Ibn Jarir said: In this year, Muawiya dispatched Busr b. Artat, from the Amir b. Lu'ayy tribe, with a force of 3,000 men towards the Hijaz. Ziyad b. Abdullah al-Bakkari narrated that 'Awana said regarding this matter:
"After the arbiters had given their judgment, Muawiya sent Busr b. Artat, from the Banu Amir b. Lu'ayy tribe, with a military detachment from Damascus. They arrived in Medina. At that time, Abu Ayyub, who was loyal to ʿAli, was the governor of Medina. Upon their arrival, Abu Ayyub fled and joined ʿAli in Kufa. Busr then entered Medina. No one fought against him. He ascended the minbar and called out:
'O Dinar, O Najjar, O Zurayq!' (These were the names of the elders of the Ansar families.) 'O my grandfather, O my grandfather, yesterday I pledged allegiance to you here. But today, where are you?' (By this, he meant ʿUthman.) After addressing them in this way, he continued:
'By Allah, had Muawiya not advised me otherwise, I would have killed even the children I encountered here.'
After saying this, he took the pledge of allegiance from the people of Medina and sent word to the Banu Salama tribe, saying:
'By Allah, your lives will not be safe until you hand over Jabir b. Abdullah to me. Nor will I accept your pledge of allegiance.' Thereupon, Jabir b. Abdullah went to Umm Salama, the wife of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), and said: 'What do you think about this? Truly, to give such a pledge is misguidance, but I also fear being killed.' Umm Salama said: 'In my opinion, you should give the pledge. I personally advised my son ʿUmar and my son-in-law Ibn Zamʿa to do so.' Abdullah b. Zamʿa was the husband of Umm Salama's daughter Zaynab. So Jabir went and submitted to Busr, pledging allegiance to him.
After demolishing some houses in Medina, Busr proceeded to Mecca, where Abu Musa al-Ashʿari feared for his life. Busr said to him: 'I will not kill a companion of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him).' After saying this, he released Abu Musa. Previously, Abu Musa had sent a letter to the Yemenis, informing them that a cavalry detachment from Muawiya was coming and would kill those who did not accept his authority. Busr then went to Yemen, where Abdullah b. ʿAbbas was governor. Upon hearing of Busr's approach, ʿAli appointed Abdullah b. Abdullah b. Meddan al-Hawi as governor of Yemen. When Busr entered Yemen, he killed Abdullah and his son. Then he came upon the baggage of ʿUbaydullah b. ʿAbbas and found within it two young sons of ʿUbaydullah, named ʿAbd al-Rahman and Qusham, and killed them as well. It is reported that during this campaign, Busr killed many supporters of ʿAli. This is a well-known report, recognized among the scholars of maghazi (military campaigns) and sira (biography), but in my view, it requires careful consideration; Allah knows best the truth of the matter."
When ʿAli heard of this, he sent Jariyah b. Qudama al-Saʿdi with a force of 2,000 men to Yemen, followed by Wahb b. Masʿud with another 2,000. When Jariyah reached Najran, he killed a group of men from among the supporters of ʿUthman. Upon hearing this, Busr and his men fled Yemen. Jariyah pursued Busr as far as Mecca. When he arrived there, he called out to the Muslims: 'Pledge allegiance to the Commander of the Faithful.' The Meccans replied: 'He is dead; why should we pledge allegiance?' Jariyah said: 'You will pledge allegiance to whomever the companions of ʿAli have pledged.' Out of fear, they gave their pledge.
Jariyah b. Qudama then went to Medina. At that time, Abu Hurayra was leading the Muslims in prayer in Medina. When he heard of Jariyah's arrival, he fled. Jariyah said: 'Had I seen that father of cats, I would surely have struck off his head.' Then he turned to the people of Medina and said they had pledged allegiance to ʿAli's son Hasan. After staying ten days in Medina, Jariyah set out for Kufa, and Abu Hurayra returned to resume leading the Muslims in prayer.
Ibn Jarir said: In the fortieth year of the Hijra, after correspondence between ʿAli and Muawiya regarding the cessation of hostilities, a truce was established. The rule of Iraq was left to ʿAli, and the rule of Syria to Muawiya. Each pledged not to attack the other's territory. Then, according to Ziyad ibn Ishaq, Muawiya sent a letter to ʿAli, saying:
'The community of Muhammad has killed one another. Let Iraq be yours and Syria be mine.' ʿAli accepted this proposal. Each pledged not to attack the other. The armies returned to their respective lands, and order was thus established.
Ibn Jarir said: In this year, Ibn ʿAbbas left Basra for Mecca. According to most scholars of sira, he resigned his governorship. Others, however, maintain that he continued as governor of Basra until the peace agreement between ʿAli and Muawiya, and that he was even present as a witness at the time of the treaty.
As will be explained in later pages, one of those who stated this categorically was Abu ʿUbayda. Ibn Jarir then relates the reason for Ibn ʿAbbas's departure from Basra as follows: One day, Ibn ʿAbbas spoke disparagingly to Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali, the judge of Basra. Abu al-Aswad complained to ʿAli, reporting that Ibn ʿAbbas had insulted his honor and had also taken some property from the bayt al-mal (public treasury). Upon this, ʿAli sent a letter to Ibn ʿAbbas, reproaching him for his conduct and holding him accountable. Ibn ʿAbbas, angered by this, sent a letter to ʿAli to the effect: 'Send whomever you wish as governor here; I will depart from this place. Peace.'
After saying this, Ibn ʿAbbas went to Mecca with his maternal uncles from the Banu Hilal tribe. The entire Qays tribe followed them, leaving Basra for Mecca. When Ibn ʿAbbas departed Basra, he took with him his accumulated salary and shares of spoils from the bayt al-mal. Others followed him as he set out. The Banu Ghanam tribe caught up with them and tried to turn them back, resulting in a skirmish between them. Then they withdrew from each other, and Ibn ʿAbbas entered Mecca.