Hadith 248:3
Ya'la ibn 'Ubayd narrated to us, from 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Siyah, from Habib ibn Abi Thabit, who said: I came to Abu Wa'il in his family's mosque to ask him about those people whom 'Ali killed at al-Nahrawan, regarding what they responded to him with, what they differed with him on, and why he deemed fighting them lawful. He said: We were at Siffin, and when the killing intensified against the people of al-Sham, they took refuge on a hill. 'Amr ibn al-'As said to Mu'awiyah: "Send a Mushaf (copy of the Quran) to 'Ali and call him to the Book of Allah, for he will not refuse you." A man came with it and said: "Between us and you is the Book of Allah: 'Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture? They are invited to the Book of Allah that it should judge between them; then a party of them turns away, while they are refusing.'" [Al 'Imran: 23]. 'Ali said: "Yes, I am most entitled to that. Between us and you is the Book of Allah." He said: Then the Khawarij came to him—and we used to call them the 'Reciters' (al-Qurra') in those days—with their swords upon their shoulders. They said: "O Commander of the Faithful, why do we wait for these people who are on the hill? Should we not walk to them with our swords until Allah judges between us and them?" Sahl ibn Hunayf spoke and said: "O people, suspect your own opinions. I saw us on the day of al-Hudaybiyyah—meaning the peace treaty that was between the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the polytheists—and if we had seen fighting, we would have fought. Then 'Umar came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, are we not upon the truth and they upon falsehood? Are our killed not in Paradise and their killed in the Fire?' He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Then why do we accept humiliation in our religion and return while Allah has not yet judged between us and them?' He said: 'O son of al-Khattab, I am the Messenger of Allah, and He will never let me go to waste.'" He said: So he returned, filled with rage, and could not contain himself until he came to Abu Bakr and said: "O Abu Bakr, are we not upon the truth and they upon falsehood? Are our killed not in Paradise and their killed in the Fire?" He said: "Yes." He said: "Then why do we accept humiliation in our religion and return while Allah has not yet judged between us and them?" He said: "O son of al-Khattab, he is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and He will never let him go to waste." He said: Then Surat al-Fath was revealed. He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent me to 'Umar to recite it to him. He said: "O Messenger of Allah, is it a victory?" He said: "Yes."
حدثنا يعلى بن عبيد، عن عبد العزيز بن سياه، عن حبيب بن أبي ثابت، قال: أتيت أبا وائل في مسجد أهله أسأله عن هؤلاء القوم الذين قتلهم علي بالنهروان، فيما استجابوا له، وفيما فارقوه، وفيما استحل قتالهم، قال: كنا بصفين فلما استحر القتل بأهل الشام اعتصموا بتل، فقال عمرو بن العاص لمعاوية: أرسل إلى علي بمصحف، وادعه إلى كتاب الله، فإنه لن يأبى عليك، فجاء به رجل، فقال: بيننا وبينكم كتاب الله {ألم تر إلى الذين أوتوا نصيبا من الكتاب يدعون إلى كتاب الله، ليحكم بينهم، ثم يتولى فريق منهم، وهم معرضون} [آل عمران: 23] ، فقال علي: نعم أنا أولى بذلك، بيننا وبينكم كتاب الله، قال: فجاءته الخوارج، ونحن ندعوهم يومئذ القراء، وسيوفهم على عواتقهم، فقالوا: يا أمير المؤمنين، ما ننتظر بهؤلاء القوم الذين على التل ألا نمشي إليهم بسيوفنا، حتى يحكم الله بيننا وبينهم، فتكلم سهل بن حنيف، فقال: يا أيها الناس اتهموا أنفسكم، فلقد رأيتنا يوم الحديبية، يعني الصلح الذي كان بين رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وبين المشركين، ولو نرى قتالا لقاتلنا، فجاء عمر إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقال: يا رسول الله ألسنا على الحق، وهم على باطل، أليس قتلانا في الجنة وقتلاهم في النار؟ قال: " بلى " قال: ففيم نعطي الدنية في ديننا، ونرجع ولما يحكم الله بيننا، وبينهم؟ فقال: " يا ابن الخطاب، إني رسول الله، ولن يضيعني أبدا " قال: فرجع وهو متغيظ، فلم يصبر، حتى أتى أبا بكر، فقال: يا أبا بكر ألسنا على حق، وهم على باطل، أليس قتلانا في الجنة وقتلاهم في النار؟ قال: بلى، قال: ففيم نعطي الدنية في ديننا ونرجع، ولما يحكم الله بيننا وبينهم؟ فقال: يا ابن الخطاب إنه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، ولن يضيعه أبدا، قال: فنزلت سورة الفتح قال: فأرسلني رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى عمر، فأقرأها إياه، قال: يا رسول الله وفتح هو؟ قال: " نعم "