Caliphate of Imam Ali (A.S.)

After the murder of Uthman, there was great unrest in the city of Madina due to the absence of any government. The main citizens of the city called for the immediate election of a Caliph to end the danger of a civil war. Two men had ambitions to become Caliph. They were Talha and Zubayr, both brothers-in-law of Ayesha, the widow of the Holy Prophet (S). However, to the great disadvantage of these two candidates, she was in Makka for pilgrimage at the time.
The people of Madina, however, wanted Imam Ali (A) to be their Caliph. He was a man admired by his friends and enemies alike for his courage, piety, eloquence, wisdom and kinship to the Holy Prophet (S). After having been ruled by weak men the people now turned to the man who had been nominated to lead them in the first place. However, Imam Ali (A) refused their offer and said that he would rather remain as an advisor to any Caliph they elected.
The people of Madina insisted that they would follow none but him and at last he reluctantly agreed. He said,
"I must say frankly at the outset that I shall deal with you according to the Holy Qur'an and to the best of my knowledge and judgement."
This condition was accepted, but Imam Ali (A) asked that his nomination be made in public so that if anyone had anything to say, they would have an opportunity to do so.
Next day in the mosque of Madina most of the Muslims were present to pay allegiance to Imam Ali (A), including Talha and Zubayr. Imam Ali (A) thus took over as the fourth Caliph of the Muslims.
After a few days Talha and Zubayr and a few others came to Imam Ali (A) asking that the murder of Uthman be avenged. Imam Ali (A) knew fully well that some of these same people had been responsible for the riots that led to Uthman's death, and now they just wanted to stir up trouble. However, he told them that he had called Uthman's wife Naila and his secretary Marwan and asked them if they could identify the culprits since they had been with Uthman at the time of his death. Marwan did not come and Naila said that Uthman was killed by two men who she did not recognise. Under the circumstances Imam Ali (A) could do nothing more unless further evidence came to light.
Meanwhile, the members of Bani Umayyah, most of whom had not paid allegiance to Imam Ali (A), began to leave Madina. Imam Ali (A) knew that they were up to no good and in anticipation of future trouble, he began to secure the good will of the Quraish and Ansar in Madina.
The first matter that Imam Ali (A) attended to was replacing the worthless governors of Uthman. Most of the governors took over their new posts but the governor to Kufa was stopped from entering that city while the governor to Syria was stopped by Muawiya's men and both had to return to Madina.
The Bani Umayyah, with the help of their leader Muawiya, began to stir up trouble for Imam Ali (A) and his government. In the mosque of Damascus, Muawiya displayed the blood-stained shirt of Uthman and the chopped-off fingers of his wife Naila, to incite the anger of the people. They swore that they would take revenge for Uthman's death and Muawiya began to blame Imam Ali (A) for doing nothing to bring the murderers to justice.
When his governors returned from Kufa and Syria, Imam Ali (A) wrote letters to Abu Musa Ash'ari in Kufa and Muawiya in Syria demanding that they give way to the new governors.
Abu Musa wrote back from Kufa, stating that the Kufans were at the service of the new Caliph, but Muawiya did not send a reply for three months. Finally, his messenger arrived with a letter. When Imam Ali (A) opened the letter it contained no words at all and was a gesture of outright defiance. In addition the messenger informed him that Muawiya had gathered 60,000 men ready to avenge the murder of Uthman on Imam Ali (A).
This news astonished Imam Ali (A) and he said,
"I call God to witness that I am not guilty and that it is a false charge."
The cunning Muawiya had managed to rouse the hatred of the people of Syria against Imam Ali (A) by using Uthman's murder as an excuse. However, Imam Ali (A) declared that only the sword would decide matters between Muawiya and himself and he gave orders for an army to be gathered to march to Syria.
Meanwhile, Talha and Zubayr had plans of their own and proceeded to Makka on the excuse of performing Umrah. On the way they joined Ayesha the widow of the Holy Prophet (S) who was also using the death of Uthman to create trouble for Imam Ali (A), whom she had always hated.
Thus, Imam Ali (A) was faced with a double threat to the security of his government - from Ayesha in Makka and from Muawiya in Syria.

THE BATTLE OF JAMAL
Ayesha, the widow of the Holy Prophet (S), was in Makka for the pilgrimage when Uthman was killed. She had always expected either Talha or Zubayr to succeed him and when she heard of Imam Ali's (A) appointment as Caliph, she was very upset.
Ayesha was a jealous and cunning woman, one who had caused the Holy Prophet (S) a lot of annoyance. Now she declared herself as the avenger of the murder of Uthman and prepared to wage war against Imam Ali (A), whom she had always hated.
She managed to recruit the support of the powerful clan of Bani Umayyah, to whom Uthman had belonged. The ex-governors of Uthman, who had been replaced by Imam Ali (A), also joined her and the ex-governor of Yemen provided her with the means of financing her war by giving her the treasure he had stolen from Yemen when he was deposed. Talha and Zubayr also joined her, in spite of their oath of allegiance to Imam Ali (A). A large number of aimless drifters were also paid to enlist in the army.
The preparations of war having been completed, Ayesha's army proceeded to Basra. Before leaving, she had asked Umme Salma, a faithful widow of the Holy Prophet (S), to accompany her. Umme Salma had indignantly refused, reminding Ayesha that the Holy Prophet (S) had said that Imam Ali (A) was his successor and whoever disobeyed him, disobeyed the Holy Prophet (S) himself. She also reminded her of the time when he had addressed all his wives saying that the dogs of Hawab would bark at one of his wives, who would be part of a rebellious mob. She then warned Ayesha not to be fooled by the words of Talha and Zubayr who would only entangle her in wrong deeds. This advice had a sobering effect on Ayesha, who almost gave up her plan. However, her adopted son, Abdallah bin Zubayr, convinced her to go ahead.
Ayesha mounted on a litter on the camel al-Askar, and marched from Makka at the head of 1,000 men. On her right was Talha and on her left, Zubayr. On their way many more joined them, swelling their numbers to 3,000.
On the way to Basra, the rebel army received news that Imam Ali (A) had come out of Madina in their pursuit. They decided to leave the main road and proceed to Basra through a different route. When they passed through the valley of Hawab the dogs of the village surrounded Ayesha's camel, barking loudly. She was immediately worried and asked for the name of the place. When she was told it was Hawab, she was shocked and she despairingly cried,
"Alas! Alas! I am the wretched woman of Hawab. The Prophet of Allah had already warned me against this."
She got off her camel and refused to go any further. Talha and Zubayr tried to convince her that the place was not Hawab and even brought 50 witnesses to testify to this lie, but in vain. Finally, they raised a cry that Imam Ali (A) was approaching, and Ayesha, struck with terror, quickly remounted and the march was resumed.
The army reached Basra and camped in the suburbs. Ayesha, Talha and Zubayr began talks with the leading citizens of Basra, trying to get their support for their cause. In this they failed and were subjected to ridicule.
Finally, some of them entered the city and during the congregational prayers, they treacherously captured Imam Ali's (A) governor, Uthman bin Huneif, after killing 40 of his guards. Fighting broke out in the city and many of Imam Ali's (A) supporters were killed before Ayesha gained control of Basra. The governor, Uthman, suffered the indignity of having his eyebrows, moustache and beard plucked out, hair by hair, before being turned out of the city.
Meanwhile, Imam Ali (A) had received information about Ayesha's plans from Umme Salma, and news of the disturbances in Makka and Basra also came through.
Imam Ali (A) made immediate plans to march towards Basra but could only raise 900 men with difficulty. This was because the people were reluctant to fight Ayesha, who was considered to be the Mother of the Faithful by virtue of being the widow of the Holy Prophet (S). Also, Muawiya had succeeded in making people think that Imam Ali (A) was somehow involved in the murder of Uthman.
In Kufa, Imam Hasan (A) raised 9,000 men, and other units arrived as well, all joining Imam Ali (A) at his camp at Zhi-Q'ar. Meanwhile, Uthman bin Huneif arrived with fresh news from Basra. Imam Ali (A) smiled and said to him that he had left them as an old man but had returned as a beardless youth.
Imam Ali (A) wrote letters to Ayesha, Talha and Zubayr, warning them against the unwise steps they had taken, but his words were ignored. Finally he marched to Basra at the head of 20,000 men.
Ayesha's forces numbered 30,000 but they were mostly raw recruits, while Imam Ali's army was full of battle veterans.
In Basra, the sight of Imam Ali's (A) men in battle formation filled Ayesha and her comrades with terror. Imam Ali (A) talked at length with Talha and Zubayr, negotiating for peace. He reminded them of the words of the Holy Prophet (S) regarding his authority, which they both admitted they had heard. Zubayr was ashamed of his deeds and left the scene but Talha remained doubtful. Ayesha was furious at the conduct of the two and ordered a raid at night time to end the chance of peace.
The next morning Ayesha mounted her camel al-Askar and urged her troops to prepare for battle. Thus began the unfortunate Battle of Jamal (Camel), where Muslims fought each other for the first time. Although outnumbered, Imam Ali (A) and his soldiers were too skilled to be defeated. Soon victory began to incline towards Imam Ali (A). Talha was wounded and later died. Ayesha's camel was brought down and Imam Ali (A) ordered his adopted son Muhammad bin Abu Bakr to take care of Ayesha who was his half-sister.
After that, the battle was soon over, and Imam Ali (A) declared a general amnesty for all the rebels.
Ayesha's plans had come to nothing and 10,000 men lay dead as a result of her jealousy. In this battle Imam Ali (A) restrained his men from taking any war booty and all property found on the battle ground was gathered in the mosque of Basra, from where the owners could claim their possessions.

THE BATTLE OF SIFFIN
After the battle of Jamal was over, Imam Ali (A) returned from Basra to Kufa in Rajab of 36 A.H. He decided to set up the capital of his government in Kufa because it was more centrally placed in the Muslim Empire, and he could halt Muawiya's progress into Iraq.
Before marching towards Muawiya, Imam Ali (A) tried to settle matters peacefully by sending Jarir, the governor of Hamdan, to Syria as an envoy. However, Jarir became so engrossed in the entertainment that Muawiya put his way, that he wasted his time in Syria. He finally returned three months later with the useless message that peace could only be negotiated if the murderers of Uthman were brought to justice.
Imam Ali (A) decided that matters could be only decided by war, so he marched without delay through the Mesopotamian desert to Riqqa at the banks of the Euphrates. After crossing the river by constructing a bridge they came across the Syrian outposts at Sur al-Rum. There were a few skirmishes between the armies but the Syrians gave way and in the month of Zilhaj of 36 A.H., the army of Imam Ali (A) came into sight of Muawiya's main forces, which had already camped at Siffin.
At Siffin, Muawiya had stationed his general, Abul Awr, with 10,000 men on the river to stop the access to water for Imam Ali's (A) army. Imam Ali (A) sent a message to Muawiya that this action was not necessary because, after all, the people whom he was refusing water were also Muslims. He further assured Muawiya that if the situation had been reversed, the river would have been open to both armies. However, Muawiya sent back a message that the murderers of Uthman had not allowed him any water when they had laid siege to his palace, and Muawiya was avenging that action.
Imam Ali (A) knew that this situation would be intolerable and he launched an attack under Malike Ashtar. The brave commander secured the river after heavy fighting and Abul Awr was dislodged from its banks. Having control of the river, Imam Ali (A) kept to his word and allowed unlimited access to Muawiya's side.
Imam Ali (A) divided his army of 90,000 men into seven units each commanded by brave warriors. Muawiya similarly divided his army of 120,000 men into seven columns. Everyday one column from each army would engage one another in combat.
The battles were mostly restricted to single combats or small groups fighting because Imam Ali (A) was trying to avoid the serious loss of Muslim lives that would have resulted from a full scale battle. The month of Zilhaj ended in this manner and the month of Muharram, in which fighting is forbidden, set in. During this month, Imam Ali (A) tried hard to resolve the crisis by negotiation, but to no avail. He pointed out that he was ready to punish the murderers of Uthman if Muawiya would point them out. However, Muawiya did not wish the matter to end so easily, because it was the issue of Uthman's unavenged death that had enabled him to gather such a large army.
In the month of Safar fighting was resumed. For a week, fierce battles raged all day. Everyday the conflict got more severe and bitter. In the second week Imam Ali (A) came to the battlefield for the first time. After a series of single combats, in which he overcame every opponent with his awesome skill, no body would come to fight him.
He was forced to disguise himself to get anybody to challenge him. On one such occasion, an unsuspecting warrior from Muawiya's side attacked Imam Ali (A). The man was struck with a single sweep of Zulfiqar with such force by Imam Ali (A) that the upper half of his body was severed from the lower half. Those who watched thought that the blow had missed, and it was only when the horse moved and the two halves fell to the ground, that people realised what had happened.
Day after day the loss of lives increased, especially in the ranks of Muawiya. However, Imam Ali (A) also lost several distinguished Companions of the Holy Prophet (S) from his side. Amongst them were Hashim bin Utba and Ammar Yasir.
Ammar, who was 93 years old, had been informed by the Holy Prophet (S) that he would die fighting rebels and enemies of Islam. This was well known by all, and when he died there was some commotion in Muawiya's army. He managed to quieten them down by saying that, since Ammar had been brought to fight by Imam Ali (A), it was he who was the cause of his death. He said that Imam Ali (A) therefore was the rebel that the prophecy talked about, and not Muawiya. This incredible argument was accepted by his men and war continued until the 13th night.
On that day the commander-in-chief of Imam Ali's (A) army, Malike Ashtar, attacked the enemy ferociously. His shout of Allahu Akbar, every time he killed a man, was heard no less than 400 times.
The hero of the battle began to bring on victory when Amr al-Aas on Muawiya's side said,
"Call the enemy to the Word of God."
Muawiya eagerly accepted these words and his men raised 500 copies of the Holy Qur'an on their spears, saying that the Holy Book would decide their differences. This trick had a strange effect on some people in the army of Imam Ali (A), who dropped their weapons and agreed that the Holy Qur'an should decide the matter.
Imam Ali (A) stepped into the battlefield urging his men to continue fighting and ignore the tricks of Muawiya, but they disobeyed. The war thus came to an unsatisfactory end, and it was decided that one representative from each side should meet to reach a final decision.
Imam Ali (A) wanted Abdullah bin Abbas or Malike Ashtar to represent him, but his men insisted that Abu Musa Ash'ari be chosen instead. Muawiya appointed Amr al-Aas to represent him. Abu Musa had neither wit nor tact and was no match for the cunning Amr al-Aas.
In the meeting that took place some months later, Abu Musa was badly tricked by Amr into giving up the rights of Imam Ali (A).
Muawiya thus managed to escape certain defeat at Siffin. The damage done at the battle was great. Muawiya lost 45,000 men and 25,000 men were killed on the side of Imam Ali (A).

THE BATTLE OF NAHRAWAN
After the unsatisfactory conclusion to the Battle of Siffin, Imam Ali (A) returned with his army back to Kufa on the 13th of Safar 37 A.H. During the march, a group of 12,000 men kept themselves at a distance from the main part of the army.
The group was furious at the way things had ended at Siffin. These were the Kharjites (Kharjite means one who rebels against religion). They were the same people who had put down their weapons on the battlefield. Now they said that Imam Ali (A) had betrayed Islam by agreeing to the truce and should have referred judgement to the Holy Qur'an alone or continued to fight. They demanded that he repent for this great sin.
When the army neared Kufa, the Kharjites camped at a village named Harura. They started saying that all Muslims were equal and nobody could rule over the other. In this way, they denounced both Imam Ali (A) and Muawiya and said that their belief was in
"La Hukma Illa Lillah", meaning, "No Rulership except by Allah alone."
Imam Ali (A) went to their camp and tried to explain to them that they were misunderstanding the words "La Hukma Illa Lillah", and that in accepting the arbitration (peace talks) at Siffin, he had not gone against the teachings of the Holy Qur'an.
He pointed out that they themselves were at fault, because they should never have laid down their arms and forced him to call back Malike Ashtar, who was at the point of securing victory. He reminded them that they had pressed for the arbitration and had forced him to appoint Abu Musa Ash'ari as their representative. He told them that he found their present behaviour very strange, considering their involvement in Siffin. To this they admitted that they had sinned but now they had repented for it and he should do the same.
Imam Ali (A) replied that he was a true believer and did not have to repent because he had not committed any sin.
The Kharjites refused to accept the words of Imam Ali (A) and awaited the decision of Amr al-Aas and Abu Musa Ash'ari. When they learnt of the decision they decided to revolt, and they set up their headquarters at Nahrawan, a few miles from Baghdad. Some people came from Basra to join the rebels.
Meanwhile, Imam Ali (A) received news that trouble was brewing in Nahrawan. He was involved in raising another army to march against Muawiya and wrote to the Kharjites that it was high time they joined his army. However, the Kharjites insultingly wrote back that they would think about it when he repented for his mistake at Siffin.
Imam Ali (A) had already started towards Muawiya when he received the news that the Kharjites had raided the town of Mada'in but had been repelled back to their camp. They were now committing horrible crimes around Nahrawan and killing all those who did not accept their viewpoint.
There was a danger that the Kharjites might attack Kufa while Imam Ali (A) and his men were marching towards Muawiya, so Imam Ali (A) decided to stop them. He changed his course eastward, crossed the river Tigris and approached Nahrawan.
Imam Ali (A) sent a messenger to the Kharjites demanding that those people who had murdered innocent Muslims around their camp should be surrendered. The Kharjites replied that they were all equally responsible for killing these sinners.
There was some reluctance in the army of Imam Ali (A) to fight the Kharjites, because they had been their companions against Muawiya at Siffin. Imam Ali (A) himself did not desire the bloodshed of these misguided fanatics, so he placed his battle standard outside their camp and announced that all those who gathered around it or returned to their homes would be safe.
This announcement had the desired effect and most of the Kharjites began to leave. In the end, only a core of 1,800 die-hards were left under the command of Abdallah bin Wahab. These Kharjites swore that they would fight Imam Ali (A) at any cost.
The Kharjites attacked Imam Ali's (A) army with desperate courage. However, they did not stand a chance against the superior army that faced them and they were all killed except nine men. These nine managed to flee to Basra and elsewhere, where they spread the fire of their hatred and recruited more followers. Three years later, in 40 A.H., it was the Kharjites who sent out three assassins to kill Imam Ali (A), Muawiya and Amr al-Aas. The latter two survived but Imam Ali (A) was martyred following Ibne Muljam's cowardly attack in the mosque of Kufa.
Having disposed of the Kharjites at Nahrawan, Imam Ali (A) resumed his march to Syria. However, the chiefs of his followers urged him to stop at Kufa to let the men rest before the long journey and to enable the army to repair their weapons and armours. Imam Ali (A) agreed to this request and camped at Nukhayla outside Kufa. The soldiers were allowed to leave the camp for a day.
On the next day, hardly any men returned and at length, Imam Ali (A) entered Kufa and gave a stern sermon to the people. However, nobody came forward and finally, Imam Ali (A) turned away from them in disappointment. The Syrian expedition was abandoned, never to be resumed.