Musnad Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili 3:214

Ishaq ibn Abi Isra'il narrated to us, Yahya ibn Sulaym narrated to us, from Abdullah ibn Uthman ibn Khuthaym, from Ubaydullah ibn Iyad ibn Amr al-Qari, that Abdullah ibn Shaddad came and entered upon Aisha while we were sitting with her, upon his return from Iraq in the nights when Ali ibn Abi Talib was killed. She said to him, "O son of Shaddad ibn al-Had, will you be truthful to me regarding what I ask you about? Tell me about those people whom Ali killed." He said, "And why would I not be truthful to you?" She said, "Then tell me their story." He said, "When Ali ibn Abi Talib corresponded with Mu'awiyah and the two arbitrators judged, eight thousand of the reciters of the people went out against him and descended upon a land called Harura' on the side of Kufa. They blamed him and said, 'You have stripped off a garment that Allah clothed you with, and a name that Allah named you with, then you went and arbitrated in the religion of Allah, whereas there is no judgment except for Allah.' When what they blamed him for and left him over reached Ali, he ordered a caller, and he called out that no one should enter upon the Commander of the Faithful except one who has memorized the Quran. When the house was filled with the reciters of the people, Ali called for a great master copy of the Quran and placed it before him. He began to strike it with his hand, saying, 'O Quran, speak to the people!' The people called out to him, 'O Commander of the Faithful, what are you asking it about? It is only ink on paper, and we speak of what we have seen from it. What do you want?' He said, 'Your companions, those who went out—between me and them is the Book of Allah. Allah says in His Book regarding a woman and a man: *And if you fear a rift between them, then send an arbitrator from his family and an arbitrator from her family. If they both desire reconciliation, Allah will cause agreement between them* (An-Nisa: 35). Is the nation of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, of greater sanctity or protection than a woman and a man?' 'And they criticized me for corresponding with Mu'awiyah. I wrote "Ali ibn Abi Talib," and Suhayl ibn Amr had come to us, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wrote "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful." He said, "Do not write 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'." He said, "How shall we write?" Suhayl said, "Write 'In Your name, O Allah'." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Then write 'Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah'." He said, "If I knew that you were the Messenger of Allah, I would not have opposed you." So he wrote, "This is what Muhammad ibn Abdullah has agreed upon with Quraysh." Allah says in His Book: *There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day* (Al-Ahzab: 21).'" "So he sent Abdullah ibn Abbas to them. I went out with him until, when I reached the middle of their camp, Ibn al-Kawwa' stood up and addressed the people. He said, 'O carriers of the Quran, this is Abdullah ibn Abbas. Whoever does not know him, let him know him, for I only know him from the Book of Allah as one of those about whom and whose people it was revealed: *...rather, they are a people prone to dispute* (Az-Zukhruf: 58). So return him to his companion and do not debate the Book of Allah with him.' Their speakers stood up and said, 'By Allah, we will debate the Book with him. If he brings us a truth that we recognize, we will follow him, and if he brings a falsehood, we will refute him with falsehood and return him to his companion.' They debated the Book with Abdullah ibn Abbas for three days, and four thousand of them returned, all of them repentant, including Ibn al-Kawwa', until Ali brought them into Kufa." "Then Ali sent to the rest of them, saying, 'What has happened between us and the people is what you have seen. So stay where you wish. Between us and you is that you do not shed forbidden blood, do not cut off the path, and do not oppress those under protection. For if you do that, then we have cast war back to you on equal terms. *Indeed, Allah does not like the treacherous* (Al-Anfal: 58).'" Aisha said to him, "O son of Shaddad, so he killed them?" He said, "By Allah, he did not send to them until they cut off the path, shed blood, and made the protected ones lawful." She said, "By Allah?" He said, "By Allah, besides Whom there is no god, it was indeed so." She said, "What is this thing that reached me about the people of Iraq, that they talk about, saying 'Dhu al-Thudayyah' twice?" He said, "I saw him, and I stood with Ali over him among the slain. He called the people and said, 'Do you recognize this?' And how many people came saying, 'I saw him in the mosque of such-and-such tribe praying,' but they did not bring any proof regarding him that was known other than that." She said, "What was Ali's statement when he stood over him, as the people of Iraq claim?" He said, "I heard him say, 'Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth.'" She said, "Did you hear him say anything other than that?" He said, "By Allah, no." She said, "Yes, 'Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth.' May Allah have mercy on Ali; it was among his habits that he would not see anything that pleased him except that he would say, 'Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth.' So the people of Iraq went and lied about him and added to the hadith."