The Three Assassins from among the Khawarij
It is said that three people from among the Khawarij had been selected – Abdur Rahman bin Muljam Muradi, who was from the Himyar tribe and was a part of the Murad tribe who were confederates of the Banu Jabala from the Qindah family, along with Burak bin Abdullah Tamimi and Amr bin Bukair Tamimi. The three met in Mecca and made a solemn oath that they would certainly kill Hazrat Ali (ra) bin Abi Talib, Hazrat Mu‘awiyyah (ra) bin Abi Sufyan and Hazrat Amr (ra) bin Aas, as has already been mentioned earlier in the quote of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra), that there were three assailants and these were their names and their intention was to “save” the people from them.
Abdur Rahman bin Muljam said that he would undertake the task of killing Ali (ra) bin Abi Talib. Burak said that he would undertake the task of killing Mu‘awiyyah (ra), while Amr bin Bukair said that he would grant them freedom from Amr (ra) bin Aas [i.e. he would kill him]. After this, they made a solemn oath and assured one another that they would not back down from killing the person they had each mentioned and they would not return until they had killed them, otherwise they would give their own lives in this endeavour, meaning that they would go and either kill those three people or they would give their lives for this and not return.
They decided amongst themselves to set the 17th night of Ramadan to carry out this task. Then each of the three set out towards the city in which their targeted person lived, meaning the person who they intended to kill. Abdur Rahman bin Muljam went to Kufa and met with his Khariji friends, whom he would go to see or they would come to see him; however, he kept his mission secret from them.
One day, he saw a group of people from the Taimur Ribaab tribe, among whom was a woman named Qatam bint Shijnah bin Adi. During the Battle of Nahrawan, Hazrat Ali (ra) had killed her father and brother. Ibn Muljam became fond of that woman and sent her a proposal for marriage. She replied saying that she would not marry him unless he made a promise to her. Ibn Muljam said that he would do whatever she asked. She said that she wanted 3,000 dirhams and for Ali (ra) bin Abi Talib to be killed. Upon this, he said, “By God, I have come to this city for the very purpose of killing Ali and so I will certainly grant you that which you have asked for.”
Then Ibn Muljam met Shabib bin Bajrah Ashja‘i and informed him of his plot and asked that he join him, to which Shabib agreed. Abdur Rahman bin Muljam spent the night before the intended day of his mission to kill Hazrat Ali (ra), hidden in the mosque of Ash‘ath bin Qais Qindi. As the time of dawn drew near, Ash‘ath told him to wake up as it was now morning. Abdur Rahman bin Muljam and Shabib bin Bajrah stood up with their swords with them and sat near the entrance from where Hazrat Ali (ra) used to pass through.
Hazrat Hasan bin Ali (ra) narrates that he went and sat by Hazrat Ali (ra) early in the morning. At that time, Hazrat Ali (ra) said that he had spent the night waking his family members [for prayer] and himself was overcome by sleep and he saw the Holy Prophet (sa) in a dream. Hazrat Ali (ra) said to the Holy Prophet (sa) [in the dream], “O Messenger (sa) of Allah, I have been made to endure discord and conflict from the people of your Ummah.”
The Holy Prophet (sa) replied, “Pray to Allah the Almighty against them.” Hazrat Ali (ra) prayed, “O Allah, give me in exchange for them that which is better than them, and give them in exchange that which is worse than me.” In the meantime, the muazzin [caller to prayer], Ibn Nabah, arrived and said that it was time for prayer. Hazrat Hasan (ra) states that he took hold of Hazrat Ali’s (ra) hand, then he stood up and began walking. Ibn Nabah was in front of him and Hazrat Hasan (ra) was behind him. As soon as he emerged from the door, he called out saying, “O people, it is time for prayer, it is time for prayer” – every morning, he would call out in this manner saying “Salat, Salat.”
Whenever he would leave, he would have a whip in his hand which he used to hit on people’s doors in order to wake them up. At that very moment, the two assailants came before him. According to eye-witness accounts, some say that they saw the glistening of a sword and heard someone say, “O Ali, only Allah has the power to command, not you.” Then another sword was also seen and then both launched a joint attack. Abdur Rahman bin Muljam’s sword struck Hazrat Ali’s (ra) forehead to the crown of his head and penetrated his brain, whilst Shabib’s sword struck the wooden door.
[Hazrat Hasan (ra)] heard Hazrat Ali (ra) saying that these men should not get away and though people converged upon them from all sides, Shabib was able to escape while Abdur Rahman bin Muljam was captured and was brought to Hazrat Ali (ra). Hazrat Ali (ra) said, “He should be fed well and be given a comfortable place to sleep; if I remain alive, then I will decide as to whether I will forgive him or seek retribution. However, if I die, then he too should be killed and be sent along with me; I will settle the matter with him in the presence of the Lord of All the Worlds”, meaning he would present the matter before Allah.
(Ibn Saad, At-Tabaqat-ul-Kubra, Vol. 3 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1990], pp. 25-27)