Whatever Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) did he thought it was right. Similarly, what Amir Muawiya (رضي الله عنه) has done, he did it thinking himself justified. The same was the case with the other Sahabah. Whosoever they found justified, they favored that one, and all these occurrences happened in accordance with the Will of Allah. By creating these inner conflicts and disputes, Allah reserved a group of Sahabas for these affairs while the other group, disliked all of the dissension and infighting and cut themselves off from governmental affairs and took to an ascetic life. When there were no internal disputes, all efforts of the Sahabas were put into resisting and facing the disbelievers and making victories on the battlefield. The regimes of Abu Bakr and Umar bin Khattab (رضي الله عنهما) were full of such skirmishes and battles. All the Sahabas had their eyes fixed on the battlefield and the conquesting of territory.
Though during the caliphate of these
two Sahabas, the work of the compilation of the Qur'an was done, it should have
been completed at the beginning of the period. However, it was not feasible at
that time for the required group of illustrious Sahabas to retire from jihad
and concentrate all their attention and energy on ordering and organizing the
Fiqh (science of the application of the Shari'ah), and protecting and
propagating the Prophet's traditions. Madinah Munawwara had turned into a
military cantonment with a camp that had its ruler sitting on a mat and before
whom was always spread the maps of war-strategies and great governors were seen
engaged in determining specific martial policies and making plans and keeping
watch on the movements of their commanders of the many armies that were
deployed. As the circle of victories widened, these martial engagements increased,
those who were teachers and gave lessons on the Shari'ah and explained its
subtleties, became busy sharpening swords and straightening the feathers of
arrows and making themselves prepared to face the blades of their enemies'
spears.
Those martial displays were very
essential at that time in order to safeguard Islam and keep the Muslims
fearless. During the caliphate of Umar bin Khattab (رضي
الله عنه) these necessary military requirements were done and Islam came
to be known as a victorious religion and the greatest military power. After
that, the immediate requirement was to protect the perfect system of Islam and
all aspects of the Shari'ah, and make available to the group of venerable
Sahabas, the Companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه
وآله وسلم), the opportunity and free time necessary to prepare a group of
Taba'yeen, those who saw the Companions but did not see the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), in order to educate
the future generations, and thereby preserving the Islamic way of life.
Allah with His Divine Power, created
Abdullah bin Saba and his followers, a group of Jews appearing to be Muslims
and made provision for the martyrdom of Omar (رضي الله
عنه) the battle of Jamal and the battle of Siffin each event after
the other. The consequence was that many of the Sahabas who were the conquering
heroes of their enemies like Rustam and Asfandyar on the battlefield, put away
their bows and swords and retired, and left the work of commanding military
expeditions and became engaged in teaching. In the previous pages we have read
how Sad bin Abi Waqas (رضي الله عنه)
the victor of Iran and under whose command the Muslims attained victory in the
battle of Qadisiya, which had witnessed so much blood-shed, preferred to retire
and take to tending flocks of goats and camels instead of participating in
internecine disputes. This was also the case with many other Sahabas. When the
series of victories stopped and internal differences appeared, many of the
Sahabas began to regard the use of swords and arrows as bad. If this was not
the case, there was no other possible way to remove them from the front row of
the battlefield and bring them back to the rearguard.
Abdullah bin Umar (رضي الله عنهما) was the one person whose caliphate the
entire Islamic world would have agreed to but the internal clashes forced him
to live a life of withdrawal. In this book, we have read the same names of
certain people many times, who were somehow involved in these disputes.
However, there were a great number of Sahabas who did not take part in them and
so their names are not mentioned in connection with these historical events.
This dignified group, during that tumultuous times, enabled the people, who
visited them with great respect in their hearts, to understand the reality of
the Islamic Shari'ah and acquainted them with the character of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم). Each of them became
a teacher in their own right and became busy educating others in the
understanding of the Shari'ah.
Madinah Munawwara was the cradle of
the Muhajirin and Ansar and Makkah was the second center of Islam due to Ka'bah.
As long as the Sahaba did not have time for learning and teaching, Madinah
remained the capital. When Allah wanted to use the Sahaba for teaching Islam,
He shifted the capital of the caliphate from Madinah, and Madinah, which only a
short time before, was the center of martial power and military cantonments
turned into a Dar ul-Ulum (Center of Knowledge). If we critically and minutely
read the books on Hadith and Fiqh, the truth will be revealed that the primary
material on Hadith, Fiqh and Tafseer is the gift of that age during which there
were differences among the believers.
Had these differences not appeared
and had Amir Muawiya and Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله
عنهما) not fought with each other, we would have been deprived of a
major and essential part of the Islamic Shariah. But why did it start taking
place? Allah Himself is the Protector of this religion and He Himself makes
provision for its safety. He decreed that there would be differences between
Ali and Amir Muawiya (رضي الله عنهما)
and the opportunities that followed,
Now we look at another aspect of
this issue. Almost all the examples of obstacles, difficulties and
complications that are possible for a government, sultanate or a system of
culture to face, which have been witnessed in the world until now were present
in the clashes between Amir Muawiya and Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنهما). In view of the emergence of these
hardships, the morals and efforts that have been displayed by the various
rulers, ruling dynasties and kings, the most praiseworthy and the best of these
morals and efforts are those of the venerable Sahaba in such situations. The
history of the world is replete with the rise and fall of governments and
nations, successes and failures. No age or regime is free from cunningness,
conspiracies or deceits. When we make research about these things, we find that
the accounts of the clashes of Ali bin Abi Talib and Amir Muawiya (رضي الله عنهما) present the most honorable examples of
all, and we can succeed by choosing the best style of functioning and the best
guidelines for us. It is our blindness and misfortune that instead of making
the Sahaba's differences in Ijtihad and the dashes of Amir Muawiya (رضي الله عنه) and Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) a source of important lessons, insight
and profit, we have turned them into tools for our disunity, bestiality,
poverty and misfortune.
The lines mentioned above may raise
the objection that the limitations of the writing of history have been
trespassed. But I have already admitted that I am writing this book not as an
atheist empirical historian but as a Muslim. I am a Muslim and it is for the
Muslims that I have begun to write this book. Therefore, nothing can deter me
from expressing this idea.
Now before closing the chapter on
Amir Muawiya (رضي الله عنه) we would like to
quote the Honorable Syed Amir Ali, former chief justice of the High Court in
Calcutta from his book entitled 'The History of Islam' using Masoodi as his
reference: "Amir Muawiya (رضي الله عنه)
daily after Fajr prayer used to hear reports of the local superintendents of
the military police or police captains. After that, he used to come to see the
ministers, advisors, and chief associates of the government in connection with
foreign expeditions. In this meeting the sub-ordinate court officials and
administrators would read to him the reports and letters that came from the
provinces. At Noon time he would come out of the palace to lead the prayer and
sit down in the mosque itself. There he would listen to the complaints of the people,
receive their requests and then go back to the palace and meet other
dignitaries. Then he would take the midday meal and then take a short nap.
After 'Asr prayer, he would meet the ministers, associates and advisors. He
used to take supper in the court together with them all and give them one more
opportunity to see him and this ended the day's work." An interesting note
about quoting the Honorable Amir Ali is that he has been considered as leaning
towards the Shia faith and would in that case not normally attribute anything
favorable to Amir Muawiya.
On the whole, during Amir Muawiya's
regime, the series of conquests continued both within and without.
'Amr bin Aâs (رضي الله عنه) says: "I have not seen a man of
greater perseverance and humility than Amir Muawiya (رضي
الله عنه). One day it so happened that I was present in his court and he
was sitting with a pillow at his back. He received a report that the Roman
emperor was about to attack with a huge army. Having read that paper, he threw
it to me. I read it and waited to watch his reaction. However, he kept sitting
in the same posture. He said nothing. A few minutes after that another report
came that Nayel bin Qais, the leader of the Khawarij, had collected an army and
was about to invade Palestine. This report was also passed to me and he said
nothing. I read it and kept waiting for his order all the more anxious but he
continued to remain in the same position. There was no trace of any change on
his face. It was not long when a third report came to the effect that the
Khawarij captives at Mosul broke open the jail and fled away and that they were
collecting near Mosul. Amir Muawiya (رضي الله عنه)
read it also and threw it towards me and kept sitting with the support of the
pillow at the back. A few minutes more and then another letter arrived with the
news that Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه)
with a large army, was about to launch an attack on Syria. That letter was also
thrown towards me. He maintained his position as before".
"My patience grew thin. I said
to him, 'Pieces of bad news are pouring in from all sides. What will you do
now?' He said, 'Though the Roman emperor commands a big army, he will return
after signing an agreement with me. Nayel bin Qais fights for the cause of his
religion. He has captured a city and wants to keep it under his control. I
shall spare him so that he might be pre-occupied with it. The Khawarij who fled
from the jail cannot escape from Allah's jail. But as for Ali's affair, we have
to think and plan how to avenge Uthman bin Affan's blood.' Then he sat up and
immediately issued orders for the settlement of each issue, and then sat down
with the pillow at his back."
Having watched Amir Muawiya's (رضي الله عنه) pomp and grandeur in Syria, Umar bin
Khattab (رضي الله عنه) observed, "Just
as there are Kisra in Persia and Caesar in Rome, similarly there is Amir
Muawiya (رضي الله عنه) in the Arab
land."
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