(Usama's Maula) Usama (bin Zaid) sent me to ʿAli (at Kufa) and said, "ʿAli will ask you, 'What has prevented your companion from joining me?' You then should say to him, 'If you (ʿAli) were in the mouth of a lion, I would like to be with you, but in this matter I won't take any part.' " Harmala added: "ʿAli didn't give me anything (when I conveyed the message to him) so I went to Hasan, Hussain and Ibn Jaʿfar and they loaded my camels with much (wealth).  

وَقَالَ إِنَّهُ سَيَسْأَلُكَ الآنَ فَيَقُولُ مَا خَلَّفَ صَاحِبَكَ فَقُلْ لَهُ يَقُولُ لَكَ لَوْ كُنْتَ فِي شِدْقِ الأَسَدِ لأَحْبَبْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مَعَكَ فِيهِ وَلَكِنَّ هَذَا أَمْرٌ لَمْ أَرَهُ فَلَمْ يُعْطِنِي شَيْئًا فَذَهَبْتُ إِلَى حَسَنٍ وَحُسَيْنٍ وَابْنِ جَعْفَرٍ فَأَوْقَرُوا لِي رَاحِلَتِي