During the short period of Imam Ali's (a.s.) rule, three major civil wars took place: Jamal, Siffin, and Nahrawan. In the battle of Nahrawan, when Imam Ali's supporters defeated the Khawarij, their survivors gathered in Mecca for a while and mourned the killing of Nahrawan.

In one of these meetings, they decided to kill Imam Ali (a.s.), Muawiyah, and Amr ibn al-Aas. Ibn Muljam al-Muradi accepted the killing of the Commander of the Faithful, Hajjaj ibn Abdullah, known as Barak, took the killing of Muawiyah, and Amr ibn Bakr al-Tamimi took the killing of Amr ibn al-Aas.

All three decided to carry out their decision on the night of the nineteenth of Ramadan during the morning prayer. Therefore, Ibn Muljam set out for Kufa to kill Imam Ali.

Ibn Muljam came to Kufa, but hid his intention and stayed in the Bani Kanda neighborhood, where he lived among the Khawarij, until the promised day.

At this time, he met Qattam, the daughter of Akhdar Taymiyyah, fell in love with her, and proposed to her. Qattam, whose relatives were killed in the war with the Imam, held a grudge against the Imam and stipulated that she would marry Ibn Muljam only if he killed Imam Ali.

Ibn Muljam revealed the secret of his presence in Kufa when Qattam shared his opinion in his enmity with the Imam. To help Ibn Muljam, Qattam called Wardan ibn Mujalid and Shabib ibn Bajrah, and they accepted. (Al-Irshad, Al-Mufid, Vol. 1, p. 17)

After learning of Ibn Muljam's intention, Ash'ath ibn Qais also promised to accompany him, and thus the four conspirators gathered in the mosque of Kufa at dawn on the 19th of the blessed month of Ramadan to martyr the Imam.