Martyrdom

With regard to the background of Hazrat Ali’s (ra) martyrdom, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) states:

“The matters had not yet completely settled when a party of the Khawarij suggested to put an end to this disorder by killing all the prominent figures. Hence, some of their bold and brave men set out with the firm intention that one of them would kill Hazrat Ali (ra), while the other two would kill Hazrat Mu‘awiyah (ra) and Amr (ra) bin Aas, all in the same day and at the same time.

“The individual who set off towards Hazrat Mu‘awiyah (ra) managed to attack him, but since he did not land a clean strike with his sword, Hazrat Mu‘awiyah (ra) sustained only a minor injury. This individual was caught and was subsequently killed. The individual who set off to kill Amr (ra) bin Aas also failed in his attempt. This is because Hazrat Amr (ra) bin Aas could not go to the mosque to lead the prayer owing to an illness. Instead, the person who came to lead the prayer on behalf of Hazrat Amr (ra) bin Aas was killed. This person was also caught and subsequently executed.

“The individual who set off to kill Hazrat Ali (ra) attacked him when he was about to stand up to lead the morning prayer and as a result, Hazrat Ali (ra) was severely wounded. At the time of the attack, this individual uttered the following words: ‘O Ali! It is not your right that each and every word of yours be obeyed. This is the sole right of Allah!’”

(Anwar-e-Khilafat, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 3, p. 202)