A man came to Ibn Umar and said, "Abu Abdul-Rahman, do you not hear what Allah has mentioned in His Book, 'And if two factions among the believers fight' [Hujurat 49:9], to the end of the verse? What prevents you from fighting, as Allah has mentioned in His Book?"He replied, "Nephew, that I be deceived by this verse and not fight is dearer to me than being deceived by the verse in which Allah Most High says, 'And whoever kills a believer intentionally' [Nisa 4:93], to the end of it."The man said, "But Allah says, 'And fight them until there is no more persecution and the religion is for Allah. But if they cease, then there is no aggression except against the wrongdoers' [Baqarah 2:193]."Ibn Umar said, "We did that during the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when Islam had few followers, when a man would be persecuted for his religion, either killed or imprisoned, until Islam grew strong and there was no more persecution."When the man saw that Ibn Umar would not agree with what he wanted, he asked, "What do you say about Ali and Uthman?"Ibn Umar replied, "What is my opinion of Ali and Uthman? As for Uthman, Allah had pardoned him, but you disliked that he be pardoned. As for Ali, he is the cousin of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his son-in-law." He gestured with his hand and said, "And this is his daughter, where you can see her."
أن رجلا جاءه، فقال: يا أبا عبد الرحمن، ألا تسمع ما ذكر الله فى كتابه {وإن طائفتان من المؤمنين اقتتلوا} [الحجرات: ٩] إلى آخر الآية، فما يمنعك أن لا تقاتل، كما ذكر الله في كتابه، فقال: يا ابن أخي أغتر بهذه الآية، ولا أقاتل أحب إلى من أن أغتر بهذه الآية التي يقول الله تعالى{ومن يقتل مؤمن متعمدا} [النساء: ٩٣] إلى آخرها. قال: فإن الله يقول: {وقتلوهم حتى لا تكون فتنة ويكون الدين لله فإن انتهوا فلا عدوان إلا على الظالمين} [البقرة: ١٩٣]. قال ابن عمر: قد فعلنا على عهد رسول الله ﷺ إذ كان الإسلام قليلا، فكان الرجل يفتن فى دينه، إما يقتلوه وإما يوثقوه، حتى كثر الإسلام، فلم تكن فتنة، فلما رأى أنه لا يوافقه فيما يريد، قال: فما قولك في علي وعثمان؟ قال ابن عمر: ما قولي في علي وعثمان؟ أما عثمان فكان الله قد عفا عنه، فكرهتم أن يعفو عنه، وأما علي فابن عم رسول الله ﷺ وختنه. وأشار بيده وهذه ابنته أو بنته حيث ترون.