Tabari (Persian translation) represents Abu Mûsa as at first appearing unattended, and then, at Amru’s suggestion, sending for the stipulated guard. It came under command of the Bedouin chief Shoreih, who, we are told, carried an insolent message from his master Aly to Amru, warning him against improper motives. Amru resented the imputation, and an altercation ensued. The tradition is from Alyite sources; but one can hardly credit Aly with so indelicate a proceeding as the attempt by threats to influence his adversary’s Umpire. The whole story is in the vein of Abbasside abuse, which tramples on the memories of Muâvia and Amru; and here we may well reject it in the interest of Aly himself.
[544] Among those who entertained expectations of the Caliphate are named Abdallah son of Zobeir, the usurper of later days; and Mohammed son of Talha. Opinion varies as to whether Mohammed son of Abu Bekr was a candidate or not. Abdallah son of Omar was present, but without any pretensions to the Caliphate.
[545] He had a beautiful voice, ‘clear and sweet as a flute’ when he recited the Corân.
[546] At this point Mohammed son of Abbâs is represented as interposing with these words: ‘Out upon thee, Abu Mûsa! he hath overreached thee if indeed ye be agreed, and now he putteth thee forward. Let him speak first, and thou after him. He is a deceiver; he will make thee speak, then turn round and undo thy words.’ But Abu Mûsa did not listen. Any such interposition, however, is highly improbable. For it could hardly have been foreseen in what particular way Amru was about to overreach Abu Mûsa. Moreover the private conversation and agreement in the pavilion between the Umpires is itself open to doubt; at any rate, it is deeply coloured by Abbasside touches. But we have no other narrative, and must take the story as we find it. And although strange, and, in some of the details, improbable, it must be admitted that the transaction is not inconsistent, as a whole, with the wily character of Amru, who made himself notorious for astuteness and ‘sharp practice.’
[547] We do not hear more of Abu Mûsa, who, however, survived to A.H. 52, or, as others say, to A.H. 42. Some of his grandsons held judicial office.
Many of the angry speeches at Dûma by the chief men, who were bewildered at the strange dénouement, have been preserved. These are some of them. The son of Omar: ‘See what a pass Islam hath come to! Its great concern committed to two men; one who knoweth not right from wrong, the other a nincompoop.’ Abu Bekr’s son: ‘Would that Abu Mûsa had died before this affair; it had been better for him.’ Abu Mûsa himself is represented as abusing Amru in the language of the Corân: ‘His likeness is as the likeness of a dog; if thou drive him away, he putteth forth his tongue; and if thou leave him alone, still he putteth forth his tongue.’ (Sura vii. 77.) ‘And thou,’ retorted Amru, ‘art like the donkey laden with books, and none the wiser for it.’ (Sura vi. 25.) Shureih, commander of the Kûfa escort, flew at Amru, and they belaboured each other with their whips, till they were separated by the people. Shureih exclaimed that he only wished he had used his sword instead. But the tales are mostly of the Abbasside type, and we cannot implicitly receive them.
[548] The imprecation used by Aly has been preserved, as follows: ‘O Lord, I beseech thee, let Muâvia be accursed, and Amru, and Abul Aûr, Habîb, Abdal Rahmân son of (the great) Khâlid, Dhahhâk son of Cays, and Welîd! Let them be accursed all!’ Muâvia’s imprecation, in the same way, included Aly, Ibn Abbâs, Hasan and Hosein (sons of Aly), and Ashtar.
[549] The formula was: La hukm illa lillâhi. The political creed of the Separatists was that, Believers being absolutely equal, there should be no Caliph, nor oath of allegiance sworn to any man; but that the government should be in the hands of a Council of State elected by the people. When the loyalists heard this, to counteract the evil, they said, ‘Come, let us swear a second oath of fealty unto Aly, namely, that we shall support all that he supporteth, and oppose all that he opposeth.’ ‘Now truly,’ replied the Separatists, ‘ye are running, ye and the Syrians, neck and neck, in the race of infidelity. They follow Muâvia through thick and thin, and ye swear by Aly black and white.’ ‘Nay,’ replied the loyalists, ‘Aly never held forth his hand to receive the oath, but on condition of following the Book and the Sunnat of the Prophet. It is you that have made us think of this new oath. As for Aly, he is altogether in the right, and whosoever opposeth him is wandering in the paths of error.’ So spake Ziâd the son of Nadhr; but they heeded him not.
[550] Of these, 40,000 were enrolled stipendiaries, 17,000 youths below the ordinary fighting age, and 8,000 slaves. On finding the people indifferent, Aly first induced certain chiefs of influence to lead the way, and then made the heads of every clan and every household furnish the names of their dependants. The backwardness might have been in some measure due to the feeling that the fanatics should first be dealt with as a danger immediately threatening Kûfa. But apart from this, the influence of Aly was weak and precarious. Never enthusiastic on his side, the people were becoming more and more indifferent to him. This was partly owing, no doubt, to the strong feeling against the pretensions of the Coreish that prevailed at Kûfa.
[551] These outrages were of the most barbarous character. For example, a traveller refusing to confess Khârejite tenets was put to death, and his wife, great with child, ripped up with the sword; three women of the Beni Tay were killed, &c.