Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

190 'Ali ibn Abi Tdlib in MaWiah
6.6.4. 'Ali (&) on a reconciliation mission
The Messenger (g) sent 'Ali (&) to Banu Judhaymah to
make up for the mistake of Kh%d ibn al-Waleed, who had killed
some of their people. The Messenger (g) had sent Khiilid in 8 AH,
following the conquest of Makkah, to Eknu Judhaymah to call them
to Islam. Because of differences in dialects, they could not say
aslamna ("'We have become Muslim); they said saba'na (literally:
"We have become renegades"). Hearing that, Khiilid killed some of
them and took some of them as prisoners. When the news reached the
Messenger of Allah (g), he raised his hands and said twice: "0
Allah, I am innocent before You of what he has done."474 Then the
Messenger @) sent 'Ali (&) to them to examine their situation, and
he sent money with him. 'Ali(4)
perfo~lned his mission very well.
He paid compensation for those who had been slain and compensated
them for the loss of wealth, and even for the water howl of a dog.
When he had finished with all of that, he asked them: "Is there
anything left of life or wealth for which you have not been
compensated?" They said: "No." He said: "I will give you what is
left of this money on behalf of the Messenger of Allah (g), in case
claims should arise that neither he nor yon know right now." When
he went back to the Messenger of Allah (@) and told him what he
had done, he said: "You did right, and you did By means of
this important mission, 'Ali (&) removed a burden and wony that
was troubling the Messenger (@)y6 With this wise attitude, the
Prophet a) consoled Banu Judhaymah and removed the grief and
sorrow that were in their hearts.477 Kh%d's slaying of Banu
Judhaymah stemmed from a misunderstanding of the situation and
misjudgement on his part. This conclusion is based on the fact that
the Messenger (g) -, did not punish him for what he had done478 and
did not dismiss him from his post.