Product Code Database
The First Fitna () was the first civil war in the Ummah. It led to the end of the Rashidun Caliphate and the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate. The civil war involved three main factions; the supporters of the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali, the supporters of Uthman, primarily led by Mu'awiya and Aisha, and the Kharijites.
The roots of the first civil war can be traced back to the assassination of the second caliphate, Umar. Before he died from his wounds, Umar formed a shura which elected Uthman as the next caliph. During the final years of Uthman's caliphate, he was accused of nepotism and killed by rebels in 656. After Uthman's assassination, Ali was elected the fourth caliph. Aisha, Talha, and Zubayr opposed Ali's accession and revolted against Ali to depose him. The two parties fought the Battle of the Camel in December 656, from which Ali emerged victorious. Afterwards, Mu'awiya, the incumbent governor of Syria, refused to recognise Ali as caliph and declared war. The two parties fought the Battle of Siffin in July 657, which ended in a stalemate and arbitration.
This arbitration was resented by the Kharijites, who declared Ali, Mu'awiya, and their followers infidels. Following Kharijite violence against civilians, Ali's forces crushed them in the Battle of Nahrawan. Soon after, Mu'awiya also gained control of Egypt with the aid of Amr ibn al-As.
In 661, Ali was assassinated by the Kharijite Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam. After Ali's death, his heir Hasan was chosen as caliph and soon after attacked by Mu'awiya. The embattled Hasan concluded a peace treaty, acknowledging the rule of Mu'awiya, who subsequently founded the Umayyad Caliphate and ruled as its first caliph.
Uthman succeeded Umar upon the latter's assassination by a slave in 644. The new caliph's policies elicited discontent among the Muslim elite as well as accusations of nepotism. He began centralizing power by relying on his Umayyad dynasty relatives, who had long opposed Muhammad before converting to Islam in 630. His favor toward relatives was to the exclusion of other members of the Quraysh, who had enjoyed significant authority during the reign of his two predecessors. He appointed his kinsmen to all of the provincial governorships.. Although Uthman continued Muslim expansion in Persia and Egypt, these conquests came to a halt by the later half of his reign.. The influx of spoils slowed, magnifying economic issues that had previously been tempered by incoming revenue. This was coupled with Arab nomads' antipathy toward central authority, which had hitherto been superseded by the continued war effort. The continued migration of tribes from Arabia to the conquered territories also resulted in reduced payments from the revenue of the lands, which led to resentment among the earlier settlers.. Early settlers also saw their status threatened by land grants in the conquered territories to prominent Qurayshites like Talha ibn Ubayd Allah and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, as well as land acquisitions by late-arriving tribal chiefs, such as Ashath ibn Qays. These chiefs were given this territory in exchange for their lands in Arabia.. Furthermore, Uthman took control of the crown lands of Iraq as state assets, and demanded that the provincial surplus be forwarded to the caliph. This interference in provincial affairs brought about widespread opposition to his rule, especially from Iraq and Egypt, where the majority of the conquering armies had settled.
Encouraged by the Medinese elite including prominent figures like Talha, Zubayr, Amr ibn al-As (a former governor of Egypt who Uthman deposed), and Muhammad's wife Aisha, the provincial opposition subsequently broadened into open rebellion. Dissidents from Egypt and Iraq marched on Medina, killing the caliph in June 656.. Ali, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, was subsequently recognized caliph.
The two armies met outside Basra. After three days of failed negotiations, the battle began in the afternoon of 8 December 656 and lasted until the evening.. . . Zubayr left the field without fighting. Likely for the dishonorable act of leaving his fellow Muslims behind in a civil war he caused, Zubayr was pursued and killed by the troops of Al-Ahnaf, a chief of the Banu Sa'd who had remained on the sidelines of the battle.. . Talha was killed by the Umayyad Marwan I.
With the deaths of Talha and Zubayr, the fate of the battle was sealed in favor of Ali. However, the fight continued until Ali's troops succeeded in killing Aisha's camel, which her forces had rallied around. From this camel, the battle received its name.. . . . After admonishing Aisha, Ali sent her back to Medina, escorted by her brother. Ali also announced a public pardon and set the prisoners free.. . . . This pardon was also extended to high-profile rebels, including Marwan, who soon joined with his Umayyad kinsman Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the governor of Bilad al-Sham, as a senior advisor.. . .
In response, Mu'awiya declared war on Ali on behalf of the Syrians, demanding vengeance for Uthman's death. The governor aimed to depose Ali and establish a Syrian council to appoint the next caliph, who would presumably be Mu'awiya himself.. Ali responded by letter that Mu'awiya was welcome to bring his case to Ali's court of justice, asking him to offer any evidence that would incriminate Ali in the murder of Uthman. Ali also challenged Mu'awiya to name any Syrian who would qualify for a council.
Ali called a council of Islamic ruling elite which urged him to fight Mu'awiya.. The two armies met at Siffin, west of the Euphrates, in 657 CE.. There, the two sides negotiated for weeks. Notably, Mu'awiya repeated his proposition to recognize Ali in return for Syria and Egypt, which was again rejected. In turn, Ali challenged Mu'awiya to a one-on-one duel to settle the matters and avoid the bloodshed. This offer was declined by Mu'awiya.. . The negotiations ceased without success on 18 July 657 and the two sides prepared for the battle.. . Fighting began on Wednesday, 26 July, and lasted for three or four days.. . By the final day, the balance had shifted in Ali's favor.. . When Mu'awiya was informed his army could not win, he decided to appeal to the Quran.. . . . . . . Before noon, Syrians raised copies of the book on their lances, shouting, "Let the book of God be the judge between us.". . . Although Ali was suspicious of this appeal, his forces ceased fighting.. . . Compelled by strong peace sentiments in his army and threats of mutiny, Ali accepted a proposal for arbitration..
The two arbitrators met together, first at Dumat al-Jandal and then at Udhruh, and the proceedings likely lasted until mid April 658 CE.. . At Dumat al-Jandal, the arbitrators reached the verdict that Uthman had been killed wrongfully and that Mu'awiya had the right to seek revenge.. . According to scholar Wilferd Madelung, this verdict was political rather than judicial, and a blunder of the naive Abu Musa.. This verdict strengthened the Syrians' support for Mu'awiya and weakened the position of Ali.. . . .
The second meeting at Udhruh likely broke up in disarray when Amr violated his earlier agreement with Abu Musa.. . . . The Kufan delegation reacted furiously to Abu Musa's concessions, and the erstwhile arbitrator fled to Mecca in disgrace.. Conversely, Amr was received triumphantly by Mu'awiya on his return to Syria.. . After the conclusion of the arbitration in 659 CE, Syrians pledged their allegiance to Mu'awiya as the next caliph.. . . . . Ali denounced the conduct of the two arbitrators as contrary to the Quran and began to organize a new expedition to Syria.. . .
The Kharijites elected Abd Allah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi as their caliph. They denounced Ali's leadership, and declared him, his followers, and the Syrians to be infidels. They declared the shedding blood of such infidels to be halal.. . The Kharijites began interrogating civilians about their views on Uthman and Ali, and executing those who did not share their views.. . In one notable incident, the Kharijites disemboweled a farmer's pregnant wife, cut out and killed her unborn infant, before beheading the farmer.. Kharijites have been viewed as the forerunners of Islamic extremists.. Ali received the news of the Kharijites' violence and moved to Nahrawan with his army. There, he asked the Kharjites to surrender the murderers and return to their families. The Kharijites, however, responded defiantly that they were collectively responsible for the murders. After multiple failed attempts at de-escalation, Ali announced an amnesty (that did not apply to murderers) and barred his army from commencing hostilities.. The remaining Kharijites, estimated at 2,800, attacked and were vanquished by the vastly superior army of Ali. The injured, estimated at 400, were pardoned by Ali.
In January 661, while praying at the Mosque of Kufa, Ali was assassinated by the Kharijite Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam.
Hasan predeceased Mu'awiya, dying in 670 at the age of 46. It is commonly believed that he was poisoned at the instigation of Mu'awiya..
|
|
