Caliphate of Hazrat Ali

Ali's Caliphate (an Overview)

Ali accepted the caliphate very reluctantly. Usmans murder and the events
surrounding it were a symptom, and also became a cause, of civil strife on a large
scale. Ali felt that the tragic situation was mainly due to inept governors. He
therefore dismissed all the governors who had been appointed by Usman and
appointed new ones. All the governors excepting Muawiya, the governor of Syria,
submitted to his orders. Muawiya declined to obey until Usmans blood was
avenged.

The Prophet's widow 'Aaishah also took the position that Ali should first bring the
murderers to trial. Due to the chaotic conditions during the last days of Usman it
was very difficult to establish the identity of the murderers, and Ali refused to
punish anyone whose guilt was not lawfully proved. Thus a battle between the army
of Ali and the supporters of 'Aaishah took place. 'Aaishah later realized her error of
judgment and never forgave herself for it.

The situation in Hijaz (the part of Arabia in which Mecca andMedina are located)
became so troubled that Ali moved his capital to Iraq. Muawiya now openly rebelled
against Ali and a fierce battle was fought between their armies. This battle was
inconclusive, and Ali had to accept the de facto government of Muawiya in Syria.

However, even though the era of Ali's caliphate was marred by civil strife, he
nevertheless introduced a number of reforms, particularly in the levying and
collecting of revenues.

It was the fortieth year of Hijra. A fanatical group called Kharijites, consisting of
people who had broken away from Ali due to his compromise with Muawiya, claimed
that neither Ali, the Caliph, nor Muawiya, the ruler of Syria, nor Amr bin al-Aas, the
ruler of Egypt, were worthy of rule. In fact, they went so far as to say that the true
caliphate came to an end with 'Umar and that Muslims should live without any ruler

over them except God. They vowed to kill all three rulers, and assassins were
dispatched in three directions.

The assassins who were deputed to kill Muawiya and Amr did not succeed and were
captured and executed, but Ibn-e-Muljim, the assassin who was commissioned to
kill Ali, accomplished his task. One morning when Ali was absorbed in prayer in a
mosque, Ibn-e-Muljim stabbed him with a poisoned sword. On the 20th of
Ramadan, 40 A.H. died the last of the Rightly Guided Caliphs of Islam. May God
Most High be pleased with them and grant to them His eternal reward.

Conclusion
With the death of Ali, the first and most notable phase in the history of Muslim
peoples came to an end. All through this period it had been the Book of God and
the practices of His Messenger - that is, the Qur'an and the Sunnah - which had
guided the leaders and the led, set the standards of their moral conduct and
inspired their actions. It was the time when the ruler and the ruled, the rich and the
poor, the powerful and the weak, were uniformly subject to the Divine Law. It was
an epoch of freedom and equality, of God-consciousness and humility, of social
justice which recognized no privileges, and of an impartial law which accepted no
pressure groups or vested interests.
After Ali, Muawiya assumed the caliphate and thereafter the caliphate became
hereditary, passing from one king to another.
Some important points of the Khilafat of Hazrat Ali
The revolt in Ali army
The exhortations of Ali had no effect. About 20,000 men of Iraqlet by Zaid b Hasan,
and Mustur bin Fidki openly revolted and laid down their arms. The rebels
approached Ali, and calling him no longer their Caliph, but simply Ali, declared "Ali
you are appealing to the sword, and they are appealing to the Quran. Let the issue
of the caliphate be deferred to the judgment of God's Book". They adopted a hostile
attitude, and warned Ali that if he did not submit to their demand, he would meet
the same fate as had befallen his predecessor, Usman.

Heartbroken at the treachery of his men, Ali exclaimed with great grief, "Alas, you
are deserting me at the critical time of need. Go and join the Syrian coalition
against God and His Apostle." The rebels did not rest content with their own revolt.
A large section of the army under Ashtar was still fighting, and they were having an
upper hand. The rebels demanded that orders should be issued recalling Ashtar
from the battlefield. The rebels went to the extent of reproaching Ali. He was
accused of being an accomplice in the murder of Usman. He was accused of fighting
against the Syrians to quench his thirst for self-aggrandizement. Ali threatened
them with grave consequences and they threatened him in turn. The pressure of
the rebels increased and Ali feeling helpless had to recall Ashtar from the front.
Ashtar returned reluctantly. Ashtar upbraided them as traitors, hypocrites and
villains. In return they reviled him. Because of this revolt in his army, Ali had to
suspend action against the Syrians, and thus the victory which was in immediate
sight, evaded him. Henceforward misfortune was to stalk the steps of Ali.
Causes of the helplessness of Ali
The accounts of what happened at Siffin which have come down to us give no clue
as to what was the cause of rebellion against Ali when victory was almost in sight.
It is not plausible that this sudden development took place at the display of the
leaves of the Holy Quran on their lances by the Syrians. Obviously it was the
culmination of some deep set conspiracy. The exact extent of such conspiracy
remains a mystery, but it appears that the treachery of most of the army chiefs of
Ali was because of the bribery by Muawiyah. The army that Ali had brought to Siffin
was more a motley crowd than a disciplined force, and this lack of discipline was its
greatest weakness. It also appears that there was a good deal of jealousy among
the Generals of the army of Ali. When Ali appointed Ashas as a General his
appointment was opposed by Malik Ashtar who was the Commander-in-Chief of the
forces of Ali, and these differences between the two Generals persisted during the
course of the war. Ali believed in the truth of his cause to such an extent that he did
not sponsor any propaganda to support such cause. On the other hand Muawiyah
was a past master in making propaganda, and in this respect he outwitted Ali.

Ali's reaction to the Arbitration decision

The arbitration decision came as a great shock to Ali. Ali had hoped that as the
umpires were to take the decision in accordance with the injunctions of the Holy
Quran, they would act with a due sense of justice and fair play. The decision that
was taken was neither just nor fair. It was taken in the spirit of the old Arab
traditions of the age of Ignorance and was repugnant to Islamic values. The
umpires were supposed to judge the relative merits of Ali and Muawiyah in the light
of Islamic values and then choose one out of the two. The umpires did nothing of
the sort. Abu Musa the umpire of Ali had some bias against Ali because Ali had
deposed him from the governorship of Kufa, and hence wittingly or unwittingly he
acted against the interests of Ali. Ali had been duly elected as the Caliph by the
authorized electorate and Abu Musa had no authority to depose Ali. 'Amr b Al-6Aas
the umpire of Muawiyah was a clever man, and taking advantage of the weakness
in the stand of Abu Musa, he manipulated victory for Muawiyah. Ali could not accept
the decision, and the only option left with him was to renew the war against
Muawiyah who had manipulated to win power through underhand means. Ali
accordingly gave call for arms and exhorted the people to join the war for the
vindication of the truth and the suppression of falsehood. The people responded
enthusiastically to the call, and soon an army of 65,000 strong was assembled.
The Kharijites
After the Battle of Siffin the Kharijites had separated from the community and
camped at Harura a few miles from Kufa. Their stand was that Ali had made a
mistake in accepting the arbitration of men Ali was asked by them to lead them to
war against Muawiyah. Ali had tried to conciliate them, and assured of them that he
would lead them to war in case the decision of the umpires was against the
injunctions of Islam. Some sort of conciliation was brought about between Ali and
the Kharijites, and most of the Kharijites returned to Kufa. The Kharijites were a
restive and over sensitive people of the extremist type. The Kharijites slipped from
Kufa one by one, established a settlement at Nahrawan, a few miles to the east of

the Tigrisnear Madain. The Kharijites from Basra and elsewhere in Iraqalso
migrated to Nahrawan Here the Kharijites gathered in strength. They elected an
Amir of their own. They were very meticulous in observing prayers and following
other injunctions of Islam. They aspired to live sinless lives. They declared that they
were not interested in the affairs of this world, and that they had sold their lives to
win paradise in the next world. Where a Kharijite picked up a date under a date
tree and ate it he subsequently cut his right hand himself on the ground that the
eating of the date without purchasing it from the owner amounted to a theft. On
the other hand when any Muslim indulged in any controversy with them, they
invariably killed him. They held that no one except themselves was a Muslim, and it
devolved on them to get rid of such people who did not agree with them. They let
loose a reign of terror in the countryside and created a problem of law and order for
the administration. When the Kharijites of Basra migrated to Nahrawan they met in
the way some Muslims including Abdullah the son of an eminent companion
Khabab. The Kharijites killed him as well as the woman who accompanied him.
-By Sir Ali Asad---------------------