ali muawiya

8/4/2019 Ali Muawiya

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Ali & Mu`awiya

Islamic History: the First 150 Years


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Session Plan

1. The Accession of Ali

2. The Battle of the Camel3. Ali & Mu`awiya

4. The Battle of Siffin

5. The Emergence of the Khawarij& theDeath of Ali


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Section I: The Accession of Ali


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Alis Background Full name: Ali ibn Abi Talib ibn `Abd al-Muttalib Member of the Bani Hashim (Muhammads own clan) A cousin of Muhammad and his son-in-law Married to Muhammads daughter Fatima Father of Muhammads only surviving progeny, al-Hasan

and al-Husayn

After Fatimas death, Ali married Khawla bint Jafar of theBani Hanifa tribe They had a son later known as Muhammad ibn al-

Hanafiyya (or the son of the Hanafi woman) After the death of Muhammad and his uncle al-`Abbas, Ali

became the head of the Bani Hashim clan He was thus the head of the Ahl al-Bayt (or People of the

House) Muhammads family were seen as important (and still are)

in that they were believed to carry a special kind of

charisma


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Perceptions of Ali Ali was one of the most famous members of the early Muslim

community

Indeed, he was something of a heroic figure A very early convert to Islam Some sources say he was the first male to convert (at approximately

10 years of age), others that he converted after Abu Bakr Such statements are probably also part of the wider Sunni-Shii

debate on the relative rankings of these two men Ali was an active warrior, taking part in all of the early battles, where

he distinguished himself for his bravery Widely held to be a very wise and knowledgeable man Muhammad is reported to have said:

I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its door

As with Umar, Ali had a strong reputation for justice Shia tradition depicts Ali as the first Imam after Muhammad, with a

strong emphasis on his esoteric knowledge Many later Islamic movements (Sunni or Shia) see Ali as a particular

role model

Many sufi orders (tariqat) see him as one of their founding fathers


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The Accession of Ali As we saw in the last session, Ali became caliph amidst the

turmoil following the assassination of Uthman

Alis accession was thus somewhat anomalous However, he seems to have been the only realistic

candidate at the time and thus received the open support ofvirtually all of the Medinan elite

However, Tabari cites a number of reports which throwsome doubt on the pledges of Talha and al-Zubayr

Some state they gave their allegiances willingly, others saythey did so under duress (Tabari I.3066-3069)

All of the provincial governors, except Mu`aiwya, seem tohave accepted Alis accession and thus pledged theirallegiance

Many members of the Umayyad clan fled to Mu`awiya inSyria

News of Uthmans murder and Alis accession probablyreached the provinces simultaneously


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Section II: The Battle of the Camel


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The Battle of the Camel Arguing that their oath of allegiance was made under duress,

Talha and al-Zubayr ask leave of Ali to make the pilgrimage to

Mecca This is accepted and once there they begin to rally support

against Ali

They join up with Aisha (Muhammads widow), and then begin

to amass an army Their campaign is based upon a call for vengeance for Uthman

However, as we saw previously, some of our sources recordthat Aisha and others had helped foment the revolt againstUthman

They then moved from Mecca to Basra (where Talha had largesupport) and from there formed an army

Ali, meanwhile, had moved to Kufa

The two sides met in battle shortly after, the first time Muslimhad fought Muslim


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The Battle of the Camel

In many ways, it was also the first act in a

much larger civil war It was called the Battle of the Camel

because the fighting centred around Aishas

armoured camel The result was a resounding victory for Ali

Talha and al-Zubayr were killed and Aisha

was sent back to Medina During this time, Mu`awiya refuses to pledge

allegiance to Ali


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A Brief Pause

Turn to the person next to you and spenda couple of minutes summarising thelecture thus far.

Questions?


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Section III: Ali & Mu`awiya


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Muàwiyas Background

Full name: Muàwiya ibn Abi Sufyan ibn Harb ibn Umayya

Muàwiya was thus a prominent member of the wealthyUmayyad clan

His father, Abu Sufyan, had led the opposition toMuhammad

Muàwiya was a late convert to Islam himself

Some reports record that he acted as Muhammadssecretary

Appointed governor of Syria by Umar

AfterAlis election, the Umayyad clan flee to him

He is thus joined by Marwan ibn al-Hakam and Amr ibn al-Às (the conqueror of Egypt)

The sources generally depict these two as being primemovers against Ali


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Correspondence

Ali and Muàwiya debate the issue by letter

Muàwiya refuses to recognise Ali as caliph Based mainly on his claim that Ali was

involved in Uthmans murder

He argued that he was thus Uthmansnearest and most able kinsman who soughtthe retaliation sanctioned by the Quran

This theme runs through virtually all ofMuàwiyas correspondence with Ali

The impact of poetry

Lets look at some examples


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CorrespondenceBy my life, if the people were pledging allegiance to you and youwere innocent of the blood of Uthman you would be like Abu Bakr,Umar and Uthman, may God be pleased with them all. But you

incited the Muhajirun against Uthman and induced the Ansar todesert him, so the ignorant obeyed you and the feeble becamestrong through you. The people of Syria [ahl al-Sham] acceptnothing but to fight you until you surrender to them the killers ofUthman. If you do, there will be a shuraamong the Muslims. Thepeople of Hijaz used to the judges over the people holding the right

in their hands, but since they abandoned it, the right is now in thehands of the people of Syria.

By my life, your argument against me is not like your argumentagainst Talha and al-Zubayr since they pledged allegiance to youand I have not pledged allegiance to you. Nor is your argument

against the Syrians like you argument against the Basrans, since theBasrans [at first] obeyed you, and the Syrians did not. As for yournobility in Islam and your close kinship with the Messenger of Godand your place among Quraysh, I do not deny them

(Pseudo-Ibn Qutayba, ImamaI.166-7, quoted in Madelung, 1999, 205)


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Correspondence

Ali counters each of these points in his

response, arguing that he did not killUthman, though he was unhappy with hisconduct

He also argued that there was no one inSyria with enough seniority (in Islamic terms)to be caliph and that this was widely known

He ordered his own poet to respond to Kabibn Ju`ayl


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Correspondence

As for your statement: hand over the killers of Uthman,what are you in relation to Uthman? You are merely a manof Banu Umayya, and the sons of Uthman are more entitledto that than you. But if you claim that you are more powerfulthan they to seek retaliation for the blood of Uthman, enterunder my obedience and then bring the people before me

for judgement, and I shall put you and them on the road tojustice. As for your distinction between Syria and Basra andbetween [you] and Talha and al-Zubayr, by my life, thematter there is in every way the same because it was ageneral pledge of allegiance in which neither a second view

may be taken nor an option renewed(al-Minqari, Waq`at Siffin57-9, quoted in Madelung, 206)

Al-Najashi (Alis poet):

You have made Ali and his followers the equal of Ibn Hind,are you not ashamed?


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Correspondence

Muawiya: first 3 caliphs were righteous but Ali opposedthem all

Yet each one you envied, and against each one yourevolted. We knew from your looking askance, youroffensive speech, your heavy sighing, and your holdingback from the caliphs. To each one of them you had to be

led as the male camel is led by the wood stick through itsnose in order to give your pledge of allegiance while youwere loath. Then you were consumed by envy towards yourcousin Uthman, who was most entitled among them to yourrefraining from that because of his kinship and marriage ties

with you. Yet against him in secret and openlyarms wereborne against him in the sanctuary of the Messenger ofGod, and he was killed while you were with him in the sameplace, hearing the frightful screams


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Correspondence

`Yet you do not even try to deflect suspicion andaccusation in his respect from yourself by word oractAnother matter is your giving shelter to hismurderers. They are your backbone, your helpers,your hand, and your entourage. It has beenmentioned to me that you disavow blood guilt for

him. If you are truthful, give us power over hismurderers that we may kill them for him, and weshall be the quickest people to join you. If not,there is nothing for you and your companions butthe sword. By the One beside whom there is no

God, we shall seek the murderers of Uthman onthe mountains and in the deserts, on land and onsea, until God kills them, or our spirits join God(al-Minqari, Waq`at Siffin86-7, quoted in Madelung, 211-212)


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Correspondence

Alis next response is important (and somewhat lengthy)and is recorded, with some variations, by al-Minqari & al-Baladhuri

You have mentioned that God chose for him helpersamong the Muslims through whom He backed him and theywere in their ranking with Him according to their merits in

Islam. The most excellent, you assertedwere the khalifaand then the khalifa of the khalifa. By my life, their station inIslam is indeed great and the loss of them a grievouswound in it, may God have mercy on them and reward themwith the best reward. You mentioned further that Uthman

was third in excellence. If Uthman was indeed doing good,God will recompense him for it, and if he was doing evil, hewill meet a Lord most merciful for whom no sin is too greatto be forgiven


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Correspondence

Ali then refers to the Qurayshi persecution of Muhammad andthe earliest Muslims

He then refers to the ahl al-baytand their services to IslamWhenevermatters got tough and the battle cry was sounded,he used to put the people of his house up in the front rank andprotected his Companions from the heat of the lances and thesword. Thus Ubayda [ibn al-Harith ibn al-Muttalin] was killed on

the day of Badr, Hamza on the day of Uhud, Ja`far and Zayd[ibn Haritha] on the day of Muta. The one whose name I wouldmention, if I so wished, more than once sought for the sake ofGod the same martyrdom they sought, yet their terms wereexpedited, while his death was delayedFor I have not seenanyone among the people, who was more sincere to God in his

obedience to His Messenger, or more submissive to HisMessenger in obedience to his Lordthan these few whom Inamed to you, even though there was much good among theEmigrants which we recognise, may God reward them for theirbest of works


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Correspondence

Ali then refers to his relationship with Abu Bakr andUmarYou mentioned my envy of the caliphs, my holding backfrom them, and my rebellion against them. As regardsrebellion, God forbid that there was. As for my holdingback from them, and my being loath of their affair, I do

not apologise for that to the people, because when Godtook away His Prophet, Quraysh said, From us anamir, and the Ansar said, From us an amir. ThenQuraysh said: From us is Muhammad, so we areentitled to thismatter. The Ansar recognised that andsurrendered to them the reign and the authority. Yet ifthey deserved it through Muhammad to the exclusion ofthe Ansar, then the people closest to Muhammad aremore entitled to it than they. If not, the Ansar surelyhave the greatest portion among the Arabs


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Correspondence

Finally, Ali reminded Mu`awiya of his fathers

support for himYour father came to when the people put up AbuBakr as their ruler and said: You are more entitledto thismatter after Muhammad; I back you in this

against whoever opposes you. Stretch out yourhand that I pledge allegiance to you. But I did notdo it. You know that your father said this anddesired it, and I feared division among the people of

Islam. Thus your father was more ready torecognise my right than you. If you recognise myright, you will come to your good senses. But if youwill not, God will let us dispense with you(al-Minqari Waq`at Siffin88-91; al-Baladhuri Ansab al-AshrafII, 279-283)


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Towards Siffin

As we can see from these passages, theattempts at negotiation failed

As such, after some minor skirmishing, Aligathered his forces and moved towardsSyria

Mu`awiya, likewise, began mobilising hisown forces

The two armies met each other at Siffin, inwhat is now northern Iraq


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Section IV: The Battle of Siffin


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The Battle of Siffin The subsequent battle at Siffin was one of the most important

events in Islamic history

In some ways, it marked the decisive fracture of the old order It also saw the first real emergence of two key groups, the

Shia and the Khawarij Although the Battle of the Camel had been the first Muslim vs.

Muslim conflict, Siffin was a far more serious affair

Although the sources almost universally refer to it as the Battleof Siffin it was in fact a series of small skirmishes, and a majorbattle

Due to the diffuse nature of Arab tribes, sections from most ofthe large confederacies fought on both sides

Thus, again, Siffin proved to be very divisive Mu`awiyas forces reached Siffin first and attempted to block

access to water This caused some dissent within his own ranks and prompted

a concerted attack from Ali


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The Battle of Siffin This attack was led by Malik al-Ashtar and al-Ashàth ibn

Qays, two ofAlis most committed supporters

This was followed by more sporadic fighting, and attempts atfurther negotiation All out battle began on 8th Safar 38 AH (26th July 657) Ubaydullah ibn Umar (who had joined Muàwiya) led the initial

charge and after heavy fighting was himself slain

The sources report that the main battle itself was fought overthree days and the outcome seems to have long been in doubt

Towards the end of the battle, Alis forces mounted a forcefulattack and almost succeeded in reaching Muàwiya himself

The traditional account states that at this point the Syrian

troops began raising copies of the Quran on their lances This was interpreted as a sign for arbitration The sources state that this was Amr ibn al-As idea, aimed at

avoiding immanent defeat

Whatever the reason, the gesture was accepted and the two

sides called an armistice


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Section V: The Death of Ali


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After Siffin Ali & Muàwiya agreed to arbitration, though the sources

depict Ali as very unhappy with the situation

It seems as though dissent within Alis ranks forced him toaccept the arbitration

Muàwiya by contrast seems to have been keen on theproposal

At any rate, the two sides agreed to select two arbitrators

who would then spend one year negotiating with each other They would then have power to settle the matter between

them Muàwiya chose Amr ibn al-As, a wily politician Ali chose Abu Musa al-Ashàri, a former governor of Kufa

and seemingly a lukewarm supporter of his The choice seems a strange one, modern authors (such as

Madelung) argue that the choice of Abu Musa was forcedon Ali by Kufan elements unhappy at the prospect ofprolonged war


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After Siffin Abu Musa and Amr met on at least 2 occasions Tradition holds that the wily Amr outwitted Abu Musa

According to their agreement, both men would disavow theirrespective patrons and then initiate a shura to choose themost suitable candidate

However, at the final public meeting, Amr refused to followAbu Musas lead and publicly declared Muàwiya to be the

rightful caliph Thus not only had Muàwiya been declared legitimate, but

Ali had had his own authority questioned Although it is hard to see why Ali did not disown the

arbitration, it certainly did weaken his authority

The meeting thus broke up in hostility and mutualrecrimination

Fighting soon broke out again During late 39AH early 40AH, Muàwiya sent a strong

force under one Busr ibn Abi Artah to raid Arabia


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After Siffin

The sources report that Busrs raid was both

effective and cruel, in that many were killedand enslaved

Alis governors put up some token resistancebut were unable to defend their provinces

This raid was also a deep challenge to Alisauthority and was combined with an attackon Egypt, which was given to Amr ibn al-As

Despite these losses, the cruelty of Busrsraid solidified support for Ali in Iraq andMedina


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After Siffin: the Emergence of the Khawarij Ali agreeing to arbitration caused a further split in his ranks A large group of religiously minded tribesmen seceded from

his camp declaring la hukm illalillah Or, in English, No judgement but Gods In other words, this group felt that Ali should not have

submitted to arbitration but should have continued to fightMu`awiya to the end

After calling on Ali to repent, a large group left Kufa and wentto Nahrawan The group are known by a number of names, the most

common of which is al-Khawarij This means, literally, those who go out, or those who secede

Despite this act of apparent sedition, Ali at first left them alone,preferring diplomacy However, the group in Nahrawan began to attack other

settlements, declaring them apostate

Ali thus surrounded them, and after a failed attempt at

diplomacy, destroyed them in battle


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The Khawarij& Alis Death Survivors of the massacre at Nahrawan dispersed into the

countryside

A group of some 400 men moved towards Kufa (from the direction ofal-Madain) and attacked a force of 700 sent by Ali, under thecommand of Shurayh ibn Hani

Ali himself led an army against them and eventually defeated them Alis main attention was, however, focused on Mu`awiyas recent

attacks on Arabia

At any rate, shortly after, on Friday 17th Ramadan 40AH (26thJanuary 661CE), Ali was assassinated in the mosque in Kufa

His assassin was one Ibn Muljam, a khariji and a survivor ofNahrawan

Upon attacking Ali, Ibn Muljam is said to declared The judgementbelongs to God, Ali, not to you (al-Baladhuri Ansab al-AshrafII 487-496)

Ibn Muljam was apprehended before he could flee and Ali, who wasstill alive, ordered him to be executed if he died

Alis death came at a time when his fortunes seemed to be changing Despite the loss of Arabia and Egypt, Iraq had swung firmly behind

him


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Aftermath Alis death created a power vacuum in Medina Alis eldest son, al-Hasan, was elected caliph in Kufa

Hasan seems to have been a very mild man and perhaps realisingthat he could not match Muàwiya, he made peace The terms of this peace meant that Hasan abdicated, thus making

Muàwiya caliph He received a pension and some sources report that he was

appointed Muàwiyas successor

Having secured his authority, Muàwiya marched into Kufa, therebybecoming the sole caliph

Although we will look more closely at Muàwiya next time, it is worthnoting a few points now

Firstly, in many ways, his accession marked the end of the power of

the Medinan Islamic elite Later Sunni tradition acknowledges this change when it refers to thefirst four caliphs as Khulafaal-Rashidun(Rightly Guided Caliphs)

Moreover, virtually all of our sources understand Muàwiyascaliphate as marking a transition to hereditary kingship (mulk inArabic)

But this is the subject of next week

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