The Political Method of the Selection of
the Caliph by Vote and Its Disagreement
with the Shi'ite View
Shi'ism believes that the Divine Law of Islam (Shari' ah), whose substance is found in the Book of God and in the tradition (Sunnah)
2 of the Holy Prophet, will remain valid to the Day of Judgment and can never, nor will ever, be altered. A government which is really Islamic cannot, under any pretext, refuse completely to carry out the Shari' ah's injuctions.
3 The only duty of an Islamic government is to make decisions by consultation within the limits set by the Shari' ah and in accordance with the demands of the moment.
The vow of allegiance to Abu-Bakr at Saqifah, which was motivated at least in part by political considerations, and the
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2 Editor's note: The traditions of the Prophet as contained in his sayings are called hadith while his activities, deeds, words and all that made up the life which has become an example to all Muslims are called sunnah.
3 God says in His Word: 'For lo! It is an unassailable Scripture. Falsehood cannot come at it from before it or behind it,' (Qur'an, XLI, 41-42) And He says, 'The decision is for Allah only' (Qur'an, VI, 57, also XII, 40 and 67), meaning the only Shari'ah is the Shari'ah and laws of God which must reach man through prophecy. And He says, 'But he [Muhammad] is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets.' (Qur'an, XXXIII, 40) And He says, 'Whose judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed; such are the disbelievers (Qur'an, V, 44).'
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incident described in the hadith of 'ink and paper,'
1 which occurred during the last days of the illness of the Holy Prophet, reveal the fact that those who directed and backed the movement to choose the caliph through the process of election believed that the Book of God should be preserved in the form of a constitution. They emphasized the Holy Book and paid much less attention to the words of the Holy Prophet as an immutable source of the teachings of Islam. They seem to have accepted the modification of certain aspects of Islamic teachings concerning government to suit the conditions of the moment and for the sake of the general welfare.
This tendency to emphasise only certain principles of the Divine Law is confirmed by many sayings that were later transmitted concerning the companions of the Holy Prophet. For example, the companions were considered to be independent authorities in matters of the Divine Law (mujtahid)
2 being able to exercise independent judgment (ijtihad) in public affairs. It was also believed that if they succeeded in their task, they would be rewarded by God and if they failed, they would be forgiven by Him since they were among the companions. This view was widely held during the early years following the death of the Holy Prophet. Shi ism takes a stricter stand and believes that the actions of the companions, as of all other Muslims, should be judged strictly
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1 Editor's note: According to Shiite sources, after the death of the Prophet, people gathered in the 'covered porch' (saqifah) of Banu-Sa'idah and swore allegiance to Abu-Bakr as caliph. As for the hadith of "ink and paper," it refers to the last moments of the life of the Prophet as _related above.
2 Editor's note: The mujtahid is one who through mastery of the religious sciences and the possession of moral qualities has the right to practice ijtihad or the giving of fresh opinion on matters pertaining to the Shari'ah. The right of exercising one's independent judgment based on the principles of the Law, or ijtihad, has ceased in Sunni Islam since the 3rd/9th century whereas the "gate of ijtihad" has been always open in Shiite Islam. The leading authorities in the Law are called in Shi'ism mujtahids.
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according to the teachings of the Shari' ah. For example, there was the complicated incident involving the famous general Khalid ibn al-Walid in the house of one of the prominent Muslims of the day, Malik ibn Nuwayrah which led to the death of the latter. The tact that Khalid was not at all taken to task for this incident because of his being an outstanding military leader shows
1 in the eyes of Shi'ism an undue lenience toward some of the actions of the companions which were below the norm of perfect piety and righteousness set by the actions of the spiritual elite among the companions.
Another practice of the early years which is criticized by Shi'ism is the cutting off of the Khums
2 from the members of the Household of the Prophet and from the Holy Prophet's relatives.
3 Likewise, because of the emphasis laid by Shi'ism on the sayings and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet, it is difficult for it to understand why the writing down of the text of hadith was completely banned and why, if a written hadith were found, it would be burned.
4 We know that this ban continued through
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1 Tarikh Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 110; Tarikh Abi'l-Fida', vol. L pp. 158.
2 Editor's note: A religions tax paid to the family of the Prophet which was discontinued in Sunni Islam after his death but continues in Shi'ite Islam to this day.
3 Al-Durr al-Manthur, vol. III, pp. 186; Tarikh Ya'qubi, vol. III, pp. 48. Besides these, the necessity of the khums has been mentioned in the Holy Qur'an: "And know that wherever ye take of spoils of war, lo! a fifth (khums) thereof is for Allah, .and for the messenger and for kinsmen..." (Qur'an, VIII, 41).
4 During his caliphate, Abu-Bakr collected five hundred hadiths. 'A'ishah recounts: "One night, I saw my father disturbed until morning. In the morning he told me, 'Bring the hadiths.' Then he set them all on fire." (Kanz al-'Ummal of 'Ala' al-Din Muttaqi, Hyderabad, 1364-75, vol. V, pp. 237.) 'Umar wrote to all cities stating that whosoever had a hadith should destroy it. (Kanz al-'Ummal, vol. V, pp. 237) Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr says: 'During the time of 'Umar hadiths increased. When they were brought to him, he ordered them to be burned." (Tabaqat of Ibn Sa'd. Beirut, 1376,,vol. V, pp. 140.)
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the caliphate of the khulafa' rashidun
1 into the Umayyad period
2 and did not cease until the period of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al- 'Aziz who ruled from AH 99/AD 717 to AH 101/AD 719.
3
During the period of the second caliph (13/634-25/644), there was a continuation of the policy of emphasizing certain aspects of the Shari' ah and of putting aside some of the practices which the Shi'ites believe the Holy Prophet taught and practised. Some practices were forbidden, some were omitted, and some were added. For instance, the pilgrimage of tamattu (a kind of pilgrimage in which the 'umrah ceremony is utilized in place of the hajj ceremony) was banned by Umar during his caliphate, with the decree that transgressors would be stoned; this in spite of the fact that during his final pilgrimage, the Holy Prophet—upon whom be blessings and peace—instituted, as in Qur'an Sarah II, 196, a special form for the pilgrimage ceremonies that might be performed by pilgrims coming from far away. Also, during the lifetime of the Prophet of God, temporary marriage (mut'ah) was practiced, but Umar forbade it. And even though during the life of the Holy Prophet it was the practice to recite in the call to prayers, "Hurry to the best act" (hayya 'alai khayr el-'amal), 'Umar ordered that it be omitted because he said it would prevent people from participating in holy war, jib (It is still recited in the Shi'ite call to prays, but not in the Sunni call.) There were also additions to the Shari' ah; during the time
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1 Editor's note: The first four caliphs, Abu-Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman and 'Ali, were together called the Khulafa' Rashidun, the rightly guided caliphs, and their period of caliphate is sharply distinguished from that of the Umayyad, which followed because the rule of the first four caliphs was strongly religious in character while the Umayyad caliphate was colored by mundane and worldly considerations.
2 Tarikh Abu 'l-Fide', vol. 1, pp. 151, and others similar sources.
3 Editor's note: For the benefit of non-Muslim readers, all dates will be given in both AH (Islamic lunar calendar dating from the Hijrah) and the corresponding AD years (13/634-25/644); when a reference is added to a century, we have given first the Islamic century and then the corresponding Christian century: (4th/10th century).
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of the Prophet, a divorce was valid only if the three declarations of divorce ("I divorce thee") were made on three different occasions, but Umar allowed the triple divorce declaration to be made at one time. Heavy penalties were imposed on those who broke certain of these new regulations, such as stoning in the case of mut ' ah marriage.
It was also during the period of the rule of the second caliph that new social and economic forces led to the uneven distribution of the public treasury (bayt al-mal) among the people,
1 an act which was later the cause of bewildering class differences and frightful and bloody struggles among Muslims. At this time, Mu'awiyah was ruling in Damascus in the style of the Persian and Byzantine kings and was even given the title of the "Khosrow of the Arabs" (a Persian title of the highest imperial power), but no serious protest was made against him for his worldly type of rule.
2
The second caliph wag killed by a Persian slave in 25/644. In accordance with the majority vote of a six-man council, which had assembled by order of the second caliph before his death, the third caliph was chosen. The third caliph did not prevent his Umayyad relatives from becoming dominant over the people during his caliphate and appointed some of them as rulers in the Hijaz, Iraq, Egypt and other Muslim lands.
3 These relatives began to be lax in applying moral principles in government. Some of them openly committed injustice and tyranny, sin and iniquity, and broke certain of the tenets of firmly established Islamic laws.
Before long, streams of protest began to flow toward the capital. But the caliph, who was under the influence of his
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1 Tarikh Ya'qiibi, vol. II, pp. 131; Tdrikh Abil-Fide', vol. I, pp. 160.
2 Usd al-Ghabah of Ibn Athir, Cairo, 1280, vol. IV, pp. 386;al-Isabah of Ibn Hajar ‘Asqalani, Cairo, 1323, vol. III.
3 Tarikh Ya'qubi, vol II, pp. 150; Abu 'l-Fid? ', vol. I, pp. 168; Tarikh Tahari, vol. III, pp. 377, etc.
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relative—particularly Marwan ibn Hakam—
1 did not act promptly or decisively to remove the causes against which the people were protesting. Sometimes it even happened that those who protested were punished and driven away.
An incident that happened in Egypt illustrates the nature of the rule of the third caliph. A group of Muslims in Egypt rebelled against Uthman. Uthm?n sensed the danger and asked 'Ali for help, expressing his feeling of contrition. 'Ali told the Egyptians, "You have revolted in order to bring justice and truth to life. Uthm?n has repented saying, 'I shall change my ways and in three days will fulfill your wishes. I shall expel the oppressive rulers from their posts." 'Ali then wrote an agreement with them on behalf of 'Uthman and they started home. On the way, they saw the slave of Uthman riding on his camel in the direction of Egypt. They became suspicious of him and searched him. on him they found a letter for the governor of Egypt containing the following words: "In the name of God. When 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Addis comes to you beat him with a hundred lashes, shave his head and beard and condemn him to long imprisonment. Do the same in the case of 'Amr ibn al-Hamq, Sawdah ibn Hamran, and 'Urwah ibn Niba'." The Egyptians took the letter and returned with eager to Uthman, saying, "You have betrayed us!" Uthman denied the letter. They said, "Your slave was the carrier of the letter." He answered, "He has committed this act without my permission." They said, "He rode upon your camel." He answered, "They have stolen my camel." They said, "The letter is in the handwriting of your secretary." He replied, "This has been done without my permission and knowledge." They said, "In any case you are not competent to be caliph and must resign, for if this has been done with your permission you are a traitor and if such important matters take place without your permission and knowledge then your incapability and incompetence is proven. In any case, either resign or dismiss the oppressive agents from office immediately." 'Uthman answered, "If I wish to act
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1 T?rikh Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 150; Tarikh Tabari, vol. III, p 397.
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according to your will, then it is you who are the rulers. Then, what is my function?" They stood up and left the gathering in anger.
1
During his caliphate, 'Uthm?n allowed the government of Damascus, at the head of which stood Mu'awiyah, to be strengthened more than ever before. In reality, the center of gravity of the caliphate as far as political power was concerned was shifting to Damascus; and the organization in Medina, the capital of the Islamic world, was politically no more than a form without the necessary power and substance to support it.
2 Finally, in the year 35/656, the people rebelled and after a few days of siege and fighting, the third caliph was killed.
The first caliph was selected through the vote of the majority of the companions, the second caliph by the will and testament of the first, and the third by a six-man council whose members and rules of procedure were organized and determined by the second caliph. Altogether, the policy of these three caliphs, who were in power for twenty five years, was to execute and apply Islamic laws and principles in society in accordance with ijtihad and what appeared as most wise at the time to the caliphs themselves. As for the Islamic sciences, the policy of these caliphs was to have the Holy Qur'an read and understood without being concerned with commentaries upon it or allowing it to become the subject of discussion. The hadith of the Prophet was recited and was transmitted orally without being written down. Writing was limited to the text of the Holy Qur'an and was forbidden in the case of hadith.
3
After the battle of Yamamah, which ended in 12/633, many of those who had been reciters of the Holy Qur'an and who knew it by heart were killed. As a result, Umar ibn al-Al-Khattab
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1 Tarikh Tabari, vol. III, pp. 402-409; T?rikh Ya'qubi, vol. V, pp. 150-151.
2 Tarikh Tabari, vol. III, p, 377.
3 Sahih of Bukhari, vol. VI, pp. 98; Tarikh Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 113.
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proposed to the first caliph to have the verses of the Holy Qur'an collected in written form, saying that if another war were to occur and the rest of those who knew the Qur'an by heart were to be killed, the knowledge of the text of the Holy Book would disappear among men. Therefore, it was necessary to assemble the Qur'anic verses in written form.
1
From the Shi'ite point of view, it appears strange that this decision was made concerning the Qur'an and yet despite the fact that the prophetic hadith, which is the complement of the Qur'an, was faced with the same danger and was not free from corruption in transmission, addition, diminution, forgery and forgetfulness, the same attention was not paid to it. On the contrary, as already mentioned, writing it down was forbidden and all of the written versions of it that were found were burned, as if to emphasize that only the text of the Holy Book should exist in written form.
As for the other Islamic sciences, during this period little effort was made to propagate them, the energies of the community being spent mostly in establishing the new socio-political order. Despite all the praise and consecration which are found in the Qur'an concerning knowledge ('Ilm)
2 and the emphasis placed upon its cultivation, the avid cultivation of the religious sciences was postponed to a later period of Islamic history. Most men were occupied with the remarkable and continuous victories of the Islamic armies, and were carried away by the flood of immeasurable booty, which came from all directions inward the Arabian Peninsula. With this new wealth and the
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1 Tarikh Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 111; Tarikh Tabari, vol. III, pp. 129-132.
2 Editor's note: The word Win means science in its most universal sense, like the Latin scientia, and applies to the religious as well as intellectual, rational and philosophical forms of knowledge. Generally, it is distinguished from ma'rifah or irfan which is Divine knowledge and may be compared to the Latin sapientia. Certain Muslim masters, however, consider Win in its highest sense to stand above irfan since it is a Divine Quality, one of God's Names using al-'Alien, He Who knows.
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worldliness which came along with it, few were willing to devote themselves to the cultivation of the sciences of the Household of the Prophet, at whose head stood 'Ali, whom the Holy Prophet had introduced to the people as the one most versed in the Islamic sciences. At the same time, the inner meaning and purpose of the teachings of the Holy Qur'an were neglected by most of those who were affected by this change. It is strange that, even in the matter of collecting the verses of the Holy Qur'an, 'Ali was not consulted and his name was not mentioned among those who participated in this task, although it was known by everyone that he had collected the text of the Holy Qur'an after the death of the Prophet.
1
It has been recounted in many traditions that after receiving allegiance from the community, Abu-Bakr sent someone to 'Ali and asked for his allegiance. 'Ali said, "I have promised not to leave my house except for the daily prayers until I compile the Qur' an." And it has been mentioned that 'Ali gave his allegiance to Abu-Bakr after six months. This itself is proof that 'Ali had finished compiling the Qur'an. Likewise, it has been recounted that after compiling the Qur'an, he placed the pages of the Holy Book on a camel and showed it to the people. It is also recounted that the battle of Yamamah after which the Qur'an was compiled occurred during the second year of the caliphate of Abu-Bakr. These facts have been mentioned in most works on history and hadith which deal with the account of the compilation of the Holy Qur'an.
These and similar events made the followers of 'Ali firmer in their belief and more conscious of the course that lay before them. They increased their activity from day to day and 'Ali himself, who was cut off from the possibility of educating and training the people in general, concentrated on privately training an elite.
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1 T?rikh Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 113; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid, vol. I, pp. 9.
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During this twenty-five year period, 'Ali lost through death three of his few dearest friends and associates, who were also among the companions of the Prophet: Salman Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, and Miqdad. They had been constant in their friendship with him in all circumstances. It was also during this same period that some of the other companions of the Holy Prophet and a large number of their followers in the Hijaz, the Yemen, Iraq and other lands, joined the followers of 'Ali. As a result, after the death of the third caliph, the people turned to 'Ali from all sides, swore allegiance to him and chose him as caliph.
The Termination of the Caliphate of 'Ali Amir
al-Mu'minin 1 and His Method of Rule
The caliphate of 'Ali began toward the end of the year 35/656 and lasted about four years and nine months. During his period as caliph, 'Ali followed the ways of the Holy Prophet
2 and brought conditions back to their original state. He forced the resignation of all the incompetent political elements who had a hand in directing affairs
3 and began in reality a major transformation of a "revolutionary" nature which caused him innumerable difficulties.
4
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1 Editor's note: The title Amir al-Mu'minin "commander of the faithful," is used in Shi'ism solely for 'Ali, whereas in Sunni Islam it is a general title conferred upon all the caliphs.
2 Ya'qübi, vol. II, p 154.
3 Ya'qubi, vol. II, p, 155; Muruj al-Dhahab vol. II, pp. 364.
4 Editor's note: Revolutionary in this context does not of course bear the same meaning that it carries generally today. In a traditional context, a revolutionary movement is the reestablishmen or reapplication of immutable principles of a transcendent order whereas in an anti-traditional context, it means rebellion against either these principles or their application or against any established order in general.
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On his first day as caliph, in an address to the people, 'Ali said, "0 People, be aware that the difficulties which you faced during the apostolic period of the Prophet of God have come upon you once again and seized you. Your ranks must be turned completely around so that the people of virtue who have fallen behind should come forward and those who had come to the fore without being worthy should fall behind. There is both truth (haqq) and falsehood (batil). Each has its followers; but a person should follow the truth. If falsehood be prevalent, it is not something new, and if the truth is rare and hard to come by, sometimes even that which is rare wins the day so that there is hope of advance. Of course it does not occur often that something which has turned away from man should return to him."
1
'Ali continued his radically different type of government based more on righteousness than political efficacy but, as is necessary in the case of every movement of this kind, elements of the opposition whose interests were endangered began to display their displeasure and resisted his rule. Basing their actions on the claim that they wanted to revenge the death of 'Uthm?n, they instigated bloody war which continued throughout almost all the time that 'Ali was caliph. From the Shi ite point of view, those who caused these civil war had no end in mind other than their own personal interest. The wish to revenge the blood of the third caliph was no more than an excuse to fool the crowd. There was no question of a misunderstanding.
After the death of the Holy Prophet, a small minority, following 'Ali, refused to pay allegiance. At the head of the minority there were Salman, Abu Dharr, Miqd?d, and 'Ammar. At the beginning of the caliphate of 'Ali also a sizable minority in disagreement refused to pay allegiance. Among the most persistent opponents were Said ibn Walid ibn Uqbah,
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1 Nahj al-Bal?ghah, the fifteenth sermon.
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Marwan ibn Hakam, 'Amr ibn 'As, Busr ibn Arta'ah, Samarah ibn Jundab and Mighirah ibn Shu'bah.
The study of the biography of these two groups, and meditation upon the acts they have perfumed and stories recounted of them in history books, reveal fully their religions personality and aim. The first group were among the elite of the companions of the Holy Prophet and among the ascetics, devout worshippers and selfless devotees of Islam who struggled on the path of Islamic freedom. They were especially loved by the Prophet. The Prophet said, "God has informed me that He loves few men and that I should love them also." They asked about their names. He mentioned 'Ali and then the names of Abu Dharr, Salman and Miqdad.
1 'A'ishah has recounted that the Prophet of God said, "If two alternatives are placed before 'Ammar, he will definitely choose that which is more true and right."
2 The Prophet said, "There is no one between heaven and earth more truthful than Abu Dharr."
3 There is no record of a single forbidden act committed by these men during their lifetime. They never spilled any blood unjustly, did not commit aggression against anyone, did not steal anyone's property and never sought to corrupt and misguide people.
History is, however, full of accounts of unworthy acts committed by some of the second group. The various acts committed by some of these men in opposition to explicit Islamic teachings are beyond reckoning. These acts cannot be excused in any manner except the way that is followed by certain groups among the Sunnis who say that God was satisfied with them and therefore they were free to perform whatever act they wished, and that they would not be punished
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1 Sunan of Ibn Majah, Cairo, 1372, vol. I, pp. 66.
2 Sunan of Ibn Majah, vol. I, pp. 66.
3 Sunan of Ibn Majah, vol. 1. pp. 68.
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for violating the injunctions and regulations existing in the Holy Book and the Sunnah.
The first war in the caliphate of 'Ali, which is called the "Battle of the Camel," was caused by the unfortunate class differences created during the period of rule of the second caliph as a result of the new socio-economic forces which caused an uneven distribution of the public treasury among members of the community. When chosen to the caliphate, 'Ali divided the treasury evenly
1 as had been the method of the Holy Prophet, but this manner of dividing the wealth upset Talhah and Zubayr greatly. They began to show signs of disobedience and left Medina to Mecca with the alleged aim of making the pilgrimage. They persuaded "the Mother of the Faithful" (umm al-Mu'minin), 'A'ishah who was not friendly with 'Ali, to join them and in the name of wanting to revenge the death of the third caliph, they began the bloody Battle of the Camel.
2 This was done despite the fact that this same Talhah and Zubayr were in Medina when the third caliph was besieged and killed but did nothing to defend him.
3 Furthermore, after his death they were the first to pay allegiance to 'Ali on behalf of the immigrants (muhajirun)
4 as well as on their own.
5 Also, the "mother of the faithful," 'A'ishah did not show any opposition to those who had killed the third caliph at the moment when she received the news of his death.
6 It must be remembered that the main instigators of the disturbances that led to the death of
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1 Mural al-Dhahab, vol. 11, p 362; Nahj al-Balaghah, sermon 122; Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 160; Ibn Abi 'l-Hadid, vol. I, p, 180.
2 Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 156; Abi 'l-Fida', vol. 1, pp. 172: Muruj al-Dhahab, vol. II, pp. 366.
3 Ya'qubi, vol. V, pp. 152.
4 Editor's note: The muhajirun refers to the early converts to Islam who immigrated with the prophet to Medina from Mecca.
5 Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 154; Abu 'l-Fida', vol. I, pp. 171.
6 Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 152.
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the third caliph were those companions who wrote letters from Medina to people near and far inviting them to rebel against the caliph, a fact which is repeated in many early Muslim histories.
As for the second war, called the Battle of Siffin, which lasted for a year and a half, its cause was the covetousness of Mu'awiyah for the caliphate which for him was a worldly political instrument rather than a religious institution. But as an excuse, he made the revenge of the blood of the third caliph the main issue and began a war in which more than a hundred thousand people perished without reason. Naturally, in these wars, Mu'awiyah was the aggressor rather than the defender, for the protest to revenge someone's blood can never occur in the form of defense. The pretext of this war was blood revenge. During the last days of his life, the third caliph, in order to quell the uprising against him, asked Mu'awiyah for help, but the army of Mu'awiyah which set out from Damascus to Medina purposely waited on the road until the caliph was killed. Then he returned to Damascus to begin an uprising to revenge the caliph's death.
1 After the death of 'Ali and his gaining the caliphate himself, Mu' awiyah forgot the question of revenging the blood of the third caliph and did not pursue the matter further.
After Siffin, there occurred the battle of Nahrawan in which a number of people, among whom there could be found some of the companions, rebelled against 'Ali, possibly at the instigation of Mu' awiyah.
2 These people were causing rebellion
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1 When 'Uthman was surrounded by those who had rebelled, he wrote to Mu'awiyah asking for help. Mu'awiyah prepared an army of twelve thousand men and sent them toward Medina. But he asked them to camp around Damascus and came to 'Uthman himself to report on the readiness of the army. 'Uthman said, "You have made your army stop on purpose so that I will be killed. Then you will make the spilling of my blood an excuse to revolt yourself." Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 152, Muruj al-Dhahab, vol. III. pp. 25; Tabari, vol. III, pp. 403.
2 Muruj al-Dhahab, vol. II, pp. 415.
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throughout the lands of Islam, killing the Muslims and especially the followers of 'Ali. They even attacked pregnant women and killed their babies. 'Ali put down this uprising as well, but a short while later was himself killed in the mosque of Kufah by one of the members of this group who came to be known as the Khawarij. The opponents of 'Ali claim that he was a courageous man but did not possess political acumen. They claim that at the beginning of his caliphate he could have temporarily made peace with his opponents. He could have approached them through peace and friendship, thus courting their satisfaction and approval. In this way, he could have strengthened his caliphate and only then turned to their extirpation and destruction. What people who hold this view forget is that the movement of 'Ali was not based on political opportunism. It was a radical and revolutionary religious movement (in the true sense of revolution as a spiritual movement to reestablish the real order of things and at in its current political and social sense); therefore, it could not have been accomplished through compromise or flattery and forgery. A similar situation can be seen during the apostleship of the Holy Prophet. The infidels and polythesis proposed peace to him many times and swore that if he were to abstain from protesting against their gods they would not interfere with his religious mission. But the Prophet did not accept such a proposal, although he could in those days of difficulty have made peace and used flattery to fortify his own position, and then have risen against his enemies. In fact, the Islamic message never allows a right and just cause to be abandoned for the sake of strengthening another good cause, nor a falsehood to be rejected and disprove, through another falsehood. There are many Qur'anic verses concerning this matter.
1
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1 For instance, see the traditional commentaries which describe the circumstances at the time of the revelation of these verses: "The chiefs among them go about, exhorting: Go and be staunch to your gods!" (Qur'an, XXXVIII, 7) and "And if We had not made thee wholly firm thou mightest almost have inclined unto them a little." (Qur'an, XVII, 74) and,
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The Benefit which the Shi'ah Derived
from the Caliphate of 'All
During the four years and nine months of his caliphate, 'Ali was not able to eliminate the disturbed conditions, which were prevailing throughout the Islamic world, but he was successful in three fundamental ways:
1. As a result of his just and upright manner of living, he revealed once again the beauty and attractiveness of the way of life of the Holy Prophet, especially to the younger generation. In contrast to the imperial grandeur of Mu' awiyah, he lived in simplicity and poverty like the poorest of people.
1 He never favored his friends or relatives and family above others,
2 nor did he ever prefer wealth to poverty or brute force to weakness.
2. Despite the cumbersome and strenuous difficulties, which absorbed his time, he left behind among the Islamic community a valuable treasury of the truly divine sciences and Islamic intellectual disciplines.
3 Nearly eleven thousand of his proverbs and short sayings on different intellectual, religious and social subjects have been recorded.
4 In his talks and speeches, he expounded the most sublime Islamic sciences in a most elegant and flowing manner. He established Arabic grammar and laid the basis for Arabic literature.
5
He was the first in Islam to delve directly into the questions of metaphysics (falsafah il?hi) in a manner combining intellectual
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"Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise." (Qur'an, MYTH, 9).
1 Muruj al-Dhahab, vol. II, pp. 431: Ibn Abi 'l-Hadid, vol. I, pp.181.
2 Abi ' l-Fida', vol. I, pp. 182: Ibn Abi 'l-Hadid, vol. I, pp. 181.
3 Nahj al-Balaghah and hadiths found in books of both Sunnis and Shiite.
4 Kitab al-Ghurar wa 'l-Durar of Amidi Sidon, 1349.
5 Such works are the Nahw, (Grammar) of Suyuti, Tehran, 1281. etc., vol. II, Ibn Abi'l-Hadid, vol. I, pp. 6.
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rigor and logical demonstration. He discussed problems, which had never appeared before in the same way among the metaphysicians of the world.
1 Moreover, he was so devoted to metaphysics and gnosis that even in the heat of battle he would carry out intellectual discourse and discuss metaphysical questions.
2
3. He trained a large number of religious scholars and Islamic savants, among whom are found a number of ascetics and gnostics who were the forefathers of the Sufis such men as. Uways al-Qarani, Kumayl al-Nakha'i, Maytham al-Tammar and Roshayd al-Hajari. These men have been recognized by the later Sufis as the founders of gnosis in Islam. Others among his disciples became the first teachers of jurisprudence, theology, Qur'anic commentary and recitation.
3
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1 See Nahj al-Bal?ghah.
2 Amidst the fighting of the Battle of Jamal (the Camel), a Bedouin asked 'Ali: "Oh, Commander of the Faithful! You say God is one?" People attacked him from two sides and said: "Don't you see that 'Ali is worried and his mind occupied with so many diverse matters? Why do you engage in a discussion with him?"' 'Ali told his companions, "Leave this man alone. My goal in fighting with these people is none other than to clarify true doctrines and the ends of religion." Then he set out to answer the Bedouin. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. II, pp. 65.
3 Ibn Abi' l-Hadid, vol. 15, pp. 6-9.
