Ali's
Caliphate confined to Iraq and Iran
Busr bin Abu Artah was dispatched to
the Hijâz and Yemen while the Madinites took the oath of allegiance at the hand
of Mu'âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
followed by the Makkans and Yemenites. Ubaidullah bin Abbâs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was turned out from San'â', the capital
of Yemen. In short, by 40 AH, Yemen, Hijâz, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt became
provinces under the control of Mu'âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) and these territories were free from the weaknesses of
discontent, insurgence, and internal disputes.
Both Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and Mu'âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
had reached consensus on the issue of leaving Makkah and Al-Madinah outside
their rule. Ali's caliphate was confined to Iraq and Iran. But a large number
of Arabian tribes of Iraq lacked attachment with his caliphate while the
Persians were also dreaming of their own rule. Even Kufah and Basrah, the two
principal cities had a considerable number of men who preferred Mu'âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). Even though Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was determined to
establish one Islamic rule throughout by virtue of his courage and bravery, his
men showed a lack of courage and loyalty. Ali's army was largely manned by
non-Arabs while that of Mu'âwiyah's had mostly Arabs in command. With the
inclusion of Hijâz and Yemen, Mu'âwiyah's army had achieved much strength and
popularity. Since, he was not on equality with Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) in personal status, greatness and glory, he could not claim
for himself the same position in the world of Islam and so he continued to fear
Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ).
Abdullah
bin Abbâs' Departure from Basrah
During the beginning of 40 AH, one
more ugly incident took place. Abdullah bin Abbâs (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), the governor of Basrah, grew angry with Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and left Basrah. The
exit of Abdullah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
was on account of a false complaint lodged to Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) by Abul-Aswad of Basrah that he had spent from the public
treasury without seeking permission from the Caliph. Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) thanked Abul-Aswad for bringing the
irregularities of the governor to the knowledge of the Caliph and held this as
an act of sympathy. He also wrote Abdullah bin Abbâs (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) that he had received such a complaint and demanded an explanation
from him as well. But the letter did not mention the name of Abul-Aswad.
Abdullah bin Abbâs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
wrote back that the complaint was totally false and baseless for what he had
expended was from his personal account and had nothing to do with the public
treasury. Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
wrote him again, "If you claim that the money spent belonged to yourself
then wherefrom did you get the money and where had you deposited that?" In
reply to the letter Abdullah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
wrote back, "I hate such a governorship, you may choose anybody else as
the governor of Basrah. What I spent was my personal possession and I have
every right to spend it." He dispatched the letter to Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and with it he quit
his post and left for Makkah.
Ali's
Martyrdom
During these very days Aqil bin Abu
Tâlib (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), the brother of Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) grew angry with him
and went to Mu'âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
who welcomed him and fixed a considerable daily allowance for him. Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) felt deeply
aggrieved at the separation of Aqil (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) and his joining the camp of Mu'âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). Now Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) thought military action against Mu'âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) a necessity. It was an occasion when
sixty thousand Kufis took Bai'ah at Ali's hands to support him and fight on his
behalf while they had life in them. He then engaged himself in the task of
collecting more people in addition to the sixty thousand men and procure as
much military equipment as he could.
Dangerous
Plan of the Khawârij
It has been mentioned above that
only nine persons from the Khawârij survived the battle of Naharwân. They were
the persons that were in the leadership positions among the Khawârij, at first
they spread into various parts of Persia and launched violent propaganda
attacks and hatched conspiracies against Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). When their efforts proved fruitless, they came to Iraq and
Hijâz and started seeking listeners. At last, three persons, Abdur-Rahmân bin
Muljam Murâdi, Burak bin Abdullah Tamimi and Amr bin Bakr Tamimi gathered
together in Makkah and kept expressing profound grief over the men slain in
Naharwân. At last they entered into a pact to do away with the three men in
power that had been putting the entire world of Islam to such a great loss and
destruction. According to their plan Abdur-Rahmân bin Muljam Murâdi-the
Egyptian, Burak bin Abdullah Tamimi, and Amr bin Bakr Tamimi Saadi each agreed
to kill Ali, Mu'âwiyah and Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) respectively. Ramadân 16 and the morning prayer were fixed as
the date and time of the assassinations. With this nefarious plan in view, they
left for Kufah, Damascus and Egypt.
When the date fixed for killing
came, Burak bin Abdullah Tamimi entered the mosque of Damascus and hit
Mu'âwiyah with his sword while he was leading Fajr prayer. He then fled the
mosque but was caught. His mission failed because the injuries his victim
received were not fatal. Mu'âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) regained his health after a couple of days of treatment. Burak
was killed then and there, or after several years of captivity according to another
narrative. Mu'âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
then practiced caution and put guards for his safety inside the mosque.
On the same day and date, Amr bin
Bakr struck Kharijah bin Abu Habibah bin Amr and killed him with his sword
mistaking him to be Amir bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) while he was leading the Fajr prayer in the mosque of Egypt.
That morning Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
was absent due to illness and Khârijah bin Abu Habibah, a military officer was
leading the prayer as his substitute. The same day Abdur-Rahmân bin Muljam
attacked Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
in Kufah Mosque while he was leading the Fajr prayer and left him critically
injured, and he died after two days. It is narrated that Abdur-Rahmân bin
Muljam came to Kufah and met his friends but told none about his plan. After
much deliberations he acquainted his friend Shabib bin Bajrah Ashja'i with his
plan and sought his help in killing Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) in return for the killings in Naharwân. He agreed after some
initial reluctance. Furthermore, he came into contact with the relatives of
those ten persons of Tamim tribe who were killed in Naharwân and took advantage
of their anger against Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ).
Ibn Muljam came closer to them and
established friendly terms with them. Among them he saw a very beautiful women
named Qatâm. Her father and brother were also killed in Naharwân. Ibn Muljam
asked for her hand in marriage. She agreed and the head of Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was the bridal
money. Ibn Muljam who had come with the same purpose readily agreed to her
terms. She then asked a person from her relatives, named Wardân to help Ibn
Muljam. On the appointed day Ibn Muljam, Shabib bin Bajrah and Wardân came to
the mosque and hid themselves near the door from the night before the fateful
morning. Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
entered the mosque as usual calling people for prayer. First of all Wardân came
out and struck him with his sword but his sword hit the threshold or the wall
and Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) safely went ahead.
But Ibn Muljam darted towards Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) and struck his forehead with his sword, which gave a deep
injury. Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
called out to catch them. The people assembled in the mosque ran after the
culprits. Wardân and Shabib fled the mosque but Ibn Muljam could not and was
caught inside the mosque.
A Hadrami caught Shabib but he
slipped out of his hands and then disappeared. Wardân fled to his house but was
caught there and put to death. Ibn Muljam was brought before Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). He ordered saying
"He is to be killed if I succumb to my injuries; in case I recover, I
shall deal with him." He then turned towards Banu Abdul-Muttalib and said,
"Make not my assassination a pretext for shedding Muslim blood; you will
kill only my assassin by way of Qisâs." Afterwards he said addressing his
elder son Hasan (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ),
"O Hasan! If I succumb to the injuries I have received, you will kill him
with a stroke of your sword but avoid mutilation for the Prophet (SAW) has
strictly forbidden this."
Although Ibn Muljam's sword had gone
down deep into the brain of Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ), he remained alive through Friday and died only on Saturday,
Ramadan 17. A little before his death Jundub bin Abdullah came to him and said,
"May we elect Hasan as Caliph in case you pass away?" He replied,
"I have nothing to say about it, you will do according to the need of the hour."
Following this he called Hasnain
(Hasan and Husain) (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
and said, "I tell you to keep fearing Allâh and not to indulge in
worldliness. Express no sorrow over what you are not able to get. Always say
the right thing and show mercy to the orphans and help the helpless. Extend
your help to the oppressed while keep opposing the oppressors and keep
following the Qur'ân without fearing reproach in carrying out the Commands of
Allâh." He then said, addressing Muhammad bin Al-Hanafiyah, "I tell
you to follow what I have told. Moreover, show respect to both your brothers;
they command a greater right on you and you must not do anything against their
will." Thereafter he turned to Hasnain (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and said, "You should also treat Muhammad bin
Al-Hanafiyah well and keep making concessions to him." He then took to
dictating his will in general when the last hour approached and he bade his
last farewell with La ilaha illallah (There is no God except Allâh) on his
lips.
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