The Outset of Dissension in Islam — Page 106
106 H A D RAT MIRZA BASHIR-UD-DIN MAHMUD AHMAD masterminds would not be disclosed either. However, falsehood never remains hidden for long, especially when hundreds are made aware of it. The letter which was supposedly written on behalf of Hadrat ‘ Uthm a n ra was seized and the ordinary masses of Kufah turned back extremely enraged. A group of them approached Hadrat ‘Al i ra and asked for his assistance. Hadrat ‘Al i ra had become aware of the falsity of this account as soon as he heard about it, and due to his God-given insight, the deception of the rebels of Egypt had become evident to him. He plainly refused saying, “I cannot join you in such a thing. ” At the time, in the heat of their emotion, some were unable to exercise caution and spontaneously said, “Then why have you been sending us letters?” This was very surprising for Hadrat ‘Al i ra. He plainly rejected this, expressed his ignorance and said, “I swear by God the Exalted! I have never written any such letter to you people. ” These people were also extremely shocked because in actuality, they had also been deceived themselves. They began to look at one another in amazement and enquired, “Is this the person for whom you express rage and fight?” In other words, this was to say that, God-forbid, Hadrat ‘Al i ra was such a coward that after having done everything, he was now wiping his hands clean. 86 It appears from this incident that there were certain people from among the rebels who were skilled in crafting counterfeit letters and that such people were present among the people of Egypt. The reason being that these letters could only be written on behalf of Hadrat ‘ Al i ra to the Egyptians, who 86. T a r i khu t-T abar i , vol. 5, pp. 156-157, Dhikru Mas i ri Mann S a ra Il a Dh i Khashabin Min Ahli Mi s ra. . . . . , Published by D a rul-Fikr, Beirut, 2002 edition [Publishers]