[500] The officers appointed were his cousin Abdallah ibn Abbâs, a faithful adherent, and his brother Cutham; Omar, son of Abu Salma (half-brother of Omm Salma, the Prophet’s widow); Abu Leila, nephew of Abu Obeida; Aly’s own son Mohammed, son of his Hanifite wife, &c.
[501] For this passage in the Prophet’s life see Life of Mahomet, pp. 311 et seq.
[502] We are treading now on specially factious ground, and have to weigh with care the bias of tradition which represents Ayesha as suddenly converted from a deadly enemy of Othmân into the champion of his memory. Thus, when, on receiving the tidings of the murder on the way back from Mecca, she declared that she would avenge his death: ‘What!’ cried her informant, startled by her zeal; ‘is this thy speech now, whilst but yesterday thou wast foremost to press the attack upon him as an apostate?’ ‘Yea,’ she replied; ‘but even now he repented him of that which they laid to his charge, and yet after that they slew him.’ In reply, her informant recited these verses: ‘Thou wast the first to foment the discontent. Thou commandedst us to slay the prince for his apostasy, and now, &c.’ How far this has been invented (possibly as a foil to Aly’s equally strange and inconsistent conduct), or whether the inconsistency in Ayesha’s conduct was really as strange as here represented, it is difficult to say. Anyhow, it must be admitted that Ayesha was a jealous, violent, intriguing woman, a character that may well account for much that would otherwise appear strange.
[503] This famous camel is an object of special interest to tradition. Some say it was bought for Ayesha in Yemen; others, that it belonged to the Orni guide who piloted the expedition; and that, in addition to a large sum for his services, he got the camel purchased for Ayesha in exchange for his own.
[504] The women of Mecca accompanied Ayesha as far as Dzât Ire. Some of Mahomet’s widows may have been at Mecca just then for the pilgrimage, and, in the present troubled state of Medîna, they may have preferred to stay on there. Perhaps some of them may have settled permanently in the Holy City, On the other hand, we know from a previous notice that Omm Habîba, at any rate, still resided at Medîna.
[505] Saîd inquired of Talha and Zobeir which of them was to be the Caliph. ‘Whichever,’ was the answer, ‘the people may choose.’ ‘But,’ replied Saîd, ‘if ye go forth as the avengers of the blood of Othmân, then the succession should of right devolve upon his sons,’ two of whom were with the rebel force. ‘That,’ they answered, ‘it will be for the chief men of Medîna eventually to settle amongst them.’
[506] Meaning Talha and Zobeir themselves, and intimating that these had had as much hand in fomenting the insurrection, and were as responsible for its fatal result, as anybody else.
[507] Omm al Fadhl.
[508] The incident is adduced to show the alarm of Aly. He had sent for Abdallah, Omar’s son, who declined to pledge himself to join the army against the rebels of Bussorah till he saw what the other citizens of Medîna did. On this he prepared to leave for Mecca, assuring his stepmother (Aly’s daughter) that he meant to keep aloof from the rebels, which he did.
[509] This column, which was got up in haste and with difficulty (for there was no enthusiasm at any time for Aly), was composed chiefly of men belonging to Kûfa and Bussorah in Aly’s interest. What these were doing then at Medîna does not appear.