12. Ibn Hajar said: "The swearing of allegiance to 'Ali (&) as

caliph came immediately after the slaying of 'Uthmgn (&), at

'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib the beginning of the month of Dhnl-Hijjab in 35 AH. All of the Muhgjireen and An& and everyone who was present, swore allegiance to him. He wrote letters to other provinces telling them that they should also swear allegiance to him; they all agreed except Mu'Erwiyah and the people of Syria and there happened between them what happened."53 What we learn from the above quotations, which describe consensus, is that the caliphate of 'Ali was the subject of consensus with regard to its validity at the time it took place. That was after the slaying of 'Uthmh (&), and there was no one left on earth who was more ,. entitled to it than 'Ali (&). So the position of caliph finally came to him at the right time.54 Some pwple have objected to the view that there was consensus concerning the caliphate of 'Ali (&) for several reasons: