1. The oath of allegiance to 'Ali (&)

1.1. How allegiance was sworn to 'Ali (&>) o n Friday, 18 Dhul-wjjah 35 AH,' the Rightly Guided Caliph ' U t h i n ibn 'Affan (&) was martyred at the hands of outlaw rebels, who killed him (4) unlawfully and wrongfully. They had come from various regions and various tribes that were not known for any service to Islam or any good achievement in this world. After this, all of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (g) who were left in Madinah swore allegiance to 'Ali (&) as caliph. There was no one better than him at that time, so no one else claimed leadaship after 'Uthmin (&).

'Ali (&), the father of the two grandsons of the Prophet (.@I, was not eager for it, and he only accepted it after strong urging from those of the Companions who were left in Madinah, for fear that the tribulations might increase and spread further. Despite that, he was not spared the criticism of some ignorant people as the result of turmoil that took place later on, such as the battles of the Camel and Siffeen, the flames of which were fanned by those who The oath of allegiance to 'Ali, his characteristics & his way oflife hated Islam, such as Ibn Saha' and his followers, whom he led astray due to their evil nature and the deviation of their hearts from hue guidance. The manner in which they selected 'Ali (&) for the caliphate narrated by some of the schola~s.~ Ahu Bakr al-Khall2 narrated with his sound chain of narration going hack to Muhammad ibn alHanafiyyah that the latter said: "I was with 'Ali (&) when 'Uthmin (&) was under siege. A man came to 'Ali and said: ' 'Arnir alMu'mineen has just been killed.' 'Ali (&)got up, and I grabbed him by the waist, fearing for him. He said: 'Let me go, may you he bereft of your mother!' 'Ali (&) went to the house where 'Uthmk had been killed, may Allah have mercy on him.

He went into his house and shut the door. The people came to him and knocked at the door, then they entered upon him and said: 'This man has been killed, and the people must have a caliph. We do not know of anyone more deserving of that than you.' 'Ali (&) said to them: 'You do not want me; I would rather he an adviser to you than a leader.' They said: 'No, by Allah, we do not know of anyone more deserving of it than you.' He said: 'If yon insist on me, then allegiance to me should not he swom in secret. Rather I will go out to the mosque and accept the people's al~e~iance."'~ According to another report narrated from S h ibn Abi Ja'd from Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah: "The Companions of the Messenger of Allah came to him and said: 'This man has been killed, and the people must have a leader. We do not find anyone who is more deserving of that than you, or who is more senior in Islam, or closer to the Messenger of Allah (SJ.' 'Ali (&) said: 'Do not do it, for I would rather be an adviser to yon than a leader.' They said: 'No, by Allah, we will not do anything until we swear allegiance to you.' He said: 'Then (do it) in the mosque, for allegiance to me should not be hidden, and it should only he with the approval of the Muslims.' " 'Ali ibn Abi Tilib S2im ibn Abi Ja'd said: "Abdullah ibn 'Abbh said: 'I did not want him to go to the mosque for fear of troublemakers, but he insisted on going to the mosque.' When he entered the mosque, the Muhijiroon and the An& came and swore allegiance to him, and the people did ~ikewise."~ From these sound reports we learn a number of lessons, including the following: 1.1.1.

The support of 'Ali ibn Abi TSlib (&) for 'UthmSn (&) and his defence of him This is narrated in mutawiitir reports from 'Ali (&). Indeed, he defended 'Uthmin (&) most out of all the people. That is narrated with many chains of narration, and M m i n ibn al-H&am bore witness to that when he said: "There was no one among the people who defended our companion more than your companion," meaning that 'Ali defended 'Uthmiin? 1.1.2. 'Ali's lack of interest in caliphate He did not seek or desire the caliphate, and he stayed at home until the Companions came to him, asking to swear allegiance to him. 1.1.3. The consensus of the Companions, both Muhgjiroon and An&-, and the people in general of Madinah, on swearing allegiance to him Those who swore allegiance to 'Ali (&) included the decision makers and the prominent people.

They are the ones who went to 'Ali (&) and asked him to accept the oath of allegiance, insisting until he agreed. It was not the thugs and killers of 'Uthmin (&), as some we& and fabricated reports suggest. The oath of allegiance to 'Ali, his characteristics & his way of life 1.1.4. 'Ali was the most deserving of the caliphate among the people at that time This is indicated by the fact that the Companions went to him and insisted that he should accept the oath of allegiance, and they stated clearly that they did not know anyone who was more deserving of the caliphate at that time than him. 1.1.5. The importance of the caliphate Hence we see that the Companions hastened to appoint 'Ali (41, who used to say: "Were it not for my fear for the religion of Allah, I would not have agreed."6 1.1.6.

The dubious idea that they inserted concerning the oath of allegiance to 'Ali (&) This idea suggests that the rebels who besieged 'Uthm2n (&), some of whom took part in his murder, were in Madinah and were the first ones to swear allegiance to 'Ali (&), and that Talhah and az-Zubayr swore allegiance reluctantly, as was narrated by the historians. This idea has no basis, and the reports concerning it have no sound chains of narration. The correct view is that the people could find no one after Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthm%n (may Allah be pleased with them) who was like the fourth in status, knowledge, piety, religious commitment, seniority and track record of jihad. The Muhijiroon and the An& insisted on him, and he thought it was an obligation upon him, so he agreed to it. If they had not hastened to swear allegiance to 'Ali (&), that could have led to turmoil and division throughout the Muslim regions.

It was in the best interests of the Muslims for 'Ali (&,) to accept the oath of allegiance regardless of the circumstances, and none of the Companions who were in Madinah held back from 'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib swearing allegiance to him. Some people confused this with a later incident when some of the Companions stayed behind instead of marching to Basra with him. With regard to the oath, no one held back from that, but with regard to marching to Basra, some stayed behind because it was a matter of ijtihid? 'Ali (&) did not force them to come out with him, as we shall see in detail below when we discuss the Battle of the Camel. 1.1.7. Awareness of the exaggerations of storytellers We must be aware of the exaggerations of some storytellers who claim that for five days following the murder of 'Uthmsn (&), Madinah remained under the control of al-GhZqi ibn Harb while they looked for someone to accept the position of caliphate and could not find anyone.' Other reports claimed that the rebels of Egypt made an offer to 'Ali (&) to become caliph, but he refused; that the rebels of Kufah offered the caliphate to az-Zubayr, but he did not accept; and that those who came from Basra offered allegiance to Tamah.

This is not proven in any sound reports, and its chain of narration is not sound? Moreover, it is well known that the Companions were in full control of Madinah and would have been able to destroy these criminals were it not for the request of 'Uthmk (&) to refrain from using force against them. This is explained in my book Tayseer alKareem al-MannZnj? Seerat 'Uthmrin ibn 'Affin. The correct view is that allegiance to 'Ali (&) was given voluntarily and freely by the Muslims, and the troublemakers played no part in that.

All of the Companions in ~adinahl' elected Amir al-Mumineen 'Ali (a). 1.1.8. Sound reports about the oath of allegiance to 'Ali There are eleven sound reports about the oath of allegiance to 'Ali (&)." We will discuss some of them in detail below. The oath of allegiance to 'Ali, his characteristics & his way of life 1.2. 'Ali's entitlement to the caliphate The most deserving of people to be caliph, after Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthrnin (may Allah be pleased with them), was 'Ali ibn Abi T&b (&). This is the belief of Ahl as-Sunnah wal-JamS'ah, and this is what the Muslim is required to believe as part of his faith in regard to the sequence of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. There is an indication of 'Ali's being entitled to the caliphate in more than one Islamic text, including the following: