‘Ali: His Khilaafah (Part 1)

• The Election of ‘Ali as the Khaleefah
• Pledging Allegiance to ‘Ali as the Khaleefah
• After the martyrdom of the third khaleefah, ‘Uthmaan, the Muslim Ummah was in a state of turmoil. They needed someone to guide them as to what they should do. They needed to elect a new khaleefah.
• On the 25th of Dhul Hijjah, 35 A.H., a week after ‘Uthmaan’s death, the Muslims of Madeenah assembled to elect the new khaleefah.
• There were many candidates for the position. After careful consideration, it was decided that ‘Ali was most suited for the position. Besides this he had also been a candidate in some of the previous elections. Initially ‘Ali was reluctant to take up the post of khaleefah. In fact he said that he would not accept the post unless the Companions of Badr accepted him as the khaleefah. He also wanted to find out the intentions of the two companions Talhah and Zubayr,who were also possible candidates. As a result, the companions of Badr were brought before him and pledged allegiance to him Talhah and Zubayr told ‘Ali that they will only pledge allegiance to him if he promised to punish the murderers of ‘Uthmaan It was only after ‘Ali had made this promise to them, that they pledged allegiance to him The tragic death of the previous khaleefah, ‘Uthmaan,was still fresh in the minds of the Muslims, and therefore some of them petitioned ‘Ali to punish the culprits who were responsible. ‘Ali assured everybody that he would fully investigate the assassination and appropriately punish all those responsible. With the official election of the new khaleefah, there appeared some form of hope for normality in Madeenah as well as the rest of the Muslim Ummah.
• Ali was elected as the khaleefah at a time when various issues in the Muslim Ummah were unresolved. The Muslim Ummah was in a state of chaos and anarchy. The rebels who were responsible for the death of ‘Uthmaan were running loose, making life very difficult for the Muslims. These rebels even wanted to control the khaleefah.
• As a first step towards bringing the situation under control, ‘Ali saw it necessary to clear al-Madeenah of the rebels and anarchists who had come from other areas. He issued an order that all outsiders should leave. Most of the rebels, especially those under the leadership of ‘Abdullaah ibn Saba refused outright to obey ‘Ali’s command. These rebels realized that should any investigations take place in their absence, they would definitely be caught out and punished. They therefore stayed in Madeenah pretending that they would be assisting and supporting the newly appointed khaleefah.
  Some of the Muslims became very impatient as they expected ‘Ali to take immediate action against the killers of ‘Uthmaan They did not take into consideration that the newly appointed khaleefah was trying to restore the Muslim Ummah first. Those Muslims were even threatening to avenge the death of ‘Uthmaan themselves.
• ‘Ali therefore had to deal with a number of difficult issues. His task ahead as khaleefah was not easy. From the beginning of his caliphate until the end, he was mainly busy restoring peace and stability to the Muslim Ummah. He had great concern for the unity of the Ummah. Some Muslims were not in favor of the initial decisions taken by ‘Ali, as the khaleefah. For this reason, some of them started to resist ‘Ali’s caliphate.
• Despite everything. ‘Ali acted in the best interest of the Muslim Ummah. ‘Ali was a very peace-loving person, determined to restore the unity of the Ummah before dealing with any other issues. To this end, he was prepared to delay dealing with the assassins of ‘Uthmaan, in order to unite the Muslims first. Moreover, he was very cautious in dealing with ‘Uthmaan’s assassins. Even though others disagreed with his decisions, he would not act without the necessary evidence.

What we learn from the lesson:

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1. The state of the Muslim Ummah after the assassination of ‘Uthmaan.
2. How and when ‘Ali was elected as the khaleefah.
3. Some of the future challenges faced by the newly elected khaleefah.

‘Ali: His Khilaafah (Part 2)

• His achievements during his khilaafah
• Important events during his khilaafah
• While ‘Ali was trying to restore unity among the Muslims throughout the Islamic empire, there were certain individuals who tried to break the unity from within.
• The main purpose of these individuals was to stir the Muslims to fight among themselves.In this way they could take full advantage of the disorder. They tried to destroy Islam from within. ‘Ali through his wisdom realized this and tried to stop these rebels, but he was unable to succeed.
• The main culprits were the Sabaites under the leadership of ‘Abdullah ibn Saba who were later absorbed into the group called the Kharijites. The Sabaites were determined to break the unity of the Muslim Ummah. Therefore, whatever disunity and strife existed among the Muslims was mainly attributed to ‘Abdullaah ibn Saba and his followers, who were the worst enemies of Islam. These rebels were hypocrites posing to be sincere Muslims.
• Thus, it was mainly because of the hidden agendas of these rebels that civil strife increased within the Muslim community.
• This resulted in many battles being fought among Muslims and Muslim blood was shed unnecessarily.
• The first battle was between ‘Ali and those who were demanding punishment for the assassins of ‘Uthmaan. ‘Aa’ishah was part of this group. The battle was referred to as the Battle of the Camel, because during the battle ‘Aa’ishah was sitting on a camel. During the battle, the legs of the camel were cut off while ‘Aa’ishah was still on it. Before the battle took place, ‘Ali and ‘Aa’ishah tried to come to a peace agreement. It was again the Sabaites who were responsible for breaking the peace between the two parties. In the battle, a considerable amount of innocent Muslim blood was shed. Both ‘Ali and ‘Aa’ishah regretted deeply what had happened. After the battle, ‘Ali had ‘Aa’ishah escorted back to Makkah by her brother Muhammad.
• Furthermore, the Sabaites were also mainly responsible for the battle that took place between ‘Ali and Mu’aawiyah. This battle was referred to as the Battle of Siffeen. In this battle, Muslim blood was also shed unnecessary. Besides the tragic death of ‘Uthmaan and the Battle of the Camel, the Battle of Siffeen was one of the greatest trials (fitnah) that faced the Muslims at the time. In this battle approximately 90,000 Muslim lives were lost. However while the Muslims were mourning their dead, the enemies were rejoicing from within the Muslim camps.
• Therefore, because of the tragedy that occurred at the Battle of Siffeen, ‘Ali and Mu’aawiyah tried to negotiate a peace settlement. It was agreed that the matter be settled in accordance with the Qur’aan and Sunnah. Accordingly, two arbitrators had to be chosen, one from each group. The arbitrators were responsible, for coming up with a legal ruling on the matter of the khilaafah. The arbitrators were given a six month period in which to decide the matter. The two individuals assigned for the task were ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas, who represented Mu’aawiyah’s → group, and Aboo Moosa al-‘Ash’ari, who represented ‘Ali’s group.
• After the period of reflection they decided to dismiss both ‘Ali and Mu’aawiyah and proposed the election of a new khaleefah, thinking that this would avoid further disharmony in the Muslim World. All parties were unhappy and decided to go their own ways. Mu’aawiyah’s group went back to Syria and ‘Ali’s group went back to Kufah.
• The Kharijites, in particular, were very upset with the matter of arbitration. They initially wanted ‘Ali to annul the agreement and continue fighting. As a result, they decided to break away from the body of Muslims, completely. They opposed both ‘Ali and Mu’aawiyah. They outwardly opposed the khilaafah. They even issued a verdict of kufr (disbelief) against ‘Ali and his followers. They started killing anyone who supported ‘Ali. Ali then had to deal with these bandits immediately. ‘Ali and his army then proceeded to Nahrawaan. When negotiations failed and the rebels started attacking Muslims, Ali was forced to declare war against them. Many of these Kharijites fled to other parts of the Islamic empire before the battle could take place. The Kharijites were defeated in the battle that followed and the few survivors fled.
• Finally, on 20 Ramadaan 40 A.H., ‘Ali died a martyr and a hero for the sake of Islam and peace in the Muslim world.