Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 2 of 2

'Ali ibn Abi Trilib I1 1
he could ask the slave woman and find out the The
Messenger of Allah (g) asked the slave woman, who was very close
to 'pishah, and she confirmed that she did not know anything but
good about her (I&$. On the same day, the Messenger of Allah went
out to the people to ask for support against Abdullah ibn Ubayy,
saying: "0 Muslims, who will support me against a man who has
offended me with regard to my family? By Allah, I know nothing but
good about my family."378 Therefore 'Ali's advice was in 'pishah's
best interest, as the Prophet (g) became more convinced of what he
already believed about his wife's innocence.379 'Ali's attitude
concerning the slander incident was not something that made
'pishah (I$,+) angry with him or made her cany a grudge that led her
to falsely accuse him of murdering 'Uthmh (&) and go out inciting
huge numbers of Muslims against him, as claimed by many
researchers who based their claims on the reports fabricated by the
R%& Shia.
*:* Their regret for what they had done
Ibn Taymiyah said: "That was the case for all the Companions
who got involved; they regretted the fighting in which they had
engaged. Tabah, az-Zubayr, 'Ali and others all regretted it. On the
day of the Camel, none of them intended to fight, but fighting broke
out against their wishes."380
(a) It was narrated that when 'Ali (&) looked and saw that
men had drawn their swords and started to fight, he said:
"Would that I had died twenty years before this."381
@) Na'eem ibn Hamm2d narrated, with his chain of narration
going back to al-Hasan ibn 'Ali, that he said to Sulaymh
ibn Sard: "I saw 'Ali, when the fighting grew intense,
staying close to me and saying: '0 Hasan, would that I had
died twenty years before this."'382