The beginning of the tragedy
During the month of Ramadan of 40 AH, the greatest tragedy befall on the faithful after the loss of the Holy Prophet (prayers and Allah's peace be upon him and his holy Household), as the most evil of the wicked Abd Arrahman Ibn Muljam Al-Muradi (curses be upon him) planned with a group of his Kharijites companions to kill the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), Muawiyah Ibn Abi Sufyan and Amr Ibn Al-'Aas (curses be upon both of them). and Ibn Muljam (curses be upon him) was in charge to kill Imam Ali (Peace be upon him).
The heads of hypocrisy who were involved in this crime
After that evil agreement, Ibn Muljam arrived to Kufa where he met his friends and told them that he agreed with his companions in Mecca to kill the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) and asked them to keep it as secret. He then visited the house of one of his companions from Bani Taym Arrabab where he met Qutam Bint Al-Akhdar from Bani Taym Arrabab, who hated Imam Ali (peace be upon him) because he has killed her brother and father in the battle of Nahrawan. Once Ibn Muljam (curses be upon him) has seen her, he fell blindly in love with her and asked for her hand. She then asked him: What will be my dowry? He told her: You ask whatever you want! She answered: I am asking for three thousand Dirhams, a male slave, a slave girl and the killing of Ali Ibn Abi Talib.
Ibn Muljim was already having plans for that crime, he had come there for that purpose and now another strong motive presented itself to make him more determined for the act. But outwardly he expressed surprise at the suggestion and he said, “Killing Ali is not an easy task!”
Qutam said, “You can make a surprise attack and kill him. If you succeed, it is well and good. Even otherwise you will get the Blessings of the Hereafter!” When Ibn Muljim saw that Qutam had the same feelings as himself, he told her that he had come to Kufa with the same purpose and wanted to avenge the deaths of his men in the battle of Nahrawan. Then Qutam told him that he must act with determination and she would talk to dependable persons of her tribe to extend their cooperation. Therefore, she prepared Dardan ibn Mujalid to assist him.
Then Ibn Muljam went to meet a man from Achja'; Shabeeb Ibn Baheera and told him: Do you want the honour in this world and the hereafter? help me in the killing of Ali, we hide ourselves in the great mosque of Kufa, and when he goes out for the Fajr prayer, we kill him and take the revenge for ourselves, which he accepted too.
Together they met Qutam in the great mosque where she was doing I'tikaf in a sanctum, they told her: We agreed on killing them man, she told them: Meet me then in this place.
After days, they came to her with Wirdan Ibn Majalid, and it was on the night of the Friday nineteenth of the month of Ramadan of 40 AH. She made them ready with their swords, and they sat in front of the door from where the Imam Ali (peace be upon him) used for coming to the prayer.
On that night, Ibn Muljam met with Al-Ash'ath Ibn Qays in one of the mosque's corners, Hijr Ibn 'Adiy passed by and hear Al-Ash'ath Saying to Ibn Muljam: Hurry, hurry, the daybreak is soon.
The events of the night in which the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was martyred
During that month of Ramadan, Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was alternately going to the houses of his children and that of Abdullah ibn Ja'far (Lady Zaynab's husband) to break his fasts. His appetite had gone down very much and he used to take only a few morsels of food. When asked about it, he would say:
“I wish that when my death comes, I should be on an empty stomach!”
On the night of 19th Ramadan, the Imam (peace be upon him) went to his daughter Um Kulthum’s house. She offered him two breads of barley, a bowl of milk and some salt. When he saw the food he said, “In following the foot steps of the Prophet (prayers and Allah's peace be upon him and his holy Household) I have never had more than one type of food on my spread. O Daughter! There is accountability for the legitimate and retribution for the illegitimate. Do you want your father to stay longer at the station of accountability of the Day of Judgment? Remove one of the two things from the spread!”
Lady Um Kulthum took away the bowl of milk and the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) ate a few morsels of the bread with the salt. After the meal, according to his practice, he stood up on the mat to offer his prayer. But he was looking up repeatedly at the twinkling stars and said: “By Allah! I am not lying nor am I making a wrong statement! This is the night about which promise has been made to me!”
Sometimes he recited “We are Allah’s and to Him do we return,” and sometimes “There is neither might nor power save with Allah, the Most High, the All-great,” and “O Allah! Make death felicitous for me!” When lady Um Kulthum saw this, she asked, “Father! Why are you so worried today?” He replied, “I have the Hereafter in front of me! I am going to the Presence of Allah!” Tears welled in the eyes of Um Kulthum and she said, “Father! Today you should not go to the Mosque! Ju`dah ibn Hubayrah is there. Ask him to lead the prayer!” The Imam (peace be upon him) said, “There is no escape from the Fate fixed by Allah” The night was in its last stages when the Muezzin, Ibn tabaj came and informed about the prayer. The Imam (peace be upon him) rose to move towards the mosque.
When he came to the courtyard of the house, the domesticated geese started shouting and swaying their wings. Someone wanted to move them aside, but the Imam (peace be upon him) said, “Leave them alone! After a short time the sounds of crying and wailing would start” Imam Al-Hassan (peace be upon him) or Um Kulthum said, “Father! What sort of things you are saying today!” He said, “This is the truth that has come out of my mouth!” Then the Imam (peace be upon him) told Um Kulthum, “My daughter! These birds cannot speak! Take care of feeding them! If you cannot do that, then you must free them so that they find their food by going around on the earth!” When he reached near the door, he tied a shawl around his girdle and recited two couplets of Ruhayhah al-Ansari:
Fasten you riddle for the death
Because the death is coming before you
When death comes
Do not show unease!
The Imam Ali (peace be upon him) reached the mosque and stood in the arch for the prayer. When he raised his head from the first prostration of the morning’s optional prayer, Shabib ibn Bajrah attacked with his sword, but the sword hit the pillar of the Mosque and the attack went in vain. Then Ibn Muljim hit his poisoned sword on the head of the Imam (peace be upon him) that cracked his skull. The Imam (peace be upon him) immediately said, “In the Name of Allah; and on the Religion of Allah’s Messenger. I have really won. I swear it by the Lord of Ka`bah!”
After being hit, Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was carried to his house
After being hit, Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was carried to his house, Lubabah sat near his head and Um Kulthum at his feet, when he opened his eyes he looked at them and said: "The Most High Companion is a better settlement and better resting place."
Lady Um Kulthum told the wretch Ibn Muljam, "O unfortunate accursed person! You have killed The Commander of the Faithful!" Imam Ali (peace be upon him) opened his eyes in delirium and looking at him said to Imam Al-Hassan (peace be upon him) and said, “O son! If I remained alive, it will be my prerogative whether I punish him or pardon him! If I pass away because of this injury, you must kill him so I ask the Lord of the Worlds to punish him!”
Earlier the Holy Prophet (prayers and Allah's peace be upon him and his holy Household) said to Imam Ali (peace be upon him), “Amongst the bygone people, the most callous was that who killed the she-camel of Prophet Salih.”
The Holy Prophet (prayers and Allah's peace be upon him and his holy Household) was asked by Imam Ali (peace be upon him), “Who is the most callous in the latter days?”
He said, “Allah, and His Prophet know that he is your assassin.”
If the killer of the she-camel of Prophet Salih deserved Hellfire, then how could the killer of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) escape Hellfire, when both had extinguished the miracles of the prophets and erased the verses of Allah!