Untangling the Lies Spun by Ayesha’s Advocates

Untangling the Lies Spun by Ayesha’s Advocates

In line with their Master advocates Ibn Taymeeya, Ibn Kathir and Shah Abdul Aziz – Abu Sulaiman and Ibn al Hashimi had sought to play down the situation with the claim that the two parties had resolved hostilities and that the battle of Jamal was in fact started by the followers of Ibn Saba hiding within Imam Ali (as)’s army, and it is they (not Ayesha) that should be blamed for the fitnah. Their modern day spiritual sons put to paper the same lies, with some additional baseless claim to sensationalize the dossier of evidence against the Shia. This chapter shall seek to untangle the lies that had spun and shall lift the lid on their status and liars of the highest order.

Did the Sabaites cause Fitnah during the Battle of Jamal?

Ibn al Hashimi states:

The truth is that both Umm Al Mumineen (Mother of the Believers) Aisha (رضّى الله عنها) and Amir Al Mumineen (Commander of the Believers) Ali (رضّى الله عنه) were innocent of the Fitnah during the Battle of the Camel (al-Jamal). The real culprits who instigated the Battle of the Camel were the Shia, who have historically been the cause of much Fitnah.

Reply One – The onus is on Ibn al Hashimi to prove the authenticity of these narrations

In our article ‘Who really killed Uthman’ we submitted a detailed discussion about the unreliability of the reports which mention the role of Ibn Saba during the era of Uthman and subsequent events, since they are all narrated by the notorious liar Sayf Ibn Umar. Abu Sulaiman and Ibn al Hashimi’s failure to cite the specific narrations relating to the Sabaite role in killing Uthman at various points in their articles, entitles us to assume that they are relying on the very fabrications narrated by Sayf Ibn Umar. If other narrations / chains existed we are sure that these Nawasib would have cited them with the complete chain highlighted in gold. Our suspicions become stronger when (later on) we see them switch to a narrative in a summarized manner from Tabari.

If our claim is wrong, we would invite Ibn al Hashimi to substantiate his claim, firstly by citing those Sunni sources that mention the role of the Sabaites in the Battle of Jamal and then evidencing that each of those chains is Sahih. It is only then, that he will have a valid ground to make such an assertion.

Reply Two – Ayesha and her supporters spreading Fitnah long before the battle of Jamal destroys the Ibn Saba defense card

Let us for arguments sake accept Ibn al Hashimi’s assertion that the Sabaites were involved in ‘Fitnah during the Battle of the Camel (al-Jamal)’ the battlefield is that place wherein all manner of rumor / misunderstanding can take place. If the Sabaites had been party to this during battle, who was responsible for bringing Ayesha and her armed supporters onto the battlefield in the first place? Did the Sabaites bound and gag Ayesha onto a camel and then dump her in Jamal? Were her supporters under some evil Sabaite hypnosis that duped them to gather on masse at Jamal? Was some medieval superglue used to attach swords to their hands? Did the Sabaites deceive these pious individuals and tell them that Maula Ali (as) had invited them all to an outdoor picnic at Jamal, but they should bring their swords with them as no small cutlery was available? Ibn al Hashimi needs to recognize that battles do not just occur overnight. It takes time, strategic planning and crucially soldiers that Ayesha had at her disposal.

• If Ayesha was averse to any form of Fitnah why did she:
• allow her supporters to violently take control of Basrah, killing innocent Shia in the process
• allow the capture, torture and expulsion of Imam Ali (as)’s appointed Governor of Basrah
• become party to rallies in Basrah that talked of overthrowing Imam Ali (as) due to him being unfit for office?

When Basrah was taken by force, from where these rallies were convened that sought to attract support and stoke up animosity towards the Head of State, then would such conduct not fall within the definition of Fitnah?