First Fitna
Part of the Islamic Civil Wars
Region under the control of the Rashidun (Ali ibn Abi Talib)   Region under the control of Muawiyah I   Region under the control of Amr ibn al-As
Date 656 – 661 Location Arabian peninsula Result Rebellion successful, peace treaty signed; Muawiya I begins the Umayyad dynasty
Belligerents
Rashidun Caliphate	Aisha's forces Muawiya's forces
Commanders and leaders
Ali ibn Abi Talib Malik al-Ashtar	Aisha bint Abu Bakr Talha ibn Ubayd-Allah Zubair ibn al-Awam Muawiya I 'Amr ibn al-'As[b]
The Kharijites were a portion of Ali's supporters that defected and later opposed both parties.

[show] v  t  e First Islamic Civil War

[show] v  t  e Civil Wars of the Early Caliphates

The First Islamic Civil War (656–661), also called the First Fitna (Arabic: فتنة مقتل عثمان, translit.: Fitnat Maqtal Uthmān "The Fitna of the killing of Uthman"), was the first major civil war within the Islamic Caliphate. It arose as a result of the death of the previous Caliph Uthman.

The Fitna began as a series of revolts fought against Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth of the Sunni Rightly Guided Caliphs and first Imam of Shia'a. It was caused by the controversial assassination of his predecessor, Uthman Ibn Affan. It lasted for the entirety of Ali's reign, and its end is marked byMuawiyah's assumption of the caliphate (founding the Umayyad dynasty), and the subsequent recorded peace treaty between him and Hassan ibn Ali.

Background[edit]

The Islamic State expanded very quickly under Muhammad and the first three caliphs. Local populations of Jews and indigenous Christians, marginalized as religious minorities and taxed heavily to finance the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars, often aided Muslims to take over their lands from the Byzantines and Persians, resulting in exceptionally speedy conquests.^[1][2]As new areas joining the Islamic State, they also benefited from free trade while trading with other areas in the Islamic State; so as to encourage commerce, in Islam trade is not taxed, wealth is taxed.^[3] The Muslims paid Zakat on their wealth to the poor. Since theConstitution of Medina was drafted by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the Jews and the Christians continued to use their own laws in the Islamic State and had their own judges.^[4][5][6] Therefore they only paid for policing for the protection of their property. To assist in the quick expansion of the state, the Byzantine and the Persian tax collection systems were maintained and the people paid a poll tax lower than the one imposed under the Byzantines and the Persians. Before Muhammad united the Arabs, the Arabs had been divided and the Byzantines and the Sassanid had their own client tribes that they used to pay to fight on their behalf.

In 639 Muawiyah I was appointed the Governor of Syria by Umar after his elder brother Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan (Governor of Syria) died in a plague, along with Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah (the Governor before him) and 25,000 other people. To stop the Byzantine harassment from the sea during the Arab-Byzantine Wars, in 649 Muawiyah set up a navy, manned by Monophysitise Christians, Copts andJacobite Syrian Christians sailors and Muslim troops. This resulted in the defeat of the Byzantine navy at the Battle of the Masts in 655, opening up the Mediterranean.^{[7][8][9][10][11]} 500 Byzantine ships were destroyed in the battle, and Emperor Constans II was almost killed. Under the instructions of the caliph Usman ibn al-Affan, Muawiyah then prepared for the siege of Constantinople.

The rapid Muslim conquest of Syria and Egypt and the consequent Byzantine losses in manpower and territory meant that the Eastern Roman Empire found itself struggling for survival. The Sassanid Dynasty in Persia had already collapsed.

The Quran and Muhammad talked about racial equality and justice as in The Farewell Sermon.^{[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]} Tribal and nationalistic differences were discouraged. But after Muhammad's passing the old tribal differences between the Arabs started to resurface. Following the Roman–Persian Wars and the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars deep rooted differences between Iraq, formerly under the Persian Sassanid Empire and Syria, formerly under the Byzantine Empire, also existed. Each wanted the capital of the newly established Islamic State to be in their area.^[19] Previously, the second caliph Umar was very firm on the governors and his spies kept an eye on them. If he felt that a governor or a commander was becoming attracted to wealth or did not meet the required administrative standards, he had him removed from his position.^[20]

Early Muslim armies stayed in encampments away from cities because Umar feared that they might get attracted to wealth and luxury. In the process, they might get away from the worship of God and start accumulating wealth and establishing dynasties.^{[21][22][23][24]}"Wealth and children are [but] adornment of the worldly life. But the enduring good deeds are better to your Lord for reward and better for [one's] hope." Quran 18:46 ^[25] "O you who have believed, let not your wealth and your children divert you from remembrance of Allah. And whoever does that - then those are the losers." Quran 63:9 ^[26] Staying in these encampments away from the cities also ensured that there was no stress on the population, and also that the populations remained autonomous and kept their own judges and representatives. Some of these encampments later grew into cities themselves, like Basra and Kufa in Iraq and Fustat in Egypt.^[27]Some cities also had agreements with the Muslims, such as during the Siege of Jerusalem in 637 CE.

As Usman ibn al-Affan became very old, Marwan I, a relative of Muawiyah I, slipped into the vacuum and became his secretary, slowly assuming more control and relaxing some of these restrictions. Marwan I had previously been excluded from positions of responsibility.Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, the son of Abu Bakr and the adopted son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muhammad bin Abi Hudhaifa, the adopted son of Usman, had no senior positions.

The most controversial governor Usman appointed was Waleed ibn Uqba, his half-brother, as the governor of the city of Kufa^[28] In the year 30 AH (after Hijra), 650 AD, many Muslims living in the city of Kufa were angered over Waleed's actions. ^[29][30] Waleed ibn Uqba was then removed and replaced with Sa'id ibn al-As, as the governor in Kufa, in Iraq.

Family tree of some of the people involved[edit]

`Abd Manaf ibn Qusai

Abd Shams

Hashim ibn 'Abd Manaf

Umayya

Abdul Mutallib

Abu'l-As

Harb

`Abd Allah

Abu Talib

`Abbas(Abbasids)

Safiya

Affan

Hakam

Abu Sufyan

Muhammad

Ali

`Abd Allah ibn `Abbas

Zubayr ibn al-Awam

Uthman ibn Affan

Marwan I

Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan

Muawiyah I

Hasan ibn Ali

Hussein ibn Ali

Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr also Abu Bakr's grandson

Yazid I (Yazid ibn Muawiyah)

^[31]

Sabaites, Qurra and the Kharijities[edit]

Islamic empire expanded at an unprecedented rate, but there was a cost associated with this high rate of expansion. Many desert nomads and some bandits living between current day Iraq and Saudi Arabia also joined in, not out of commitment to Islam, but to share the spoils and benefit from the change in the social order, after the defeat of the Persian Empire. ^[32]

The Qur'an and Muhammad talked about racial equality and justice as in the The Farewell Sermon.^{[33][34][35][36][37][38][39]} Tribal and nationalistic differences were discouraged. But after Muhammad's passing the old tribal differences between the Arabs started to resurface.

Roman–Persian Wars Timeline
	Roman–Parthian Wars
69 BC	First Roman-Parthian contacts, whenLucullus invaded Southern Armenia.
66–65 BC	Dispute between Pompey and Phraates IIIover Euphrates boundary
53 BC	Roman defeat at the Battle of Carrhae
42–37 BC	A great Parthian invasion of Syria, and other Roman territories was decisively defeated by Mark Antony and Ventidius
36–33 BC	Unsuccessful campaign of Mark Antony against Parthia. Subsequent campaign in Armenia successful, but followed by withdrawal — the whole region passed under Parthian control.
20 BC	Settlement with the Parthians by Augustusand Tiberius — Return of the standards captured at Carrhae.
36 AD	Defeated by the Romans, Artabanus IIrenounced his claims to Armenia.
58–63 AD	Roman invasion of Armenia — arrangement with the Parthians over the kingship of Armenia.
114–117 AD	Major campaign of Trajan against Parthia — Trajan's conquests later abandoned byHadrian.
161–165 AD	War over Armenia (161–163) ended by a Roman victory after initial Parthian successes Avidius Cassius sacked Ctesiphon in 165 AD.
195–197 AD	An offensive under the emperor Septimius Severus led to the Roman acquisition of northern Mesopotamia.
216–217 AD	Caracalla launched a new war against the Parthians — His successor Macrinus was defeated by the Parthians near Nisibis.
	Roman–Sassanid Wars
230–232 AD	Ardashir I raided Mesopotamia and Syria, but was finally repulsed by Alexander Severus.
238–244 AD	Ardashir's invasion of Mesopotamia, and Persian defeat at the Battle of Resaena. Gordian III advanced down the Euphrates but was repelled near Ctesiphon at the Battle of Misiche in 244.
253 AD	Roman defeat at the Battle of Barbalissos.
c. 258–260 AD	Shapur I defeated and captured Valerian atEdessa.
283 AD	Carus sacked Ctesiphon.
296–298 AD	Roman defeat at Carrhae in 296 or 297. In 298 Galerius defeated the Persians.
363 AD	After an initial victory at the Ctesiphon, Julianwas killed at the Battle of Samarra.
384 AD	Shapur III and Theodosius I divided Armenia between the two states.
421–422 AD	Roman reaction to Bahram's persecution ofChristian Persians.
440 AD	Yazdegerd II raided Roman Armenia.
502–506 AD	Anastasian War: It broke out whenAnastasius I refused to financially support the Persians, and ended with a 7-year peace-treaty.
526–532 AD	Iberian War: Roman victories at Dara andSatala, and defeat at Callinicum — end of the war with the "Treaty of Eternal Peace".
540–561 AD	Lazic War: It broke out when the Persians broke the "Treaty of Eternal Peace" invading Syria — end of the war in 561 with the signing of a 50-year peace and the Roman acquisition of Lazica.
572–591 AD	War for the Caucasus: It broke out when the Armenians revolted against Sassanid rule. In 589 the Persian general Bahram Chobinraised a rebellion against Hormizd IV. Restoration of Khosrau II, Hormizd's son, to power by Roman and Persian forces — Restoration of Roman rule in northern Mesopotamia (Dara, Martyropolis) and expansion into Iberia and Armenia.
602 AD	After Maurice's assassination, Khosrau II conquered Mesopotamia.
611–623 AD	The Persians conquered Syria, Palestine,Egypt, Rhodes, and entered Anatolia.
626 AD	Unsuccessful Avar-Persian siege of Constantinople
627 AD	Persian defeat at Nineveh.
629 AD	Heraclius restored the True Cross toJerusalem, after the Persians agreed to withdraw from all occupied territories.

Before Islam, the Roman-Persian Wars and the Byzantine–Sasanian wars had occurred every few years for hundreds of years between 69 BC and 629 AD. High taxes were imposed on the populations in both the Byzantine Roman and Sassanid Persian empires to finance these wars. There was also continuous bloodshed of the people during these wars. The Arab tribes in Iraq were paid by the Persian Sassanids to act as mercenaries. While the Arab tribes in Syria were paid by the Byzantine to act as their mercenaries. The Persians maintained an Arab satellite state of Lakhm and the Byzantine Empire maintained the Arab satellite state of Ghassan which they used to fight each other.^[40] The Syrians and the Iraqis had been fighting each other for centuries. Therefore later, each wanted the capital of the newly established Islamic State to be in their area.^[41] Later others like the Lakhm Arabs, many of whom became the Qurra, also wanted to rule Persia.

Sects started to form, among them the Sabaites named after Abdala Ben Saba^[42]

At-Tabri (5:66) reported that when a man called "Abdullah ibn Saba" came to Syria, he met Adu Dharr. He Said "Adu Dharr, aren't you amazed at Muawiya saying, "The property is the property of Allah. Doesn't everything belong to Allah?' It seems he means to cut it off from the Muslims and erase the name of the Muslims!" Adu Dharr therefore went to him and said "What leads you to call the property of the Muslims the property of Allah?" Muawiya said "May Allah have mercy on you, Adu Dharr! Are we not the slaves of Allah and all property is His property and all creation is His creation and all the affair is His affair?" Abu Dharr said "Do not say that." Muawiya said "I do not say that it does not belong to Allah, but I say, 'The property of the Muslims'" Adbullah ibn Saba came back to Abu Dharr who them said to him "Who are you? By Allah, I think that you are a Jew." Then Ibn Saba went to Abdullah ibn as-Samit and attempted to make his discontented. 'Adbullah took him to Muawiya and said "By Allah this is one who sent Abu Dharr to you".

There is also Jewish literature from that time, regarding Adbullah ibn Saba. Much of the Jewish literature on Adbullah ibn Saba from that time regards Adbullah ibn Saba as an apostate from Judaism and asks Jews to keep away from him.^{[43][44][45][46]}

There was also the movement towards more autonomous tribal groupings which was particularly strong in Kufa, in Iraq, they wanted to rule their own states. Amongst them developed a group called the Qurra who later became known as the Kharijities.^[47][48]

The Qurra are referenced in many Hadith from the period of Muhammad, Abu Bakr and Umar in Sahih Al Bukhari (Volume 6, Book 60, Number 201 and Volume 6, Book 61, Number 509 and Volume 8, Book 75, Number 403):

The Qurra had taken part in the Battle of Yamama. But the Qurra never listened to orders and would start battles even when they were ordered not to and were heavily out numbered. At Yamamah, Khalid ibn al-Walid wrote to them and Ikrimah to just observe the forces of Musaylimah at Yamamah, and told them not to start fighting until he had arrived. Shurahbil bin Hasanah was also dispatched to assist them. But even though they were heavily out numbered, they disobeyed their orders and started a battle and as a result suffered heavy casualties. They later disobeyed orders and started the Battle of the Camel and the Battle of Saffin and did the same against Ali in the Battle of Nahrawan even through they were heavily out numbered.^[49]

Sahih Al Bukhari Volume 6, Book 60, Number 201 : Narrated by Zaid bin Thabit Al-Ansari

"...Abu Bakr sent for me after the (heavy) casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of qurra' were killed). 'Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said, 'Umar has come to me and said, The people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle of) Yamama, and I am afraid that there will be more casualties among the qurra' at other battle-fields ...

Sahih Al Bukhari Volume 9, Book 92, Number 386 : Narrated by Hammam

Hudhaifa said, "O the Group of Al-qurra! Follow the straight path, for then you have taken a great lead (and will be the leaders), but if you divert right or left, then you will go astray far away."

Al-Masudi calls them the "ahl al-qar wa l-ashraf" The earliest reference to these people are as Ajl al-Qura, the people of the village, those who fought with Abu Bakr against the desert tribes of Yamama during the Ridda when some of the tribes refused to pay taxes.^[50][51][52] The Qurra had political and economic interests that were different from those of Ali or Muawiyah. They had served in the Ridda wars and had been granted trusteeship over some of the lands in Sawad in Iraq and were now called Ahl al Ayyam, those who had taken part in the eastern conquests.^[53][54] They then became known as the Qurra and received the highest stipend of the Muslim army, the sharaf al ata and they had the use of the best lands which they came to regard as their private domain. The Qurra received stipends varying between 2,000 and 3,000 dirhams, while the majority of the rest of the troops received only 250 to 300 dirhams. The other Ridda tribesmen in Kufa, in Iraq, resented the special position given to the Qurra. The tension between the Ridda tribesmen and the Qurra threatened the Qurra's newly acquired prestige. The Qurra therefore felt obliged to defend their position in the new but rapidly changing society. Uthman's policies of reducing their status threatened their interests.^{[55][56][57][58]}

The Qurra were mainly based in Kufa, in Iraq.^[59][60] They had not been involved in Syria. But later when Uthman declined to give them more lands in Persia^[59][61] they felt that their status was being reduced and therefore started to cause trouble.^[59][62] He also removed the distinction between the Ridda and pre-Ridda tribesmen which was not to their liking and lessened their prestige.^[63][64][65]

The Qurra had previously been desert nomads and some were also bandits and had joined to Muslims so that they could gain lands and status and become the new aristocrats in Iraq^[66] But later when Uthman imposed restrictions on them and prevented them from becoming landlords in Iran they rebelled.^{[67][68][59][69]}

Some of the people with their tribal names as Qurra had been expelled from Kufa, in Iraq, for fomenting trouble and were sent to Muawiyah in Syria. Muawiyah then said to them:

"You are people from the Arabs. You have importance and are heard. You have obtained nobility by Islam. You have conquered the nations and you have won their positions and their inheritance. I have heard that you resent the Quraysh. If it had not been for the Quraysh, you would have been considered abased as you were before, However, they are still your Imams today and your shelter, so do not impede your shelter. Your Imamns are patient with you in the face of your injustice and endure the trouble that you cause. By Allah, either you will cease or Allah will try you with someone who will be hard on you. Then you will share with them in what you brough about on the populace while you were alive and after your death. "^[70]

The Qurra Arabs had previously been desert nomads and bandits. One of them then spoke with great arrogance and said to Muawiyah

"How much you go on about authority and the Quraysh! The Arabs (meaning they the Qurra) were eating from the hilts of their swords while the Quraysh were nothing but merchants!" He then said "As for the shelter you mentioned, when the shelter is pierced, then come to us" meaning that they will remove the Quraysh and will rule them selves.^[71]

Muawiyah then said to him "I remind you by Islam and yet you mention the Jahiliyya (meaning their days before Islam)"^[72]

Muawiyah then wrote to Uthman saying: "Some people have come to me who have neither intellect nor deen (faith). Islam is burdensome to them and justice vexes them. They do not aim for Allah in anything nor do they speak by any proof. They are busy with sedition and appropriating the property of the non Muslims. Allah is the One who will test and try them. Then He will be the One to disgrace them and humiliate them. They are those who injure people."^[73]

Then they were sent to Abdur r Rahman ibn Khalid ibn Walid. He said to them:

"Tools of Shaytan! You have no welcome! Shaytan has returned in sorrow and yet you are still active! May Allah disappoint Abdur Rahman if he does not discipline you until he makes you feel regret! O company of a people whom I do not know to be Arab or non Arab, you will not say to me what I heard you said to Muawiyah! I am the son of Khalid ibn al-Walid. I am the son of the one who was tested by the teeth. I am the son of the one who knocked out the Ridda!" ^[74] He mentioned the Ridda and not the defeat of the Byzantine or the Persian because he recognized that these people were an internal threat.^[75] The Qurra had previously fought in the Ridda wars alongside Khalid ibn al-Walid but now had political and economic interests that were different from the rest of the Muslims.

Abdur r Rahman ibn Khalid ibn Walid then sent them to Uthman in Madina. In Madina they took an oath that they will not cause trouble and following the example of Muhammad, Uthman accepted their word and let them go.^[76] They then split up and went to various different Muslim centers and started fomenting rebellion, particularly in Egypt.^[77]

In the best selling book, Shadow of the sword, The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World, Tom Holland writes ^[78]"Uthman was not content to divide up the loot of the old empires in the time-honoured manner of a bandit chieftain sharing out plunder after a successful raid. The Arabs, so it seemed to the new Amir had moved on from that. The conquerors, if they were to make best use of the defeated superpowers bureaucracies, would themselves have to accept certain disciplines: a central administration, not least, and a clear-cut chain of command. Precisely the marks of slavery, in short, that the desert Arabs had always derided."

The Qurra then felt that Abu Musa al_Ashari could look after their interests better. Sa'id ibn al-As, the governor in Kufa, in Iraq, then wrote to Uthman "I have no power at all over Kufa with Al-Ashtar and his friends who are called al-qurra, and they are idiots" ^[79] In 655/634 the Qurra stopped Uthans governor Sa'id ibn al-As at Jara'a, preventing him from entering Kufa and declared Abu Musa al-Ashari to be their governor. (Later the Qurra proposed Abu Musa al_Ashari as the arbitrator against the wished of Ali after the Battle of Saffin because they felt that he could also better represent their interests there and split away from Ali and became officially known as the Khawarij.)^[80]

In 656, The Qurra approached Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr the son of Abu Bakr and the adopted son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and the great grandfather of Ja'far al-Sadiq and asked him why he was not a governor. They had fought under the service of his father in the Ridda wars. They also asked Uthman's adopted son, Muhammad bin Abi Hudhaifa, who Uthman had refused to appoint as a governor of any province, why he was not a governor.

There were references to these people in earlier texts too. Abū Dharr narrated that Muhammad said: Aḥmad, Muslim, and Ibn Mājah

“There will definitely be a people after me from my nation who recite the Quran yet it will not even reach beyond their throats. They will pass through the religion as an arrow passes through a target, then they will not return back to it. They are the worst of people, the worst of all creatures.” ^[81]

al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Nasā`ī all recorded a Ḥadīth from Abū Sa’īd al- Khudrī ( رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ ) that he said: ‘Alī ( رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ ) sent some gold to the prophet ( صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم ) so divided and distributed it among four groups: al-Aqra’ Ibn Ḥābis al-Ḥanẓalī, al-Mujāshi’ī, ‘Uyaynah Ibn Badr al-Fazārī, and Zayd al-Ṭā`ī; a man from the Nabhān tribe and ‘Alqamah Ibn ‘Ulāthah al-‘Āmirī; then a man from the Kilāb tribe. (The Muslims of) Quraysh and the residents of Medina became upset and said, “He gives to the noble one from Najd and leaves us?” The prophet ( صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم ) said: إِنَّمَا أَتَأَلَّفُهُمْ “I am only trying to unite their hearts.” Then a man with sunken eyes, thick cheeks, a high forehead, a thick beard, and a shaven head came up and said, “Fear Allah, Muhammad!” He replied: مَنْ يُطِعْ اللَّهَ إِذَا عَصَيْتُ؟ أَيَأْمَنُنِي اللَّهُ عَلَى أَهْلِ الأَرْضِ فَلا تَأْمَنُونِي؟ “Who would obey Allah if I were disobedient (to Him)? Allah trusts me with regards to the people of the earth but you don’t trust me?” ^[82] After the man left, he said: إِنَّ مِنْ ضِئْضِئِ هَذَا أَوْ فِي عَقِبِ هَذَا قَوْمًا يَقْرَءُونَ الْقُرْآنَ لا يُجَاوِزُ حَنَاجِرَهُمْ يَمْرُقُونَ مِنْ الدِّينِ مُرُوقَ السَّهْمِ مِنْ الرَّمِيَّةِ يَقْتُلُونَ أَهْلَ الإِسْلامِ وَيَدَعُونَ أَهْلَ الأَوْثَانِ لَئِنْ أَنَا أَدْرَكْتُهُمْ لأَقْتُلَنَّهُمْ قَتْلَ عَادٍ “From the progeny of this man,” or he said, “From the offspring of this man, there will come a people who will recite the Quran but it will not go beyond their throats. They will go through the religion like a arrow going through a target. They will murder the people of Islam while ignoring the people of idol-worship. If I were to reach them (their time), I would destroy them like the people of ‘Ād were destroyed.” ^[83]

Some modern scholars like R. E. Brunnow trace the origins of the Qurra and the Kharitites back to Bedouin stock and desert tribesmen, who had become soldiers not out of commitment to Islam but to share the spoils. Brunnow held that the Kharijites were Bedouin Arabs (Beduinenaraber) or full blooded Arabs.^[84]

As Muawiyah and Caliph Uthman were preparing to besiege Constantinople, in 656, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, the son of Abu Bakr and the adopted son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, and the great grandfather of Ja'far al-Sadiq, showed some Egyptians the house of Uthman ibn al-Affan. Later, the Egyptians ended up killing Uthman ibn al-Affan.^[85] Muawiyah had asked Caliph Uthman ibn Affan if he could send guards to defend him, but Caliph Uthman ibn Affan refused, saying: "I do not want to spill the blood of Muslims to save my own neck."

Finding the gate of Uthman's house strongly guarded by his supporters, the Qurra climbed the back wall and sneaked inside, leaving the guards on the gate unaware of what was going on inside. Hassan and Hussein were also guarding Uthman at the time. ^[86] The rebels entered his room and struck blows at his head.^[87]

According to Encyclopedia of Islam, Muawiyah sent a relief force led by Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri to protect Uthman, but events moved so fast that Uthman got killed before they arrived, so they turned back from the wadi I kura ^{[88][89][90][91]} According to al-Baladhuri one of the earliest books of these events, Ali was furious and slapped Hassan and Hussein saying "How did he get killed when you were at the door?"^[92]

Ali was then asked by the people in Madina to become the Caliph.

When Uthman was killed, the people went to Ali and said:

"This man is killed. The public have to have a leader. No one we have found more deserving to the position than you! You are the oldest in the faith and the nearest to the prophet by relationship."

"Leave me and seek some one else. We are facing a matter which has (several) faces and colours, which neither hearts can stand nor intelligence can accept. Clouds are hovering over the sky, and faces are not discernible. You should know that if I respond to you I would lead you as I know and would not care about whatever one may say or abuse. If you leave me then I am the same as you are. It is possible I would listen to and obey whomever you make in charge of your affairs. I am better for you as a counsellor than as chief."^[93]

Ali later wrote in a letter "I did not approach the people to get their oath of allegiance but they came to me with their desire to make me their Amir (ruler). I did not extend my hands towards them so that they might swear the oath of allegiance to me but they themselves extended their hands towards me".^[94]

Ali then assumed the position of caliph. Ali was very religious and had worked very well in partnership with Umar as his advisor. Umar had consulted him on all the major issues. Ali had also been the chief judge in Madina. But unlike many of the other companions of Muhammad, Ali had not been involved in the camel caravan trade and had less business and administrative experience.

A few years earlier there had been tensions between Iraq, formerly under the Persian Sassanid Empire and Syria, formerly under theByzantine Empire, during the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars. The Roman-Persian Wars and the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars wars had lasted for hundreds of years. The Iraqis wanted the capital of the newly established Islamic State to be in Kufa. They convinced Ali to come to Kufa and establish the capital in Kufa.^[95]

Muawiyah I the governor of Syria, a relative of Uthman ibn al-Affan and Marwan I wanted the culprits arrested. Marwan I and the rebels in Ali's army manipulated everyone and created conflict.

Sunni view of Usman[edit]

According to the Sunni account of Usman, he was married to two of Muhammad’s daughters at separate times, earning him the name Zun-Nurayn (Dhun Nurayn) or the "Possessor of Two Lights.". In this he was supposed to outrank Ali, who had married only one of Muhammad's daughters.

Sunni Muslims also consider Usman as one of the ten Sahaba (companions) for whom Muhammad had testified that they were destined for Paradise . He was a wealthy and very noble man. When he became khalifa, he used the same method Umar did.

Usman is regarded by Sunnis as a beacon of light who refused to participate in the civil conflict.

Before hostilities[edit]

Talhah and Zubeir asked Ali the permission for pilgrimage. He let them and they departed. The Medina people wanted to know Ali’s point of view about war against Muslims by asking his view about Muawiyah I and his opposition. So they sent Ziyad Ben Hanzalah of Tamim who was an intimate friend to Ali. He went to him and sat for a while. Then Ali said:

"Get ready, Ziyad!"

"What for?"

"To fight the Syrians."

"Better to wait and tolerate."

Then Ziayd recited a poem:

"One who doesn’t tolerate

"He will be torn by the teeth

"And will be smashed by the feet"

Unconsciously recited another poem:

"When a wake heart and a brave sword and brain

Are gathered, then you will be safe from the oppression"

Then Ziyad came out to the people waiting for his conclusion. They asked:

"What happened? What is he going to do?"

Ziyad only said:

"You people! Sword!!"

And they understood what Ali was going to do.

He went back and told the people in Madina. In Madina, Marwan manipulated people. In Iraq many people hated the Syrians following the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars. Some of Ali's supporters were also very extreme in their views and considered everyone to be their enermy. They also felt that if there was peace, they would be arrested for the killing of Uthman.^[96] Many of them later became theKharijites and eventually killed Ali.

Aisha (Aisha bint Abu Bakr) (Muhammad's widow), Talhah (Talha ibn Ubayd-Allah) and Zubayr ibn al-Awam (Abu ‘Abd Allah Zubayr ibn al-Awwam) then went to Iraq to ask Ali to arrest Uthman ibn Affan killers, not to fight Muawiyah.^[97][98]

Battle of the Camel[edit]

Talhah, Al-Zubayr, and Muhammad's wife Aisha bint Abu Bakr gathered in Mecca and then went to Basra.

Some chieftains of the Kufa tribes contacted their tribes living in Basra.^[99] A Chieftain contacted Ali to settle the matter.^[100] Ali did not want to fight and he agreed.^[101] He then contacted Aisha and spoke to her,^[102] "Is it not wise to shed the blood of five thousand for the punishment of five hundred"^[103] She agreed to settle the matter.^[104] Ali then met Talha and Zubair and told them about the prophecy of Muhammad. Ali's cousin Zubair said to Ali "What a tragedy that the Muslims who had acquired the strength of a rock are going to be smashed by colliding with one another".^[96] Both Talha and Zubair did not want to fight and left the field. Everyone was happy, but not the people who had killed Uthman and the supporters of Ibn Saba and the Qurra.^[105] They thought that if a settlement was reached, they would not be safe.^[106] The Qurra and the Sabaites launches a night attack and started burning the tents.^[107] Ali was restraining his men but nobody was listening, as every one thought that the other party had committed break of trust. Confusion prevailed throughout the night.^[108] The Qurra and the Sabaites attacked the Umayyads and the fighting started. Qazi K'ab of Basra advised Aysha to mount her camel tell people to stop fighting.^[109] Ali's cousin Zubair, was by then making his way to Medina and he was killed in an adjoining valley by a Sabait ^[110] called Amr ibn Jarmouz. Amr ibn Jarmouz had followed Zubair and murdered him while he was in his prays.^[111] Talhah also left. On seeing this, Marwan who was also manipulating everyone shot Talhah with a poisoned arrow ^[112]saying that he had disgraced his tribe, by leaving the field. ^[113] With the two generals Zubair and Talhah gone confusion prevailing and the Qurra, the Sabaites and the Umayyads fought. ^[114][115] Aisha's brother Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, who was Ali's commander, then approached Aisha. Ali pardoned Aisha and her brother Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr escorted her back to Medina.^[116] Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr was the son of Abu Bakr, the adopted son of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, and the great-grandfather of Ja‘far al-Sadiq. Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr was raised by Ali alongside Hasan and Husein. Hassan also accompanied her part of the way back to Madina. ‘Ali and Aisha were said to have become friends after the battle. Aisha then started teaching in Medina.^[117]

Marwan and some of Ali's supporters who later became the Kawarij caused a lot of the trouble. Marwan was arrested but he later asked Hassan and Hussein for assistance and was released.^[97] Marwan later became an Umayyad ruler, as did his son.

Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr was later killed by the Umayyads in Egypt. His son Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr was then raised and taught by Aisha. Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr's daughter Farwah bint al-Qasim was the mother of Ja'far al-Sadiq. After this battle Marwan and Aisha did not get on.

Al-Zubayr's widow Asma' bint Abu Bakr, the daughter of Abu Bakr the first caliph, and her sons Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and Urwah ibn Zubayr continued to get on well with Ali and held the Kawarij responsible for their father's killing. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr was the second cousin on Hussein and the grandson of Abu Bakr. Many years later Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr confronted the oppressive Umayyadrulers Yazid after Ali's son Hussein ibn Ali was betrayed by the people of Kufa and killed by Syrian Roman Army which was then under the control of Yazid I, an Umayyad ruler.^[118] Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr removed the forces of Yazid from Iraq, southern Arabia, the greater part of Syria, and parts of Egypt. After a lengthy campaign, on his last hour Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr asked his mother Asma' bint Abu Bakr, the daughter of Abu Bakr the first caliph, for advice. Asma' bint Abu Bakr replied to her son, saying:^[119] "You know better in your own self, that if you are upon the truth and you are calling towards the truth go forth, for people more honourable than you have been killed, and if you are not upon the truth, then what an evil son you are and you have destroyed yourself and those who are with you. If you say what you say, that you are upon the truth and you will be killed at the hands of others, then you will not truly be free for this is not the statement of someone who is free... How long will you live in this world, death is more beloved to me than this state you are on, this state of weakness". Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr left and was later also killed and crucified by the Syrian Roman Army now under the control of the Umayyads.

Battle of Siffin[edit]

Ali's inability to punish the murderers of Uthman and Muawiyahs refusal to pledge allegiance eventually led to Ali moved his army north to confront Muawiyah. The two armies encamped themselves at Siffin for more than one hundred days, most of the time being spent in negotiations. Neither side wanted to fight. Then on 11th Safar 37 AH, the Iraqis under Ashtar's command, the Qurra, in Ali's army, who had their own camp started the fighting in earnest which lasted three days. The loss of life was terrible. Suddenly one of the Syrians, Ibn Lahiya, out of dread of the fitna and unable to bear the spectacle rode forward with a copy of the Quran on the ears of his horse to call for judgement by the book of Allah, and the other Syrians followed suit. Everyone on both sides took up the cry, eager to avoid killing their follow Muslims - except for the conspirators. The majority of Ali's followers supported arbitration. Nasr b Muzahim, in one of the earliest source states that al-Ash ath ibn Qays, one of Ali's key supporters and a Kufan, then stood up and said:"O company of Muslims! You have seen what happened in the day which has passed. In it some of the Arabs have been annihilated. By Allah, I have reached the age which Allah willed that I reach. but I have never ever seen a day like this. Let the present convey to the absent! If we fight tomorrow, it will be the annihilation of the Arabs and the loss of what is sacred. I do not make this statement out of fear of death, but I am an aged man who fears for the women and children tomorrow if we are annihilated. O Allah, I have looked to my people and the people of my deen and not empowered anyone. There is no success except by Allah. On Him I rely and to Him I return. Opinion can be both right and wrong. When Allah decides a matter, He carries it out whether His servants like it or not. I say this and I ask Allah's forgiveness for me and you." Then, Nasr b Muzahim says people looked at Muawiya who said "He is right, by the Lord. If we meet tomorrow the Byzantines will attack our women and children and the people of Persia will attack the women and children of Iraq. Those with forebearance and intelligence see this. Tie the copies of the Quran to the ends of the spears". So the fighting stopped.^[120]

Every time Ali tried to negotiate the Qurra and the Sabait started wars and launched night attacks, fearing that if there was peace, then they will be arrested.^[121]

Appointment of Arbitrators[edit]

It was decided that the Syrians and the residents of Kufa, in Iraq, should nominate an arbitrator, each to decide between Ali and Muawiya. The Syrians choice fell on Amr bin al-A'as who was the rational soul and spokesman of Muawiya. 'Amr ibn al-'As was one of the generals involved in expelling the Romans from Syria and also expelled the Romans from Egypt.^[122] A few years earlier 'Amr ibn al-'As with 9,000 men in Palestine had found him self confronting Heraclius' 100,000 army until Khalid crossed the Syrian desert from Iraq to assist him.^[123] He was a highly skilled negotiator and had previously been used in negotiations with the Heraclius the Roman Emperor.^[124] Ali wanted Malik Ashtar or Abdullah bin Abbas to be appointed as an arbitrator for the people of Kufa, Iraq, but the Qurra strongly demurred, alleging that men like these two were, indeed, responsible for the war and, therefore, ineligible for that office of trust. They nominated Abu Musa al-Ashari as their arbitrator. (During the time of Uthman, they had appointed Abu Musa al-Ashari as the Governor of Kufa and removed Uthams governor before they started fighting Uthman) Ali found it expedient to agree to this choice in order to ward off bloody dissensions in his army. According to "Asadul Ghaba", Ali had, therefore, taken care to personally explain to the arbitrators, "You are arbiters on condition that you decide according to the Book of God, and if you are not so inclined you should not deem yourselves to be arbiters."^[125]

The Iraqis under Ali and the Syrians under Muawiyah were not split over their faith ^[126] but over when to bring the people who killed Uthman to justice. Ali also wanted to bring them to justice but the dispute was over the timing.

According to early Shia sources Ali later wrote:^[126]

"The thing began in this way: We and the Syrians were facing each other while we had common faith in one Allah, in the same Prophet (s) and on the same principles and canons of religion. So far as faith in Allah and the Holy Prophet (s) was concerned we never wanted them (the Syrians) to believe in anything over and above or other than what they were believing in and they did not want us to change our faith. Both of us were united on these principles. The point of contention between us was the question of the murder of Uthman. It had created the split. They wanted to lay the murder at my door while I am actually innocent of it.

I advised them that this problem cannot be solved by excitement. Let the excitement subside, let us cool down; let us do away with sedition and revolt; let the country settle down into a peaceful atmosphere and when once a stable regime is formed and the right authority is accepted, then let this question be dealt with on the principles of equity and justice because only then the authority will have power enough to find the criminals and to bring them to justice. They refused to accept my advice and said that they wanted to decide the issue on the point of the sword.

When they thus rejected my proposal of peace and kept on sabre rattling threats, then naturally the battle, which was furious and bloody, started. When they saw defeat facing them across the battlefield, when many of them were killed, and many more wounded, then they went down on their knees and proposed the same thing, which I had proposed before the bloodshed had begun.

I accepted their proposal so that their desire might be fulfilled, my intentions of accepting the principles of truth and justice and acting according to these principles might become clear and they might have no cause to complain against me.

Now whoever adheres firmly to the promises made will be the one whose salvation will be saved by Allah and one who will try to go back upon the promises made, will fall deeper and deeper into heresy, error and loss. His eyes will be closed to realities and truth in this world and he will be punished in the next world."^[127]

Encyclopedia of Islam says "According to the non Muslim view the Syrians were winning" ^[128] Either way, neither the Syrians nor the Iraqis wanted to fight and the battle was stopped.

When the arbitrators assembled at Daumet-ul-Jandal, which lay midway between Kufa and Syria and had for that reason been selected as the place for the announcement of the decision, a series of daily meetings were arranged for them to discuss the matters in hand. When the time arrived for taking a decision about the caliphate, Amr bin al-A'as convinced Abu Musa al-Ashari into entertaining the opinion that they should deprive both Ali and Muawiya of the caliphate, and give to the Muslims the right to elect the caliph. Abu Musa al-Ashari also decided to act accordingly. As the time for announcing the verdict approached, the people belonging to both parties assembled. Amr bin al-A'as requested Abu Musa to take the lead in announcing the decision he favoured. Abu Musa al-Ashari agreed to open the proceedings, and said, "We have devised a solution after a good deal of thought and it may put an end to all contention and separatist tendencies. It is this. Both of us remove Ali as well as Muawiya from the caliphate. The Muslims are given the right to elect a caliph as they think best."^[129]

Ali refused to accept the verdict of him stepping down and for an election to be held and found him self technically in breach of his pledge to abide by the arbitration.^{[130][131][132]} This put Ali in a weak position even amongst his own supporters.^[133] The most vociferous opponents of Ali in his camp were the very same people who had forced Ali to appoint their arbitrator, the Qurra who then became known as the Kharijites.^[134] Feeling that Ali could no longer look after their interests ^[59] Also fearing that if there was peace, they could be arrested for the murder of Uthman they broke away from Ali's force, rallying under the slogan, "arbitration belongs to God alone."^[135] The Qurra then became known as the Kharijites ("those who leave"). The Kharijites then started killing other people.

When Ali moved his forces north against Muawiyah in 656, it bought a precious breathing pause for Byzantium, which EmperorConstans II (r. 641–668) used to shore up his defences and initiate a major army reform with lasting effect: the establishment of thethemata, the large territorial commands into which Anatolia, the major contiguous territory remaining to the Empire, was divided. Thethemata would form the backbone of the Byzantine defensive system for centuries to come.^[136]

After the battle of Saffin the Qurra realised that Ali could not safeguard their interests and therefore split off and formed their own Party called the Kharijites and later developed into an anarchist movement ^[137] and plagued successive governments even Harun the Abbasid ruler died fighting the Kharijites ^[138]

They also started killing Ali's supporters. They considered anyone who was not part of their group as an unbeliever.^[139]

In the best selling book, Shadow of the sword, The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World, Tom Holland writes ^[140]"The Kharijites argued a true believer would have trusted his fate not to diplomacy but to ongoing warfare and God will decide." Even though they them selves had put forward their representative and become a party of them selves, so that the negotiations could go in their favor and satisfy their own political and economic interests. Tom Holland says that "they then condemned Ali as an unbeliever, as the man who had strayed from the Strait Path. The fact that he was Muhammad's nephew only confirmed them in their militancy of their egalitarianism; that the true aristocracy was one of piety and not blood. Even a Companion of the Prophet, if he did not pray until he developed marks on his forehead. If he did not look pale and haggard from regular fasting, if he did not live like a lion by day and a monk by night, ranked in the opinion of the Kharijites as no better than an apostate." They then developed even more twisted views. Tom Holland writes "Other Kharijites, so it was reported, might go out and with their swords into the markets while people would stand around not realizing what was happening; they would shout "no judgment except God!" and plunge their blades into whom ever they could reach and go on killing until they them selves were killed.^[141]

In 659 Ali's forces finally moved against the Kharijites and they finally met in the Battle of Nahrawan. Although Ali won the battle, the constant conflict had begun to affect his standing.^[142] Tom Holland writes "Ali won a victory over them as crushing as it was to prove pyrrhic: for all he had done, in effect was to fertilise the soil of Iraq with the blood of their martyrs. Three years later, and there came the inevitable blowback: a Kharijite assassin.".^[143]

The Kharijites caused so much trouble that in both the early Sunni and the early Shia books Ali said:"With regard to me, two categories of people will be ruined, namely he who loves me too much and the love takes him away from rightfulness, and he who hates me too much and the hatred takes him away from rightfulness. The best man with regard to me is he who is on the middle course. So be with him and be with the great majority of Muslims because Allah’s hand of protection is on keeping unity. You should beware of division because the one isolated from the group is a prey to Satan just as the one isolated from the flock of sheep is a prey to the wolf. Beware! Whoever calls to this course [of sectarianism], kill him, even though he may be under this headband of mine."(Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 126)

While dealing with the Iraqis, Ali found it hard to build a disciplined army and effective state institutions to exert control over his areas and as a result later spent a lot of time fighting the Kharijites. As a result, on the Eastern front, Ali found it hard to expand the state.^[144]

Ali was assassinated by Kharijites in 661. On the 19th of Ramadan, while Praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa, Ali was attacked by theKhawarij Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam. He was wounded by ibn Muljam's poison-coated sword while prostrating in the Fajr prayer.^[145]

When Alī was assassinated in 661, Muawiyah, had the largest and the most organized and disciplined force in the Muslim Empire.

Scholars like Wellhausen have argued that the Kharijites when revolting against Ali used the same formula as they had previously applied against Uthman, when they revolted against Uthman.^[146]

Wellhausen argues that for the Kharijite Ali's pact with Muawiyah compromised the Devine Right the same act which caused the insurgencies against Uthman and Muawiya as well.^[147]

Scholars like Wellhausen argue that the Kharijites sprang from the Qurra and they did not start off as a marginal and clandestine sect, but were in full public eye. Wellhausen argues that:^[148]

"Their origins were essentially very different from those of the Abbasid and Fatimid parties. They did not have to resort to conspiracy and widespread propaganda and were not held together by a secret complex organization. They had only principles but these were always well known to the people and attracted supporters without them seeking them".^[149]

M. A. Shaban in his Islamic History A.D. 600-750 (A.H. 132): A new Interpretation (1971) Proclaims that the Qurra were the tribesmen who had the trusteeship of the conquered lands. This means that they shared the wealth and the prestige of the new system. Their special position and prestige in the Sawad in Iraq however was threatened by Uthmans policies. This explains their participation in removing Uthman. Although the policy of Ali was lucrative to the Qurra they realized that the new Caliph's inheritance of a divided community and turmoil would make his unable to protect their newly established economic status. Thus at this stage and during the Battle of Siffin (Ali's weakest moments) the Qurra decided to secede from Ali's coalition and become a party of their own.^[150] In the article entitled "The Emergence of the Kharijites: Religion and the Social Order in Early Islam" (1989) Jeffrey T Kenny has argued that the Kharijites were just one of many factions that emerged from an intricate web of chaning socioeconomic policies in the newly established provinces of the Islamic Empire.^[151]

M. A. Shaban in his book Islamic History A.D. 600-750 (A.H. 132): A new Interpretation (1971) writes the Qurra insisted on choosing Abu Musa al Ashari to be the Iraqi representative after the battle of Siffin despite Ali's vehement objection. Shaban writes that the same Qurra originally insisted on Abu Musa becoming the governor of Kufa and replaced Uthmans governor because Abu Musa had opposed Uthman's policy and therefore had been the choice of the qurra as governor of Kufa, when they expelled Uthmans governor Sa'id b Al-As. Shaban adds that the Qurra tried to turn the negotiations between the Syrians and the Iraqis to their own advantage and that they wished to become a third party in the dispute. Thus it is at this point that the coalition of Ali ended and that the ex-qurra emerged as the Kharijites.^[152]

While Watt argues that the Kharijites were not simply dissatisfied with a particular man or family or economics, rather their dissatisfaction was with the whole social structure which was represented by both Uthman and Ali. In the old way they had freedom in the affairs of the tribe. Now they were in the "super-tribe" of Islam and could not behave as they had behaved previously. They wanted to go back to their old tribal structure where they could glory and boast about their tribe. He writes "Those who had been accustomed to tribal societies missied the security ... provided by the old system; nothing in the new system quite replaced it^[153]

The peace treaty with Hassan[edit]

The Khawarij then grew stronger in Iraq and started speaking ill of Ali.^[154] After the battle of the Camel, Aisha and Ali had no bitterness towards each other and got on well. On the other hand after the battle of the Camel Marwan and Aisha did not get on. During the time of Ali, Aishas brother Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr was a commander in Ali's army had also been killed by the Syrian army in Egypt.Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr was the son of Abu Bakr and the adopted son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and was also raised by Uthman and he was the great grandfather of Ja'far al-Sadiq ^[155]

Aisha's other brother Abdul Rahman was also opposed to Marwan and his conduct"^[156] Aisha had deeply regretted going to Basra.^[157]

Ammar bin Yasin and Ushtur went to meet Aisha and she spoke to Ammar. "O Ammar! don't you know that the Prophet had said that it was unlawful to shed the blood of a believer unless he has become apostate and foughts you or is guilty of murder or adultery" She explained that during the battle of the Camel she was talking to Ali when the Qurra had started the battle. The talks had lasted for months. When she heard of the assassination of Ali in Kufa she Said "O God! have mercy of Ali. When anything pleased him he used to say "God and His Apostle are true" The people of Iraq made insinuations against him and exaggerated everything."^[158]

Six months later in 661, in the interest of peace, Hasan ibn Ali, highly regarded for his wisdom and as a peacemaker, the fifth Rightly Guided Caliphs for the Sunnis and the Second Imam for the Shias and the grandson of Muhammad, made a peace treaty with Muawiyah. By now Hassan only ruled the area around Kufa. In the Hasan-Muawiya treaty, Hasan ibn Ali handed over power to Muawiya on the condition that he be just to the people and keep them safe and secure and after his death he does not establish a dynasty.^[159][160] This brought to an end the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs for the Sunnis and Hasan ibn Ali was also the last Imam for the Shias to be a Caliph.

Narrated by Al-Hasan Al-Basri

By Allah, Al-Hasan bin Ali led large battalions like mountains against Muawiya. Amr bin Al-As said (to Muawiya), "I surely see battalions which will not turn back before killing their opponents." Muawiya who was really the best of the two men said to him, "O 'Amr! If these killed those and those killed these, who would be left with me for the jobs of the public, who would be left with me for their women, who would be left with me for their children?" Then Muawiya sent two Quraishi men from the tribe of 'Abd-i-Shams called 'Abdur Rahman bin Sumura and Abdullah bin 'Amir bin Kuraiz to Al-Hasan saying to them, "Go to this man (i.e. Al-Hasan) and negotiate peace with him and talk and appeal to him." So, they went to Al-Hasan and talked and appealed to him to accept peace. Al-Hasan said, "We, the offspring of 'Abdul Muttalib, have got wealth and people have indulged in killing and corruption (and money only will appease them)." They said to Al-Hasan, "Muawiya offers you so and so, and appeals to you and entreats you to accept peace." Al-Hasan said to them, "But who will be responsible for what you have said?" They said, "We will be responsible for it." So, what-ever Al-Hasan asked they said, "We will be responsible for it for you." So, Al-Hasan concluded a peace treaty with Muawiya. Al-Hasan (Al-Basri) said: I heard Abu Bakr saying, "I saw Allah's Apostle on the pulpit and Al-Hasan bin 'Ali was by his side. The Prophet was looking once at the people and once at Al-Hasan bin 'Ali saying, 'This son of mine is a Saiyid (i.e. a noble) and may Allah make peace between two big groups of Muslims through him."^[161]

Hassan had lost many of his close friends, including Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr, who he was raised with, he was also the guard, guarding Uthman the day he was killed. Hassan also had the Kharijites in Iraq to deal with. There are different groups with different economic and political interests and then on top of that the populations in the different areas were very tribal and nationalistic. Hassan skillfully managed to get Muawiyah to deal with the Kharijites. As part of the peace settlement Muawiyah agreed to pay the revenues of the Baitul-Mal public treasury in Kufa to Hassan.^[162] However the people of the district refused to allow their taxes to go towards Hussain, to recompense for their refusal Muawiyah paid Hassan six million Dirhams every year.^[163] Not once did al-Hassan fail to receive the payments from Muawiyah.^[164]

People wanted to avoid another battle like the battle of Siffin where their strong opinions and inflexibly to compromise caused so much trouble.

Sahih Al Bukhari Volume 9, Book 92, Number 411: Narrated by Al-A'mash

I asked Abu Wail, "Did you witness the battle of Siffin between 'Ali and Muawiya?" He said, "Yes," and added, "Then I heard Sahl bin Hunaif saying, 'O people! Blame your personal opinions in your religion. No doubt, I remember myself on the day of Abi Jandal; if I had the power to refuse the order of Allah's Apostle, I would have refused it. We have never put our swords on our shoulders to get involved in a situation that might have been horrible for us, but those swords brought us to victory and peace, except this present situation.' " Abu Wail said, "I witnessed the battle of Siffin, and how nasty Siffin was!"

After the peace treaty with Muawiyah, Ibn Shawdhab is reported to have said that "Hassan hated to fight. his supporters would say to him "O Dishonour of the Believers!" So Hassan would reply to them "Dishonour is better than Hel-fire.".^[165]

After the peace treaty with Hassan the siege of Constantinople[edit]

In the year 661, Muawiyah was crowned as caliph at a ceremony in Jerusalem.^[166]

He came to Madina and spoke to the people, saying, "I desired the way followed by Abu Bakr and 'Umar, but I was unable to follow it, and so I have followed a course with you which contains fortune and benefits for you despite some bias, so be pleased with what comes to you from me even if it is little. When good is continuous, even if it is little, it enriches. Discontent makes life grim."^[167]

He also said in as address which he delivered to the people, "O people! By Allah, it is easier to move the firm mountains than to follow Abu Bakr and 'Umar in their behaviour. But I have followed their way of conduct falling short of those before me, but none after me will equal me in it."^[167]

Ali's Caliphate lasted for 4 years. After the treaty with Hassan, Muawiyah ruled for nearly 20 years most of which were spent expanding the state.^[168] Hassan's army from Iraq then joined Muawiyah army from Syria and they shifted their focus back towardsConstantinople. Their forces had been much depleted after the battle of Saffin and the Romans were now better prepared. After the peace treaty with Hassan, Yazeed bin Muawiyah was then joined by Umar Ibn Abbas, Abdullah Ibn Zubair and Abu Ayyoob al-Ansari for the expedition to Constantinople.^[169]

Hussein was also in the army that laid siege to al-Qustanteeniyyah (Constantinople) under the command of Muawiyah's son Yazeed in 51 AH.^[170] After the peace treaty with Muawiya Hussein would frequently visit Muawiya with his brother and he would show great hospitality in return.^[171] Following Hassans death, Hussein would travel to see Muawiya every year and in return Muawiya would show great hospitality.^[172]

A massive Muslim fleet reappeared in the Marmara and re-established a base at Cyzicus, from there they raided the Byzantine coasts almost at will.

Saeed bin Abdul Azeez narrated that when Uthman was murdered, the people had no military incursions to carry out until it reached the "Aam ul-Jama ah" (The year of the community when the peace treaty was signed). This was the year in which Muawiyah initiated sixteen expeditions against the land of ar-Room (the Romans) after having dispatched a military detachment in summer that subsequently spent the winter there. As they blockaded one place, they would move on to another, until Yazeed and a number of the Companions successfully undertook a series of invasions.^[173] Finally in 676, Muawiyah sent an army to Constantinople from land as well, beginning the First Arab Siege of the city. Constantine IV (r. 661–685) however used a devastating new weapon that came to be known as "Greek fire", invented by a Christian refugee from Syria named Kallinikos of Heliopolis, to decisively defeat the attacking Umayyad navy in the Sea of Marmara, resulting in the lifting of the siege in 678. The returning Muslim fleet suffered further losses due to storms, while the army lost many men to the thematic armies who attacked them on their route back.^[174] Eyup was killed in the siege was, the standard bearer of Muhammed and the last of his companions; His tomb is in Istanbul.^[175][176]

Had Ali and Muawiyah made a peace treaty before the Battle of Siffin like Hasan rather that after the battle and joined forces in the Siege of Constantinople, it would have been a very dangerous situation for the Byzantine Empire. The battle of Battle of Siffin gave Emperor Constans II time to shore up his defences and depleted Muawiyah forces.^[177][178]

Expansion into North Africa[edit]

Throughout history Sicily had been viewed as a key to naval supremacy in the Mediterranean Sea as a base for any invasion of North Africa or Italy. In the middle of the first millennium BC Greeks and Phoenicians established trading colonies there. The Romans intense struggle in the third Century BC to overcome them in Sicily paved the way for imperial control of the Mediterranean. Likewise, Byzantium's conquest of Sicily in AD 535 was central to Justinian's plan to reunify the Roman empire. The Arabs were keenly aware of the island's strategic importance, and Muawiya was the first caliph to begin raiding the island in 670.^[179]

Under the rule of Muawiyah in 670 the Umayyads established a garrison town at Qayrawan in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia). It was used both as a base for military operations and as an administrative centre for North Africa, replacing Carthage.^[180][181]

This then laid the foundations for the expansion into Spain in 710 when the Umayyad governor Musa ibn Nusayr sent a largely Berber force led by Tariq ibn Ziyad into Spain.^[182]

Christian Spain ruled by the Visigoths was in a weak state where a small class of landowners had owned almost everything, with the vast majority of the population being serfs, slaves and bandits, the latter of which controlled the countryside. There had also been an intense campaign of persecution against the Jewish population. Therefore the Muslims rule quickly expanded is Spain. By 718 the Muslims had crossed the Pyrenees mountains into France.^[183]

Expeditions after the peace treaty with Hassan[edit]

[show] v  t  e Arab–Byzantine wars

After the peace treaty with Hassan, Muawiyah turned is attention back to the Romans. In the best selling book, Shadow of the sword, The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World, Tom Holland writes ^[184] The gaze of Muawiyah was fixed, not upon the desert Arabs, but upon the altogether more worthier opponents the Romans.^[185]

In the best selling book, In the shadow of the sword, The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World, Tom Holland writes^[186] "Muawiya looked to keep the Muslims busy, duly renewed the onslaught against the Roman Empire with a vengeance. In 674, he even sponsored a siege of Constantinople it self. In the event, after a blockade of four years, the effort to capture the New Rome had to be abandoned; yet what was striking, perhaps, was not its failure but how close it had come to success. Certainly, there could be no denying that Muawiya - in the scope of his achievements, in the awesome scale of his authority, and in the radiant splendor of his name - was patently a favourite of God" ^[187]

Campaigns

Year	External Expedition	Internal Issues
40 AH		Kharijites at Shahrazur
42 AH	Defeat of Romans (Byzantines) Raid on Caucasus	Kharijites agitation
43 AH	Campaign against the Romans by Busr ibn Abi Artah Campaign against Tukharistanis	Kharijites -(al-Mustawrid) Kurdish issues (Fars)
44 AH	Sea raid by Busr ibn Abi Artah on Romans. Winter campaign against the Romans Abdu'r-Rahman b. Walid
45 AH	Winter campaign against the Romans Abdu'r-Rahman b. Walid. Campaign in Tukharistan
46 AH	Malik ibn Ubaydullah winter campaign against the Romans
47 AH	Malik ibn Ubaydullah winter campaign against the Romans Abdu'r-Rahman - Antioch, raid on Khorasan; raid on al-Ghur & Farawanda
48 AH	Abdu'r-Rahman - Antioch raid - Summer; Abdullah ibn Qays sea raid of Malik ibn Hubayra; joint sea raid by Uqba with Madinans and Egyptians
49 AH	Malik ibn Hubayra winter campaign against the Romans; Fadala captured Jabbara Summer- Abdullah ibn Kurz; raid of Yazid ibn Shajara; sea raid of Uqba; raid of Yazid on Constantinople
50 AH	Campaign against the Romans by Busr ibn Abi Artah and Sufyan. Sea raid of Fadala; North Africa taken and Qayrawan founded. Raid of al-Hakam ibn Amr (Khorasan) against Turks	Amr bin al-Hamiq was killed in Mosul in Iraq by governor Ziyad. Ziyad was formally Ali's commander. Amr bin al-Hamiq had opposed Uthman. Muawiyah has been criticized by both Sunni and Shia scholars for this.[188]
51 AH	Winter campaign against the Romans raid of Fadala Summer campaign of Busr ibn Abi Artah; Balkh and Quhistan taken by ar-Rabi
52 AH	Raid of Sufyan ibn Awf; Winter and summer campaign against the Romans
53 AH	Winter campaign against the Romans, Rhodes conquered
54 AH	Winter campaign against the Romans, Muhammad ibn Malik; Summer campaign against the Romans by Ma'n ibn Yazid; conquest of island of Arwad; Ubaydullah conquers Ramithan & Baykland in Bukhara; campaign against Bukharans
55 AH	Winter campaign against the Romans	Hujr bin Adiyy killed. He had opposed Uthman. Muawiyah has been criticized by both Sunni and Shia scholars for this. When asked Muawiyah said they were causing trouble and he did not want another civil war[189]
56 AH	Winter campaign against the Romans sea and land campaign. campaigns in Sugh at Samarqand & Tirmidh
57 AH	Winter campaign against the Romans
58 AH	Campaign against the Romans sea raid	Kharijites trouble
59 AH	Winter campaign against the Romans sea raid	Walid in Central Asia
60 AH	Raid against Sawriyya and Rudas	Peikund Balkh, Indus

^[190][191]

While the nephew of 'Amr ibn al-'As the general Uqba ibn Nafi went all the way to Morocco. While in Tunisia, Uqba ibn Nafi built theMosque of Uqba. A few years later the Umayyads also crossed over into Spain and Southern France under the command of Tariq ibn Ziyad and Musa bin Nusayr.

His appointment of his son as the next Caliph[edit]

One of Muawiyah's most controversial and enduring legacies was his decision to designate his son Yazid as his successor. Yazid was experienced militarily, after taking part in various expeditions and the siege of Constantinople but politically inexperienced. Marwan also wanted Yazid to be the Caliph so that he could run things behind the scenes, as he would become the senior member of the Umayyad clan after Muawiyah's death. Mohammad, Abu Bakr and Umar also mistrusted Marwan and he had lived in Taif during their rule, where he became friends with Hajjaj.

Tom Holland writes "Tempers in Medina were not helped by the fact that the governor in the oasis was none other than the fabulously venal and slippery Marwan. Rumours abounded that it was he, back in the last calamitous days of Uthman's rule who had double crossed the war band that had come to Uthman. The locals mistrust of their governor ran particularly deep. Nothing he had done had helped to improve his reputation for double dealing.^[192]

The appointment of Yazid was unpopular in Madina. Sahih Al Bukhari Volume 6, Book 60, Number 352, Narrated by Yusuf bin Mahak:

Marwan had been appointed as the governor of Hijaz by Muawiya. He delivered a sermon and mentioned Yazid bin Muawiya so that the people might take the oath of allegiance to him as the successor of his father (Muawiya). Then 'Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr told him something whereupon marwan ordered that he be arrested. But 'Abdur-Rahman entered 'Aisha's house and they could not arrest him. marwan said, "It is he ('AbdurRahman) about whom Allah revealed this Verse: 'And the one who says to his parents: 'Fie on you! Do you hold out the promise to me..?'" On that, 'Aisha said from behind a screen, "Allah did not reveal anything from the Qur'an about us except what was connected with the declaration of my innocence (of the slander)."

Ibn Katheer wrote in his book the Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah ^[193] that "in the year 56 AH Muawiyah called on the people including those within the outlying territories to pledge allegiance to his son, Yazeed, to be his heir to the Caliphate after him. Almost all the subjects offered their allegiance, with the exception of Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr (the son of Abu Bakr), Abdullah ibn Umar (the son of Umar), al-Husain bin Ali (the son of Ali), Abdullah bin Az-Zubair (The grandson of Abu Bakr) and Abdullah ibn Abbas (Ali's cousin). Because of this Muawiyah passed through al-Madinah on his way back from Makkah upon completion of his Umrah Pilgrimage where he summoned each one of the five aforementioned individuals and threatened them. The speaker who addressed Muawiyah sharply with the greatest firmness amongst them was Abdurrahman bin Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq, while Abdullah bin Umar bin al-Khattab was the most soft spoken amongst them.

Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr and Abdullah ibn Umar were mid level Muslim commanders at the Battle of Yarmouk that took Syria. Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr sister Asmā' bint Abu Bakr also fought in the Battle of Yarmouk and was opposed to Yazid.^[194] Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr had been one of the first to dual in that battle, after taking a sword to hand over to a Qays bin Hubayrah who had lost his sword, while in a dual with the Roman Army's best horseman. Two more Roman horsemen then came forward saying "We see no justice when two of you come against one of us." Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr replied "I only came to give my companion a sword and then return. Were 100 of you to come out against one of us we would not be worried. You are now three men. I am enough to take on all three of you". After which he took down the Roman horsemen on his own.^[195] After seeing this, Bannes the Roman general said "Caesar really knew these people best. I now know that a difficult situation is to come on you. If you do not attack them with great numbers, you will have no chance". Abdullah ibn Umar had also been a mid level commander in the Battle of Yarmouk. Some Roman soldiers went to the house of Abu al-Jaid a local Christian in az-Zura ah and after eating all the food, raped his wife and killed his son.^[196] His wife complained to the roman general and he ignored her. Abu al-Jaid then went to the Muslims and told them that he knows the local area and if the Muslims exempt him and his descendents from taxes for ever he will help them defeat the Roman army.^[197] He then took horse men led by Abdullah ibn Umar to the Roman camp at night and attacked them and then ran away. The Romans chased them and in the dark tens of thousands of them fell down a cliff at the an-Naqusah Creek into a river.^[198] Abdullah bin Az-Zubair had also been a commander in various battles including in North Africa and was also involved in the siege of Constantinople.

Muawiyah then delivered a sermon, having stood these five men below the pulpit in full view of the people after which the people pledged allegiance to Yazeed as they stood in silence without displaying their disagreement or opposition for fear of being humiliated. Saeed bin Uthman bin Affan, the son of Uthman also criticized Muawiyah for putting forward Yazeed.".^[199] They tolerated Muawiyah but did not like Yazeed.

The following year Muawiyah removed Marwan bin al Hakam from the position of Governor in Madina and appointed al-Waleed bin Utbah bin Abi Sufyan.^[200]

According to some sources Muawiyah warned his son Yazid against mistreating Hussein. His final warning to Yazid was: "As for Husayn what can I tell you concerning him? Be careful not to confront him except in a good way. Extend to him a free hand (literally, a long rope) and let him roam the earth as he pleases. Do not harm him, can show verbal anger but never confront him with the weapons of war but rather bestow on him generous gifts. Give him a place of honor near you and treat him with due reverence. Be careful O my son, that you do not meet God with his blood, lest you be amongst those that will perish"^[201][202]

Yazeed and Hussein knew each other well and had both been involved in the Siege of Constantinople.^[203] Many years later, after the events in Karbala when the governor of Kufa, Ibn Ziyad sent the head of Hussein to Yazeed. The Servant of Muawiya bin Abu Sufyan is reported to have said: "When Yazeed came with al-Husain's head and placed it in his hands, I saw Yazeed crying and he said: 'If there had been any relationship between Ibn Ziyad and al-Husain then he would not have done this (referring to Ibn Ziyad).'"^[204]

Many years later Marwan and Kharijites rule[edit]

Many years later after Hussein was killed Abdullah Ibn Az-Zubair expelled Yazids forces from Hijaz and the Qurra who were also called Kharijites got stronger in Iraq. Yazid died a few months later in young age and his son did not want to take part in a civil war against Abdullah Ibn Az-Zubair and abdicated and later died.

After years of planning and scheming and making every one else fight, Marwan came to power in Syria and the Qurra (the Kharijites) established a state in Southern Iraq. The very thing Hassan signed a treaty with Muawiyah to avoid.

Now there were three camps, the Scholars in Madina, the Kharijites in Iraq and Umayyads in Syria.

In Sahih Al Bukhari the people still referred to the Kharijites by their old name Qurra and most Muslims resented these civil wars and felt that the Arabs had left the teachings of Muhammad and gone back to their old ways of fighting over wealth.

Sahih Al Bukhari Volume 9, Book 88, Number 228:^[205] Narrated by Abu Al-Minhal

When Ibn Ziyad and Marwan were in Sham and Ibn Az-zubair took over the authority in Mecca and Qurra' (the Kharijites) revolted in Basra, I went out with my father to Abu Barza Al-Aslami till we entered upon him in his house while he was sitting in the shade of a room built of cane. So we sat with him and my father started talking to him saying, "O Abu Barza! Don't you see in what dilemma the people has fallen?" The first thing heard him saying "I seek reward from Allah for myself because of being angry and scornful at the Quraish tribe. O you Arabs! You know very well that you were in misery and were few in number and misguided, and that Allah has brought you out of all that with Islam and with Muhammad till He brought you to this state (of prosperity and happiness) which you see now; and it is this worldly wealth and pleasures which has caused mischief to appear among you. The one who is in Sham (i.e., Marwan), by Allah, is not fighting except for the sake of worldly gain: and those who are among you, by Allah, are not fighting except for the sake of worldly gain; and that one who is in Mecca (i.e., Ibn Az-zubair) by Allah, is not fighting except for the sake of worldly gain."

Abdullah Ibn Az-Zubair then sent his brother to Iraq to take on the Kharijites who were by then getting stronger. This depleted Abdullah Ibn Az-Zubair forces and he was later defeated by the Syrians.

Ibn Zubayr was finally defeated by Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, who sent Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. Hajjaj defeated and killed Ibn Zubayr on the battlefield in 692.

On his last hour he asked his mother Asmā' bint Abu Bakr what he should do. Asmā' bint Abu Bakr replied to her son, she said:^[206]"You know better in your own self that if you are upon the truth and you are calling towards the truth go forth for people more honourable than you were killed and have been killed and if you are not upon the truth, then what an evil son you are, you have destroyed yourself and those who are with you. If you say what you say, that if you are upon the truth and you will be killed at the hands of others then you will not truly be free, for this is not the statement of someone who is free".

Then Asmā' bint Abu Bakr said to her son, this is the statement of the mother to her son, "how long will you live in this world, death is more beloved to me than this state you are on/ this state of weakness".

Then this conversation between Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and his mother continued.

Then Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr said to his mother after she had told him to go forth and fight.

He said, "I am afraid I will be mutilated by the people of Sham, I am afraid that they will cut up my body after they have killed me".

So she said to her son, "after someone has died it won't make any difference what they do to you if you have been killed". Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr then said to his mother, "I did not come to you except to increase myself in knowledge".

He said to her, "I did not come to you except to increase me in knowledge, look and pay attention to this day for verily I am a dead man, your son never drank wine, nor was he fornicator, nor did he wrong any Muslim or Non Muslim, nor was he unjust, I am not saying this to you to show off or show how pure I am but rather as an honour to you".

So then Abdullah Ibn Zubair left by himself on his horse and he was killed by the Army of Hajjaj and when he was killed by the Army of Hajjaj all the Army said “Allah hu Akhbar” and Abdullah Ibn Omer heard this and he said,” how strange is it that this man when he was born all of the Muslims said “Allah hu Akhbar” and now that he is killed everyone is also saying “Allah hu Akhbar”.

Asma refused to go and ask permission to put down her sons body and it was said to her, "if you don't go his body will remain like that. So she said let it be then".

Until eventually, Hajjaj came to her and said, "what do you say about this matter" and Asma was in her old age and blind by then. Asma said, "Verily you have destroyed him you have ruined his life and with that you have ruined your hereafter". Asma died a few days later.

Reforming the Umayyad rule peacefully from the inside[edit]

Ibn Katheer says that Abdullah Ibn Umar resented Hajjaj. Imam Abu Muhammad Adbullah ibn Abdul Hakam who lived near that time, said in his book the first biography on Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz that Abdullah Ibn Omar's niece was married to one of Marwans son called Abdul Aziz who lived in Madina.^[207] Abdul Aziz lived in Madina and had not become an Umayyad ruler, but he had a young son called Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz. Abdullah ibn Umar kept Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz with him for his education when Abdul Aziz and his wife moved to Egypt. Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz was educated in Madina. The scholars in Madina including Abdullah Ibn Umar and Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr who was jafar Sadiqs grandfather and Abu Bakr's grandson felt that they could use Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz to peacefully reform the Umayyad rule.

Imam Abu Muhammad Adbullah ibn Abdul Hakam (died 214 AH) wrote that many years earlier:"During the time of Umar Ibn al Khattab the (second Caliph) he prohibit the sale of milk mixed with water. One night, he came out for some need at the outskirts of Madinah. Suddenly, he heard the voice of a woman. She was telling her daughter, "Daughter, you have not yet mixed water in the milk. It is nearly dawn. "The daughter said, "How can I mix water in the milk? Amir ul Muminin has prohibited it". The mother said, "Other people also mix it. You also mix it. How does Amir ul Muminin know?" The daughter replied. "If Umar does not know, then the creator of Umar knows. Once he has prohibited it, then I cannot do it."

Umar was greatly pleased with this conversation. When morning came, he called his son Asim and narrated the incident that took place at night. He then said, "Go and find out who that girl is". Asim went. He made enquiries and found out that the girl was from the tribe of Banu Hilal. He returned and informed Umar. He said to Asim "Son, go and get married to her. Definitely, she is worthy of bearing a horseman who will lead the entire Arabia."

Consequently Asim married her and a daughter Umm e Asim bint Asim Ibn Umar Ibn al Khattab was born from her. Umm e Asim got married to Adbul Aziz bint Marwan bin al Hakam. Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz was born from her.^[208]

After his education, Raja bin Haiwah who was also a scholar and an advisor to some of the Umayyad rulers took Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz to Syria. Raja bin Haiwah also worked closely with the scholars in Madina. Ibn Katheer wrote in his book the Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah that during the time of Abdul Malik, Raja bin Haiwah also managed the finances for the construction of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, that stands to this day.^[209]

Ibn Katheer wrote that even the Umayyad ruler Al-Waleed bin Abdul Malik would write to Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz in Madina for advice on legal matter. Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz would then convene a meeting with the jurists in Madina and they would all decide on the reply.^[210]

Later the future Umayyad ruler Sulaiman would also consult Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz. Hajjaj opposed Sulaiman from becoming Caliph, even through his father had wrote in his will that after his brother Al-Waleed bin Abdul Malik, Sulaiman would be Caliph. So Sulaiman became even closer to Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz who also opposed Hajjaj.^[211]

When Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz was made the governor of Madina, he asked the Khalifah that he wished to be excused from Hajjaj coming to Madinah. After which, Hajjaj was prevented from going to Madina.^[212]

According to Imam Abu Muhammad Adbullah ibn Abdul Hakam from Madina (died 214 AH 829 C.E) Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz then said to the ruler Walid Ibn Abdul Malik "After ascribing partners to Allah, there is no greater sin than spilling blood. Your governors are unjustifiably killing people and they only write the crime of the killed person (murder) to inform you. You will be answerable for this and you will be held accountable (by God). Therefore, write to your governors telling them that no one should be punished by death, but they should write of the crime to you. There should be witnesses to it, then you should decide on that punishment to be meted out after great thought and deliberation" Walid said "O Abu Hafs (He called Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz, Abu Hafs), May Allah grant you blessings in your life and delay your demise. Bring the pen and paper." Walid then wrote this command to all the governors. Besides Hajjaj, no one found it difficult. It weighed heavily on him and he became very agitated. He thought that no one else besides him got this command. He investigated and found that he was wrong. He said "Where did this calamity come from? Who told this to Walid?" he was told that 'Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz was responsible for this. When he heard this he said, "Oh, if the one who gave this consultation is Umar, then it is not permissible to reject it".^[213] Hajjaj then devised a plan and sent an extreme Khariji from Iraq to Walid when Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz was present. The Khariji swore at Walid and his father. So Ibn Rayyan, Walid's guard executed him. Walid then called Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz and asked "Abu Hafs, what do you think? Did I do the right thing or was I wrong?" Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz said "You did not do the right thing in killing him. The better step to take would have been to send him to jail. Then, he could have repented before Allah or death would have come to him." Walid said "He swore at me and Adbul Malik (my father) and he was a Khariki, but still according to you, I was not correct in killing him." Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz replied. "No, by Allah, I do not think it was permissible. You could have jailed him and if you foregave him, then what to say? (i.e. it would have been better)"

Walid became livid and went away. Ibn Rayyan said to Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz "Abu Hafs, May Allah have mercy on you. You answered Walid with such a reply that I feared that he would have ordered me to chop your head" Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz asked "If he ordered you, would you have carried it out?" He said, "Definitely". Later when Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz became Caliph, Ibn Rayyan was the first one to be sacked.

Sulayman Ibn Abdul Malik said to Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz "Look how many people gather during the Hajj season." He replied "Amir ul Mu minin, all of them are your plaintiffs" (They will complain about you in the court of Allah on the Day of judgment)^[214]

According to Imam Abu Muhammad Adbullah ibn Abdul Hakam who lived near that time and later Ibn Katheer said that Ibn Jareer said that, Raja bin Haiwah (who was also a scholar) the minister of marriage, for the Umayyad ruler Sulaiman said that when Sulaiman was on his death bed, I told him "Indeed amongst the things that preserves the caliph in his grave is his appointment of a righteous man over the muslims." So he wrote a letter appointing the scholar from Madina, Umar bin Abdul Azeez. To allow the Umayyads to accept this, Raja then advised him to make his brother Yazeed bin Adbul Malik the successor after Umar bin Abdul Azeez.^[215][216] Umar bin Abdul Azeez was a grand son of Omar, the second Caliph from his mothers side. After his appointment he set up a committee of the jurist in Madina headed by Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr and it included Urwah ibn Zubayr, Ubaidullah bin Abdullah bin Utbah, Abu Bakr bin Abdur-Rahman bin al-Harith bin Hisham, Abu Bakr bin Sulaiman bin Abu Hathmah, Sulaiman bin Yasar, Salim bin Abdullah, Abdullah bin Amir bin Rabee'ah and Kharijah bin Zaid bin Thabit, in Madina to advise on legal matters.^[217] The work of Malik ibn Anasand successive jurists is also based on the work of this early committee in Madina. Malik ibn Anas also refers to these Fuqaha' of Madina.^[218] Madina at the time had the largest number of Muhammad's companions therefore no one could lie about what Muhammad had said, while in Madina during that period. After becoming the Khalif, Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz worked very closely with the scholars in Madina to make the laws in line with the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad's. He also reduced the allowances of the Umayyad family members. Which they deeply resented.

When Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz reduced the allowances of the Umayyad family members. They sent some one to him to ask for more. When Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz refused, the man said to them "O Banu Umayyah, you should rebuke yourself. You got up and married a person of your family to the grand daughter of Umar. He wrapped Umar in a cloth and presented him to you. You should therefore rebuke yourself".^[219]

Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz also started peace talks with the Kharijites. He then reduced the taxes for the Muslims. He sacked oppressive governors and replaced them.^[220] His policies made him very popular with the population but not so popular with the Umayyads. The reduction in the taxes also reduced further expeditions and the expansion of the state. But lower taxes and better justice allowed the economy to expand. The tax collector Yahya Ibn Sa'id complained that after collecting the taxes, he could not find people willing to take the charity from the welfare state^[221]

Imam Abu Muhammad Adbullah ibn Abdul Hakam (died 214 AH) writes that Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz then stopped the allowance of the Banu Umayyah, stopped giving them land and made them the same as every one else. And they complained bitterly. So Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz said to them "By Allah, I want that no impermissible decision should remain on the earth that I will not finish off." ^[222]

Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz was soon killed, but when the future rulers tried to reverse his policies, the population started to rebel.

With the death of Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz the scholars in Madina got very upset. But in the short time Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz was in power the changes he made, had a long lasting effect in the minds of the people. An associate of Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz, Zayd ibn Ali the grandson of Husayns was also very upset. Zayd ibn Ali then started receiving letters from Kufa asking him to come to Kufa. In 740, Abu Hanifah supported his friend Zayd ibn Ali against an Umayyad ruler but asked his friend not to go to Kufa. Abu Hanifah, Malik ibn Anasand Zayd ibn Ali's family advised Zayd ibn Ali not to go to Kufa feared that Zayd ibn Ali would get betrayed in Kufa.^{[223][224][225][226]} ButZayd ibn Ali felt that he needed to oppose the Umayyads by force. Zaydis believe that on his arrival in Kufa, on the last hour of Zayd ibn Ali, the people in Kufa asked him: "May God have mercy on you! What do you have to say on the matter of Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab?" Zayd ibn Ali said, "I have not heard anyone in my family renouncing them both nor saying anything but good about them...when they were entrusted with government they behaved justly with the people and acted according to the Qur'an and the Sunnah.".^[227][228] After which they withdrew their support and Zayd ibn Ali fought bravely against the Umayyad army but was killed. The Scholars kept up the pressure on the Umayyads and as the Umayyads tried to re-impose the taxes abolished by Umar Ibn Adbul Aziz, the population also got more rebellious.

Later after the Abbasids came to power they tried to change the laws, in 767 Abu Hanifah died in prison when he refused to support the Abbasid ruler Al-Mansur and Malik ibn Anas was flogged.^[229][230] But then they backed off and allowed the laws of Madina to be implemented again and the book Muwatta Imam Malik of Malik ibn Anas based on the laws based on the Quran and the example of Muhammad and based on the work of the committee of the main jurist in Madina headed by Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr, who was jafar Sadiq's grandfather and Abu Bakr's grandson were again implemented.

Later the Abbasids tried to impose the mutazilite philosophy so that they could change the laws. Imam Ahmed Hanbal confronted a ruler and was tortured and sent to an unlit Baghdad prison cell for nearly thirty months.^[231]

Footnotes[edit]

References[edit]

• Ali ibn Abi Talib (1984). Nahj al-Balagha (Peak of Eloquence), compiled by ash-Sharif ar-Radi. Alhoda UK. ISBN 0-940368-43-9.
• Holt, P. M.; Bernard Lewis (1977). Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29136-4.
• Lapidus, Ira (2002). A History of Islamic Societies (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-77933-3.
• Madelung, Wilferd (1997). The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-64696-0.
• Tabatabae, Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn; Seyyed Hossein Nasr (translator) (1979). Shi'ite Islam. Suny press. ISBN 0-87395-272-3.

Encyclopedia

• Encyclopædia Iranica. Center for Iranian Studies, Columbia University. ISBN 1-56859-050-4.

Further reading[edit]

• Djaït, Hichem (2008-10-30). La Grande Discorde: Religion et politique dans l'Islam des origines. Editions Gallimard.ISBN 2070358666. Arabic translation by Khalil Ahmad Khalil, Beirut, 2000, Dar al-Tali'a.

Second Fitna
Part of the Islamic Civil Wars
Date 680 – 692 Location Arabian peninsula Result Umayyad victory
Belligerents
Umayyad Caliphate	Zubayrids	Alids
Commanders and leaders
Yazid I Umar ibn Sa'ad Marwan I Abd al-Malik Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad  † al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf	Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr  † Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr  †	Husayn ibn Ali  † Abbas ibn Ali  † al-Mukhtar  †

[show] v  t  e Second Islamic Civil War

[show] v  t  e Civil Wars of the Early Caliphates

The Second Fitna, or Second Islamic Civil War, was a period of general political and military disorder that afflicted the Islamic empire during the earlyUmayyad dynasty, following the death of the first Umayyad caliph Muawiyah I. There seems to be a lack of solid consensus on the exact range of years that define the conflict, with several different historians dating the Second Fitna differently. Some see the end of Muawiya's reign in 680 AD as marking the beginning of the period, while the year 683 (following the death of Muawiya's son the Caliph Yazid I) is cited by others. Similarly, the end is variously dated from 685 (after the ascension of Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan) to 692 (following the death of Ibn al-Zubair and the termination of his revolt). The dates 683-685 seem to be the most commonly used.

The Second Fitna was a time of complexity in the Islamic world, involving a number of different occurrences that were seemingly not directly connected with one another. A brief sketch of the major events of the period may however be given as follows.

The first Umayyad Caliph Muawiya I was succeeded upon his death in 680 by his son, Yazid I. Yazid's first opposition came from supporters of Husayn ibn Ali, who was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the son of the former Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, who had been assassinated. Husayn and many of his closest supporters were killed by Yazid's troops at the Battle of Karbala. This battle is often cited as the definitive break between the Shi'a and Sunnisects of Islam, and until this day it has been commemorated each year by Shi'a Muslims on the Day of Ashura.

Following these occurrences, Yazid faced a second revolt from Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who was the son of a Sahabi, al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and the son of Asma bint Abu Bakr. Ibn al-Zubayr's rebellion was seen by many as an attempt to return to the pristine values of the early Islamic community, and his revolt was welcomed by a number of parties that were unhappy with the Umayyad rule for various reasons. Following the sudden death of Yazid and his son Mu'awiya II in 683, Ibn al-Zubayr gained widespread recognition as caliph. In Syria Marwan ibn Hakim, a cousin of Mu'awiya I, was declared caliph. Marwan had a short reign dying in 685 but he was succeeded by his able son Abd al-Malik. Ibn al-Zubayr was isolated in the Tihamah and the Hejaz regions ^[1] when Kharijite rebels established an independent state in central Arabia in 684.

Other Kharijite uprisings followed in Iraq and Iran, while Shias revolted in Kufa to avenge the death of Husayn and to promote another of Ali's sons as a candidate for caliph. Eventually, order was restored by Syrian forces supporting Abd al-Malik. He was able to defeat all of his various rivals, and his army killed Ibn al-Zubayr in 692, bringing this period of exceptional turbulence to an end.

See also[edit]

• First Fitna
• Fitna (word)
• Battle of Karbela
• Ibn al-Zubair's revolt

References[edit]

• Karen Armstrong: Islam: A Short History. New York: The Modern Library, 2002, 2004 ISBN 0-8129-6618-X

1. ^ Abū Ḥanīfa Dīnawarī, al-akhbâr al-tiwâl, vol. 1, p. 264

Battle of Karbala
Abbas Al-Musavi - Battle of Karbala - Brooklyn Museum
Date 10 Muharram 61, October 10, 680 AD Location Karbala Result Umayyad victory
Belligerents
Yazid of Umayyad	Hussain of Banu Hashim
Commanders and leaders
Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad Umar ibn Sa'ad Shimr ibn Thil-Jawshan Al-Hurr ibn Yazid al Tamimi(left his army and joined Hussein during the battle) †A	Hussein ibn Ali  † Al-Abbas ibn Ali  † Habib ibn Muzahir  † Zuhayr ibn Qayn  †
Strength
4,000[1] or 5,000[2] (at least) - 30,000[2] or 100,000[3][4] (at most)	70-150 (general consensus 110; including 6 month old baby).[5][6]Note the common number '72' comes from the number of heads severed.
Casualties and losses
88 killed, plus some wounded.[7]	72 Casualties of Hussain's Army
^A Hurr was originally one of the commanders of Ibn Ziyad's army but changed allegiance to Hussein along with his son, slave and brother on 10 Muharram 61, October 10, 680 AD

[show] v  t  e Second Islamic Civil War

[hide] Part of a series on Shīa Islam
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Views
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History
Twelver Two things  · Ismāʿīlī · Zaidi The verse of purification Mubahala · Two things Khumm · Fatimah's house First Fitna · Second Fitna The Battle of Karbala
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Muhammad · Ali · Fatimah Hasan · Hussein
List of Shia companions
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Fatimah · Khadija bint Khuwaylid ·Zaynab bint Ali · Fatimah bint Hasan ·Sukayna bint Husayn · Rubab · Shahrbanu ·Nijmah · Fātimah bint Mūsā · Hakimah Khātūn ·Narjis · Fatimah bint Asad ·Farwah bint al-Qasim ·
v  t  e

The Battle of Karbala took place on Muharram 10, in the year 61 AH of theIslamic calendar^[2] (October 10, 680)^[8][9] in Karbala, in present day Iraq. The battle was between a small group of supporters and relatives of Muhammad's grandson Hussein ibn Ali, and a much larger military detachment from the forces of Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph, whom Hussein had refused to recognise. Hussein and all his supporters were killed, including Hussein's six-month-old infant son, Ali al-Asghar ibn Husayn, and the women and children taken as prisoners. The dead are regarded as martyrs by Muslims, and the battle has a central place in Shia history and tradition, and has frequently been recounted in Shia Islamic literature.

The Battle of Karbala is commemorated during an annual 10-day period held every Muharram by the Shia and Alevis, as well as many Sunnis, culminating on its tenth day, Ashura.

Shias believe Hussain's sacrifice was ordered by God and was necessary to awaken the ummah and stop Yazid hijacking Islam.^{[citation needed]}

Political background[edit]

The rule of the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, concluded with a violent uprising. This uprising ended with the assassination of Uthman and for many days rebels seized and occupied the city of Medina. Under the overwhelming pressure of the Ummah, Ali (Ali ibn Abu Talib) was elected as the fourth caliph with massive numbers of people swearing their allegiance to him. His immediate steps were to ensure the unity of Muslims. He issued the orders of not attacking the rebels until order was restored. The governor of Syria, Muawiyah, kinsman to the murdered caliph Uthman, refused allegiance to Ali and revolted against him, using his cousin's unpunished murder as a pretext. This resulted in armed confrontations between the Islamic Caliph Ali ibn Abu Talib and Muawiyah. Practically, the Muslim world became divided. At the death of Ali ibn Abu Talib, his elder son Hasan ibn Ali succeeded him but soon signed a treaty with Muawiyah to avoid further bloodshed.^[10]

One of Muawiyah's most controversial and enduring legacies was his decision to designate his son Yazid as his successor.

The appointment of Yazid was unpopular in Madina. Sahih Al Bukhari Volume 6, Book 60, Number 352, Narrated by Yusuf bin Mahak:

Marwan had been appointed as the governor of Hijaz by Muawiya. He delivered a sermon and mentioned Yazid bin Muawiya so that the people might take the oath of allegiance to him as the successor of his father (Muawiya). Then 'Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr told him something whereupon marwan ordered that he be arrested. But 'Abdur-Rahman entered 'Aisha's house and they could not arrest him. marwan said, "It is he ('AbdurRahman) about whom Allah revealed this Verse: 'And the one who says to his parents: 'Fie on you! Do you hold out the promise to me..?'" On that, 'Aisha said from behind a screen, "Allah did not reveal anything from the Qur'an about us except what was connected with the declaration of my innocence (of the slander)."

Ibn Katheer wrote in his book the Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah ^[11] that "in the year 56 AH Muawiyah called on the people including those within the outlying territories to pledge allegiance to his son, Yazeed, to be his heir to the Caliphate after him. Almost all the subjects offered their allegiance, with the exception of Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr (the son of Abu Bakr), Abdullah ibn Umar (the son of Umar), al-Husain bin Ali (the son of Ali), Abdullah bin Az-Zubair (The grandson of Abu Bakr) and Abdullah ibn Abbas (Ali's cousin). Because of this Muawiyah passed through al-Madinah on his way back from Makkah upon completion of his Umrah Pilgrimage where he summoned each one of the five aforementioned individuals and threatened them. The speaker who addressed Muawiyah sharply with the greatest firmness amongst them was Abdurrahman bin Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq, while Abdullah bin Umar bin al-Khattab was the most soft spoken amongst them.

Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr and Abdullah ibn Umar were mid level Muslim commanders at the Battle of Yarmouk that took Syria. Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr sister Asmā' bint Abu Bakr also fought in the Battle of Yarmouk and was opposed to Yazid.^[12] Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr had been one of the first to duel in that battle, after taking a sword to hand over to a Qays bin Hubayrah who had lost his sword, while in a duel with the Roman Army's best horseman. Two more Roman horsemen then came forward saying "We see no justice when two of you come against one of us." Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr replied "I only came to give my companion a sword and then return. Were 100 of you to come out against one of us we would not be worried. You are now three men. I am enough to take on all three of you". After which he took down the Roman horsemen on his own.^[13] After seeing this, Bannes the Roman general said "Caesar really knew these people best. I now know that a difficult situation is to come on you. If you do not attack them with great numbers, you will have no chance". Abdullah ibn Umar had also been a mid level commander in the Battle of Yarmouk. Some Roman soldiers went to the house of Abu al-Jaid a local Christian in az-Zura ah and after eating all the food, raped his wife and killed his son.^[14] His wife complained to the roman general and he ignored her. Abu al-Jaid then went to the Muslims and told them that he knows the local area and if the Muslims exempt him and his descendents from taxes for ever he will help them defeat the Roman army.^[14] He then took horse men led by Abdullah ibn Umar to the Roman camp at night and attacked them and then ran away. The Romans chased them and in the dark tens of thousands of them fell down a cliff at the an-Naqusah Creek into a river.^[15] Abdullah bin Az-Zubair had also been a commander in various battles including in North Africa and was also involved in the siege of Constantinople.

Muawiyah then delivered a sermon, having stood these five men below the pulpit in full view of the people after which the people pledged allegiance to Yazeed as they stood in silence without displaying their disagreement or opposition for fear of being humiliated. Saeed bin Uthman bin Affan, the son of Uthman also criticized Muawiyah for putting forward Yazeed.".^[11] They tolerated Muawiyah but did not like Yazeed.

In his written instructions to Yazid, Muawiyah suggested specific strategies for each one of them. Muawiyah warned Yazid specifically about Hussein ibn Ali, since he was the only blood relative of Muhammad.^[16] `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas, Abdullah ibn Umar did not want to start another civil war and wanted to wait. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr challenged them and went Mecca with Hussein. Some people claim that Hussein ibn Ali rejected the appointment of Yazid as the heir of the Caliphate as he was a tyrant and would destroy Islam. Therefore, he resolved to confront Yazid.^[17]

Muhammad's prophecy[edit]

According to the hadis book complied by the Sunni scholar Al-Tabarani, Muhammad told his wife Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya:

"Hazrat Gabriel informed me that my grandson Hussain-ibne-Ali(R.A.) will be killed after me in the land of al-Taff and brought me this Turbah (mudd/soil) and informed me that this is the soil of the place he will be martyred."^[18]

Events before the battle[edit]

Muawiyah I died on Rajab 22, 60 AH (680 CE). In violation of Islamic tradition and his own written agreement with Hasan ibn Ali,^{[citation needed]} Muawiyah I appointed his son Yazid as his successor, converting the caliphate into a dynasty. Few notables of the Islamic community were crucial to lending some legitimacy to this conversion of the caliphate into a dynasty,^[19][20]even people like Said ibn Uthman^[19] and Ahnaf ibn Qais^[20] denounced his caliphate.^[16]Hussein ibn Ali was the most significant threat to this dynastic rule, since he was the only living grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Yazid instructed his Governor Walid in Medina to force Hussein ibn Ali to pledge allegiance to Yazid. Hussein refused it and uttered his famous words that "Anyone akin to me will never accept anyone akin to Yazid as a ruler." Hussein departed Medina on Rajab 28, 60 AH (680 CE), two days after Walid's attempt to force him to submit to Yazid I's rule. He stayed in Mecca from the beginnings of the month of Sha'aban and all of the months of Ramadan, Shawwal, as well as Dhu al-Qi'dah.

It is mainly during his stay in Mecca that he received many letters from Kufa assuring him their support and asking him to come over there and guide them. He answered their calls and sentMuslim ibn Aqeel, his cousin, to Kufa as his representative in an attempt to consider the exact situation and public opinion.

Hussein's representative to Kufa, Muslim ibn Aqeel was welcomed by the people of Kufa, and most of them swore allegiance to him. After this initial observation, Muslim ibn Aqeel wrote to Hussein ibn Ali that the situation in Kufa was favorable. However, after the arrival of the new Governor of Kufa, Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, the scenario changed. Muslim ibn Aqeel and his host, Hani ibn Urwa, were executed on Dhu al-Hijjah 9, 60AH (September 10, 680 CE) without any real resistance of the people. This shifted the loyalties of the people of Kufa, in favor of Yazid and against Hussein ibn Ali.^[21] Hussein ibn Ali also discovered that Yazid had appointed `Amr ibn Sa`ad ibn al Aas as the head of an army, ordering him to take charge of the pilgrimage caravans and to kill al Hussein ibn Ali wherever he could find him during Hajj,^[22][23] and hence decided to leave Mecca on 8th Dhu al-Hijjah 60 AH (12 September 680 AD), just a day before Hajj and was contented with Umrah, due to his concern about potential violation of the sanctity of the Kaaba.^[24][25]

He delivered a famous sermon at the Kaaba highlighting his reasons to leave, that he didn't want the sanctity of the Kaaba to be violated, since his opponents had crossed any norm of decency and were willing to violate all tenets of Islam.

When Hussein ibn Ali was making his mind to leave for Kufa, `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas and Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr held a meeting with him and advised him not to move to Iraq, or, if he was determined to move, not to take women and children with him in this dangerous journey. Hussein ibn Ali, however, had resolved to go ahead with his plan. He gave a speech to people the day before his departure and said:

"... The death is a certainty for mankind, just like the trace of necklace on the neck of young girls. And I am enamored of my ancestors like eagerness of Jacob to Joseph ... Everyone, who is going to devote his blood for our sake and is prepared to meet Allah, must depart with us..."^[26]

On their way to Kufa, the small caravan received the news of the execution of Muslim ibn Aqeel and the indifference of the people of Kufa.^[27][28][29] Instead of turning back, Hussein decided to continue the journey and sent Qays ibn Musahir Al Saidawi as messenger to talk to the nobles of Kufa. The messenger was captured in the vicinity of Kufa but managed to tear the letter to pieces to hide names of its recipients. Just like Muslim ibn Aqeel, Qays ibn Musahir Al Saidawi was executed.

The events of the battle[edit]

Hussein and his followers were two days away from Kufa when they were intercepted by the vanguard of Yazid's army; about 1,000 men led by Hurr ibn Riahy. Hussein asked the army, "With us or against us?" They replied: "Of course against you, oh Aba Abd Allah!" Husain ibn Ali said: "If you are different from what I received from your letters and from your messengers then I will return to where I came from." Their leader, Hurr, refused Hussein's request to let him return to Medina. The caravan of Muhammad's family arrived at Karbala on Muharram 2, 61AH (October 2, 680 CE).^[30] They were forced to pitch a camp on the dry, bare land and Hurr stationed his army nearby.

Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad appointed Umar ibn Sa'ad to command the battle against Hussein ibn Ali. At first Umar ibn Sa'ad rejected the leadership of the army but accepted after Ibn Ziyad threatened to take away the governorship of Rey city and put Shimr ibn Thil-Jawshan in his place.^[31] Ibn Ziyad also urged Umar ibn Sa'ad to initiate the battle on the sixth day of Muharram.^[32] Umar ibn Sa'ad moved towards the battlefield with an 80,000^[2]-strong army and arrived at Karbala on Muharram 2, 61 AH (October 3, 680 CE).

Ibn Ziyad sent a brief letter to Umar ibn Sa'd that commanded, "Prevent Husain and his followers from accessing water and do not allow them to drink a drop [of water]. Ibn Sa'ad followed the orders, and 5,000 horsemen blockaded the Euphrates. One of Hussein's followers met Umar ibn Sa'ad and tried to negotiate some sort of access to water, but was denied. The water blockade continued up to the end of the battle on Muharram 10th (October 10, 680 CE).^[33]

Umar ibn Sa'ad received an order from Ibn Ziyad to start the battle immediately and not to postpone it further. The army started advancing toward Hussein's camp on the afternoon of Muharram 9th. At this point Hussein sent Al-Abbas ibn Ali to ask Ibn Sa'ad to wait until the next morning, so that he and his men could spend the night praying. Ibn Sa'ad agreed to the respite.^[31][34][35]

On the night before the battle, Hussein gathered his men and told them that they were all free to leave the camp in the middle of the night, under cover of darkness, rather than face certain death if they stayed with him. None of Hussein's men defected and they all remained with him. Hussein and his followers held a vigil and prayed all night.^[36]

The day of the battle[edit]

On Muharram 10th, also called Ashura, Hussein ibn Ali completed the morning prayers with his companions. He appointed Zuhayr ibn Qayn to command the right flank of his army, Habib ibn Muzahir to command the left flank and his half-brother Al-Abbas ibn Ali as the standard bearer. There is controversy regarding the date for the day of Ashura in the Gregorian calendar. October 10 is a calculated date through calculators.^[8][9] These calculators however, are not always correct. According to the book Maqtal al-Husayn, Muharram 9th is October 12, 680; if that book is correct Muharram 10th was October 13, 680 AD.

Hussein ibn Ali's companions numbered 32 horsemen and 40 infantrymen.^[37] Hussein rode on his horse Zuljanah.

Hussein ibn Ali called the people around him to join him for the sake of God and to defend Muhammad's family. His speech affectedHurr, the commander of the Tamim and Hamdan tribes who had stopped Hussein from his journey. He abandoned Umar ibn Sa'ad and joined Hussein's small band of followers.^[38]

On the other side, Yazid had sent Shimr ibn Thil-Jawshan (his chief commander) to replace Umar ibn Sa'ad as the commander.^[38][39][40]

The battle begins[edit]

Umar ibn Sa'ad advanced and fired an arrow at Hussein ibn Ali's army, saying: "Give evidence before the governor that I was the first thrower." Ibn Sa'ad's army started showering Hussein's army with arrows.^[41][42] Hardly any men from Hussein ibn Ali's army escaped from being shot by an arrow.^[42][43] Both sides began fighting. Successive assaults resulted in the death of a group of Hussein ibn Ali's companions.^[42][44]

The first skirmish was between the right flank of Hussein's army with the left of the Syrian army. A couple of dozen men under the command of Zuhayr ibn Qayn fought heroically and repulsed the initial infantry attack and in the process destroyed the left flank of the Syrian army which in disarray collided with the middle of the army. Seeing this, the Syrian army quickly retreated and broke the pre-war verbal agreement of not using arrows and lances. This agreement was made in view of the small number of Hussein ibn Ali's companions. Umar ibn Sa'ad on advice of 'Amr ibn al Hajjaj ordered his army not to come out for any duel and to attack Hussein ibn Ali's army together.^[45][46]

`Amr ibn al-Hajjaj attacked Hussein ibn Ali's right wing, but the men were able to maintain their ground, kneeling down as they planted their lances. They were thus able to frighten the enemy's horses. When the horsemen came back to charge at them again, Hussein's men met them with their arrows, killing some of them and wounding others.<sup>[46][47]</sup> `Amr ibn al-Hajjaj kept saying the following to his men, "Fight those who abandoned their creed and who deserted the jam`a!" Hearing him say so, Hussein ibn Ali said to him, "Woe unto you, O `Amr! Are you really instigating people to fight me?! Are we really the ones who abandoned their creed while you yourself uphold it?! As soon as our souls part from our bodies, you will find out who is most worthy of entering the fire!^[46][48]

In order to prevent random and indiscriminate showering of arrows on Hussein ibn Ali's camp which had women and children in it, Hussein's followers went out to single combats. Men like Burayr ibn Khudhayr,^[49] Muslim ibn Awsaja^[45][50] and Habib ibn Muzahir^[51][52] were slain in the fighting. They were attempting to save Hussein's life by shielding him. Every casualty had a considerable effect on their military strength since they were vastly outnumbered by Yazid I's army. Hussein's companions were coming, one by one, to say goodbye to him, even in the midst of battle. Almost all of Hussein's companions were killed by the onslaught of arrows or lances.

After almost all of Hussein's companions were killed, his relatives asked his permission to fight. The men of Banu Hashim, the clan of Muhammad and Ali, went out one by one. Ali al-Akbar ibn Husayn, the middle son of Hussein ibn Ali, was the first one of theHashemite who received permission from his father.^[51][53][54]

Casualties from Banu Hashim were sons of Ali ibn Abi Talib, sons of Hasan ibn Ali, a son of Hussein ibn Ali, a son of Abdullah ibn Ja'faribn Abi-Talib and Zaynab bint Ali, sons of Aqeel ibn Abi Talib, as well as a son of Muslim ibn Aqeel. There were seventy-two Hashemites dead in all (including Hussein ibn Ali).^[55]

Death of Al-Abbas ibn Ali[edit]

Al-Abbas ibn Ali advanced towards a branch of the Euphrates along a dyke. Al-Abbas ibn Ali continued his advance into the heart of ibn Sa'ad's army.^[56] He was under heavy shower of arrows but was able to penetrate them and get to the branch leaving heavy casualties from the enemy. He immediately started filling the water skin. In a remarkable and immortal gesture of loyalty to his brother and Muhammad's grandson he did not drink any water despite being severely thirsty. He put the water skin on his right shoulder and started riding back toward their tents. Umar ibn Sa'ad ordered an outright assault on Al-Abbas ibn Ali saying that if Al-Abbas ibn Ali succeeded in taking water back to his camp, they would not be able to defeat them till the end of time. A massive enemy army blocked his way and surrounded him. He was ambushed from behind a bush and his right arm was cut off. Al-Abbas ibn Ali put the water skin on his left shoulder and continued his way but his left arm was also cut off. Al-Abbas ibn Ali now held the water skin with his teeth. The army of ibn Sa'ad started shooting arrows at him, one arrow hit the water skin and water poured out of it, now he turned his horse back towards the army and charge towards them but one arrow hit his eyes and someone hit a gurz on his head and he fell off the horse. In his last moments when Al-Abbas ibn Ali was wiping the blood in his eyes to enable him to see Hussein's face,^{[citation needed]} Al-Abbas ibn Ali said not to take his body back to the camps because he had promised to bring back water but could not and so could not face Bibi Sakinah, the daughter of Hussein ibn Ali. Then he called Hussein, "brother" for the first time in his life. Before the death of Abbas, Hussein ibn Ali said: "Abbas your death is like the breaking of my back".^{[citation needed]}

Death of Hussein ibn Ali[edit]

Hussein ibn Ali told Yazid's army to offer him single battle, and they gave him his request. He killed everybody that fought him in single battles.^[57] He frequently forced his enemy into retreat, killing a great number of opponents. Hussein and earlier his son Ali al-Akbar ibn Husayn were the two warriors who penetrated and dispersed the core of ibn Sa'ad's army (Qalb-e-Lashkar), a sign of extreme chaos in traditional warfare.

Hussein advanced very deep in the back ranks of the Syrian army. When the enemies stood between him and the tents he shouted:

"Woe betide you oh followers of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb's dynasty! If no religion has ever been accepted by you and you have not been fearing the resurrection day then be noble in your world, that's if you were Arabs as you claim."^[58]

Then his enemies invaded back toward him. They continuously attacked each other,^[59] Until his numerous injuries caused him to stay a moment. At this time he was hit on his forehead with a stone. He was cleaning blood from his face while he was hit on the heart with arrow and he said: "In the name of Allah, and by Allah, and on the religion of the messenger of Allah." Then he raised his head up and said: "Oh my God! You know that they are killing a man that there is son of daughter of a prophet on the earth except him." He then grasped and pulled the arrow out of his chest, which caused heavy bleeding.^[60]

He became very weak and stopped fighting. The soldiers approaching him gave up confrontation, seeing his position. One soldier, however, walked up to Hussein and hit him on his head with his sword.

The enemies hesitated to fight Hussein, but they decided to surround him. At this time Abdullah ibn Hasan, an underage boy, escaped from the tents and ran to Hussein. When a soldier intended to slay Hussein, Abdullah ibn Hasan defended his uncle with his arm, which was cut off. Hussein hugged Abd-Allah, but the boy was already hit by an arrow.^[61]

Hussein got on his horse and tried to leave, but Yazid's army continued pursuit. According to Shia tradition, a voice came from skies stating: "We are satisfied with your deeds and sacrifices."^{[citation needed]} Hussein then sheathed his sword and tried to get down from the horse but was tremendously injured and so the horse let him down. He then sat against a tree.^[62]

Umar ibn Sa'ad ordered a man to dismount and to finish the job. Khowali ibn Yazid al-Asbahiy preceded the man but became afraid and did not do it. Then Shimr ibn Dhiljawshan dismounted his horse and cut Hussein's throat with his sword whilst Hussein was prostrating to God. Just before his throat was about to be cut, Hussein asked Shimr ibn Dhiljawshan, "Have you done your prayers today?" and this shocked Shimr because he did not expect anyone in the position of Hussein to ask such a question. Then Imam Hussain (A.S) asked for the permission to do Namaz-e-Asr (because it was the time of 3rd prayer). Shimir gave the permission to say the prayers and Imam Hussain (A.S) started prayer and when he went into Sajda. Lanti Shimr ibn Dhiljawshan betrayed and said: "I swear by God that I am cutting your head while I know that you are grandson of the messenger of Allah and the best of the people by father and mother" he cut head of Hussein ibn Ali with his sword and raised the head .^[63] Then ibn Sa'ad's men looted all the valuables from Hussein's body.

Aftermath[edit]

Umar ibn Sa'ad sent Hussein's head to ibn Ziyad on Ashura afternoon and ordered the army to sever the heads of his comrades and to send them to Kufa. The heads were distributed to various tribes enabling them to gain the favor of ibn Ziyad. Ibn Sa'ad remained in Karbala until the next noon.^[64]

After ibn Sa'ad's army went out of Karbala, some people from Banu Asad tribe came there and buried their dead, but did not mark any of graves, with the exception of Hussain's which was marked with a simple plant. Later Ali ibn Hussain returned to Karbala to identify the grave sites. Hurr was buried by his tribe a distance away from the battlefield.^[65]

On Muharram 11 (October 11, 680 CE), all captives including all women and children were then loaded onto camels with neither saddle nor shade and were moved toward Kufa. As they approached Kufa, its people gathered to see them. Some women of Kufa gathered veils for them after learning that they were relatives of Muhammad. Among the captives were Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-'Abidin, who was gravely ill, as well as Hassan ibn Hassan al-Muthanna, who was seriously injured in the battle of Karbala.^[66]

Zaynab bint Ali pointed at the people to be quiet. Then she addressed the people of Kufa:

"The praise is exclusively attributed to Allah. And greetings to my father (grand father), Muhammad, and to his pure and benevolent family. And then, Oh people of Kufa! Oh deceitful and reneger people! Do you weep? So let tears not be dried and let groans not be finished. ... Beware, such a bad preparation you have made for yourself that Allah became furious of you and you will be at punishment forever. Do you weep and cry? Yes, by Allah, do weep numerously and do laugh less! Since you brought its shame and fault on yourself and you will not be able to cleanse it forever. ..."^[67]

During the journey from Karbala to Kufa, and from Kufa to Damascus, Hussein's sister Zaynab bint Ali and Umm Kulthum bint Ali, and son Ali ibn al-Husayn gave various speeches that exposed the truth about Yazid and told the Muslim world of the various atrocities committed in Karbala. After being brought to Yazid's court, Zaynab courageously gave a famous speech in which she denounced Yazid's claim to the caliphate and eulogized Hussein's uprising.

The prisoners were held in Damascus for a year. During this year, some prisoners died of grief, most notably Sukayna bint Husayn. The people of Damascus began to frequent the prison, and Zaynab and Ali ibn al-Husayn used that as an opportunity to further propagate the message of Hussein and explain to the people the reason for Hussein's uprising. As public opinion against Yazid began to foment in Syria and parts of Iraq, Yazid ordered their release and return to Medina, where they continued to tell the world of Hussein's cause.

Following the Battle of Karbala, Husseins second cousin Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr then confronted Yazid. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr was the son of a al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam a cousin of Ali and Muhammad and the son of Asma bint Abu Bakr, Abu Bakr's daughter.

Asma’s son, Abdullah, and his cousin, Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr, were both grandsons of Abu Bakr and nephews of Aisha. When Hussein ibn Ali was killed in Karbala, Abdullah, who had been Hussein’s friend, collected the people of Mecca and made the following speech:

“O people! No other people are worse than Iraqis and among the Iraqis, the people of Kufa are the worst. They repeatedly wrote letters and called Imam Hussein to them and took bay’at (allegiance) for his caliphate. But when Ibn Zeyad arrived in Kufa, they rallied around him and killed Imam Hussein who was pious, observed the fast, read the Quran and deserved the caliphate in all respects.”^[68]

After his speech, the people of Mecca also joined Abdullah to take on Yazid. When he heard about this, Yazid had a silver chain made and sent to Mecca with the intention of having Walid ibn Utbah arrest Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr with it.^[68] In Mecca and Medina Hussein’s family had a strong support base, and the people were willing to stand up for them. Hussein’s remaining family moved back to Madina. Eventually Abdullah consolidated his power by sending a governor to Kufa. Soon Abdullah established his power in Iraq, southernArabia, the greater part of Syria and parts of Egypt.

Yazid tried to end Abdullah’s rebellion by invading the Hejaz, and he took Medina after the bloody Battle of al-Harrah followed by the siege of Mecca. But his sudden death ended the campaign and threw the Umayyads into disarray, with civil war eventually breaking out. This essentially split the Islamic empire into two spheres. After the Umayyad civil war ended, Abdullah lost Egypt and whatever he had of Syria to Marwan I. This, coupled with the Kharijite rebellions in Iraq, reduced his domain to only the Hejaz.

Following the sudden death of Yazid and his son Mu'awiya II took over and then abdicated and died in 683, Ibn al-Zubayr expelled Yazid's forces from most of Arabia. In Syria Marwan ibn Hakim, a cousin of Mu'awiya I, was then declared caliph. Marwan had a short reign dying in 685 but he was succeeded by his able son Abd al-Malik. The Kharijite in Iraq weakened Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and after a battle with the Umayyads in Syria, he was isolated in the Tihamah and the Hejaz regions ^[69] the Kharijite rebels then established an independent state in central Arabia in 684.

Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr was finally defeated by Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, who sent Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. Hajjaj was from Ta’if, as were those who had killed Hussein. In his last hour, Abdullah asked his mother Asma what he should do. Asma replied to her son:^[70]

“You know better in your own self that if you are upon the truth and you are calling towards the truth go forth, for people more honourable than you were killed and have been killed, and if you are not upon the truth, then what an evil son you are, you have destroyed yourself and those who are with you. If you say what you say, that you are upon the truth and you will be killed at the hands of others then you will not truly be free, for this is not the statement of someone who is free... How long will you live in this world, death is more beloved to me than this state you are on, this state of weakness.”

Then Abdullah said to his mother after she had told him to go forth and fight: “I am afraid I will be mutilated by the people of Sham. I am afraid that they will cut up my body after they have killed me.” She said: “After someone has died, it won’t make any difference what they do to you if you have been killed.” Abdullah said to his mother:

“I did not come to you except to increase myself in knowledge. Look and pay attention to this day, for verily, I am a dead man. Your son never drank wine, nor was he fornicator, nor did he wrong any Muslim or non-Muslim, nor was he unjust. I am not saying this to you to show off or show how pure I am but rather as an honour to you.”

Abdullah then left by himself on his horse to take on Hajjaj. Hajjaj’s army defeated and Abdullah on the battlefield in 692. He beheaded him and crucified his body. He said, “No one must take down his body except Asma. She must come to me and ask my permission, and only then will his body be taken down.” Asma refused to go and ask permission to take down her son's body. It was said to her, "If you don’t go, his body will remain like that.” She said, “Then let it be.” Eventually Hajjaj came to her and asked, "What do you say about this matter?” She replied, “Verily, you have destroyed him and you have ruined his life, and with that you have ruined your hereafter.”

The defeat of Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr re-established Umayyad control over the Empire.

A few years later the people of Kufa called Zayd ibn Ali, the grandson of Hussein, over to Kufa. Zaydis believe that in Zayd’s last hour, he was also betrayed by the people of Kufa, who said to him: “May God have mercy on you! What do you have to say on the matter of Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab?” Zayd ibn Ali said, “I have not heard anyone in my family renouncing either of them, nor saying anything but good about them... When they were entrusted with government, they behaved justly with the people and acted according to the Qur'an and the Sunnah.”^{[71][72][73][74]}

The presence of Muhammad[edit]

Although Muhammad had died before the Battle of Karbala. According to the hadith book compiled by the Sunni scholar Mishkat al-Masabih. Salma went to visit Muhammad's wife Umme Salamah. Finding Umme Salma crying, she asked why was she crying.

"I went to visit Umm Salamah and found her weeping. I asked her what was making her weep and she replied that she had seen Allah's Messenger (meaning in a dream) with dust on his head and beard. She asked him what was the matter and he replied, `I have just been present at the slaying of al-Husayn.'"^[18]

Historiography of the battle of Karbala[edit]

Primary sources[edit]

The first historian to systematically collect the reports of eyewitnesses of this event was Abu Mikhnaf (died in 157 AH/774 CE) in a work titled Kitab Maqtal Al-Husayn.^[75] Abi Mikhnaf's original seems to have been lost and that which has reached today has been transmitted through his student Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi (died in 204 AH.) There are four manuscripts of the Maqtal, located at Gotha (No. 1836), Berlin (Sprenger, Nos. 159–160), Leiden (No. 792), and Saint Petersburg (Am No. 78) libraries.^[76]

Rasul Jafarian has counted five primary sources that are now available. Among the original works on maqātil (pl. of maqtal or place of death / martyrdom and hence used for books narrating the incident of Karbala) the ones that could be relied upon for reviewing the Karbala happenings are five in number. All these five maqtals belong to the period between the 2nd century AH (8th CE) and the early 4th century AH (10th CE). These five sources are the Maqtal al-Husayn of Abu Mikhnaf; the Maqtal al-Husayn of Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi, Sunni historian; the Maqtal al-Husayn of Al-Baladhuri, Sunni Historian; the Maqtal al-Husayn of Abū Ḥanīfa Dīnawarī, and the Maqtal al-Husayn of Ahmad ibn A'zham.^[77]

However, some other historians have recognized some of these as secondary sources. For example Laura Veccia Vaglieri has found that Al-Baladhuri (died 279AH/892-893CE) like Tabari has used Abu Mikhnaf but has not mentioned his name.^[78] On the basis of the article of "Abi Mikhnaf" in "Great Islamic Encyclopedia" Ahmad ibn A'zham has mentioned Abu Mikhnaf in "Al-Futuh" thus he should be recognized as secondary source.^[79]

Secondary sources[edit]

Then latter Muslim historians have written their histories on the basis of the former ones especially Maqtal Al-Husayn of Abu Mikhnaf. However they have added some narrations through their own sources which were not reported by former historians.

Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari narrated this story on the basis of Abu Mikhnaf's report through Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi in his history, History of the Prophets and Kings.^[80] Also there is fabricated version of Abu Mekhnaf's book in Iran and Iraq.^[75] Then other Sunni Muslim historians including Al-Baladhuri and Ibn Kathir narrated the events of Karbala from Abu Mikhnaf. Also among Shia Al-Shaykh Al-Mufidused it in Irshad.^[81] However, followers of Ali – later to be known as Shia Muslims – attached a much greater importance to the battle and have compiled many accounts known as Maqtal Al-Husayn.

Shia writings[edit]

Salwa Al-Amd has classified Shia writings in three groups:^[82]

1. The legendary character of this category associates the chronological history of Hussein ibn Ali with notions relating to the origin of life and the Universe, that have preoccupied the human mind since the beginning of creation, and in which Al-Husayn is eternally present. This category of writing holds that a person's stance toward Hussein ibn Ali and Ahl al- Bayt is a criterion for reward and punishment in the afterlife. It also transforms the historical boundaries of Hussein ibn Ali's birth in 4 Hr. and his martyrdom in 61 Hr. to an eternal presence embracing the boundaries of history and legend.
2. This category comprises the literary works common in rituals and lamentations (poetic and prose) and is characterized by its melodramatic style, which aims to arouse pity and passion for Ahl al- Bayt's misfortunes, and charge feelings during tempestuous political circumstances on the memory of Ashura.
3. This category is the nearest to Sunni writings because it fully cherishes the historical personality of Hussein ibn Ali and regards the Karbala incident as a revolt against oppression; dismissing the legendary treatment, while using the language of revolt against tyranny and despotic sovereignty. A model writer of this category is Mohamed Mahdi Shams Al-Din.

History distortion[edit]

As Jafarian says "The holding of mourning ceremonies for Hussein ibn Ali was very much in vogue in the eastern parts of Iran before theSafavids came to power. Kashefi wrote the "Rawzah al-Shuhada" for the predominantly Sunnis region of Herat and Khurasan at a time when the Safavid state was being established in western Iran and had no sway in the east."^[83]

After the conversion of Sunni Iran to the Shia faith, many Iranian authors composed poems and plays commemorating the battle.^[84]Most of these compositions are only loosely based upon the known history of the event.^[83]

Some 20th-century Shia scholars have protested the conversion of history into mythology. Prominent critics include:

• Morteza Motahhari^[85][86][87]
• Abbas Qomi, author of Nafas al-Mahmoum^[88]
• Sayyid Abd-al-Razzaq Al-Muqarram, author of Maqtalul-Husayn^[89]

Also several books have been written in Persian language about political backgrounds and aspects of the battle of Karbala.^[90]

Impact on literature[edit]

Mourning of Muharram
Events
Battle of Karbala
Figures
Imam Husayn Ali Akbar ibn Husayn Ali Asghar ibn Husayn al-Abbas ibn Ali Zaynab bint Ali Sukayna bint Husayn Muslim ibn Aqeel
Places
Imam Husayn Shrine Hussainia
Times
Day of Ashura Arba'een
Customs
Majlis-e-Aza Marsia Noha Soaz Ta'zieh Tabuik Hosay Chup Tazia

The theme of suffering and martyrdom occupies a central role in the history of religion from the earliest time. Sacrifices are a means for reaching higher and loftier stages of life; to give away parts of one's fortune or to sacrifice members of one's family enhances one's religious standing. Taking into account the importance of sacrifice and suffering for the development of man, Shia literature has given a central place to the death on the battlefield of Muhammed's grandson Hussein ibn Ali.^{[citation needed]} The development of the whole genre of marsia poetry and ta'zieh theatre in the Persian and Indo-Persian world, or in the popular Turkish tradition is in this way.^{[citation needed]}

Persian literature[edit]

The name of Hussein ibn Ali appears several times in the work of the first great Sufi Persian^[91] poet, Sanai. Here, the name of the martyred hero can be found now and then in connection with bravery and selflessness, and Sanai sees him as the prototype of the shahid (martyr), higher and more important than all the other martyrs who are and have been in the world.^[92]

The tendency to see Hussein ibn Ali as the model of martyrdom and bravery continues in the poetry written in the Divan of Attar.

When Shiism became the official religion of Iran in the 15th century, Safavid rulers such as Shah Tahmasp I, patronized poets who wrote about the tragedy of Karbala, and the genre of marsia, according to Persian scholar Wheeler Thackston, "was particularly cultivated by the Safavids."^[93]

The most well-known 15th-century Persian marsiya writer was Mohtasham Kaashaani,^[94] whose works consequently became a source of elegy emulation for Iranians.

Azeri and Turkish literature[edit]

Turkish tradition, especially in the later Bektashi Order, is deeply indebted to Shia Islam. But it seems that already in some of the earliest popular Sufi songs in Turkey, those composed by Yunus Emre in the late 13th or early 14th century, Muhammed's grandsons played a special role.^[95]

Sindhi literature[edit]

As in many other fields of Sindhi poetry, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai of Bhitshah (1689–1752) is the first to express ideas which were later taken up by other poets. He devoted "Sur Kedaro" in his Shah Jo Risalo to the martyrdom of the grandson of Muhammed, and saw the event of Karbala as embedded in the whole mystical tradition of Islam.

A number of poets in Sindh have also composed elegies on Karbala. The most famous of them is Sayed Sabit Ali Shah (1740–1810), whose specialty was the genre of "suwari". This genre, as well as the more common forms, persists in Sindhi poetry throughout the whole of the 18th and 19th centuries, and even into our own times. Sachal Sarmast, Bedil, Mir Hassan, Shah Naser, Mirza Baddhal Beg, Mirza Kalich Beg their devotion to Hussein ibn Ali is well known and deeply embedded in their Sufi teachings.^[92]

Urdu literature[edit]

The most famous corpus of Urdu poetry on Karbala was produced by two poets of Lucknow named Mir Babar Ali Anis and Mirza Salaamat Ali Dabeer. Both these poets lived in the 19th century and they were the contemporaries of the Delhi based poet Mirza Ghalib. The genre of poetry that those two poets produced is known as marsia. Recently^[when?], professor David Matthews of theSchool of Oriental and African Studies, London, has translated a full length (197 stanzas of six lines each) Marsia of Anis into English verse.^[96] This was published in book form by Rupa and Co., New Delhi, India.

The legacy of Urdu Marsia has lasted to this day and many poets are still writing that kind of poetry. Both Josh Malihabadi andMuhammad Iqbal followed the genre of six-line stanza and have produced great poetry.

But there was also another way to understand the role of Hussein ibn Ali in the history of the Islamic people, and importantly, the way was shown by Muhammad Iqbal, who was a Sunni poet and philosopher.

The Adil Shahi and Qutb Shahi dynasties of South India (Deccan), predominantly Twelver Shia in religious persuasion, patronizedDakhini (an early South Indian dialect of Urdu) marsia. Although Persian marsia of Muhtasham Kashani were still recited, the Adil Shahi and Qutb Shahi rulers felt the need to render the Karbala tragedy in the language of ordinary Muslims. In the Adil Shahi and Qutb Shahi kingdom of Deccan, marsia flourished, especially under the patronage of Ali Adil Shah and Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, marsia writers themselves, and poets such as Ashraf Biyabani. Urdu marsia written during this period are still popular in South Indian villages.^[97]

Ghalib described the "King of Martyrs", Hussein ibn Ali, by using metaphors, similar to the ones he used in his odes. Ghalib used regal imagery to underscore the virtues of Hussein ibn Ali. The marsia of Mir Taqi Mir and Mirza Rafi Sauda are similar to those of Ghalib in that they perform their panegyric function for the martyrs of Karbala; but these poets also wrote marsia in which the narration of the Karbala tragedy was saturated with cultural and ceremonial imagery of North India.^[97]

Josh Malihabadi renowned as "Shair-i inqilab", or the poet of revolution, used the medium of marsia as a means to propagate the view that Karbala is not a pathos-laden event of a bygone era, but a prototype for contemporary revolutionary struggles. Josh's writings during the late 1930s and the early 1940s, when nationalist feelings were running high in South Asia, had a momentous impact upon his generation. Josh attempted to galvanize the youth of his day by intertwining their contemporary struggle of liberation from colonization with Hussein ibn Ali's battle:

"O Josh, call out to the Prince of Karbala [Husain],

cast a glance at this twentieth century,

look at this tumult, chaos, and the earthquake.

At this moment there are numerous Yazids, and yesterday there was only one.

From village to village might has assumed the role of truth,

Once again, Human feet are in chains"^[97]

Vahid Akhtar, formerly Professor and Chairman, Dept. of Philosophy at Aligarh Muslim University,^[98] has been crucial in keeping the tradition of marsia dynamic in present-day South Asia. His marsia rely on the images, metaphors, and nuances inherited from 19th century masters, and on the values invested in this genre by socio-religious reformers like Josh Malihabadi. On the back cover of his recently^[when?] published marsia anthology, for example, is the famous Arabic saying: "Every place is Karbala; every day is Ashura." By positing a similarity between Hussein ibn Ali's historic battle and the present day struggle of human kind against renewed forms of Yazidian oppression, Akhtar deflects the interpretation of the martyrs of Karbala as mere insignia of Islamic history; they are instead posed as the sinews for the revival of an ideal Islamic state of being.^[99]

Bengali literature[edit]

Mir Mosharraf Hossain wrote the novel Bishad Shindhu and Kazi Nazrul Islam wrote many poems on this incident. Marsias are still sung on 10th Muharram.^{[citation needed]}

Shia observances[edit]

Shia Muslims commemorate the Battle of Karbala every year in the Islamic month of Muharram. The mourning of Muharram begins on the first day of the Islamic calendar and then reaches its climax on Muharram 10, the day of the battle, known as Ashurah. It is a day of Majlis, public processions, and great grief. In the Indian sub-continent Muharram in the context of remembrance of the events of Karbala means the period of two months & eight days i.e. 68 days starting from the evening of 29 Zill-Hijjah and ending on the evening of 8 Rabi-al-Awwal.^[100] Men and women chant and weep, mourning Hussein ibn Ali, his family, and his followers. Speeches emphasize the importance of the values the sacrifices Hussein ibn Ali made for Islam. Shia mourners in countries with a significant majority flagellate themselves with chains or whips, which in extreme cases may causing bleeding.^[101] This mainly takes place in countries such as India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq and the villages and poorer areas of Iran.^{[citation needed]} Most Shias show grievances, however, through weeping and beating their chests with their hands in a process called Lattum/Matam while one recites aLatmyah/Nauha.^{[citation needed]} Forty days after Ashurah, Shias mourn the death of Hussein ibn Ali in a commemoration calledArba'een.^[102]

In South Asia, the Battle of Karbala has inspired a number of literary and non-musical genres, such as the marsia, noha, and soaz.

See also[edit]

• Al-Mukhtar
• Persecution of Shia Muslims
• Sahabah
• wikisource:The Sermon of Ali ibn Husayn in Damascus
• Mokhtarnameh
• The Hussaini Encyclopedia

Footnotes[edit]

References[edit]

• Al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn Jarir (1990). History of the Prophets and Kings, translation and commentary issued iby I. K. A. Howard.SUNY Press. ISBN 0-395-65237-5. (volume XIX.)

Bibliography[edit]

• al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn Jarir, History of the Prophets and Kings; Volume XIX The Caliphate of Yazid b. Muawiyah, translated by I.K.A Howard, SUNY Press, 1991, ISBN 0-7914-0040-9.
• Kennedy, Hugh, The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State, Routledge, 2001.
• al-Muqarram, 'Abd al Razzaq, Maqtal al-Husayn (Martrydom Epic of Imam al-Husain ('a)), Al-Kharsan Foundation for Publications

External links[edit]

• What is Muharram?
• A Probe Into the History of Ashura by Dr. Ibrahim Ayati
• Battle of Karbalāʾ, Britannica
• List of the casualties of Karbla

Sunni links[edit]

• Karbala – A Lesson For Mankind

Shia links[edit]

• Events of Karbala
• Ashura.com
• Poetryofislam.com, poetry on Kerbala by Mahmood Abu Shahbaaz Londoni
• Sacred-texts.com, Battle of Karbala (English)
• Battle of Karbala

[show] v  t  e List of casualties at the Battle of Karbala