali is an infidel."

Was it not a cause of distress to the Holy Prophet that as soon as the Commander of the Faithful assumed the reins of the caliphate, disturbances were created and conspirators prepared for battle against him. I have told you earlier with authentic sources that the Holy Prophet said, "He who distresses Ali, verily distresses me. He who distresses me, verily distresses Allah. O people! he who distresses Ali shall be raised as a Jew or Christian on the day of resurrection."

SLAUGHTER OF SAHABA (COMPANIONS) AND INNOCENT BELIEVERS IN BASRA BY ORDER OF A'YESHA

These reports can be found in your authentic books. Why then should you find fault with the Shias? Responsibility for the blood of innocent believers, the torture and expulsion of Uthman Bin Hunaif, and the murder of more than 100 including the unarmed keepers of the Treasury who had no concern with the battle - forty of whom were killed in the mosque - lay squarely on the instigator of the battle. Allama Mas'udi in his Muruju'z-Dhahib, vol. II, p.7, has written about this in these words: "Besides those who were injured, seventy of the unarmed guards of baitu'l-mal (Treasury) were put to death. Of these seventy, fifty were beheaded in prison. These people were the first among the Muslims to have been tortured to death."

Among your ulema and historians, Ibn Jarir and Ibn Athir have given detailed accounts of these events.

SHIAS SAY ABOUT A'YESHA EXACTLY WHAT HISTORY SHOWS

Perhaps you should expunge these reports from your authentic books. In fact, in the reprints of these books, some of your ulema have changed some of this disagreeable information and in some cases have omitted it altogether. You should either refuse to accept what your notable ulema and historians have written, or you should give up censuring the Shias. They say only what is recorded in your own reliable books.

NO EVIDENCE THAT A'YESHA REPENTED

Sheikh: What you say is of course true, but Ummu'l-Mu'minin A'yesha was only a human being; she was not infallible. Having been misguided she committed a fault. It was because of her simplicity that she fell into the trap of two prominent companions, but later she repented for her revolt. Allah excused her for that.

Well-Wisher: First, you have admitted that some of the prominent companions were sinners, although they were among those who were present "under the tree" and at Bai'atu'l-Rizwan. On previous nights you argued that the Sahaba (companions) were like stars, and should we follow any of them, we would be rightly guided. You now admit that this is not true. Second, you have said that Ummu'l-Mu'minin A'yesha repented of her action. It is only a hollow claim. While the revolt, battle and the slaughter of the Muslims are unanimously accepted, there is no evidence for her repentance.

A'YESHA PREVENTS BURIAL OF IMAM HASAN NEAR THE HOLY PROPHET

Of course, it is a fact that Ummu'l-Mu'minin A'yesha was restless. She committed many foolish mistakes. But you claim that she repented of her fault and, being ashamed, confined herself to her house. But if this were true, why did she treat the body of the grandson of the Holy Prophet so shamefully?

We have discussed how she vexed the Holy Prophet and how she subsequently went into battle mounted on a camel to fight against his successor. But later, this time mounted on a mule she stopped the corpse of the elder grandson of the Holy Prophet from moving ahead for burial near the Holy Prophet. Your own eminent ulema and historians, including Yusuf Sibt Ibn Jauzi in his Tadhkira Khawasu'l-Umma, p.122; Allama Mas'udi, author of Muruju'z-Dhahab, in Isbatu'l-Wasiyya, p.136; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid in Sharh-e-Nahju'l-Balagha, vol. IV, p.18, reporting from Abu'l-Faraj and Yahya Bin Hasan, author of Kitabu'n-Nasab; Muhammad Khwawind Shah in his Rauzatu's-Safa, and many others have written that when the corpse of Imam Hasan was being transported to Medina, A'yesha, mounted on a mule and accompanied by a group of the Bani Umayya and their slaves, stopped the group with Imam Hasan's body. They said that they would not let Imam Hasan be buried by the side of the Holy Prophet. According to the report of Mas'udi, Ibn Abbas said: "It is strange of you, A'yesha! Was not the Day of Jamal, that is, your entering the battlefield mounted on a camel, sufficient for you? Now should the people also keep in memory the Day of Baghl (mule)?

Mounted on a mule, you have stopped the bier of the son of the Holy Prophet. One day mounted on a camel, another mounted on a mule, you have torn asunder the modesty of the Holy Prophet of Allah. Are you determined to destroy the Light of Allah? But surely Allah perfects His light however unpleasant it is to the polytheists; verily, we are Allah's and to Him shall we return."

Some people have written that Ibn Abbas said to her: "One time you mounted a camel and one time a mule. If you live longer, you will also mount an elephant (that is you will fight against Allah)! Though out of one-eighth you have one-ninth share, yet you took possession of the whole."

The Bani Hashim drew their swords and intended to drive them away. But Imam Husain intervened and said that his brother had told him that he did not want a drop of blood to be spilled because of his funeral procession. Accordingly, the corpse was taken back from there and buried in Baqi' (a cemetery in Medina still visited by pilgrims today).

A'YESHA'S PROSTRATION AT MARTYRDOM OF AMIRU'L-MU'MININ

If A'yesha repented of her revolt against Amiru'l-Mu'minin why did she perform a prostration of thanks when she heard the news of the Holy Imam's martyrdom? Abu'l-Faraj Ispahani, author of Aghani, writing about the Holy Imam in his Maqatilu't-Talibin, says: "When A'yesha heard the news of the martyrdom of Amiru'l-Mu'minin Ali, she offered a prostration (of thanks)." Later however, she asked the informant who had killed Ali. She was told that it was Abdu'r-Rahman Ibn Muljim of the Bani Murad clan. Instantly she recited the following couplet: "If Ali is away from me, the news of his death was brought by a slave, who may not have dust in his mouth."

Zainab, daughter of Umme Salma, was present at that time. She asked A'yesha if it was proper for her to express her jubilation and utter such words about Ali. It was a bad thing. A'yesha replied that she was not in her senses and that she uttered those words through forgetfulness. "If such a thing appears in me again and I repeat those things, you may remind me, so that I may refrain from doing that."

These facts clearly show that A'yesha did not repent later in life as you have claimed.