The Pious Caliphs: 'Ali ibn Abi Talib

His Early Life

Name and parentage
Hadrat 'Ali was born some thirty years after the birth of the Holy Prophet. He belonged to the Banu Hashim. His father Abu Talib was the paternal uncle of the Holy Prophet who brought him up after the death the Holy Prophet's grandfather. The Holy Prophet took Hadrat 'Ali in his childhood from his father, Abu Talib, and brought up him like his own son.

First youth to accept Islam

Ali was about ten years old when the Prophet started receiving revelations. When the Prophet disclosed his mission before Ali he accepted it immediately. Though my eyes are sore, my legs are thin and I am the youngest of all those present here, yet I will stand by you, O Messenger of Allah. Ali proved his words to be true after supporting the Holy Prophet in his mission from the beginning till the end.

Life in Medina
Hadrat Ali was very close to the Holy Prophet, and the closeness was changed to a permanent relationship when he married his most beloved daughter, Fatimah, to Ali. When the Holy Prophet went to the expedition of Tabuk in 9AH, he left Ali in charge of Medina.

His bravery and the "Dhulfiqar

He participated in almost all the battles against the non-believers during the time of the Holy Prophet. In the first battle of Islam at Badr, he was holding the flag of Islamic army and accepted the challenge of Quraishi warriors. In the battle of the Trench, the all-Arabia fame warrior, 'Abdwood challenged the Muslims after jumping on his horse across the trench. Nobody dared to accept his challenge except Ali. The Prophet gave him his famous sword Dhulfiqar.

The title of Asadullah(The Lion of Allah)

In the battle of Khaibar against the Jews, the Prophet said :"I will give the command and the standard tomorrow to such a brave person who loves Allah and His Prophet and whom Allah and His Prophet love." The next morning, he called Ali. He showed great bravery in each and every battle he fought and earned fame. Because of this he was popularly called Asadullah.

Great scholar of Islam

The Holy Prophet said about him: I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate. He was one of the great jurists among the Companions. He was a master of Arabic and his writings were as effective as his speech.

Special messenger of the Holy Prophet

Whne the first Hajj took place in 9AH, Hadrat Abu Bakr was appointed as the leader of the Hajj group. After the revelation came to Muhammad to warn the non-believers that the treaty with them is to be dissolved, he asked Ali to carry the message of Allah on his behalf to Abu Bakr.

Excellence of Ali
The Holy Prophet had prayed for him: O Allah put truth on his tongue, and enlighten his heart with the light of guidance. He also said to Ali, You have resemblance to Jesus whom the Jews hated so much that they sl andered his mother and whom Christians loved so much that they placed him in a position not rightly his.

Pledge of loyalty (Baiat) to the former Caliphs

Hadrat Ali had taken pledge of loyalty on the hands of all the three past Caliphs. Hadrat 'Ali was one of the very important members of Shura (Advisory Council) during the time of the first three Caliphs. He was also the great jurist (Mufti) of Medina. Hadrat 'Uthman had great regard for him and consulted him in all the matters. His sons were the main guards at Uthman's residence when the rebels laid siege to his house. Hadrat Ali gave his fullest possible support to all his predecessors.

Hadrat Alis Caliphate

Problems faced by Hadrat Ali as a Caliph
After the assassination of Hadrat 'Uthman for three days Medina was without any government. The insurgents pressed Hadrat Ali to accept the office of Caliph. Pressed by the threats of the regicides he decided to put the matter before the Muslims public. Most of the Companions in Medina considered him to be the fittest person for Khilafat after Hadrat 'Uthman. On the 21st Dhul-Hijjah 35AH, the pledge of loyalty took place at the hands of Hadrat Ali . Hadrat Talha and Zubair did not want to take the pledge until the case of Uthmans assassination was decided. However, under the threats of the insurgents they took the pledge at Alis hand under the condition that Ali is to decide matters according to the Holy Quran and Sunnah and would punish the gui lty

according to the Islamic Law, to which Ali agreed. Some other Companions and members of the Uthmans family did not take the pledge and they went to Syria, but the Muslims majority accepted Alis Caliphate. On his third day as the Caliph Hadrat 'Ali asked all the Sabaites (insurgents) to return to their places. Some of them started to go back, but a party headed by 'Abdullah bin Saba did not obey, pretending all the while to be his friends. In the history of Islam this was the first incident of disobedience of a Caliph. Their aim was to be with him in order to create mischief as it would be observed later. Hadrat 'Ali faced a very difficult situation. His three main problems were: (1) to establish peace in the State and to set right the deteriorating political situation. (2) To take action against the assassins of Hadrat Uthman who had gone underground after he took the office. Actually some of them were among the persons who requested Hadrat 'Ali to take office of the Khilafat, but neither he nor any other Muslim at that time knew the real assassins. It was the hardest job at that time to find out the real assassins because the persons who recognised them had already left Medina, and those among the Sabaites, who were present there, did not tell Hadrat 'Ali the truth. (3) The third problem was the attitude to be adopted towards those Companions who would not pledge of loyalty at the hands of 'Ali unless he either handed over the assassins to them or punish them according to Islamic Law. Hadrat 'Ali decided to tackle the assassins on restoration of normality and peace in Islamic State. Most Muslims agreed with him on this point. Ali seeks to ascertain the names of "Uthman's assassins: The only witness present in Medina was Uthmans wife Nailah and she could only name Muhammad bin Abi Bakr who had entered the house, but he had left before the assassination. She could not tell the names of toher assassins present at that time except the features of some of them. Hadrat 'Ali dismisses the governors: In Alis opinion, the governors appointed by Uthman were basically responsible for all the events, so he dismissed all of them. Not everybody supported his decision. Kufa and Syria were the two provinces which had openly flouted Alis authority. Hadrat Mu'awiyah's demand for assassins: After the assassination of Uthman, his family reached Damascus and told Amir Muawiyah the details, the Syrian public was inflamed. They were bemoaning the death of Uthman and were determined to fight until the assassins were handed over to them. Hadrat Ali decided to use force against Muawiyah and started preparations for it. This was the first time in the history of Islam that the Muslims were preparing to fight each other. Sabaites were on both sides trying to stir up the two groups against each other. Hadrat 'A'isha's demand for chastisement of assassins: Some members of Uthmans family went to Hadrat Aisha who was in Mecca to perform the Hajj. She was on her way to Medina when she heard the tragic news. She returned to Mecca and appealed to the people over there to avenge the death of the Caliph. Hadrat Talha and Zubair joined Aisha, as well as the governor of Mecca, Yemen, and some members of Banu Umayyads. She started to march to Medina at the head of about 2000 men with the object of dealing with the assassins. But she first went to Basra to collect more supporters. Hadrat 'A'isha goes to Basra: There were 3000 men under her flag. The governor of Basra refused to allow them to enter the city till he got help from Ali. He called a public meeting and asked people to fight against them. Hadrat 'A'isha takes over Basra: Aisha gave an impressive speech before the Muslims. She tried to settle the matters peacefully instead of fighting. But some Sabaites did not allow any settlement. They attacked Aishas army before the governo r gave them a permission to do so. The governor was defeated and captured and Basra was occupied by Hadrat Aisha and her supporters.

Civil war
Hadrat Ali never wanted to start war against the Muslims but the internal situation at that time compelled him to do so. War was unavoidable. He decided to march to Basra. 9000 men marched from Kufa to join Ali. He promised he would try his best to avoid bloodshed and to set things right peacefully. However, the Sabaites were determined to make the peaceful settlement a total failure. The Battle of Camel (Jamal): Soon a full scale war started. Ali tried to stop the battle but it had already flared up. The battle came to an end in favour of Ali. Change of capital: In Rajab 36AH, Ali decided to transfer the capital from Medina to Kufa. Hadrat 'Ali's final invitation to Hadrat Mu'awiyah: Ali was ruling over the whole of Islamic State with the exception of Syria. He wrote a letter to Muawiyah asking him to take pledge of loyalty at his hand in the interest of Islam and th e unity of the Muslims. But Muawiyah again demanded of him to avenge Uthmans assassins first. Ali, finding no other way, was compelled to declare war against Muawiyah. The Battle of Siffin: 50,000 Muslims came out under Alis banner to fight the Syrians . When the Muawiyah saw that his is about to lose the battle, he ordered his men to fasten the Holy Quran to their lances as a sign that war would cease and tha t the decision would be referred to the Holy Book. Ali, being helpless, ordered his troops to stop fighting. Arbitration: Muawiyah wanted arbitration through judges, one from his side and one from Alis, and that both the parties should abide by the decision of the judges. Whenever the Sabaites in Alis clan saw the Muslims uniting they tried to create confusion with the aim of disuniting them. In case the two arbitrators could not come to an agreement the matter is to be decided by 800 men, 400 from each side. Khawarij or Dissenters: The group opposing arbitration was known as Kahrijites. They believed that both Ali and Muawiyah were in error. They started a lengthy argument with Ali. Verdict of the Arbitrators: They reached on the following agreement after a long discussion 'Ali and Mu'awiyah both withdraw their right for the Khilafat. The Muslims should appoint a third person as their Khalifah. They could not reach an

agreement to who should be the next Caliph. However, the arbitrator on Muawiyah side said that he sees Muawiyah fit for tha t position and not Ali. This showed the one-sided decision according to which Ali is to lose his power but not Muawiyah. The result of the arbitration was a mere confusion. In this way the arbitration proved to be futile and the hopes of peace were gone . The acceptance of such arbitration really proved to be disastrous to 'Ali. He asked the Muslims to prepare to attack Syria. Split in Muslim community: The Kawarij rose in an open revolt. A new group was thus created in history of Islam. The Muslim community was divided into four main groups 'Uthmanis, Shi'an-i-'Ali, Marhabah and Ahl Sunnah wal Jama'ah. Marhabis were absorbed in other groups. Now the fourth group was formed. 'Uthmanis: They were now confined to Syria under the banner of Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.). They demanded that until the assassins of Hadrat 'Uthman were punished or handed over to them, they would not accept the Khilafat of Hadrat 'Ali. But after the so called judgment of the arbitrators, they totally rejected the Khilafat of Hadrat 'Ali and took Bai 'at (Pledge of Loyalty) at the hand of Amir Mu'awiyah after declaring him as the Khalifah. Shi'an-i-'Ali (or Shias): They called themselves the friends of Ali in the beginnin g but later on they developed their own beliefs and considered 'Ali as Wasi i.e., Administrator of the Holy Prophet and the only fit person for the Khilafat. They not only criticised and condemned Mu'awiyah but also 'Umar, Abu Bakr, and 'Uthman and discarded the authority of the first three Khalifahs. However they did not criticise the first two Khalifahs openly during the time of 'Ali. As years passed this group became an exponent of a separate school of thought in Islamic Law and Jurisprudence and they wrote their own books of Hadith, history of Islam and commentaries of the Holy Qur'an based upon their beliefs. Ahli Sunnah wal-Jama ah: The majority of the Companions, and Muslims at the time were not only in favour of 'Ali but all the preceding Khalifahs i.e. Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman. They fully supported 'Ali during his Khilafat. According to them Mu'awiyah was not right in not accepting 'Ali's authority. But they considered that mistake based upon Ijtihad. After all, he was a pious Companion and the sincerity of a Companion must not be questioned. The Khawarij: They were more a political group than theological. They accepted the authority of Abu Bakr and 'Umar but denounced 'Uthman, 'Ali, and Mu'awiyah. They said that the Hakam(Arbitrator or Judge for the dispute between 'Ali and Mu'awiyah) was against the principles of Islam. Only Allah had to be obeyed through the Holy Qur'an and not the Hakam. They also formulated a number of other beliefs as well. In the later period of Islamic history this group became almost extinct. A fierce battle was fought against the Khawarij and they lost while most of their leaders were slain. Ali was forced to return to Kufa because his men did not want to march to Syria. In the meantime, Muawiyah became the master of Egy pt. In the year 40AH, a treaty was signed between Muawiyah and Ali, on the request of Muawiyah to avoid bloodshed among the Muslims. Under that treaty, Syria and Egypt remained under the control of Muawiyah and the rest of the state under the control of Ali. Thus the conflict between the two parties ended. This civil war which ended to the detriment of Ali was the end of Islamic democratic rule.

Ali's Martyrdom and Review of His Works

Martyrdom
Khawarij were against Ali and they were against Mu'awiyah. They were still working against the Khilafat and they were greatly disgusted with the civil war that seemed endless. To end this state of affairs, they worked out a dangerous plot. According to them Muslims were divided because of differences between Ali and Mu'awiyah. They also disliked 'Amr ibn 'As and considered him as chief planner for Mu'awiyah. They decided, therefore, to assassinate all the three of them. It was planned that the three personalities would be struck at the same time on the same day. After the Fajr Salat of the 17th Ramadan in the year 40 A.H. (661AD) the three appointed Kharijis struck the three men.Mu'awiyah escaped with a scratch, Amr ibn 'As did not turn out for the Imamat because he was sick that day, thus was unhurt, but 'Ali was mortally wounded with the poisoned sword of Ibn Muljam. He passed away in the evening of Ramadan 20, 40 A.H. He was sixty three years old at the time of his death and had ruled for four years and nine months as the Khalifah. According to a number of historians his real grave is not known because his son Hasan took out his body from the grave after he was buried because of the fear of Kharijis and buried him at an unknown place.

Review of Hadrat Ali's services to islam

The period of Alis Caliphate was marked by civil war and a series of revolts for the first time in the history of Islam. He was elected in the most critical period of Islamic history. Ali was in a very difficult situation the assassins and the insurgents were creating endless trouble for him, and Banu Umayyah (Uthman's family) fled to Syria and incited Mu'awiyah to stick to his demand for avenging 'Uthman's asassins. Ali faced these problems with extraordinary courage and presented before us an exemplary character. He never had full support even from his friends in Kufa but he remained firm in his position. His first task was to create an atmosphere of peace in the state, but the Sabaites (insurgents) never wanted peace; they made it difficult for 'Ali to find out the assassins, and they sent their agents to Syria to incite the people (especially Umayyads) against Hadrat 'Ali. The third problem faced by 'Ali was the Kharijite movement. They were extremists and misled a number of innocent Muslims. He was successful in destroying their strong hold.

Anti-Islamic elements in the form of Sabaites (Abdullah ibn Saba and his followers) became the greatest enemies of Islam. They started to incite the Muslims only to increase division among them. They played a double role. A group of them showed themselves as friends of Ali and another group went to Syria to incite the Muslims against Hadrat Ali. Character, piety and excellence: He was a model of simplicity and self-denial. He led a simple life from the cradle to the grave, and was a true representative of the Holy Prophet. Purity of motives and selflessness were the keynote of his life. He was a wise counsellor, a true friend and a generous foe. He was very honest and trustworthy. His character and morals were so high that even Mu'awiyah praised them. Tasawwuf (Mysticism or spiritual science) and 'Ali: The genealogical chain of Sufis (Islamic mystics) ends at 'Ali and through him it is linked to the Holy Prophet in most of the orders. Thus 'Ali has been considered as the great Imam of Tasawwuf (spiritual science or mysticism), Ali stands like a gateway between the Sufis on the one hand and the first three caliphs and the Holy Prophet on the other hand. Ali (R.A.) "the gate of the City of Knowledge": He was a rat scholar and jurist of Islam as well as a Hafiz. He has been counted among the top most commentators of the Holy Quran. He was a wonderful master of Arabic language so he was an excelle nt orator. Administration of Hadrat Ali: 'Ali followed the administrative pattern set by 'Umar and did not make any noticeable changes. He always watched for general morals of the officers. He took care of Baitul-Mal (Public Treasury) and administration of revenue in the same way it was done by Hadrat Umar. He improved the taxation system. He gave stipends from the Baitul-Mal to the poor and the needy. He instructed his officers to treat non-Muslims well and to take special care of their needs. His justice was equal to the Muslims and the non-Muslims, the poor and the rich, officers and subordinate. He paid special attention to his duty of preaching Islam during his caliphate. Hadrat Ali was one of the closest Companions of the Holy prophet and possessed unparall eled courage, vigour and faith.