We said to az-Zubair ؓ : “O Abu ʿAbdullah, what brought you here? You let the caliph down until he was killed, then you came seeking vengeance for him?” Az-Zubair ؓ said: “At the time of the Prophet ﷺ, Abu Bakr, ʿUmar and ʿUthman and me, we read the verse: “And fear the Fitnah (affliction and trial) which affects not in particular (only those) of you who do wrong (but it may afflict all the good and the bad people).” [al-Anfal 8:25]. But we never knew that it referred to us until the turmoil befell us.”  

قُلْنَا لِلزُّبَيْرِ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللهِ مَا جَاءَ بِكُمْ ضَيَّعْتُمُ الْخَلِيفَةَ حَتَّى قُتِلَ ثُمَّ جِئْتُمْ تَطْلُبُونَ بِدَمِهِ؟ فَقَالَ الزُّبَيْرُ إِنَّا قَرَأْنَاهَا عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ وَأَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ {وَاتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لَا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْكُمْ} [الأنفال 25] خَاصَّةً لَمْ نَكُنْ نَحْسَبُ أَنَّا أَهْلُهَا حَتَّى وَقَعَتْ مِنَّا حَيْثُ وَقَعَتْ