Only Allah can change things. That is why Islam takes its stand immovably upon the nature of things, upon the obvious realities of this world and of human experiences. Islam remains and will always remain what it is because of the timelessness of its message. All other religions have been changed, revised, and altered by the passage of time to meet the fancies and whims of their adherents. Islam, in order to preserve dignity and integrity of the human beings, both man and woman, has persuaded them to move away from the chaos of the world and submit to the will of Almighty God.
Human beings possess intellect and a relative free will, yet they do not have the capacity to make laws for the conduct of the society. The rulers, who had power and wealth, did not use them to improve the conditions of mankind but used them from time immemorial to oppress, exploit and control it.
Our strong belief is that Allah is the sole legislator and law-giver. That is why the message embodied in the Qur’ān and the laws derived from it, and from the Suuah of the Prophet must be utilised to bind the community and keep it together. The main object of the Islamic laws is to bring human beings closer to Almighty God and to enforce and implement those laws through reformatory agenda for the betterment of mankind.
Islam developed a complete code of life. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) became the greatest reformist of all times when guided by the Qur’ānic laws and principles. His own personal life presented to the whole of mankind the forgotten message of earlier Prophets. Revival of the forgotten message could only be achieved through faith and governance by upholding the dignity of man; by practising the ideals of truth, equality and justice; by promoting education; by denouncing the differences of colour and race; by displaying boundless magnanimity and spirit of tolerance; and by making peace with enemies.
One of the greatest Caliphs of Islam after Prophet Muhammad was Ali Ibn abi Talib, who as a young man lived under the guardianship of the Prophet since childhood in the same house. He was the first youngest person to enter the fold of Islam, acquiring immense Islamic knowledge from the Prophet because of his constant companionship, and even as a young boy Ali was his best helper. This developed in him the traits of piety, trust, clarity of thought and Islamic values that distinguished him from other Companions of the Prophet.
The migration of Prophet Muhammad has been described as one of the greatest adventures the history has known in the cause of truth and to propagate the Islamic convictions. At that time the Prophet had many items and things in his custody belonging to people of Makkah. He needed to return these things in his charge and custody to their rightful owners. On the night he was leaving Makkah, he told Ali Ibn abi Talib to sleep in his bed, and to later return things to the rightful owners before coming to Madina – Yathrib. The young boy Ali dutifully discharged his responsibility before he joined the Prophet and Abu Bakr a few days later.
Ali learned early in life the skill and ability to handle situations and issues and acquired knowledge. Being a genius, he absorbed knowledge, lived a humble and simple life, always displayed the courageous and bold side of his personality and Islamic upbringing – rearing and training under the ideal guardianship of Prophet Muhammad.
Before Ali assumed the office of the Caliph, he was the principal advisor to the first three Caliphs after the Prophet, Abu Bakr, Umar and Usman. He was proclaimed as the Caliph after the assassination of Caliph Usman. At that time, unfortunate tensions and uncertainty were reigning supreme.
Ali encountered more than his share of issues and problems when he was named Caliph. He had keenly watched the governors of various provinces during the Caliphate period of Usman, and was now ready to streamline his administration and governance methods by replacing some of the governors. The prevailing conditions after the assassination of Caliph Usman necessitated him to speed up the process of change. Ali was advised to retain governors appointed by Caliph Usman and to take the oath of allegiance instead of replacing them immediately with new governors. He, however, felt that the change would help in eradicating evils that had moved stealthily into the administration. Chaos of change contributed to disruption in Caliph Ali’s administration. The disruptions were many including the breakdown of law and order in Madina due to the uprising against Caliph Usman and later his assassination. The calling for revenge by the Ummayyads, the tribe of Caliph Usman, for his assassination; refusal to resign and relinquish the governorship position by governors of Syria and Kufah and their actions in stopping the newly appointed governors from assuming the office.
Muawiyah, the governor of Syria, did not allow Suhail bin Hanif, the appointed governor to enter Syria, and Amr bin Shiba, the new governor of Kufah was turned away from Kufah by show of force by forces loyal to the governor of Kufah. This turned out to be an open revolt against Caliph Ali. In Madina, Talha and Zubair, two prominent Companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), had taken an oath of allegiance to Caliph Ali, and were insisting that he take an immediate action to punish the assassins of Caliph Usman. More disposed to enhancing the security of the Islamic state, Caliph Ali was not eager to take any drastic action against the insurgents that would make the situation more critical and explosive.
It seems this infuriated Talha and Zubair. They sought the help of Ayesha – Mother of the Faithful. Ibn Aamer, the former governor of Basra, joined them and invited them to march to Basra where he had influence and support. In Basra, Uthman bin Hanif, the governor appointed by Caliph Ali, was defeated by the forces led by Talha and Zubair.
In the meantime, Caliph Ali was planning to install the governor of Syria appointed by him and remove Muawiyah from the office who had refused to relinquish the office. This was the first time that Caliph Ali was ready to show up in the battlefield after a long period of absence. During the caliphate period of the first three caliphs – Abu Bakr, Umar and Usman, he had devoted his energies to the development of the moral and intellectual life of Muslims besides being an advisor; he seldom took part in battles. He learned that Basra was in the hands of Talha and Zubair. Caliph Ali sent emissary to Kufah to negotiate and convince the people to support his caliphate. The mission succeeded and Caliph Ali was invited to come to Kufah. He left Madina and went to Kufah where the people provided him with complete support. From there, he went to Basra. Talha and Zubair died in the battle that took place between the forces of Caliph Ali and those supporting Talha and Zubair. It has been reported by historians that “Hazrat Ayesha was treated with due respect and consideration. After a few days stay in Basra she was escorted to Madina with due courtesy.”
Caliph Ali moved to Kufah after bringing matters under control and settling affairs in Basra. In Kufah, the support, allegiance and enthusiasm provided a reason and a rationale for Caliph Ali to shift the capital of the Islamic state from Madina to Kufah. This further added to the disruption of administration because it indicated a break with the past and a cut off with the administrative process that was already in place and functioning effectively in Madina.
In the best interest of the unity and integrity of the Islamic state, Caliph Ali made an attempt to convince Muawiyah and advised him to take the oath of allegiance. In reply Muawiyah led his forces from Syria to Iraq. The civil war between Caliph Ali and Muawiyah resulted in considerable loss of life. In the beginning Caliph Ali offered to fight a personal dual with Muawiyah to settle the issue which the later declined. In the battlefield when the forces of Muawiyah were on the verge of defeat, the men from his force tied leaves from the Qur’ān on the lances and appealed for the decision by the ‘Book of Allah’. Seeing this, Caliph Ali’s forces laid down their arms and decided to end hostilities, finally a truce was declared. Negotiations commenced after the truce to settle the matters through arbitration that proved to be a challenge to the legitimacy of the caliphate of Ali. The arbitration proceedings became more politicised and the end of conflict was not in sight. The question of caliphate between Ali and Muawiyah remained unresolved that produced another layer of disruption in Caliph Ali’s administration.
Then a group of fanatical men who came to be known as Khawarijis – the seceders, who had originally supported Caliph Ali, began a cessation movement. The Khawarijis agreed to join Caliph Ali and later refused to join him when he decided to go to war against Syrians and Muawiyah. Caliph Ali’s frantic efforts failed to convince the Khawarijis, instead they turned on other Muslims and let loose a reign of terror at a site near Baghdad and accused both Caliph Ali and Muawiyah for betraying the Cause of Allah and declared their intention to start a new state. Caliph Ali directed a campaign against the Khawarijis and defeated them in a battle.
After defeating the Khawarijis, the forces of Caliph Ali, instead of marching to Syria, returned to Kufah to take a rest before moving on and facing the forces of Muawiyah. Later Caliph Ali’s forces refused to proceed to Syria even after many attempts by Caliph Ali, who urged them to participate in the battle against the Syrians. Finally, he had to abandon the idea of leading the expedition to Syria. From the standpoint of one scholar, “Hazrat Ali came to be overwhelmed with troubles from all quarters, and the painful aspect of the tragedy was that such troubles came from friends.”
The people of Basra revolted against the caliph but it was successfully suppressed, however, the campaign against the authority of Caliph Ali by the forces of Muawiyah in Madina, Makkah and Yemen resulted in people of these regions taking the oath of allegiance to Muawiyah for a temporary period of time. The forces of Caliph Ali took military action and recovered Hijaz and Yemen.
In Egypt, Amr bin Aas, one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), who had conquered Egypt, was made governor. Later he was deposed by the Caliph Usman. From Syria Muawiyah approached Amr bin Aas and sought his help, trying to hold on to power in Syria. After getting assistance and support and help from Amr bin Aas, Muawiyah conquered Egypt and installed Amr bin Aas as governor.
The extremism and fanatical approach by the Khawarijis to the state of affairs in the Islamic state took a new twist ending in a conspiracy to kill Caliph Ali, Muawiyah and Amr bin Aas. To achieve their aim, the Khawarijis sent three assassins to kill them at an appointed time. In the attack Muawiyah was wounded; Amr bin Aas escaped injury and his deputy was killed; and Caliph Ali was fatally wounded and passed away.
Caliph Ali began his governance strategy during the caliphate of Abu Bakr. His knowledge that provided him insight, and acquired under the guardianship and training of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), helped him handle the situation in a very simplistic manner to dispense justice. He would assist the weak in time of distress in the spirit of charity and humanitarianism by upholding the Islamic values, by using his endowed daring and sound judgement and by using his insight. Caliph Ali has been called the greatest jurist of early Islamic period who was always on the side of simplicity, piety and tender-heartedness, distributing the public money from the Baitul Maal among the needy and poor at all times.
Caliph Ali’s administration did not indulge in partisanship, partiality or nepotism and kept a constant watch on the administration of the governors appointed by him. He replaced many of the governors appointed by his predecessors. Some of the deposed governors refused to relinquish the office and forced him to take extreme measures to resolve the issue by going to war.
Some of the actions taken by Caliph Ali gradually slowed down the activities of his administration; impeded swift effective actions; entangled him in revolt at many fronts including Basra, Syria, Egypt and other places; added to disruptions to his administration when decided to make Kufah the capital; and decided to go to war to fight against those who had revolted. On top of this, Caliph Ali agreed to the terms of the truce and arbitration concerning the governorship of Syria. This implied a challenge to the legitimacy of his caliphate. Then, there was this new threat and danger coming in from the Khawarijis, even betrayal on the part of his supporters including a section of his forces.
Caliph Ali’s bravery earned him the title of Asadullah – the Lion of God. He was a great orator and had possessed the ability to persuade with stirring dialogue and speech. These traits and attributes, it seems, compelled him to launch wars against the deposed governors in various regions, contributing to the process of conquest coming to a halt, involved him in many battles that turned out to be a civil war among Muslims. Caliph Ali’s eloquence, bravery and honesty were brought face to face against the grave and severe realities of political manoeuvring. These unscrupulous tactics and activities were used, and the game of deceit was played by some of those who opposed him.
In spite of all this Caliph Ali established a state archive for the safe custody and preservation of the records of the Caliphate, created the office of Hajib – chamberlain, reorganised the police and streamlined their duties, established army headquarters on the Syrian border, strengthened the frontiers of the Muslim state and constructed unconquerable fortifications on the Persian border.
The glorious Caliphate period of the Righteous Caliphs – Khulafah e Rashideen – came to an end with the passing away of Caliph Ali, the brave, pious and eloquent orator.
[MOHAMMAD YACOOB, a retired Industrial Engineer and Engineering Proposals Analyst, lives in Los Angeles, California, USA]