was harder for the Umayyads to tolerate than hearing words of praise about the Prophet's household. It meant condemning and humiliating the Umayyads, and made Imam al-Husayn who was the last member of that house and the noblest Muslim of that day, most loved by the people. Therefore the traditions which are found in books of tradition in which the names of Imam 'All, Siddiqah (Fatimah) and her noble mother Khadijah are mentioned, must have belonged to this period even though their number is not great.
We think it probable that her expressions of penitence about the battle of al-Jamal, too, have their beginning in this period and have continued to the end of her life. Now we deal with this subject at length in the next section.

'A'ishah is penitent about
the battle of al-Jamal

Oh! The battle of Jamal is stuck in my throat like a bone!
'A'ishah

Abu Jundab, a man of Kufah, narrates the story of his meeting with 'A'ishah as follows: When I went to the house of Umm al-Mu'minin and met her, she asked me who I was. I said: "I am a man of the al-Azd tribe, living in Kufah."
She asked me: "Did you take part in the battle of al-Jamal?" I said: "Yes". She asked: "Were you fighting for us or against us?"
I told her that I was fighting against her.
She asked: "Do you know the person who declared in his slogan: 'O dear mother! O the best mother that we know?'"
I said: "Yes, he was my cousin." Then she began to weep so profusely that I thought she would never calm down.(267)
Ibn al-Athir writes: One day in 'A'ishah's presence the conversation led to a mention of the battle of al-Jamal. She asked: "Do the people still remember it?" They said: "Yes". She said: "I wish I had not taken part in that battle and had sat down in my house like the other wives of the Prophet. Keeping