Ali and the Years of Trial

Part oneTaking on the trust

For the first time, the caliph ruled from outside Arabia. Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) made the garrison city of Kufah, in Iraq, his base, and the capital of the Muslim state moved there from Madinah. Kufah had been founded under Umar as a camp city beside the Euphrates, and it had grown into a centre of Quran teaching and learning. Moving there showed how far the community had grown. It also showed how troubled Madinah had become.

Ali had known the Prophet ﷺ since childhood, when he was raised in his household. On the night of the Hijrah he stayed in the Prophet's bed in Makkah so that the plot against the Prophet ﷺ would fail, and he later carried the banner at Khaybar. He was the Prophet's cousin, the husband of his daughter Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her), and one of the first to accept Islam. He was the father of Hasan and Husayn, and he was known across the Muslim world for his knowledge and his judgments. After the killing of Uthman, Madinah was in turmoil, and the people came to Ali and asked him to take the office. He was reluctant at first, and then he accepted. The pledge was given in Dhu al-Hijjah of 35 AH (June 656 CE).

He took charge of a divided community. Grief and anger over the killing of Uthman ran deep, and people disagreed about what should come first. Talha, Zubayr and Aishah, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with them), wanted the matter of the killers settled quickly. Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), the governor of Syria and a relative of Uthman, also called for justice for him. Ali's position was that order had to be restored first, and that justice could then be carried out properly. Each side was acting on its own sincere reading of what the moment required.

Some senior Companions, among them Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), stayed out of the fighting and worked for peace.

Part twoBasrah, Siffin and the arbitration

In 36 AH (656 CE), the two sides met near Basrah, in what is called the Battle of the Camel. Many accounts say that both sides were trying to reach agreement, and that fighting began in confusion. Talha and Zubayr were among those who died. Ali grieved for them, and he treated Aishah with honour and sent her home to Madinah with an escort.

In 37 AH (657 CE), Ali's army and Muawiyah's army faced each other at Siffin, on the Euphrates. After days of fighting, Muawiyah's side called for the Book of Allah to judge between the two camps. Ali's army was weary of killing fellow Muslims, and the fighting stopped. Each side named a representative to decide the matter, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari for Ali and Amr ibn al-As for Muawiyah.

The agreement divided Ali's own followers. A group who held that judgment belonged to Allah alone broke away. They became known as the Khawarij, the ones who went out. Ali first tried to reason with them, and many returned to his army. The rest he fought at Nahrawan in 38 AH. Meanwhile his authority grew weaker in the provinces, and Egypt passed to Muawiyah's side.

Muslims today still explain these events in different ways, and they have done so for centuries. The respect that Muslims of every school hold for the Companions asks us to describe them with care. The Quran gives a guide for such moments, which is to make peace between believers who fight.

From the Quran

وَإِن طَآئِفَتَانِ مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٱقْتَتَلُوا۟ فَأَصْلِحُوا۟ بَيْنَهُمَا ۖ فَإِنۢ بَغَتْ إِحْدَىٰهُمَا عَلَى ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ فَقَـٰتِلُوا۟ ٱلَّتِى تَبْغِى حَتَّىٰ تَفِىٓءَ إِلَىٰٓ أَمْرِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ فَإِن فَآءَتْ فَأَصْلِحُوا۟ بَيْنَهُمَا بِٱلْعَدْلِ وَأَقْسِطُوٓا۟ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُقْسِطِينَ ۝٩ إِنَّمَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا۟ بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ ۝١٠

⁹And if two groups of believers fight each other, then make peace between them. But if one of them transgresses against the other, then fight against the transgressing group until they ˹are willing to˺ submit to the rule of Allah. If they do so, then make peace between both ˹groups˺ in all fairness and act justly. Surely Allah loves those who uphold justice. ¹⁰The believers are but one brotherhood, so make peace between your brothers. And be mindful of Allah so you may be shown mercy.

Part threeKufah, 661 CE

In Ramadan of 40 AH (January 661 CE), as Ali went to the mosque in Kufah for the dawn prayer, a man of the Khawarij struck him. He lived two more days and passed away as a martyr, at about the age of sixty-three. Accounts give slightly different dates in the month. He had asked that the man be treated with justice and not with cruelty. To his sons Hasan and Husayn he left the advice to fear Allah and to help the oppressed. Sunni Muslims count Ali as the fourth of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and Shia Muslims honour him as the first Imam.

The people of Kufah then pledged to his son Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him), the grandson of the Prophet ﷺ, whom the Prophet ﷺ had spoken of with love. Hasan chose to make peace with Muawiyah rather than lead the Muslims into another war, and handed over the office in 41 AH (661 CE), after about six months as caliph. The year is remembered as the Year of the Community, because the Muslims were united once more.

From the hadith

Narrated Al-Hasan Al-Basri:

By Allah, Al-Hasan bin `Ali led large battalions like mountains against Muawiya. `Amr bin Al-As said (to Muawiya), "I surely see battalions which will not turn back before killing their opponents." Muawiya who was really the best of the two men said to him, "O `Amr! If these killed those and those killed these, who would be left with me for the jobs of the public, who would be left with me for their women, who would be left with me for their children?" Then Muawiya sent two Quraishi men from the tribe of `Abd-i-Shams called `Abdur Rahman bin Sumura and `Abdullah bin 'Amir bin Kuraiz to Al-Hasan saying to them, "Go to this man (i.e. Al-Hasan) and negotiate peace with him and talk and appeal to him." So, they went to Al-Hasan and talked and appealed to him to accept peace. Al-Hasan said, "We, the offspring of `Abdul Muttalib, have got wealth and people have indulged in killing and corruption (and money only will appease them)." They said to Al-Hasan, "Muawiya offers you so and so, and appeals to you and entreats you to accept peace." Al-Hasan said to them, "But who will be responsible for what you have said?" They said, "We will be responsible for it." So, whatever Al- Hasan asked they said, "We will be responsible for it for you." So, Al-Hasan concluded a peace treaty with Muawiya. Al-Hasan (Al-Basri) said: I heard Abu Bakr saying, "I saw Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) on the pulpit and Al-Hasan bin `Ali was by his side. The Prophet (ﷺ) was looking once at the people and once at Al-Hasan bin `Ali saying, 'This son of mine is a Saiyid (i.e. a noble) and may Allah make peace between two big groups of Muslims through him."

The thirty years of the Rightly Guided Caliphs ended there, and the Umayyad caliphate, ruling from Damascus, began.

Hasan gave up the office to keep the Muslims from another war, and the year is remembered as the Year of the Community.

WatchThe lecture for this chapter

Lecture

[[LECTURE]]slot for the chapter lecture embed, to be supplied by the owner.

The mapWhere it happened

• Madinah
• Basrah
• Kufah
• Siffin
• Damascus

This map is a simple sketch to help you picture where events took place. Positions, distances and borders are approximate, so please use it for reference only, not as an accurate map.

SourcesSources for this chapter