Battle of the Camel

وقعة الجمل

36 AH

Ali set out for Basra after Talha and al-Zubayr had asked his leave; he camped at Dhi Qar and sent al-Hasan and Ammar ibn Yasir (may God be pleased with him) to Kufa to rouse the people. Then the Battle of the Camel took place, in which al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (may God be pleased with him) was killed. Ali then entered upon Aisha, and the people of Basra gave him their allegiance ¹. The index places the account of the battle in 36 AH ¹. According to al-Suyuti, Talha and al-Zubayr went to Mecca, took Aisha with them, and went to Basra seeking vengeance for the blood of Uthman; Ali met them at Basra. The battle took place in Jumada II 36 AH; Talha and al-Zubayr were killed there, and the dead numbered thirteen thousand. Ali stayed at Basra fifteen nights and then returned to Kufa ². Al-Mas'udi mentions that the dead of the Camel, from Basra and elsewhere, numbered thirteen thousand, and that Ali's side lost five thousand, though people disputed this: the one who minimized it said seven thousand and the one who maximized it said ten thousand, depending on each person's leaning toward one side or the other ³. Ali ordered that no wounded man be finished off, no captive killed, no fugitive pursued, no one's nakedness exposed, no corpse mutilated, and that no one approach their property except for the weapons, mounts, and male and female slaves in their camp. He went out bareheaded on the mule of the Messenger of God ﷺ; al-Zubayr recalled the Prophet's words to him, 'You will fight him while you are wronging him', and turned back. Al-Zubayr was killed by Amr ibn Jurmuz while at prayer in Wadi al-Siba'. Marwan ibn al-Hakam shot Talha in the arm-vein and killed him, while Talha recited: 'The regret of al-Kasi, when I sought the pleasure of Banu Jurm, as I imagined' ⁴. Ali entered the treasury of Basra and said, 'O yellow one, deceive another than me! O white one, deceive another than me!' Then he ordered it divided among those with him, five hundred each, they being twelve thousand, and took for himself a single share like one of them. He appointed Abd Allah ibn Abbas over Basra and went to Kufa ⁵.

Depth

At a glance

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Overview

The battle of the Camel took place in 36 AH near Basra, between Ali ibn Abi Talib and a group that included Talha, al-Zubayr and Aisha. al-Tabari placed its account in 36 AH. ¹

al-Tabari's account

al-Tabari says that Ali went out toward Basra after Talha and al-Zubayr had asked his leave. He halted at Dhi Qar and sent al-Hasan and Ammar ibn Yasir to Kufa to rouse the people. Then the battle took place, in which al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam was killed. Then Ali came to Aisha, and the people of Basra gave him their allegiance. ¹

al-Suyuti's account

al-Suyuti says that Talha and al-Zubayr went out to Mecca, and took Aisha to Basra seeking vengeance for the blood of Uthman, and that Ali met them. The battle was in Jumada al-Akhira 36 AH, and Talha and al-Zubayr were killed, and the dead reached thirteen thousand. Ali stayed in Basra for fifteen nights, then went back to Kufa. ⁶

The numbers according to al-Mas'udi

al-Mas'udi says that the dead of the Camel were thirteen thousand, and five thousand of Ali's companions were killed. He notes that people disputed the number, some saying seven thousand and some ten thousand, according to the leaning of each side. ⁷

Opinions on the question

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

al-Sallabi, from a Sunni standpoint, holds that Aisha, Talha and Zubayr went out for reconciliation and for the blood of Uthman, not to fight Ali; that the Sabaites began the fighting at night; and that Ali was nearer to the truth. He grades the narrations of Abu Mikhnaf, Sayf and Ibn Shabba as weak on figures and detail.

More opinions (1)

Academic viewSecondary opinion

The academic view of the battle is not yet set out from this volume; to be added from an academic source.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant: Ka'b ibn Suwar

People and things also explored

Umar's Governance and Judgments· Ka'b ibn Suwar

Sources

Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk — al-Tabari (ed. Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim) , j.4 p.583
Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p. 294
Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p. 645
Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p. 655-658
Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p. 664
Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p.294
Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p.645

Asma al-Matalib fi Sirat Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 2

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Battle of the Camel”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/battle-of-the-camel/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Umar's Governance and Judgments

When Umar appointed an official he registered his wealth, and halved the fortunes of wronging governors — a half to the treasury, a half to them. Long he ate nothing of the fisc till want touched him; he asked the Companions and Ali said 'lunch and supper' — he took that. His letter: no army or raiding amir shall flog a hadd far from the route, lest Satan's zeal carry him to the unbelievers. 'This matter stands only on a firmness without despotism and a gentleness without weakness'. A woman came: 'my husband prays all night and fasts all day' — 'well praised' — Ka'b ibn Suwar: 'she complains — she says he gives her no share' — 'then judge between them: God allowed him four women — she has a day of every four days and a night of every four nights'. And sixteen dinars spent on his hajj — 'Abdallah, we have been extravagant with this money'.