Part 60

The Mother of the Faithful suggested that people go out to to Medinah. However, Talhah and Az-Zubayr convinced her that Basrah would be a better place for their call, as people of Medinah were all the supporters on the new caliph. This being the case, people set out to Basrah raising the banners of vengeance on * Uthman's assassins and declaring revolt against the caliph on the grounds that they did not acknowledge the pledge of allegiance he was paid, which some were coerced into giving. One would have thought that since they all adopted one stand, they also agreed as to who would take over should

they manage to depose “Ali. Yet, that was not the case. They simply failed to agree as to who should lead Muslims in prayer. It was the news of their march to Basrah that reached the Commander of the Faithful right before he was about to head for Syria. He thought that it would be a better idea to halt their march and deal with them before the situation got out of control. “Ali wished to face Mu*awiyah with a united front free from points of weakness. He therefore put off the march for Syria, yet, could not catch up with the Mother of the Faithial along with Talhah and Az-Zubayr before they reached Basrah. When they did, they dismissed its governor after lashing him, and managed to sway most of its people to their side. The Mother of the Faithful together with Talhah and AzZubayr were able to convince people in Basrah that the new caliph was among those who instigated the assassination of ~Uthmaan and that the perpetrators were among his ranks.

During this critical juncture, there were men of wisdom and perception who played a laudable role in advising both sides and attempting to peter out a reconciliation between them. Qa'qa Ibn Amr managed to convince * Aa‘ishahh, Talhah and Az-Zubayr that they ought to reach a peaceful settlement in order to avoid bloodshed and restore unity to the Muslim nation.

But Ibn Saba and his henchmen had planned otherwise. In the darkness of night, they launched a sudden attack on '* Aa'ishah's army. Talhah and Az-Zubayr were startled by the sudden attack and deduced that *Ali could not desist from shedding Muslim blood and that he ordered a night attack, On the other hand, * Ali was shocked when he was told by Sabaites that Talhah and Az-Zubayr had taken them by surprise. He too thought that they did not try to avoid shedding Muslim blood.

Flames of war flared on one of the saddest days in Muslim history. Sedition set in and overshadowed the entire arena. The battle got its name when the Mother of the Faithful, *Aa'ishahh, may Allah be pleased with her, stepped out in the battlefield on the back to a camel riding in a Hawdaj, and surrounded by some of the best of the Basrah soldiers defending her with rare intrepidity. They acted as a shield warding off whoever attempted to approach her. When the caliph saw the number of slain Muslims round her camel, he had its hind legs cut off. However, fighting did not abate. Eventually, the sad battle resulted in grave casualties totaling ten thousand Muslims including Talhah and Az-Zubayr, who were defeated that day. Once again, Basrah raised the banners of loyalty to “Ali. As for the Mother of the Faithful, whose side was brought to its knees, the caliph treated her with all due respect. He paid her a visit in her residence in Basrah upon the end of the battle. He ordered that she be given a riding camel as well as all the provision she could need on her trip to Makka, to which she ultimately decided to go back. He even bid her farewell upon her departure. One is not to be surprised at the way ~Ali treated the Mother of the Faithful. Despite the fact which he was against him and even instigated the battle against him, ~Aa‘ishahh, may Allah be pleased with her, was still the wife of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and the Mother of the Faithful. Besides, Arab and Islamic tradition entirely forbade fighting or even harming women.

This certainly goes double for * Aa'ishahh, given her dignified status in Islam.

It goes without saying that this war is to be justly blamed on both sides. Each party lapsed into a series of wrong actions, mishandlings of the situation along with misunderstandings of the other party's stance. Owing to all those reasons, Muslims slipped into the first of a number of battles that were to exact a heavy toll on Muslims later on.

The Aftermath of Al-Jamal Battle:

Despite the rough start that ~ Ali's caliphate witnessed, things were soon to be back under control. He managed to hold sway over the whole of the Islamic state, with the exception of Syria, whose people chose to follow Mu’ awiyah in his refusing to pledge allegiance to the caliph.

Apart from that, the Commander of the Faithful took three significant administrative decisions for purposes of organizing the internal affairs of the state and tightening his grip on it. Moreover, * Ali was well aware that an encounter between him and his lurking opponent, Mu’ awiyah, was inevitable. He therefore saw the need to prepare for it.

His first decision was to change the capital of the Islamic State. ~ Ali realized that being the capital, Medinah was subject to unpredictable turbulences that were to violate its sanctity. Instead, he saw in Kufa prospects of a better capital for Muslims on account of a number of reasons. On one hand, most of “Ali's supporters were in Iraq. On the other hand, Kufa was closer to Syria where he expected an impending collision to take place between him and the rebels who would not pledge loyalty to him.

Secondly, “Ali decided to appoint *Abdullaah Ibn 360

~Abbas as governor of Basrah. He also appointed Ziyaad Ibn Abi Suyan, Mu*awiyah's half brother, to be in charge of the Kharaj. This was certainly a wise step on the part of the new caliph. Basrah was a highly strategic city both from the political and military perspectives. It therefore called for a man of knowledge and perception such as ~ Abdullaah Ibn * Abbas to be at its helm. — It was also a praiseworthy idea to appoint as his assistant Ziyaad Ibn Abi Suyan, one of the area's matchless mentalities.

The Commander of the Faithful's third decision had to do with Egypt. Since Egypt was conquered at the hands of ~Amr Ibn Al--As, Muslim caliphs were fully aware of its vitally strategic importance. He appointed Qays Ibn Sa‘ d Ibn *Ubadah Al-Ansari, one of the wisest, most perceptive men, as its governor.

The Preparation for the Battle of Sifeen:

Qays's control of Egypt constituted a great threat on Mu’ awiyah who started to prepare himself and the people of As-Sham to fight “Ali and his soldiers in a fierce battle. Mu*awiyah feared that if he went to fight “Ali from the direction of Iraq he might surround him from behind — from the direction of Egypt -with the help of the Egyptians under the command of Qays. That is why Mu*awiyah did his best to make Qays join his ranks because winning Qays on his side meant gaining about one thousand men who were under Qays's command in addition to the support of the Egyptians, and in this way he would secure himself from behind if the war broke out. However, Mu awiyah's efforts to win Qays on his side were all in vain, for Qays remained loyal to the Commander of the Faithful, * Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. Mu* awiyah lost all hope when he received Qays's message saying: "In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Compassionate, from

Qays Ibn Sa‘d to Mu*‘awiyah [bn Abi Sufyaan, it is wonder chat you trick me, pin hope on me, and brush my view aside. Do you want me to disobey the people in charge, who speak the truth and guide to the straight path, and are the most closest to Allah's Messenger (i.e. * Ali), and order me to obey you — how odd is this demand!"

When Mu awiyah failed to win Qays to his side, he tried to drive a wedge between Qays and ~ Ali. So he spread among the people of As-Shaam that Qays has joined his ranks and that he advises him about what to do, and he also treats the Ottomans well. Such a rumor reached * Ali in Al-Kufa through his spies in As-Shaam but he did not believe at first. However, Muhammad Ibn Abi Bakr and Muhammad Ibn Ja* far Ibn Abi Taalib insisted that “Ali should order Qays to fight the Ottomans in Egypt who took the city of Kharbata as their stronghold. ~*Ali wrote to Qays ordering him to fight the ottomans but Qays refused and wrote to the ~ Ali saying: "If you accuse me of disloyalty, you can depose me and assign somebody else in my place". Asa result, the caliph deposed him and assigned Muhammad Ibn Abi Bakr in his place, but he could not hold his position for long. Mu*awiyah and his ally *Amr Ibn Al-* Aas seized his position and killed him in 38 AH. In spite of all this, Qays remained loyal to ~Ali and participated in the battle of Sifeen after he reconciled with ~ Ali who then realized that Qays was loyal and that it had been a conspiracy made by Mu’ awiyah to divide them. ~ Ali then sent one of the Companions, Jareer Ibn * Abdellaah Al-Bajlyy with a message to Mu awiyah informing him of the agreement of the Muhajireen and the Ansaar to pledge allegiance to him while Talhah and Az-Zubayr refused, and asked him to pledge allegiance as well. When Jareer came to Mu awiyah, the latter kept dragging out till Jareer could see for himself the support of the people and eager to revenge on the murderers of ~ Uthmaan whom “Ali did not punish, and made them join his army.

Mu’ awiyah and ~Amr_ Ibn Al-* Aas convinced the people that ~Ali was keen on killing *Uthmaan, and that he supported his murderers.

Jareer saw all that, then he returned to Al-Kufa to report to ‘Ali without getting a response from Mu*awiyah, but he confirmed to “Ali that Mu*awiyah and his followers were determined to fight him. So ~ Ali had no other alternative but to muster his army and prepare them for fighting Mu* awiyah who was weaving conspiracies against ~Ali and doing his best to turn the people against him using what happened in the battle of al-Jamal as an evidence on his claims.