1. Regions of the state

1.1. Makkah al-Mukarramah w h e n 'Uthm2n (&) died, the governor of Makkah was K h a d ibn Sa'eed ibn al-'is. 'Ali (&) issued a decree dismissing him, and he appointed Abu Qat2dah al-An& as governor of Makkah.' It seems that his goveniorship only lasted a short time, because when 'Ali (&) wanted to leave Madinah and go to Iraq, he dismissed Abu Qatiidah and sent Qatham ibn al-'~bb%' to be the governor of ~ a k k a h . ~ Thus the governorship of Abu Qatiidah lasted approximately two months, and not much is narrated concerning that period. Most of the sources that speak about the governorship of Qatham ibn al-'Abbk over Makkah mention that 'Ali (&) appointed him as governor of Makkah, at-Ti'if and the surrounding regions at the same time.4 The reports that were narrated about Malikah during 'Ali's caliphate have to do with hajj and who was in charge of the pilgrimage. There is no report that 'Ali ibn Abi TZlib (&) attended hajj during his caliphate, because he was preoccupied with the t~nmoil that had broken out throughout the Islamic State, and this situation had not settled down.

During the hajj season, he would send Governors at the time of 'Ali ibn Abi Ta^lib someone to lead the pilgrims. It seems that Qatham ibn alLCAbbh led the people in hajj in the year 37 AH only. 'Ali (&) sent Abdullah ibn 'Abb2s to lead the pilgrims in 36 AH and 'Ubaydull2h ibn al- 'Abbss in 38 AH, although the sources differ concerning the year in which each of them made the pilgrimage. In 39 AH, he sent Mu'swiyah, one of his commanders in Syria, with the pilgrims froni Syria and told him to lead the people in hajj. When he reached Makkah, he had a dispute with Qatham ibn 'Abbis.

Fighting would have broken out, were it not for the efforts of some of the Companions to bring about reconciliation between them on the basis that hajj would be led by one of Banu Shaybah. Thus the pilgrimage ended peacefully and no fighting o c c ~ n e d . ~ Qatham ibn al-'Abbk remained the governor of Makkah until the arrival of MuC2wiyah's army, led by Bisr ibn Art&, whereupon he fled, fearing for his lie. Thus Qatham's governorship ended and Makkah was no longer under the authority of 'Ali ibn Abi T2ib (4). 'Ali (&) sent some troops to recapture Makkah, but he (&) was martyred before the mission could be a~complished.~ 1.2. Madinah During the time of the Messenger of Allah (&) and the three caliphs who succeeded him, Madinah was the capital of the Islamic state.

The leader of the Muslims lived there and ran its affairs himsell; when he travelled, he would appoint someone to run its affairs. However, this situation changed after allegiance was sworn to 'Ali (&) as caliph. The general state of confusion after themurder of 'Uthmk (&)meant that 'Ali (&)had to leave Madinah, especially after Talhah, az-Zubayr and 'pishah left and headed towards Iraq before the Battle of the camel." 'Ali (d) appointed Sahl ibn Haneef 'Ali ibn Abi Ta^lib al-An@ in charge of Madinah, according to some reports,' but we do not know how long Ibn Haneef remained in that position. It seems that his governorship lasted for more than one year, since it was narrated that he was in charge of Madinah in 37 AH.^ After dismissing Sahl ibn Haneef, 'Ali (&) appointed T a m h ibn al- 'AbbG. Later, he appointed Abu Ayyoob al-An& and he remained the govemor of Madinah until 40 AH, when an anny sent from Syria by Mu'iwiyah and led by Bisr ibn Art& arrived in Madinah." Abn Ayyoob fled from Madinah and went to join 'Ali (&) in ~ufah." Thus Madinah slipped from the control of 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib (&) and came under the control of Mu'iwiyah.

So at the time of ' ~ l i (&), Madinah changed from being the seat of the caliphate to being one of the provinces, and political events began to take place far away from it. Hence we find that the historical sources ignored it during that period, until Mu'Zwiyah's army managed to capture it." 1.3. Bahrain and Oman When 'Uthmin (&) was martyred, Bahrain belonged to the emirate of Basra, and 1 b n . ' k r used to appoint some of his workers to govern it. While 'Ali (&) was the caliph, he appointed a number of governors in charge of Bahrain, one of the most important of whom was 'Umar ibn Abi Salamah.

I3 He set out from Madinah with 'Ali (*) during his journey to Iraq, then 'Ali (&) sent him to govem I3ahrainI4 for a period of time. Later, he was summoned to accompany 'Ali in Iraq. Other employees of 'Ah in Bahrain were Qudiimah ibn al-'Ajlsn a l - ~ n ~ 2 r i ' ~ and an-Nu'& ibn al-'Ajlk alAns%.'"~li also appointed 'Uhaydull2h ibn 'AbbL to govem Bahrain;" he was the govemor of Yemen, so perhaps Bahrain and Najd also came under his governorship at that time. This may be understood from what at-Tabar2ni said, and what Khaleefah ibn Khayyit said may be understood on the basis that he did not know Governors at the time of 'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib about the correct order of these The sources mention the names of some men whom 'Ali (&) sent to Oman, one as a governor and the other as the commander of troops to suppress one of the rebellions that were launched against 'Ali (&) in oman.'' There was also a man in charge of a l - ~ a m h a h , ' ~ and it may be that he was working under the governor of ahr rain.^' 1.4. Yemen When 'Uthmk (&) was martyred and allegiance was swom to 'Ali (&) . . as caliph, he appointed 'Ubaydnllih ibn al-'Abbk (&) as governor of yemen." 'Uthmrin's governors left Yemen before 'Ubaydulla ibn 'AbbL got there; some of them joined Talhah and az-Zubayr in the army of the Battle of the Camel, and they played a role in equipping their army.23 'Ubaydulla ibn 'Abb2s was the governor of San'2 and its surrounding areas, and his fellow governor was Sa'eed ibn Sa'd ibn 'Ubikhh a l - ~ n ~ % ~ ~ , who was in charge of the ~ I O O ~ S ? ~ The murder of 'Uthmk (&) had a far-reaching effect on the Muslims in Yemen, who felt disappointed and upset by this crime.

Some of the Yemenis did not swear allegiance to 'Ali (&)-&d wanted to kill the killers of 'Uthmin (&). When that was delayed; , they corresponded with Mu'iwiyah after the arbitration, and he sent Bisr ibn AGa'ah, who managed to gain control over Yemen with their help. This only lasted for a short time, though,z6 before 'Mi (&) managed to take it back fmm the army of Mu'iwiyah and restore 'Ubaydull2h ibn 'Abb2s as its governor once again. He remained in that position until Amir al-Mu'mheen 'Ali ibn Abi T a b (&) was martyred.z7 It was narrated that Bisr killed two sons of 'Ubaydull2h ibn 'Abbb and some of the supporters of 'Ali (&) in Yemen, then be went back to Syria. Amir al-Mn'mineen 'Ali (&) had sent JCiyah 'Ali ibn Abi TJlib ibn Qudhah as-Sa'di, it was said that he did the same as Bisr had done, and he killed some of the supporters of 'Uthmk (&) in ere en.^^ Ibn Katheer said: "This report is well known to the biographers, but there is some doubt as to its soundness."29 Undoubtedly, the killing of innocent people was not the norm at that time, even in the battles of the Camel and Siffeen, when fighting broke out between the two sides.

How could children and innocent people be killed at the time of truce? Hence we cannot accept these stories that are contrary to Muslim customs, values and religion.30 1.5. Syria Mu'Zwiyah (&) was governor of Syria during the caliphates of 'Umar and '~thm& (may Allah be pleased with them both). When 'Ali (&) was appointed as caliph, he wanted to dismiss him and appoin&bdullah ibn 'Umar instead, but Abdnllah ibn 'Umar refused to accept the governorship of Syria. He gave his apologies, mentioning the close ties of kinship and marriage that existed between them.31 Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) respected his wishes and did not force him to go to Syria.

As for the reports claiming that 'Ali (&) reviled or insulted Abdullah ihn 'Umar (&) for adopting a neutral stance instead of taking his side, they represent a distortion of the facts and seem to be blatant lies3' The most that can be said concerning the issue of Abdullah ibn 'Unlar and the governorship of Syria is that which was narrated by adh-Dhahabi via SufyZn ibn 'Uyaynah from 'Umar ihn NZ' from his father that lbn 'Umar said: "Ali sent for me and said: '0 Abu 'Abdur-R&rnh, you are a man whom the people of Syria would obey, so go there, for I have appointed you over them.' I said: 'I urge you by Allah, and by my ties of companionship to the Messenger of Allah, to let me off.' 'Ali (&) refused, so I sought the help of ' HafSah, but still he refused. So I departed at night for ~ a k k a h . " ~ ~ Governors ut the time of 'Ali ibn Abi Tirlla This offers definitive evidence that Ibn 'Umar had sworn allegiance to 'Ali (&) and come under his authority; otherwise how could 'Ali (&) seek to appoint. h i if he had not sworn allegiance to him? In Ibn 'Abdul-Ban's al-lsti'cib it is narrated via Ahu Bakr ibn Abil-Jahm from Ihn 'Umar that he said, when he was dying: "I do not regret anything except not fighting the transgressors alongside 'Ali (L&)."~~ This also indicates that he swore allegiance to 'Mi (&), because he only regretted not going out with 'Ali (&) to fight. He was one of those who kept away from humoil and did not fight with anyone.

If he had refrained from swearing allegiance, his regret for that would have been greater, and he would have said that clearly. The act of swearing allegiance is obligatory, and refraining from it is threatened with punishment, according to the report of Ibn 'Umar himself, who said that the Prophet (@,) said: "Whoever dies without having sworn allegiance has died a death of pre-Islamic ignorance."35 This is unlike going out to fight alongside 'ALi (&); the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) differed on this matter, and some of them kept out of it. So how can it be imagined that Ibn 'Umar would regret not taking part in this fighting but not regret not swearing allegiance,' if he did in fact refrain from that despite the stem warning concerning it? Thus it is clear hat the claim of some historians, that Ibn 'Umar did ,lot swear allegiance to 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both), is false. It is proven that he was one of those who swore allegiance to him.

Indeed, he was close to him, to the point that 'Ali (&) , . was keen to appoint him as his governor and seek his help, because of the sincerity and loyalty he saw in him.36 After Ibn 'Umar apologised for not accepting the governorship of Syria, Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) sent Sahl ihn Haneef instead. He had hardly reached the borders of Syria when he was seized by members of MuZ%wiyah's cavalry, who said to him: "If 'Uthmiin