Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

306 The oath of allegiance to 'Ali, his characteristics & his way oflife
hated Islam, such as Ibn Saha' and his followers, whom he led astray
due to their evil nature and the deviation of their hearts from hue
guidance.
The manner in which they selected 'Ali (&) for the caliphate
narrated by some of the schola~s.~ Ahu Bakr al-Khall2 narrated
with his sound chain of narration going hack to Muhammad ibn al-
Hanafiyyah that the latter said: "I was with 'Ali (&) when 'Uthmin
(&) was under siege. A man came to 'Ali and said: ' 'Arnir al-
Mu'mineen has just been killed.' 'Ali (&)got up, and I grabbed him
by the waist, fearing for him. He said: 'Let me go, may you he bereft
of your mother!' 'Ali (&) went to the house where 'Uthmk had
been killed, may Allah have mercy on him. He went into his house
and shut the door. The people came to him and knocked at the door,
then they entered upon him and said: 'This man has been killed, and
the people must have a caliph. We do not know of anyone more
deserving of that than you.' 'Ali (&) said to them: 'You do not want
me; I would rather he an adviser to you than a leader.' They said:
'No, by Allah, we do not know of anyone more deserving of it than
you.' He said: 'If yon insist on me, then allegiance to me should not
he swom in secret. Rather I will go out to the mosque and accept the
people's al~e~iance."'~
According to another report narrated from S h ibn Abi Ja'd
from Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah: "The Companions of the
Messenger of Allah came to him and said: 'This man has been killed,
and the people must have a leader. We do not find anyone who is
more deserving of that than you, or who is more senior in Islam, or
closer to the Messenger of Allah (SJ.'Ali (&) said: 'Do not do it,
for I would rather be an adviser to yon than a leader.' They said: 'No,
by Allah, we will not do anything until we swear allegiance to you.'
He said: 'Then (do it) in the mosque, for allegiance to me should not
be hidden, and it should only he with the approval of the Muslims.' "