In Search of Truth
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Hazrat Usman (pbuh) were born in two branches of Quraish dynasty. The Quraysh clan split into two factions or tribes because of internal dispute; Hashimi clan and Umayya clan. The root cause of conflict was wealth. Ultimately the leadership was divided as follows - the ownership and supervision of the Kaaba and the money earned during the Hajj (visiting the gods) season would be owned by the Hashimi clan. And the country's defense - administration and the ownership of the war assets would be in the hands of the Umayya group.
The Umayya received revenue from city rule was negligible compared to that of the Kaaba. The Umayyad clan fell far behind the Hashimi’s in wealth. But they made great strides in politics, diplomacy and education through military department and administration. That time, the Umayyas, to solve the economic problems, jumped into business. By making use of diplomatic experience, they were able to make great progress in business and money making, in addition, they were able to build good relations with the outside world.
Discrimination, disputes, violence and hatred between the Umayya and Hashimi groups increased day by day. And it came to an extreme point during the time of one of the most powerful leaders of the Hashimi clan, the father of eleven children, Abdul Muttalib. Abdul Muttalib's sons Abdullah and Abu Talib were father to Muhammad (PBUH) and Hazrat Ali (RA) respectively. Six or seven years after that, Hazrat Usman (RA) was born to Urdi, the Affan clan wife of the Umayya dynasty. Just as Muhammad (PBUH) lost his father Abdullah and was brought up under the shelter of his uncle Abu Talib in his childhood, Hazrat Usman (RA) lost his father Affan and took the shelter of his uncle Hakam when he was a teenager.
A group of libertarians with free thinking and opposing ideology and liberal philosophies emerged when Arabia was at the zenith of decadence with Umayya and Hashimi due to self-conflicts, tribal conflicts, polytheism, and ownership of religious places. Those were called Hanifi at that time. Waraqa bin-Nofel and Zayd bin-Umar were the founding members of that 'Hanafi' group. Members of the 'Hanafi' faction included the Meccan-born Obaidullah bin Jahs and Usman bin Al-Hurayith, among them was Waraqa bin Naufal, a cousin of Muhammad's (PBUH) first wife Hazrat Khadijah (PBUH) and Muhammad's (PBUH) 'Propagator of Islam', giving Muhammad (PBUH) religious indoctrination; It was known that he was also the catalyst for the marriage of Khadija and Muhammad (PBUH).
The Hanifi clan openly declared distrust of the once dominant 'pagan religion' of Mecca. As a result, many of them had to leave the country due to the wrath of the Quraish clan. Obaidullah bin Jahs fled for his life to the neighboring Christian kingdom of Abyssinia and converted to Christianity there; His wife Umm Habiba was later married by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and Usman bin Al-Huayrith also moved to the Byzantine Empire to save his life from the Quraish; He also converted to Christianity there.
Waraqa bin-Nofel and Zayd bin-Umar were the most beloved of Muhammad (pbuh). Those two people later became the first and main helpers in the discovery of the new religion 'Islam' by Muhammad (PBUH). Waraka bin-Nofel was an expert on the Judeo-Christian scriptures of the Torah, Psalms and Injil, and Zayd bin-Umar was a poet and writer. The poetic form, rhythm and diction of the Qur'an were largely borrowed from Zayd bin-Umar.
In 610 AD Muhammad (PBUH) announced his new religion 'Islam'. A fire broke out in the city of Makkah. The Umayya party felt insulted by the declaration of this new religion of the Hashemite Muhammad (pbuh), and the people of Muhammad's (pbuh) own tribe were worried about the end of paganism, fearing that the way of huge income from the Kaaba house for the sake of the gods and goddesses would be closed
Meanwhile, Hazrat Usman (R.A.) became well-known in the country and abroad as a result of making great progress in business with the help of his uncle Hakam. One day he met Abu-Bakr (R.A.), a merchant of Makkah, through business sources. Usman (RA) loved Rokeya, the first daughter of Muhammad (PBUH) and wanted to marry her. But when he heard that Rokeya's marriage had taken place elsewhere, Usman (RA) was very sad.
Muhammad (pbuh) first married Khadijah, a forty-year-old, twice-married, extremely wealthy woman, as preplanned to declare his new religion Islam. Muhammad (pbuh) knew very well that without power and money his new religion would die in infancy; As was the case with the Hanifis. So he married his two daughters Rokeya and Umm-Kalsum to two non-Muslim brothers named Atiba and Utba Ibn Abu Lahab.
The marriage of the two daughters of the Prophet was certainly not according to Islamic law; Because neither Abu Lahab nor his two sons were followers of Islam, they could not even accept the religion, fearing that was a threat to the religion of their forefathers. So Atiba and Utba, hearing the news of Muhammad's (PBUH) new religion, not only expressed their intense hatred towards the Prophet, but also divorced his two daughters and threw them out of the house. Muhammad (pbuh) was deeply saddened but could not do anything, except curse them (note 'Surah Lahab' of Qur'an Sharif).
Muhammad (PBUH) heard about 'Usman's desire' thru Abu Bakr because of the divorce of the two daughters of the Prophet. Muhammad was also waiting for such an opportunity. The plan to acquire power had failed but that time the opportunity to acquire money could not be missed. Muhammad (pbuh) agreed to give his daughter in marriage to Usman if he accepted the condition of accepting the newly preached Islam. Uthman (RA) happily accepted Islam and became romantically involved with Rokeya. All the dreams of uncle Hakam, to complete the marriage of Usman in state honor by playing drums and music, were shattered. Usman (ra) was not allowed to go to the palace of Taif with the bride.
A few days later, bearing the burden of censure and humiliation, Usman traveled with his bride to the neighboring Christian state of Abyssinia with the newly expelled Muslim clan from Mecca. In the poor country of Abyssinia, Usman (R.A.) tried hard to earn a living but failed. During eight long years of endless suffering in Abyssinia, news came to Rokeya one day in 619 A.D. that the once renowned woman of Arabia, possessed of endless wealth, mother Khadijah had fallen ill in extreme poverty and died without treatment. Bereavement not only broke Rokey's mind, but also her body; She fell ill.
In 622 AD, Muhammad (PBUH) fled towards Madinah with Abu Bakr (RA) in the dark of night fearing his death by the Quraysh. In the history of Islam, this event is called 'Hijrat'. At that time Muhammad (pbuh) was fifty-three years old and his preaching had been going on for thirteen years. On his arrival in Medina, Muhammad prepared to reveal the political goal of Islam hidden behind his so far ascetic garb. Tasbih in one hand and a sword in other hand!
A few days later, when Rokeya was on herr deathbed, Muhammad (pbuh) with three hundred and thirteen followers of his thirteen-year-old army, was fighting on the edge of Badr, about sixty miles southwest of Medina. Muhammad (pbuh) stopped a group of Quraish merchants from Syria to Makkah. Through the courier, the Quraysh of Mecca learned that it was not possible to rescue the merchant group from the hands of Muhammad without war. The first battle in the history of Islam took place at the edge of Badr. Muhammad himself was in charge of the commander on behalf of the Muslims. The desert of Badr was stained with the blood of seventy fresh souls. And among that blood, young Islam found the wonderful taste of living and flourishing. Commander Muhammad (PBUH) won the battle by killing seventy people and capturing many more. When Muhammad (pbuh) returned home to Medina with his proud army as a conqueror, Rokeya was no more in the world.
The Battle of Badr ensued enthusiasm and hope and were transmitted towards the realization of his pre-planned (expansion of wealth and power). Muhammad (pbuh) concentrated on organizing another war.
Bereaved of his wife, Usman (R.A.) devoted himself fully to business after a few days. Usman (RA), well-known in business, made great progress overnight using his past experience. By that time, Umm-Kalsum, the second daughter of Muhammad (pbuh), who was divorced as a teenager, was a young woman. Usman (RA) fell in love with Kalsum. Proposed marriage to the Prophet. The proposal of Usman (ra) who was incomparable in terms of wealth and appearance was accepted.
Just a year after the first battle, Muhammad's (pbuh) second battle with the Quraish took place in the desert of Uhud, six miles northeast of Medina, in the third year of the Hijri. That time baby Islam not only drank blood, but also tasted the nectar of war-gained wealth. The victorious Muslims in three consecutive battles (Badr, Ohud, Ahzab) gained a lot of wealth and were able to capture many children, youths, men and women of the enemy side. Muslims realized that war is an unimaginably profitable business.
The defeated Quraish were terrified. Islam created terror throughout the Arab world. In the sixth Hijri, Muhammad (pbuh) attacked the Jews of the Bani-Muttalik tribe with a large army. The Jews suffered greatly in that war. Many of their women were captured by the Muslims.
The Bani-Muttalik tribe or the Quraysh merchants on their way home from Syria did not attack Medina. Evidence that Muhammad (pbuh) with troops used to carry out 'offensive' attacks on unarmed camel caravans in the dark of night to plunder wealth was also found in many hadiths.
That time, Muhammad (pbuh) organized the conquest of Makkah with fourteen hundred soldiers in order to test the psychology and strength of the Quraish. Six miles from the city of Makkah they reached the valley of Hudaybiyyah and did not advance further. Although it was too late, the Meccans saw the ferocious political face of Muhammad hidden behind the 'ascetic-hermit' garb.
Upon receiving the news of the arrival of Muhammad (pbuh) with fourteen hundred soldiers, the Quraish made all preparations in advance. As the messenger of Muhammad (PBUH), Usman (RA) met the leaders of Quraish and said that they did not come to fight, they came to visit the Kaaba. The blood stain of Badr had not yet dried from the hearts of the Quraish. Usman (RA) was imprisoned. The Muslims got angry on hearing the news. They put their hands on Prophet’s hand and took a death oath that they would not return without conquering Makkah. For the time being, the two sides were saved from a serious disaster by the intervention of some tribal leaders who came from different areas on the occasion of Hajj (to see the gods and goddesses). They were able to establish a treaty between the two parties, known historically as the 'Treaty of Hodaibiya'.
In the Arab world, under the leadership of Muhammad (pbuh), a large unopposed Muslim force with monopoly power arose. They finally captured the city of Mecca on January 11, 630 AD without a fight. From Badr to the Battle of Tabuk, Muhammad (pbuh) commanded at least nine battles in the ten years. He gave his last historic speech in 632 AD at the Maidan of Arafat. Two months after this speech, the Messenger of Allah (?) Muhammad (PBUH) left this world at the age of 63 years.
Immediately after the death of Muhammad (PBUH), Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA), the father-in-law of Muhammad, took power undemocratically. The Quraysh leaders who fled from Mecca in the lust for power forgot about the Ansari in Medina. They did not listen to any demands and protests of the people of Medina. The Muslim leader of Madinah Hazrat_Saad (RA) made it clear that the Caliph will be chosen from among the Ansaris of Madinah. The people of Medina eventually agreed to accept two caliphs, one from Mecca and one from Medina. Their demand was also rejected. The fire of violence flared up inside and outside Madinah.
Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Fatima (RA) the youngest daughter of Muhammad could not accept Abu Bakr (RA) as Caliph from the beginning. Muhammad's (PBUH) daughter Fatima (PBUH) and her uncle Abbas (PBUH) claimed some property held by Muhammad (PBUH) in Madinah and Khaybar, and they quarreled with Abu Bakr over that. Finally, after about six months, considering various social aspects, Ali (ra) accepted Abu Bakr's (ra) caliphate, and the matter was suppressed.
During the reign of Abu Bakr, the forced converts of the time of Muhammad (pbuh) declared rebellion. Non-Muslim governments refused to pay the Jizia Tax unjustly imposed on them. People sought release from a life of ten years of conflict and unrest created by Muhammad. Many new Muslims reverted to their previous religion. The powerful Banu-Bakr tribe of Bahrain (who were forced to convert to Islam during the time of Muhammad (pbuh) to save their lives) openly renounced Islam. The people of Amman also left Islam. Abu Bakr (RA) ran a dictatorial steamroller on the people. He appointed fericious Sahabi Khalid bin Alid (RA) as the commander in chief.
Note that in the battle of Muta, a slave named Zayd was killed; To avenge that, Muhammad (pbuh) prepared to invade Syria a few weeks before his (Muhammad's) death. To complete the unfinished work of Muhammad (pbuh), Abu Bakr (pbuh) first attacked Syria. Khusrau Parvez of Iran, who had once ordered the imprisonment of Muhammad (pbuh), Abu Bakr (pbuh) prepared to invade Iran to punish him as well.
On the orders of Abu Bakr (RA), Khalid bin Alid (RA) recklessly launched brutal attacks on one tribe after another of the Arab tribes. At the same time, the militant commanders of Abu Bakr (R.A.) spread in all directions.
In just two years of autocracy, Abu Bakr turned the whole of Arabia into a battlefield. Before his death, he appointed another autocratic ruler of his own choice. Omar Ibn Khattab (RA).
Omar (RA) completely destroyed the two countries Iraq and Iran while sitting in Masnad. Omar more dangerous than Khalid bin Ali, handed over the military power to terrorists like Ubayd, Talha, Zobair, Abdur Rahman, Saad bin Abi Waqqas and Mutana. No one will ever know the exact count of how many hundreds of lives, how many people and animals died under the sword of Omar, the second caliph of Islam in Iraq and Iran. Before his death, Umar (RA) left the responsibility of choosing the caliph to Abdur Rahman bin Awf and his (Umar's) son Abdullah in order to maintain the continuity of his own and Abu Bakr's autocratic dictatorship. The two of them had a secret meeting in a dark room and brought the name of seventy year old Usman (RA), the husband of Muhammad's two daughters. Hazrat Ali (RA) exclaimed 'No-I don't agree, this is a farce, a lie in the name of religion, an injustice, this is fraud!'
On November 7, 644 AD, Usman (RA) assumed the responsibility of the Caliphate as the third Caliph of Islam. The Umayyas of Makkah were not happy after Usman's caliphate, the Hashimis felt embarrassed. After three successive caliphs came to power, the hapless Medinans could not understand the plight of the refugees from Mecca. They realized that the Quraysh had taken over Madinah, and that the people of Madinah had no place in the state power. Even after so long, the so-called 'brotherhood' Islam of Muhammad (pbuh) could not eliminate the differences between the Muslims of Makkah-Madinah and the Umayya-Hashimis.
Usman (RA) did something strange immediately after gaining power, according to Prophet’s companions that was contrary to constitution of Qur'an written by Muhammad (pbuh).
Hazrat Obaidullah, the son of Hazrat Umar (RA), the second caliph, killed three innocent people in one day. The incident was as follows: To Hazrat Omar, a man named Firoz Abu Lulu, appealed to reduce the amount of taxes imposed on him. Firoz of Persia was captured by the Muslims in a war and sold as a slave. In order to be freed from slavery, Firoz converted to Islam and later converted to Christianity. Hazrat Omar refused Feroze's request. Firoz living in Kufa earned his livelihood by working as a carpenter. He came to Medina. One day he found Omar in a deserted mosque and stabbed him six times with a knife and committed suicide. Omar died three days after being stabbed. The next day Hazrat Omar's son Obaidullah first came from Persia and killed Zufaina, the slave of Hazrat Sader (RA). Obaidullah went to Firoz's house after killing Harmuzan and Zufaina. He killed his daughter after failing to find Feroze.
The trial of the murders committed by the Caliph Omar-son took place. Today the world will see the justice of Islamic law for such a brutal murder. The oppressed heirs awere looking at the face of Caliph Usman.
Fikah scholars agree that Obaidullah, the son of Caliph Hazrat Umar, would be sentenced to death; Because one of the three people killed, Harmujan, who came from Persia, was a Muslim. According to Shariah, if a Muslim was killed, the murderer was punished by death. The second was the slave of a companion. The third was a woman, who knew nothing about the murder of Caliph Omar. Hazrat Ali (RA) expressed his opinion in favor of capital punishment for the criminal Obaidullah. Prophet’s companion Hazrat Amr Ibnul (R.A.) and like him some known assassins paid by Hazrat Omar stood up during the terrorist trial and protested the verdict given by Hazrat Ali.
Caliph Usman (RA) did not follow Quran-Hadith. Hazrat Obaidullah was acquitted by showing a thumb to Sharia law and world conscience. Omar's relatives were very happy, but the people of Medina were sad. Enraged by this incident, the famous Muslim poet of Madinah, Ziyad Ibn Labid, wrote a poem satirizing Khalifa Usman, the murderer Obaidullah and Sharia law.
The Quraish of Makkah lived by herding sheep and goats and tending to the Kaaba. Today, the Quraish occupy central and local government positions in almost every area of the Arab world, including Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt. A shepherd priest to statesman. The Quraysh rulers in the occupied countries became accustomed to a life of luxury with countless slaves, an abundance of free wealth. Usman's (RA) central government from Madinah wrote to the governors of the conquered states to send appropriate taxes. The non-Muslim governments of some areas, far from sending taxes, rejected Islamic rule and declared independence. The Muslim government itself, the governor of Egypt, Hazrat Amr Ibnul As (RA) wrote in reply to Usman's (RA) letter: 'The udder of camel is incapable of giving more milk'. It was Sahabi Hazrat Amr Ibnul who advised Caliph Usman not to punish Hazrat Omar's murderous son Obaidullah.
A few days later, food shortages appeared in Madinah. The warehouses from wealth of robbery and loot were going to be empty. The people of Medina faced the greatest danger. They were agriculturists by profession. They were not used to the trade of robbery, so they did not participate in war. Booty (looted women and wealth) did not add to their fortunes. On the other hand, the Quraish of Makkah lived by herding sheep and goats and taking care of the Kaaba house. Today, the Quraish occupy central and local government positions in almost every area of the Arab world, including Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt.
Usman's (RA) central government from Madinah wrote to the governors of the conquered states to send appropriate taxes. The governor of Egypt, Hazrat Amr Ibnul As (RA) wrote in reply to the letter of Uthman (RA): 'A camel is incapable of giving more milk'. It was Sahabi Hazrat Amr Ibnul As who advised Caliph Uthman not to punish Hazrat Omar's murderous son Obaidullah.
Caliph Uthman (RA) was very angry. He ordered the demotion of Hazrat Amr Ibnul. In his place, the military governor of Port Said appointed Abdullah bin Sa'd bin Abi Sarah as the governor of all of Egypt.
Incidentally, here I feel the need to narrate an earlier incident about Hazrat Abdullah bin Saad bin Abi Sarah: After the conquest of Makkah, Muhammad (pbuh) made a list of some (eight/ten) of his companions, colleagues and one-time well-wishers. Abdullah bin Saad bin Abi Sarah was one of them. They all will be killed; Because Muhammad (pbuh) suspected that they would one day prove his 'newness' and 'religion' to be false.
Abdullah bin Saad bin Abi Sarah used to write down the Quran spoken by Muhammad (PBUH). Muhammad (pbuh) would sometimes repeat the same incident and make some changes in the incident, and Abdullah bin Sa'd would catch it.
Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Al Badawi narrated in his Tafseer-Book 'Anwar Al-Tanzil wa Asrar Al Tawil' - One day Muhammad (PBUH) asked Abdullah Bin Sa'd to write the sentences from 12 to 14 of Surah Al-Mu'minun. The sentences were-
"And surely We have created man from the essence of mud." (Verse 12)
"Then we make him a sperm in a safe place." (Verse 13)
'Then We made the sperm into a blood clot, then from the blood clot We made flesh, then from flesh we made bones, then We covered the bones with flesh. Finally, I made him stand in a new form. (Verse 14)
After Muhammad (pbuh) said sentence No. 14, Abdullah bin Sa'd said in his literary language - "How benevolent is Allah, the Most Masterful Creator". Muhammad (pbuh) said, "Add this sentence too". Abdullah bin Sa'd was shocked. He said in his heart, how could the words of my mouth be the word of God!
Another time when Muhammad said at the end of a verse - 'And Allah is Mighty and Wise' ('Aziz' and 'Hakim' in Arabic) Abdullah bin Sa'd suggested to write 'And Allah is All-Knowing and Wise ('Alim' and 'Hakim'). . Muhammad did not object. Now Abdullah bin Saad was convinced that the Qur'an is not a divine word. He renounced Islam and distanced himself from Muhammad.
Abdullah was the foster brother of Hazrat Usman. He begged for the life of Abdullah bin Saad to Muhammad (PBUH). Under Muhammad's (pbuh) order, the assassin was standing near his head with a sharp sword in his hand. But Muhammad (PBUH) could not point the finger, ignoring the pleas of son-in-law Usman, the husband of his two daughters. Abdullah Bin Sa'd (RA) was saved for his life. The proof of the crime of Abdullah Bin Saad (RA), the one-time favorite and trusted Quran writer of Muhammad (PBUH) is still in the Quran.
Now, knowing the identity of Hazrat Amr Ibnul As (R.A.) here will help us to discuss the next incident. When Hazrat Omar (RA) expressed his desire to conquer Iraq, people said that it would not be possible to conquer Iraq without Khalid bin Alid (RA), the commander of the time of Abu Bakr (RA). Omar (RA) said, "I have a wiser and stronger commander than Khalid bin Ali." He was referring to Hazrat Amr Ibnul As.
Five years later, about twenty-five years of Hijri. In the meantime, Amr Ibnul As (RA) was deposed from the ruling authority of Egypt by Usman (RA). The Greek Emperor Constantine, within a year, not only expelled the Muslim invaders from Alexandria, but also freed the whole of Egypt from Muslim rule. Caliph Usman was in danger. Compelled, Prophet’s Companion sought refuge with Amr ibn al-As (RA) and requested the recovery of Egypt. Amr ibn al-As retook Egypt and Alexandria to the Muslims almost without a fight. Caliph Usman obliged and put Amr ibn al-As in charge of Egypt's military and revenue departments; But Abdullah bin Saad bin Abi Sarah remained the governor. The dual rule of Abdullah bin Saad bin Abu Sarah (RA) and Amr Ibnul As (RA) continued in Egypt.
Those two companions of Prophet, Abdullah bin Saad bin Abu Sarah (RA) and Amr Ibnul Asr (RA) were each other's eyesores. In a power struggle, they continued to issue contradictory orders to each other. In the end, Caliph Usman himself took responsibility for investigating the matter. The complaint of Hazrat Abdullah bin Saad was: Hazrat Amr Ibnul As captured Alexandria during the war with the Greeks, plundered the houses of the common people and embezzled a lot of goods. Many Greek women were kept as his personal slaves and forced exorbitant taxes from the people. On the other hand, the complaint of Amr Ibnul As (R.A.) was: Abdullah bin Sa'd (R.A.) was a man of arrogance and bad character. He was the cursed person by Prophet and did not believe in the Qur'an as the 'Word of Allah'. Perhaps no one was more aware of the latter charge against Abdullah bin Sa'd than Hazrat Usman. He hid his adopted brother in his house for three days and saved him from the death warrant from Muhammad (pbuh).
Caliph Uthman (RA) found Hazrat Amr Ibnul As guilty in the trial. By expelling him from the state power once again, Usman (RA) put his hands in the snake's cave. Hazrat Amr Ibnul As, furious at the nepotism of Caliph Uthman, roared like a lion.
Hazrat Usman (RA) has been in power for just one year. In the meantime, the internal disputes of the state, irregularities in the payment of taxes to the governors of the provinces, bitterness between the Hashimi and Umayyad clans, and above all, the food in Medina, the Caliph was very worried. The governor of Syria, Hazrat Moabiya (R.A.), came forward to help. Advised to invade Armenia and neighboring areas of Asia Minor. Uthman (R.A.) hoped to stay in power for a while longer, at least a source of income was found; Because war means getting a lot of booty.
After Omar's death, the Armenians were at peace for only a few days. Once again, the hilly region trembled with the sound of 'Allahu Akbar'. Freedom-minded Armenians came down the mountain to sacrifice their lives for their country. The Muslim soldiers pounced on them like lions hungry for a thousand days. Thousands of fresh Armenian lives fell under the bright sword of the Muslims in a bloody war. The white fountains of the mountains awere colored by the streams of Armenian blood. Defeated in the war, they entered into an agreement with the Muslims on the condition of paying double the previous rate of taxes.
After conquering Armenia, the Muslim army did not return home. They continued the expansion of the empire in full swing. The Muslims, excited by joy of victory, easily captured the city of Tiflis in the western part of Armenia and reached the Black Sea coast. Thence south to the city of the Levant on the east coast of the Mediterranean. Here they fought fiercely with the Greeks. Perhaps no one in the world at that time had the power to stop the Muslim army. So, country after country, the Muslims began to feel complacent by destroying the traditional ancient culture and traditional civilization of the ages.
Along with the expansion of the states, the central government also kept getting additional wealth from the war. But the wealth of this loot was not used for the development of the country or changing the fate of the common people. Both power and wealth remained in the hands of the Quraysh.
Day by day the disparity between the ruler and the exploited continued to increase. In the frontier regions of the vast Muslim empire, the soldiers indulged in destruction and plunder, while the rulers within the kingdoms became accustomed to a life of luxury.
When the governor of Syria, Muabiya (RA) advised Hazrat Usman (RA) to attack Armenia, at about the same time Abdullah Bin Saad (RA) of Egypt wanted to attack Tripoli (currently the capital of Libya). He had to wait for a long time due to power conflict with Amr Ibnul As (RA) and internal disturbances in the country.
Hazrat Abdullah bin Sa'd (RA) prepared to attack Tripoli again in 652 AD and requested Usman (RA) to send troops. Usman (RA) sent a group of special warriors from Medina towards Tripoli. This prolonged war was very terrible and bloody. At one point, when the Muslim soldiers were preparing to retreat, Hazrat Zobair (R.A.), a brilliant Quraysh warrior from Madinah, gave a valuable advice to Abdullah bin Sa'd (R.A.). He said:
"Let it be proclaimed among the Muslim army that whoever can cut off the head of Gregorius, the governor of Tripoli, will be rewarded with one hundred thousand gold coins and also the beautiful young daughter of Gregorius".
The declaration went to work. Within a few days, Gregorius' head was split in two and brought to the army camp. And captive was the heroic daughter of Grigerius, the incomparably beautiful young woman, who always fought side by side with her father in arms.
The Muslim commander had no difficulty in distributing the reward of hundred thousand gold coins, the problem was with the girl. A herd of hungry soldiers stared with thirsty eyes at a single girl. The princess herself solved the problem. According to historian William Moore, Gregorius' heroine willingly accepts death rather than subjugation. She committed suicide before becoming the bed fellow of a Muslim soldier.
Caliph Usman (R.A.) was overjoyed to see the huge wealth that the Muslim army had gained in the Battle of Tripoli, and bestowed the title of 'Great Warrior' on the victorious leader Abdullah bin Saad (R.A.). Never before had it been possible to gain so much wealth in any war. According to the rules, one fifth of the war booty was to be deposited in the revenue sector. Usman (R.A.) overjoyed, gave almost all of this huge wealth to Abdullah bin Saad and his own minister Mawan. However, the Caliph had no other choice. While Usman (RA) was struggling to manage state without Baitulmal, the wars in Armenia and Tripoli were the only means of sustaining his power. So the Caliph himself promised Abdullah bin Sa'd before the Battle of Tripoli to distribute such wealth if the war was won. The people could not accept it with satisfaction. It should be noted that Abdullah bin Saad and Marwan were both Umayyas and relatives of Caliph Hazrat Usman (RA).
After conquering Tripoli, the Muslim army occupied Algeria and Morocco. Now on the other side of the sea to the north of Morocco, their eyes fell on the alluring land of Spain, covered with flowers and fruits, and covered with green and beautiful fields. After receiving the news, Caliph Usman could not control his greed. Hastily sent two mighty warriors named Abdullah bin Nafe bin Hasin and Abdullah bin Nafe bin Abde Qays towards Spain along with a group of soldiers from Medina. The Quraish desert-bandits had not yet mastered the art of high seas piracy. So when they came to the sea-shore they were forced to abandon the hope of conquering Spain for the time being.
While Abdullah bin Saad was engaged in naval warfare off the coast of Cyprus, Hazrat Muabiya set out to capture Constantine in a land battle. Muabiyah (RA) tried twice to capture Constantine but failed.
In order to know how the condition of other provinces of the Muslim empire was during the reign of Caliph Uthman, let's take a look at Kufa and Basra. Hazrat Saad Ibn Abi Waqqas (RA) was the governor of Kufa during the reign of Hazrat Omar (RA). Caliph Omar (RA) did a great deed before his death. Hazrat Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas (RA) was removed from the post of governor of Kufa and Hazrat Mughira Ibn Shoba (RA) was appointed as the governor of Kufa. But the misery of the unfortunate common people of Kufa did not go away. Hazrat Mughira Ibn Shoba (R.A.) was very harsh, arrogant and angry. When the news of his discriminatory obscene behavior, individualistic character and utter contempt for the people reached the ears of Caliph Usman (R.A.), he got fed up and dismissed Mughira Ibn Shoba (R.A.) from the post of governor. But to the disappointment of the people, Hazrat Usman (RA) again appointed that luxuriant companion Hazrat Saad Ibn Abi Waqqas (RA) to the said post.
Hazrat Saad (RA) realized the opportunity and became more luxurious than before. Not only that, this time he embezzled a huge amount of government money from Baitulmal. At that time the treasurer of Baitul-Mal was Sahabi Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Masood (RA). It was noted that the current governor of Kufa, Saad Ibn Abi Waqqas (RA) was the goat herder of Aqaba Ibn Abu Mu'it in East Mecca.
The governor and the treasurer were bitter and quarreled over the money of Baitulmal. Abusing each other, harsh treatment reached such a level that finally charges of embezzlement against the governor were presented to the court of Caliph Usman (RA). Hazrat Saad (RA) was found guilty in the trial.
The one who was appointed as the governor of Kufa that time was Caliph Usman's (RA) half-brother, the famous hero Alid Ibn Oqba (RA). The Quraish-Hashimi tribe got fired up. Alid Ibn Oqaba, the newly appointed ruler of Kufa, was the son of Oqba, the mortal enemy of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). One incident with the Prophet was known to the people of Kufa: Oqba was captured by the Muslim soldiers in a battle and asked the Prophet in a voice full of hatred and contempt, what will his children eat if he (Oqba) dies? In reply, the Prophet said, Hellfire will consume. That Okbar's son, Alid, was already known to people as a man of dishonest character. In anger and hatred, the people of Kufa repeatedly complained to Caliph Usman but did not get any results. Ordinary people were forced to bow down in front of the harsh repression policy of Alid.
Finally at the end of injustice, tyranny and arbitrariness, Hazrat Alid (RA) was caught in the trap of the crowd one day. Accustomed to drinking, Hazrat Alid (R.A.) became intoxicated and fell asleep one day in such a way that some people removed a ring with the state seal from his finger and took it to the Caliph in Madinah as proof of his bad character. Moreover, they also complained to the Caliph that one day he got drunk and offered four rakats instead of the obligatory two rakats during the Fajr prayer at the time of Imamat in the mosque. The Caliph was forced to depose Hazrat Alid to prevent protests throughout the country. After that, Hazrat Alid never saw Caliph Usman in person again.
That time, Caliph Usman appointed Hazrat Saeed bin Al-Ask, a young warrior of the Quraish clan, as ruler of Kufa. There was no lack of the Quraish nature of inhuman, the evil character in that man.
The people of Kufa knew the arrogance and conceit of the Quraish. The new governor appeared worse than all previous rulers. He informed the Caliph in a letter that the local non-Muslims, and the non-Quraish Muslims were of inferior status and beasts, and said that he would punish them with an iron rod. He publicly declared that only the Quraysh dynasty could claim nobility, dignity and high status.
In Medina, in Egypt, in Kufa, only the people of the Umayya clan held important positions in government; Why would the Hashimi tribe tolerate such arrogance? They continued to prepare for harsh measures against the Caliph.
Basora was the birthplace of Hazrat Hasan Basori (RA) and Hazrat Rabeya Basori (RA), two special figures in the history of Islam. The Mu'tajila doctrine of free thinking also originated from this Basra in Iraq. Basra is second only to Kufa in terms of political importance.
In the year 24 Hijri, Hazrat Omar (RA) appointed Hazrat Abu Musa-Ashari (RA) as the governor of Basra. Abu Musa-Ash'ari became a terrible self-righteous dictator by wrongly abusing his power for a long time. Abu Musa-Ash'ari, while describing the virtues of Jihad in the mosque in preparation for the conquest of an area, said that walking into the field of Jihad brings many heavenly rewards. People said, his words contain falsehood and arrogance. The next morning, the common Jihadis witnessed to their amazement, the Governor Abu Musa-Ash'ari (R.A.) riding a swift horse in royal attire, coming out of the palace. Forty donkeys carried his war-equipment. Some people stood in his way. Abu Musa Ash'ari (R.A.) called those people low, lowly, idiots and threatened them with severe punishment.
Abu Musa (ra) divided the state into two classes, the privileged and the deprived, by giving his relatives too many privileges. Disenfranchised groups began to organize and at one point their rebellion spread as far as Medina. Caliph Usman (RA) dismissed Abu Musa-Ash'ari (RA) as governor in 29 AH, sensing the signs of an imminent civil war.
The civil war was prevented but the misery of the people of Basra was not removed. Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Amir, the cousin of Caliph Usman (RA) came to power in Basra that time. That man was more violent than Khalid bin Walid and Amr Ibn al-Aas. As soon as he came to power, he banned the rights of non-Quraysh to state power.
Abdullah Ibn Amir was a man of horrible nature. His inhuman harsh regime created terror in the minds of common people. Gradually the entire Muslim world was divided into two parts. Quraish vs. non Quraish. On the one hand, as Caliph Usman's (R.A.) expansion of the kingdom, the occupation of various countries and areas, and the suppression of rebellion in the occupied areas continued, on the other hand, within the country, the Hashimi clan of Muhammad (PBUH) against the ruling Umayyas of Hazrat Usman, the non-Arabs against the Arabs, the non-Arabs against the Quraish, the ruler against the ruler. The struggle for survival of the exploited continued.
When the rulers of Egypt, Kufa and Basra, who had been deposed by Hazrat Usman, gathered together and planned to overthrow the Caliph, Usman (RA) took the initiative to compile the Qur'an in order to stay in power for a few more days in his old age. Since the trial of the murderous son of Omar (RA), the people had not seen an example of following the Sharia law of the Qur'an in the administration of the state of Caliph Usman. So, for good reason, the common people could not help being skeptical about the Caliph's initiative to compile the Qur'an. However, Hazrat Usman did not include his foster brother, the Ruler of Egypt, a non-believer in the miracles of the Qur'an, the Word of God, Abdullah bin Sa'd bin Abi Sarah (RA) in the Qur'an Compilation Committee.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) could read and write. But he did not write the Qur'an himself. His utterances were claimed to be divine oracles, and the audience tried to remember them as best they could. Some wrote his words on stones, palm leaves, paper specially made from tree leaves, animal skins and pieces of wood, and even memorized them. The stories of Muhammad (pbuh) heard from the followers of other books and the words that people heard from Muhammad (pbuh), scattered sentences written in different materials, scattered, isolated were the Holy Book 'Al-Qur'an'. The poetic rhythm, word order of the Qur'an was borrowed from contemporary and pre-Islamic Arabic poets.
One day when Prophet's youngest daughter Hazrat Fatima (RA) was reciting 'Sura Qamar' (Moon) of Quran, the daughter of the famous Poet of Arabia Imrul Qays was present there. Qays's daughter became angry and said to Hazrat Fatimah: 'Alas, this is a line of a poem written by my father. Your father copied my father's poetry and inserted it into the Qur'an as the word of God.' Christian religious devotional poem of Imrul Qays was written before the birth of Muhammad (pbuh) and the poet Imrul Qays died before Muhammad's birth but his poems were popular in Arabia.
It is known from history that the idea of making the Qur'an in a bibliography first came to the mind of Hazrat Omar. When Hazrat Omar proposed that to Khalifa Abu Bakr, Abu Bakr did not agree at first. Abu Bakr (RA) knew that the matter was sensitive and difficult. When Caliph Usman took this initiative again, it was found that there was a huge difference between the Qur'an from different areas including Syria, Kufa, Basra, Azerbaijan, Egypt and the Qur'an compiled by Hazrat Omar in Madinah and collected by his daughter Hafsa.
Arbitrary, tyrannical, aspiring to dominate Muslims all over the world, when the Quraysh rulers claimed the Qur'anic instructions to torture, misrule and exploit their subjects, the oppressed subjects also tried to prove with the same Qur'an that the rulers had modified the Qur'an according to their interests and misinterpretation. Prophet’s companion Hazrat Abu Jawhar Giffari (R.A.) directly accused the dictator of Syria, Hazrat Moabiya, of being an 'anti-Qur'an ruler'. Abu Jawhar quoted from the Qur'an and said: 'You have built palaces with the wealth of the people and lived luxuriously in royal guises, which is contrary to the Qur'an.' Muabiya (RA) reprimanded Abu Jawhar Giffari (RA) and said: 'Yoo are all diots, state revenue and wealth, the owner is not the people. Allah alone is the owner of all wealth and Allah has appointed me as the caliph to guard His wealth. Wealth will be used not by the people, but by the will of the Caliph’.
When Caliph Usman himself, along with all the provincial governors of the entire Muslim empire, was considered aas anti-Qur'an, un-Islamic ruler by the people, then there is no telling how much Hazrat Usman's compilation of the Qur'an would be appreciated by the people. Hazrat Usman with Zaid Bin Thabit (R.A.) formed a Qur'an Compilation Committee with 12 members including Abdullah Ibn Jubair, Saad Ibnul As and Abdur Rahman Bin Hares. He instructed that in case of linguistic disagreement with the Ohi writers of Medina, the committee should follow the language of the Quraysh. The Caliph also said: "The Qur'an prepared by this committee will be the fully valid Qur'an approved by the government and all other Qur'ans of the state will be considered invalid." The Qur'an was written and edited by the state. Hazrat Usman ordered the committee to make 7 copies of the Quran. He sent 7 copies of the Quran to 7 states and ordered to burn all the remaining copies in the fire. All privately circulated Qurans were burned. That time, not Arabs and non-Arabs, Hashimi-Umayyas, Quraish, non Quraish, people from all areas of all provinces of the kingdom, people from all walks of life rose up against the Caliph.
A large territory was unjustly occupied; the status, standards, promotions, the world's endless wealth, treasures, property, slaves, maids were all attained. But alas! Alas, the religion of peace! Alas, the equality of Islam! After taking the lives of countless innocent men and women, children and teenagers, drinking so much human blood did not stop it’s thirst for blood. Islam is now trying to drink its own blood. Anti-government organizations were formed from all areas of the state. They have one point, one demand: the fall of the dictatorship. A brief introduction of those who came forward to lead the all-party struggle is given below:
Hazrat Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr (RA): Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr (RA) was the youngest son of Hazrat Abu Bakr, the most beloved companion of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the first Caliph of Islam, and the brother of Aisha, the youngest wife of Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr, the third caliph, accused Hazrat Omar's selection committee of conspiracy, conspiracy and nepotism.
Hazrat Muhammad Ibn Abu Huzaifa (RA): The son of Hazrat Abu Huzaifa (RA), a highly respected companion of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), was also named 'Muhammad'. After the death of his father in the battle of Yamama (during the reign of Abu Bakr), he was brought up in the house of Caliph Usman.
Growing up, Muhammad Ibn Abu Huzaifa realized that the tyranny that was going on in the world in the name of spreading Islam could not be supported by religion in any way. After leaving his homeland, Muhammad Ibn Abu Huzaifa (RA) moved to Egypt. The original inhabitants of Egypt, the 'Kivbati community', could not tolerate the rule of the Quraish. Muhammad Ibn Abu Huzaifa (R.A.) came to the side of the oppressed people of Egypt. He pointed to Abdullah bin Saad bin Abi Sarah, the governor of Egypt, and pointed to the luxurious real face of the rulers. Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr and Muhammad Ibn Abu Huzaifa came to Egypt and raised public opinion against injustice for 12 long years.
Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Saba (RA): Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Saba hated luxurious life. He had no greed for power and money. He had great respect for Hazrat Ali. He believed that Hazrat Ali would be the first caliph after the Prophet's death as all the qualities of Prophet Muhammad were present in Hazrat Ali. Three successive Caliphs seized power by force and injustice. In Basra, Abdullah ibn Saba continued to campaign for his beliefs.
Abdullah bin Amir, governor of Basra, expelled Abdullah ibn Saba from his country. Abdullah Ibn Saba moved to Kufa. Hazrat Ali already had many supporters there. A large number of people supported his faith in Basra and Kufa. Then Abdullah Ibn Saba went to Syria. In Syria, Hazrat Usman's Umayya government was on the move to Hazrat Moabiya, the suffocating condition of the Hashemite dynasty. Abdullah ibn Saba eventually left Syria and joined Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr and Muhammad ibn Abu Huzaifa in Egypt. Here he founded an organization called Sabayi.
Hazrat Ali (R.A.) noticed that the revolt of the subjects against the autocrats was intensifying throughout the Muslim world and gave some subtle advice to Caliph Usman. 80-year-old Hazrat Usman was a clear proof of how blind people could be by the greed of power and wealth. He did not accept the advice of Ali (RA) but slandered Hazrat Ali as an instigator of rebellion.
Hazrat Ali (R.A.) noticed that the revolt of the subjects against the autocrats was intensifying throughout the Muslim world and gave some subtle advice to Caliph Usman. 80-year-old Hazrat Usman was a clear proof of how blind people could be by the greed of power and wealth. Then...
The situation in the country was getting worse day by day. Seeing the entire country in an explosion of mass agitation, Hazrat Usman suddenly introduced a new practice: 'Transfer of Tenancy, Jagirdari and Zamindari system. Hazrat Usman did this for two purposes. Namely: One, to gain the support of wealthy people of one's own family. Two, to make the poor people poorer than poor, and the peasants landless.
Arguing in favor of his ruinous law, he said - 'The population has increased excessively in the country. The lower classes has outnumbered the elite and civility and decency are suffering as a result. Most of the Muslim newcomers to the country are nomadic-Bedouins or rural non-Arabs. They are stupid and barbaric. Their tastes, behavior is ugly, rude language, uncivilized customs and insolent. The peace of the country is being endangered by them’.
In fact, that situation arose as a result of constant warfare. In the name of preaching religion, the Arabs accepted murder, robbery and robbery as a profession. Robbery was not only a profitable legal business, but also a virtuous deed, the rulers preached. There was no movement other than accepting Islam as a means of survival for common people and accepting banditry. People from all walks of life became Muslims in droves, joined the army and shared in the looted wealth, bringing with them superstition, disorder, vulgarity, disorder, ignorance and anarchy. Moreover, whores, captured as a commodity to satisfy the sex appetite of the powerful and wealthy companions, became a nuisance to the society and the rulers with their bastard children.
No one was left to understand that Caliph Usman's 'transfer of tenancy, jagirdari and zamindari system' was not introduced to save a nation from certain destruction, which was plunged into extreme moral decay. Several Companions objected to this.
That time, the eminent ulama of the country, famous companion group of the Prophet joined the rebel group. Even Hazrat Talha (RA), Hazrat Jobair (RA), who was once known as Usman's right hand, Sahabi Ibn-Masud (RA), the treasurer of Kufa, and many companions and government officials went against the Caliph.
Hazrat Usman followed a strict policy of repression. Some of the Companions were expelled from the country, some people were summoned to Palace and inflicted inhuman and cruel punishment with his own hands. Hazrat Usman's language towards the rebels was very vulgar, unspeakable, indecent. Hazrat Ali also did not escape Usman's foul language abuse.
Unbelievable but true, Prophet’s companion Hazrat Abdur Rahman Bin Awf (RA) who was chosen by Hazrat Omar to be the head of the Caliph Selection Committee, Usman was selected as Caliph, Prophet’s companion Hazrat Zaid Bin Thabit (R) whom Usman made the head of his 'Qur'an Compilation Committee', Companion Hazrat Amr Ibnul As, on whose words Uthman (RA) freed Ubaidullah, the murderous son of Hazrat Omar, without punishment, along with Hazrat Ali (RA) came to the front line of the rebel group.
From the village to the city, from the city to the capital, the fire of rebellion was burning. Seeing the dire situation, the Governor of Syria, Moabiya, sent a message to the Caliph - 'Amirul Momineen, come to Syria as soon as possible, your life is no longer safe in Medina, or impose martial law, I will help with troops.' The Caliph did nothing.
Madina was hot with the wind of popular uprising. Usman sensed the imminent danger. He remembered Hazrat Ali. Uthman (RA) admitted his mistake by calling Hazrat Ali. In fact, he did not admit the mistake. He wanted to use Hazrat Ali to achieve political objectives.
Ali remembered the tainted days of the long 12 year rule of the power and wealth hungry, egotistical, arbitrary Usman. Caliph Usman released Hazrat Obaidullah, the son of Hazrat Omar, the murderer of three innocent people, without punishment. By compiling and editing the Quran, he burnt the handwritten 'Qur'an' of people all over the state. The people of the world wiould never know what was written on them. By forcibly occupying the land of poor farmers and expanding the mosque in Medina, they made people homeless. Tainted the ideals of the Prophet by taxing horses. By enacting the 'Transfer of Tenure' Act, he made his relatives of the Umayya clan zamindars that is permanent land owners, and made the common people beggars. Drug addicts, adulterers, liars, self-proclaimed terrorists of the country, who have no character had been appointed as governors. The governor of Kufa, who had embezzled money from the Baytulmal, publicly abused his treasurer, Companion Ibn-Masud, in the words of the infamous Alid. On seeing Ibn-Masud in the mosque that day, Usman said, 'Look, the slave's degenerate child has come, he defecates on the same plate he eats'.
Earlier, Ibn-Masud (R.A.) could not bear the injustice of Hazrat Ali, the governor of Kufa, and resigned and moved to Madinah. Hazrat Ayesha came out from the house adjacent to the mosque after hearing Usman's abuse and said, "You are abusing the faithful companions of the Prophet like that?" The Caliph got very angry at Ayesha's words and kicked Ibn-Masud (R.A.) in such a way that one of the bones of Companiom Masud's back was broken. Usman dragged Masood unconscious that day, He threw him out of the 'Masjid Nawabi'.
A few days ago Companion Hazrat Ammar Ibn Yasir (RA) protested the economic arbitrariness of Caliph Usman. Because some people of Madinah accused the Caliph of stealing war booty, some gold ornaments and gems and pearls from Baitulmal. They also showed evidence of that ornament on several of the Caliph's relatives. Usman (RA) said in the language of Moab, "Allah is the owner of the wealth of Baitulmal." I am Allah's chosen caliph. One cannot become a caliph without God's nomination. The wealth will be used as I wish, you have no say in it'. Ammar Ibn Yaser and Hazrat Ali said together - "Khalifa, by Allah, I will be your first protestant, you will have to answer for the wealth of Baitulmal". Caliph Uthman imprisoned Ammar ibn Yasir and punished him in such a way that he lay unconscious and dead in the house of Umm Salma (RA) for three days. Ayesha was also present in that room. Hazrat Usman also said to Hazrat Ali that day: 'If you exaggerate too much, you will also be like Ammar'. Ali also showed his bloodshot eyes and said - 'Usman, self-confident, by Allah, my father is better than your father, my mother is better than your mother, my status with the Prophet is much higher than yours. By ordering me to leave the country, you can try once to see where the water flows!' Ali remembered these things and said, 'Today I cannot help you. I have warned you many times before, advised you, but you did not listen. Rather, a few days ago, a prominent companion, Hazrat Abu Jawhar Giffari (R.A.), drove him out of the country without any crime. When I protested against this, you on behalf of your minister Marwan abused me in obscene language and almost choked me out of the prasad.'
Usman said - 'Ali, I will accept all the complaints of the people and accept their demands, you return them from Medina.'
Hazrat Ali told Usman one by one the complaints and demands that the rebels had previously made to him. Hearing the allegations, Hazrat Usman laid all the blame on the two previous Caliphs, especially Hazrat Omar. He pointed out the names of some of the companion notorious miscreants and said, 'Look Ali, they have been appointed as governors by the second Caliph Omar. You know what kind of person the governor of Syria, Moabiya, is. Will my caliphate last even one day by removing people like him?’
Usman also said in a very humble language, 'Look, the last two caliphs also made many mistakes but no one ever demanded their resignation, why is this happening in my case? I will accept all the demands of the people except one demand. I cannot give up power’.
The anarchy and disorder created in the Arab Muslim empire by Hazrat Usman's long twelve year misrule increased two fold by the assassination of Usman.
With Ali's ascension to power, the Muslim world got its first caliph of the Hashemite tribe of the Quraish, a blood relation of the Prophet Muhammad. Ali was a brave warrior but not a skilled politician. He made a serious mistake while sitting in power. Flashed before Ali's eyes an ugly and terrifying image of the Muslim empire. He remembered that dark night, when Hazrat Omar came to his door and shouted: 'Who are you in the house, come out and accept the caliphate of Abu Bakr, otherwise I will set fire to the house along with the people.' Hazrat Fatima came out and said, ' There are some faithful companions of Prophet as guests in my house. Omar, do you want to burn the house of the Prophet's daughter, who holds the keys to Paradise?’ They rejected Abu Bakr's caliphate like Fatimah and Ali. After that incident, Hazrat Fatima requested her husband, after her death, to bury her secretly in the dark of night, so that Hazrat Omar could not attend her funeral. Hazrat Fatima passed away shortly after this.
Everywhere in the kingdom, Hazrat Ali saw the face of drunken, ambitious, anti-Sharia, despotic autocrats, woman addicted, indulgent, rulers. Hazrat Ali simultaneously declared all provincial governorships 'invalid'. Whether out of anger, out of passion, or in revenge for the life-long humiliation and torture inflicted on him and his wife Hazrat Fatima by Abu Bakr, Omar and Usman, Hazrat Ali's act was proof of short-sightedness. Several provincial governors refused to accept Ali's caliphate, which was far from resigning until the trial for the assassination of Caliph Usman. The issue of 'Usman's murder trial' was a plot by Hazrat Muabiya, a death trap for Ali.
It was Hazrat Muabiya who was able to thoroughly understand the secret of the creation of Islam by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Muabiya was the Political Secretary of Muhammad (PBUH). So he probably enjoyed the highest fruits of political Islam. Muabiya was never interested in accepting Muhammad's (pbuh) 'Islam', but imitated Muhammad's trickery, hypocrisy, deceit and sham very well. And that day it was with that skill Muabiya was determined to use to put out the last light of Muhammad (pbuh) forever.
The whole Muslim world was divided into two parts. The rebels of Egypt, Makkah, Kufa and other provinces involved in the killing of Usman threatened Hazrat Ali. If Usman's murder was prosecuted, then Ali would have to leave the world in a very sad and tragic way like Usman. Ali saw that he had fallen into a seven-way tie today. Ali who is addicted to playing blood with a sword, who participated in 98 battles as a companion of Ali Muhammad (PBUH) and received the titles of 'Ali Haider', 'Saifullah' and 'Bir Shreshtha' from him, Ali is confused today, very tired. Today, the bloodthirsty, drunken sword of Ali wants a break, a breath of peace. But that would not happen. Ali did not take long to understand that power and blood were complementary to each other.
Here it is good to know the brief introduction of Hazrat Muabiya to understand the various activities of Hazrat Muawiya's life and the reason of his enmity with Hazrat Ali of the family of Muhammad (PBUH). Hazrat Muawbya was the illegitimate son of Hinda, the wife of Hazrat Abu Sufyan. Muabiya was born three months after Hinda's marriage to Abu Sufyan. His mother Hinda was a 'prostitute'. Several Urdu-speaking historians have used the term 'prostitute' in characterizing Hinda. According to other sources, Hinda, though not a prostitute, was a polygamous woman and Muabiya was her bastard child, some evidence was found in the sayings of Hazrat Hasan (RA) and Hazrat Aisha (RA). Sham Ibn Muhammad Kalvi (RA) writes in his book 'Kitabe Mosab' - Hazrat Hasan (RA) one day sarcastically said to Hazrat Muabiya, "Do you remember who your real father is?"
On hearing the news that Hazrat Ayesha's brother Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr had been killed by Muabiya, Abu Sufyan's daughter Umm Habiba (Muabiya's sister and Prophet's wife) cooked a whole goat and sent it to Ayesha as 'charity'. Ayesha asked, 'What does this mean?' Umm Habiba replied, 'The reward for killing Usman, your brother killed Usman.' Ayesha cursed and said - "May Allah's wrath be upon the polygamous daughter of Hinda". After that, as long as Ayesha was alive, Umm Habiba and her mother Hinda were cursed after the prayer. In the history of Islam, Hinda was known for eating Prophet's uncle Hazrat Hamza’s (RA) liver!
After Muhammad's (PBUH) conquest of Makkah, Abu Sufyan was forced to accept Islam to save the lives of his family and tribe. The enmity between himself and Muhammad, from the Battle of Badr to the conquest of Mecca, was a long history written with the blood of countless people of the Quraysh clan. A pathetic defeat of the Umayya dynasty at the hands of an orphaned son of the Hashemi dynasty who had never been spoken harshly to the boy who loved him for forty years! The sadness of that defeat never faded from the minds of Abu Sufyan and his family. Abu Sufyan requested his son Muabiya to accept 'Islam' with a promise from Muhammad (pbuh) to a high government job (Secretary of State). At first he did not agree, but later he agreed. Muabiy embraced Islam with a long-term future plan in mind.
Muabiya was a very visionary, ambitious, shrewd politician. Under him, the Muslim soldiers wanted to occupy India and China by occupying many regions including Tripoli, Armenia, Cyprus. Ali thought that the cries of Usman's death in the alleys of Madinah, and the sound of people crying in the sky and air did not fade and instead he had to get involve with a war against Aysha in battle of Jamal. After tens of thousands of lives were lost in the bloody Battle of Jamal, another war with Muabiya would not be appropriate. Hazrat Ali sent the Governor of Hamdan province, Hazrat Jarir, the head of Bani-Bazila, to Syria with a proposal to Muabiya - "The governor of Syria should immediately accept Hazrat Ali's caliphate and take the oath." Hazrat Muabiya could foresee the issue. The handsome Muabiya charmed Hazrat Jarir with such enchanting and mind-blowing hospitality that Hazrat Jarir forgot what he had come for. In the eye-catching colorful palace of Muabiya, Hazrat Zarir (RA) returned after three long months a completely different person. He came and said - "Muabiya (RA) is not willing to sit in any kind of discussion with Hazrat Ali on any state issue, until the murderer of Hazrat Usman is hanged". He also said - 'Hazrat Usman's bloody clothes and his wife Naila's severed finger are still hanging on the minaret of the mosque in Damascus. The people of Syria have vowed to die in the name of Allah, until the murderers of Hazrat Usman and those who planned to kill him are not hanged, the bloody clothes of Hazrat Usman and the severed finger of his wife will be hanging in the mosque of Damascus’. Companion Hazrat Malik Al Ashtar (R.A.) became very angry and scolded Hazrat Jarir - 'You did not give our proposal to Muabiya at all. For three long months, Muabiya has kept you drunk with amusement in his palace, and has made all preparations for war against us. This is the companion Hazrat Malik Al Ashtar (RA) who forced Hazrat Ayesha's two sisters-in-law Hazrat Talha (RA) and Zobair (RA) to accept Hazrat Ali's caliphate at gunpoint’.
None of the four Caliphs of Islam abdicated in the face of hundreds of demands of the people during their lifetime. All three of them lost their lives in the mob's fury.
Hazrat Ayesha hoped that her two brothers-in-law Hazrat Talha (RA) or Hazrat Jobair (RA) would be the caliph of Medina after Usman. The people elected Hazrat Ali as the fourth Caliph of Madinah by a huge vote. Prophet's wife Ayesha already hated Hazrat Ali with all her heart.
When Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) boasted that the woman in whose bed Gabriel used to bring revelations, people could not disbelieve when Aisha announced that Hazrat Ali was involved in the murder of Usman. Companion Hazrat Talha and Hazrat Jobair (Aisha's two brothers-in-law) took oath accepting Ali as Caliph. On Aisha's advice, they denied the oath, saying that they had been forced at gunpoint to accept Ali as caliph.
The Umayya clan vowed to avenge the killing of Usman at the call of Hazrat Ayesha. She was joined by a number of Muslims who became Muslims to save their lives from the arms of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and whose parents and relatives were killed by Hazrat Ali on the orders of Prophet Muhammad.
Meanwhile, Hazrat Ali abolished all provincial governorships immediately after gaining the caliphate. Some Umayya governors resigned but looted the treasury and emptied it. And many rejected Ali's caliphate. For Hazrat Ali, the problem posed by Ayesha proved to be more serious than the provincial governor problem. At first he could not believe that his youngest step mother-in-law Bibi Ayesha would take up arms against him.
Hazrat Ayesha, the reward of the governor of Yemen deposed by Ali, mounted the beautiful, strong and fresh camel al-Askar. 1000 thousand armed soldiers behind her. Hazrat Talha on the right, Hazrat Jobair on the left. Ayesha's life did not have the joy of childhood. Youth was full of extreme disappointment and pain. Ayesha had been scandalized by people as she disappeared on the battlefield. People accused her of lying. Today, Ayesha's eyes were streaming out lifelong fire of jealousy.
Ayesha's body's blood stream was flowing upstream today. 2 thousand more people joined Ayesha's party on the way to Basra. The governor of Bosora stopped Ayesha. Ayesha entered the capital with 3 thousand soldiers. They captured Hazrat Ali's new caliph, Governor Usman bin Honaif, while he was praying and drove him out of the city with his beard and mustache shaved off. By the time Hazrat Ali got the news of Ayesha's attitude through Umm Salma, it was too late. Ayesha's army had already captured Basra after killing 40 innocent people. Ali immediately left for Basra with only 900 soldiers.
Prophet's beloved sons (sons of Hazrat Ali) Hasan and Hossein could not sit still. On the instructions of his father, Hazrat Hasan (RA) went to Kufa. From there he collected 9 thousand soldiers and joined his father. Usman bin Honaif, the defeated governor of Ali, arrived and described the situation in Basra. Ali smiled and said - "I sent the old governor, I see he came back as a young man".
Gradually, Hazrat Ali's army numbered 20,000 and Ayesha's 30,000. At first there was a temporary war of words between Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Talha. As the evening drew near, they returned to their respective tents, saying that there would be more talk the next day. Ayesha had been watching her husband Muhammad's (PBUH) war tactics since childhood. The next day, Ayesha did not come so far to talk more. In the darkness of the night, Aisha's army suddenly attacked Hazrat Ali's army-tent. In no time a fierce battle began. From night to morning passed noon, the war did not stop. Aisha's army became weak. They prepared to retreat. By now the dry-desert has turned into a river of blood with the fresh blood of ten thousand Muslims.
In front of the hero who received the title of 'Saifullah' (Sword of God) from the Prophet, sat the high head of the woman on the camel! Hazrat Ali could no longer tolerate. He ordered that the legs of Ayesha's camel should be cut off. Ayesha fell to the ground along with the camel.
Hazrat Ali said to Ayesha's brother Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr, pick up your sister and bring her to Medina. In the history of Islam, this battle is better known as 'Jange Jamal'.
Hazrat Ali breathed a sigh of relief, but he could not even imagine that a terrible fate was waiting for his beloved son Hazrat Hasan and Hussain at Siffin and Karabala. Hazrat Ali (RA) traveled from Basra to Kufa after capturing Ayesha (RA) who was defeated in the battle of Jamal and sent her to Madinah, deciding to move the capital of the Muslim empire from Madinah to Kufa. Hazrat Muabiya (RA) was still the governor of Syria. Ali also knew that Muabiya (RA) would not accept Hazrat Ali as Caliph so easily.
Mysteriously, Muabiya, instead of supporting Hazrat Aisha in the battle of Jamal, did not participate in the war, and adopted neutrality. It was of great benefit to Ali. But Ali did not know that Hazrat Muabiya had actually set a trap to imprison Hazrat Ali in an iron cage in Syria. Muabiya spread the word throughout the kingdom that Ali could have saved Usman if he had wanted to, but the power-hungry Ali instead cooperated with the assassins and usurped power unjustly by force.
While Ali was on the battlefield against Ayesha in the Battle of Jamal, Muabiya was busy with another important task. Hazrat Muabiya wanted to establish Umayyad rule in the whole world. Before that, he wanted to extinguish the light of life of Hazrat Ali, the only heir of Prophet Muhammad of the Hashemi dynasty.
When Ali offered Hazrat Talha (RA) and Zubair (RA) to take the oath of acceptance of his caliphate, Malik al-Ashtar stood over their heads with an open sharp sword. Hazrat Talha, the brave hero, who in the Battle of Uhud stood forward as a shield to save the Prophet's life and received the enemy's arrows on his chest and back, before the sword of Malik Al Ashtar, reluctantly accepted Ali's caliphate. When Companion Zubair remained silent when asked, Malik al-Ashtar roared like a lion and said to Hazrat Ali (RA): 'Ali (RA), let Zubair come to me, and I will split his head in two with one stroke of the sword’. Note that the four Caliphs of Islam There had been several candidates for the post of caliph each time, but never democratically elected. Seizing power through election engineering, rigging and conspiracies started from the time of the first Caliph, Hazrat Abu Bakr. Hazrat Ali was no exception.
Hazrat Zarir realized that it was not safe for him to stay there. He left Kufa and went to Syria and joined Hazrat Muabiya's army. Seeing Muabiya's conspiracy and evil trickery, Hazrat Ali was convinced that the matter should be decided by arms. So war again, bloodshed again. Hazrat Hasan, Ali's eldest son, forbade his father to invade Syria. Hasan said - 'Father, leave the caliphate if necessary, do not go to war with Muabiya, Muabiya is a deadly horrible person!’
Ali left for Syria with fifty thousand soldiers. Ali wanted to invade Syria from the north. On the way to the border area of Syria, Muabiya's small army engaged in skirmishes with Hazrat Ali's army at several places.
Hazrat Ali came with his army to a place called 'Siffin' in Syria and faced the main army of 120 thousand of Muabiya. Meanwhile, the number of Ali's soldiers stood at 90 thousand. Ali realized that the barricades on all sides, blocking the waterways, deploying 120,000 soldiers, all these were well planned by Muawiya for many days.
Coming to the field of Siffin, Ali (RA) made every effort to get his caliphate recognized without a fight. He vowed to prosecute the murder of Usman. He sent a delegation for peaceful negotiations, and he himse, gave a personal letter to Muawiyah. But this gentle behavior of his was not able to put dust in the eyes of the sharp mind Muabiya. Muabiya knew that Ali was a liar, a deceiver. During Jamal's war against Ayesha in Basra, Ali first wanted to win over Hazrat Talha and Hazrat Zobair by praising them. He said - 'Talha, you are a faithful companion of the Messenger (PBUH) and a brave soldier of Islam. You and I fought many battles by the side of the Prophet. If not for you, it would have been difficult to protect the Prophet from the hands of Companion Hazrat Khalid bin Ali (RA) in the Battle of Uhud’. It is noted that Mahabir Khalid bin Alid struck the head of Muhammad (pbuh) with his sword in the battle of Uhud in such a way that two of his teeth were broken due to a severe blow to the head that penetrated the helmet of the Prophet.
At one stage when Ali said, "You have accepted my caliphate voluntarily, then why are you opposing me today"? Hazrat Talha and Hazrat Jobayer shouted in one sentence - 'By Allah, Ali took the confession by placing a sword on our heads.' The people of Basra sent a group of people to Medina to verify the truth of the matter. On investigation, it was found that Hazrat Ali forced not only Talha and Zobair, but other leading people who could be potential rivals to the caliphate, to accept his caliphate by force. Muabiya also knew that it was Hazrat Ali who praised Talha and Zobair so much that he killed them and clothed Aisha's two sisters together as widows. Muabiya said to himself, ‘Ali, you have seen Aisha's Basra, you have not seen Muabiya’s Syria’. In response to Ali, Muawiya said - 'Not a single soldier will be removed from the battlefield until the killers of Usman are handed over to me.'
Muabiya knew that it was not possible for Ali to punish the murderers of Usman. Ali also knew that most of his army men were involved in killing Usman. Malik Al Ashtar and Muhammad Bin Abu Bakr, the generals of Ali, are among them. Handing over the killers of Uthman to Muabiya and accepting Muabiya as caliph was equivalent.
Deployment of troops, exchange of dialogues, small skirmishes were spent. In the month of May, the vast plains of Siffin trembled under the foot of the largest army in the history of Islam. The clanging of spears and swords, the roar of warriors, the birds and animals of the world were stunned. Hazrat Muabiya divided his 120 thousand soldiers into 8 groups with 8 commanders. Ali, on the other hand, did the same. Seeing this unprecedented scene of war, that huge event, both sides were terrified, that meanst that Islam and the Muslim nation disappeared from the map of the world! No one wanted to start a full-scale war. The sector wise war went on for a whole month in isolation. The holy month of Muharram came in June, 37 Hijri. Both sides called for a ceasefire. Hazrat Ali wanted to resolve the issue through dialogue again. The shrewd Muabiya used the break to spread propaganda. Ali was able to convince those in his army who wanted justice for the murder of Usman, that Ali would not actually prosecute the murder of Usman, because the murderers were relatives of Ali, whom Ali pretended not to know. Far from arresting the killers of Caliph Usman, he rewarded many by enrolling them in the army. Some of Ali's people began to have doubts. The dialogue between the two sides continued. At one point, the Syrian dialogue delegation asked Ali - 'Ali, in your eyes, was killing Caliph Usman justified'? Ali replied - 'I will not say anything about this now.'
Muabiya's propaganda, began to bear fruit. All of Ali's efforts failed. He saw that Muabiya had closed all the ways of escape from here without a fight. During the month of Arab Safar, a fierce battle began. Hundreds of lives were lost on both sides every day. Ali's commander Hazrat Malik Ashtar (RA) alone was able to cut off the heads of 400 enemies one by one by uttering Allahu Akbar every time. A soldier of Muabiya came chasing after Ali. Ali struck such a hard blow along his stomach with the sword, that in the blink of an eye the man's lower body was placed on the horse's back and the upper part fell to the ground. From sunrise to sunset, from dusk to dawn, the war continued. The death toll continued to increase day by day. However, the number of casualties was relatively higher on the Muabiya side. Ali's commander Hazrat Malik Ashtar (RA) indicated that victory was near. Muabiya was thinking of leaving the battlefield and fleeing, just then Muawiya's commander Sahabi Amr Ibn Aas (RA) asked for permission to use their best weapon of deception. With the permission of Muabiya, Hazrat Amr Ibn As (RA) ordered his army to fly 500 copies of the Qur'an on the spearheads. Ali's army stopped, what is the matter? Amr Ibn Aas said - 'No more bloodshed, many Muslims on both sides have been killed. We do not want weapons, we want judgment through the Qur'an. Hazrat Ali forbade his soldiers and said - "Be careful, don't listen to Muawbya's deception, this is nothing but a mere deception". Several soldiers disobeyed Ali and stopped the battle. Ali's commander, Hazrat Malik Ashtar, came running and said - 'By God, continue fighting patiently for a little while longer, victory is inevitable for us.'
A group of Ali's soldiers, who were tired after fighting for a month, gave up their weapons and said - "We consider judgment through the Qur'an better than weapons". When Ali ordered the war to resume, some of his party accused Ali of deliberately engaging the Muslim nation in this war for the sake of power and that he did not want justice for the murder of Usman. Ali was forced to stop fighting. Bani-Kinda chief Hazrat Al-Asha'at asked Muabiya: 'What is the meaning of binding 500 Khani Qur'an on the head of a spear? Muabiya said - 'On the will of Allah, we should find the solution of the problem written in His Qur'an.' Despite hating the Qur'an with all his heart, Muabiya gave the Qur'anic solution himself. He said - 'Both parties should form a mediation committee headed by one person from their respective parties. Both parties must accept the decision of the two chief mediators.' Ali's people said in unison: 'We accept, we accept.' Before the meeting, Hazrat Muabiya completed two important tasks in great secrecy. He said to Hazrat Amr, the governor of Egypt at the time of Hazrat Usman, "Whatever the decision of the meeting, you will not leave Egypt." Hazrat Amr said, "If Egypt goes into the possession of Ali"? "Egypt will be attacked first, be ready" Muabiya assured Hazrat Amr. Muabiya also created the party leaders who mediated on Ali's behalf. Ali proposed the name of the veteran leader Abdullah Ibn Abbas (RA) as the leader of the party. Ali's men protested. They proposed the name of Hazrat Abu-Musa (RA), the supporter of Muabiya. Ali said - 'Damn you, Abu Musa is a treasonous traitor. I sent him as the temporary governor of Kufa. I deposed him on this day because he denied my caliphate. The people of Kufa who once blindly supported Hazrat Ali (RA) also became vocal against Ali today. They said - 'Ali because of you thousands of women of Kufa are crying as widows in Jamal war against Ayesha, their tears have not dried even today.'
The historic 'Ali-Muabiya' peace treaty was concluded in February 658 AD. The vast green field of Siffin was slippery on that day with the blood of seventy thousand people. 25,000 of Hazrat Ali and 45,000 of Hazrat Muawiya's side were left with their throats slit in the desert of Siffin.
Hazrat Muabiya mysteriously, requested Hazrat Ali to undertake the responsibility of writing the 'Treaty'.
Let them continue to make the treaty, meanwhile let's see who, where, what they said on the battlefield and in the immediate vicinity of the battle. Hazrat Ammar (R.A.) was giving a speech to encourage a group of soldiers under Ali to fight -
"Friends, have you not heard, the Prophet said many times during his lifetime, whoever hurts my Ali, think that he has hurt me, and whoever opposes my Ali, think that he has opposed me. Don't you know that Muabiyah is a heretic, an enemy of Islam, he did not accept Islam out of love for Allah and Allah's Messenger? His courtship of non-Muslim women, his association with heathens. We are waging jihad against the enemies of the Prophet, to save Islam from the heathen rulers.'
The words of Hazrat Ammar (RA) were completely true. Muabiya and his father Abu Sufyan did not accept Islam voluntarily. The incident was like this: Soon after the conquest of Makkah, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) summoned Abu Sufyan, the Quraysh leader, to one of his private rooms. Intelligent Abu Sufyan entered the house and guessed what he was called for. Two people were standing on the right and left of Muhammad (PBUH). Hazrat Ibn Abbas (RA) was one of them. Ibn Abbas hiding the sword under his cloak. The Quraysh leader did not know what question Muhammad (pbuh) would ask him. Will you give your head, or accept Muhammad's subordination? Abu Sufyan accepted the submission. He went home and advised his son Muabiya to accept Islam. Muabiya said – ‘What are you saying? On this day in the battle of Badr, Muhammad killed my two brothers in front of your eyes. You buried your sons with your own hands. My mother, due to losing her sons is rolling in the ground as mad in the alleys of Makkah. I will not accept Islam, I will take revenge.' Abu Sufyan said - 'If you cannot defeat the enemy by force, it is wise to join his side, the time to take revenge may come one day'.
Hazrat Obaidullah Ibn Omar (RA) was a sector commander of Muabiya's army. Obaidullah, the terrorist son of the Second Caliph, Hazrat Omar (RA), who, during the reign of Uthman, was accused of murdering three innocent people, was sentenced to death by Hazrat Ali in a public court, and was acquitted by Usman. Today in the Maidan of Siffin, Obaidullah son of Companion Hazrat Omar (RA) and Muhammad son of Companion Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) stood face to face with arms to kill each other. Hazrat Obaidullah Ibn Omar said to his soldiers - 'Amirul Momineen Hazrat Muabiya's supporters, I can clearly see the murderer of Hazrat Usman (referring to Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr) before my eyes. All those murderers who could not be tried by Ali, today we will kill them in this field, we will avenge the killing of Caliph Usman, we will establish justice’.
Obaidullah's wish was not fulfilled. After a while Ali's soldier's arrow struck him all over. Ubaidullah's body was left behind as others were searching for an escape route.
Hazrat Hashim Ibn Utba (R.A.) said to a warrior of Muabiya during the cessation of hostilities in the month of Muharram:
‘What happened to you? Why do you not understand, why we killed Usman? Usman wrote the Qur'an with his chosen people. He insulted the Prophet's family and the Quran, burning the Quran with fire. Those who want to establish the law of the Prophet by killing the tyrant Caliph Usman, are the faithful people of the Prophet. Will you take up arms against the Prophet's family?’
Hazrat Ali named several Companions one by one and mentioned their chracters. Among them Muabiya, Hazrat Amr Ibn Aas, Hazrat Abi Muyat, Hazrat Obaidullah Ibn Omar, Hazrat Abdullah Bin Sa'd Ibn-Abi Sarah, and Hazrat Habib Maslamah awere among them. Ali said - 'Muabiya is a heretic, Obaidullah is a universally condemned terrorist-murderer, Amr Ibn As is a bandit and dictator, Ibn Abi Sarah wrote the Qur'an himself and still does not believe that the Qur'an is the word of God, Abi Muyat and Habib Maslamah are traitors, liars, traitors. Even if you all don't know them, I know them since childhood. You believe, this jihad is the jihad of truth against falsehood, this jihad is the jihad of justice against injustice’.
The war finally stopped after 70 thousand people lost their lives. Now the contract will be written. Senior leaders of Mecca, Medina, Kufa, Syria were present. The author wrote - 'In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, in this sense Amirul Momineen Hazrat Ali (RA) Ibn Abi Talib and Hazrat Muabiya Ibn Abu Sufyan...' Stop! Amr bin As said, stopped the writer with a thunderous voice. what's the matter The author asked. Amr bin As said - 'Amirul Momineen Hazrat Ali (RA) should cut the line. Ali can be your Amirul Momineen, not ours’. Immediately, Hazrat Ali's chest swelled up! It was as if a poisoned arrow pierced his chest and exited through the surface. Ali realized that Muabiyah was repeating an old incident exactly. On that day, the same thing happened during the historic "Treaty of Hudaybiyah" between Muhammad (PBUH) and the Quraysh. That day the pen was in Ali's hand. Ali was writing, 'In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, in this sense, the Messenger of Allah Muhammad Ibn Abdullah and ...' Stop! Quraysh representative Suhail Ibn Am Reprimanded and said, "Let Muhammad Ibn Abdullah be left out of the word Messenger of God, Muhammad can be your Messenger, not ours." Hazrat Al Ahnaf (RA) said, "For your sake, do not remove the title 'Ameerul Momineen' from the name of Hazrat Ali, this is a heinous conspiracy to erase the Prophet's family from the world forever." Ali's tears broke down as he remembered Prophet’s words. A couple of tears rolled down his cheeks and wet his beard. Prophet loved two people the most in his life, one was Ali, and the other was Hazrat Fatima (RA). After restraining himself with great difficulty, just as the Prophet said during the 'Hudaibiya-Sandhi', 'Let Muhammad Ibn Abdullah be written except the word Messenger of Allah', Ali said - 'Alright, cut the word 'Amirul Momineen' and write 'Ali Ibn Abu Talib'. Be it.'
The heads of delegations on both sides suggested that the people of Ali would accept Ali and the people of Muabiya as their caliph until the committee declared their decision. No one can attack anyone. The committee took at least six months to publish its decision. Now it's time to take your own body. The ground is slippery with people's blood, many people stumbled repeatedly while walking. Seventy thousand people from both sides never returned home. Screams of husbandless widows, cries of fatherless children were heard in Arab countries for a long time.
After a few months one day, the supervisory committee sat with the Quran to give a Quranic verdict.
At the gathering, Amr Ibn As humbly requested Abu-Musa to give the first speech. Abu-Musa announced: 'We, the Supervisory Committee, have come to the conclusion that from today the caliphate of both Ali and Muabiya is declared invalid. The people will elect a new caliph through general elections.' Then Amr ibn As declared in his speech: 'I also agree with Abu Musa. Ali is completely new to politics. He is not yet qualified to be the Caliph. But at the moment the law administration of the state has nothing to say. The nation today is in an evil spell. In these critical days we need a prudent, skilled politician like Amirul Momineen Hazrat Muabiya'.
It was as if lightning had struck Abu Musa's head. He cursed in obscene language. The "word-war" of the Quran began. They continued to throw all the obscenities in the world at each other.
They could not come to any conclusion while doing 'word-war' from the Qur'an. The conference broke up. They returned home with the Quran, which failed to provide peace. Hazrat Ali sitting in Kufa was very hurt when he heard the news of the conference. He raised his hands to the sky and uttered a long supplication: 'O Merciful, Mighty Lord, bestow Your worst wrath upon them, especially Muabiya, Amr Ibn As, Abul Awar Al Sulaimi, Abi Sarah, Habib Ibn Maslamah, Abdur Rahman. On bin Khalid, Zahaq bin Qays and Alid bin Uqba.'
It was not known whether this prayer of Ali reached Allah or not, but it reached Muabiya's ears in time. Muabiya ordered his secretary to add some new verses to the sermon for Friday prayers. From that day on, Muabiya made it compulsory to curse the Prophet's family, namely Abdullah Ibn Abbas, Hazrat Hamzah, Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Fatima, Hazrat Hasan and Hussain, in every Friday sermon. A Muslim named Huzur Ibn Adi disobeyed Muabiya's order and sentenced him to death.
Hearing the news of the conference, the people of Kufa divided into several groups. Its as if Hazrat Ali started seeing no light in his eyes. Under the pretext of establishing a treaty with Muabiya, the tribe of 'Khurayz' directly declared rebellion against Ali. Another group expressed their displeasure at the mid-way stoppage of the war. Many began to openly say that Muabiya was a good, strong ruler. As the days went by, Muabiya's party grew bigger and stronger and the walls of Ali's caliphate fell brick by brick. But Ali was not one to stop. The blood of Muhammad (pbuh) was in his veins. Hazrat Ali vowed to take revenge for that insult. The rebel extremist fundamentalist 'Khoriz' or Kharijite party rejected both Ali and Muabiya and formed their own party. They wanted to establish the rule of God, the rule of the Qur'an. According to them, both Ali and Muabiya were anti-Qur'anic rulers. They were on Ali's side until the battle of Siffin. Since Ali signed a peace treaty with an infidel like Muabiya and failed to establish Sharia law in the kingdom, Hazrat Ali was also an infidel in their eyes.
The Kharijites gathered in a village called 'Harora' and started propagating their ideology. Within a few days, they turned into a formidable terrorist militant group. They set fire to the houses of those who disagreed with them, cut people's throats, buried them alive, killed them indiscriminately and created terror in the whole area. Hazrat Ali worked hard day and night, preaching Tabligh from house to house and convinced some people to attack Syria again. He saw that it was more necessary to suppress the rebel Kharijite group than to invade Syria. Meanwhile, the Kharijites vowed that they would not return home until Muawiyah, Ali and Amar Ibn As were killed. Their slogan is 'La hukma illa lillah' which means there is no rule except the rule of Allah. Hazrat Ali sent people to them, trying to make them understand that he had not done anything contrary to the Qur'an. He wrote a personal letter - "To establish the law of God in the state, Muawiya must be destroyed first." And for this I am calling you to join me and participate in Jihad against Muawiya. They replied, 'Ali, you are a disbeliever of the Qur'an, you also do not understand the Qur'an'.
The rebel Kharijites, under the leadership of Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Wahhab, set up their base at a place called 'Nahrawan', 12 miles from Baghdad. Some people came from different areas including Bosora and joined them. The 12,000 member Kharijite militant group would implement strict Islamic law throughout the state from here. Their main mantra was that only the Quran will solve all the problems of the state. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) tried all kinds of ways to bring the Kharijites to his side and failed. He camped in the valley of Nokhail on the way to attack Syria with 60,000 soldiers. News reached Ali that the terrorist Kharijites had slaughtered the Governor of Nahrawan, Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Khabbab (R.A.), along with the governor's pregnant slave girl and three innocent women from the Banu-Tai tribe. Ali sent Hazrat Harith Ibn Murrah 'Nahrawan' to investigate the matter. The Kharijites also killed Ibn Muhrah. Ali suspected that if the Kharijites were to attack Syria at this moment, they might capture Kufa. Hazrat Ali prepared for war against the Kharijites.
Ali's powerful troops were able to put down 12,000 Kharijites under their swords in no time. Only 9 Kharijites escaped and survived. Two years later, in 40 Hijri, three of these 9 killed Hazrat Ali in the mosque premises.
By killing the Kharijites, Ali thought that a disaster had passed, then there was no problem in attacking Syria. But it was bad luck, Ali's soldiers refused to fight at all. Hazrat Ali's dream of becoming the ruler of a huge Muslim empire was shattered. Returning to Kufa with a broken heart, Ali calmed down by denouncing his people as cowards. Meanwhile, Hazrat Muabiya did not like Ali's silence at all.
Muabiya knew now the difference between Ali and Muawiyah was between a lion and a goat. Muabiya's father Abu Sufyan said, "One day the opportunity to take revenge on the enemy may come".
Full revenge was still some way away. So Muabiya sent a small army to check whether Ali had the strength of a weak goat. A few centuries ago, just as Prophet Muhammad suddenly attacked the Arab unarmed non-Muslim tribes one by one in the dark of night and seized their property, houses, the soldiers of Muabiya began to occupy the provinces of Ali one by one. Companion Hazrat Muabiya (R.A.) sent a powerful force to Medina under the command of Hazrat Bashar to attack Madinah, the birthplace of Islam and the capital of Prophet Muhammad. Hazrat Bashar's army attacked the people of Medina like monsters. They destroyed the houses of common people in no time. The terrified people of Medina surrendered to Muabiya's army without a fight. The victorious Bashar said to the people of Madinah - "People of Madinah, if I had not come today with the orders of Caliph Muabiya, I swear by Allah, I would not have kept a single man of Madinah alive." Commander Bashar, showed great mercy to the people of Madinah compared to the attack on the Bani Muttalik tribe by the prophet Muhammad. On that day, Prophet Muhammad did not leave a single male of Bani Muttalik tribe alive, moreover, he captured all their women and distributed them among his army. After conquering Medina, Bashar, along with his army, set out to conquer Yemen. On hearing the news of the fall of Medina, Hazrat Ali roared like a paper tiger for a while. No one paid attention to his words. By attacking in the same manner as Medina, General Bashar captured Yemen.
Hazrat Muabiya (ra) after occupying the small kingdoms turned his attention to Egypt. He ordered the commander, "You cannot kill Muhammad, the son of Abu Bakr, the governor of Egypt." Bring him prisoner and bring him to me, I will judge him with my own hands. It is to be noted that after Abu Bakr became the caliph of Madinah, Hazrat Abu Sufyan said to his son Muabiya, "This Abu Bakr is the murderer of your two brothers, I believe you will take revenge one day". Mu'awiya suspected that Ali would try to defend Egypt by sending troops from Kufa. But it was not possible for Ali. So Muawiya's army did not have much difficulty to conquer Egypt. Abu Bakr's son Muhammad was captured and brought to Muabiya. Muabiya coldly told Muhammad, "I will give you a death that is more terrible than the killing of Caliph Usman, more painful than death by sword and spear". Hazrat Muabiya wrapped Abu Bakr's son Muhammad in dry straw and set it on fire. Muabiyah remembers that this Abu Bakr, his son Muhammad and his daughter Ayesha participated in the Battle of Badr against his father Abu Sufyan. That is why Muabiya did not help Ayesha against Ali in the 'Battle of Jamal' that day.
It was Ramadan month of 40 Hijri. Three men of the Kharijite group positioned themselves near the mosque with the intention of killing Hazrat Ali. Asamat Shabir and Abdur Rahman Ibn Muljam came out of the mosque and hit Hazrat Ali on the head with a sword. A few days later Hazrat Ali breathed his last in Kufa in 661 AD. Bereaved Ali's son Hazrat Hasan (RA) said in his father's mourning meeting - 'Today, in such a holy month, assassins killed the best man of Prophet, in which the Qur'an was revealed. The month in which Hazrat Isa (as) was raised by Allah to the sky, the month in which Hazrat Musa (as) spoke to Allah on Mount Tur. In the name of establishing the rule of the Quran, the terrorists had killed the author of the Quran’.
It is to be noted that Hazrat Ali used to write the words of the Qur'an from the side of Prophet Muhammad. When Hazrat Usman compiled the Qur'an, Hazrat Ali was excluded from the compilation committee. The father of 33 children, Hazrat Ali had 8 other wives during his life after the death of his first wife Fatimah.
Hazrat Ali left the world but Muabiya did not let go of the Ali family. Hazrat Hasan (R.A.) was a homely, innocent, simple man, not politically or power-hungry but a womanizer. Under the pressure of Hazrat Ali's devotees, Hasan first refused and later reluctantly accepted the caliphate. Removing Hasan from power WAS now as easy as breaking a clay doll for Hazrat Muabia (RA). Muabiya, who was skilled in managing the governance of three long periods in one stretch, did all the work in a well-planned manner. He knew that religion iwas a simple but powerful weapon to deceive the uneducated and weak people, it did not lead to the development of a nation or public welfare. So at times he used religion very cautiously when necessary but he did not even go near the edge of religion in the administration of the state, rather he followed the state administration of the neighboring Christian kingdom of Byzantium, Armenia. Later, he occupied all those areas and appointed many Christians and people of different religions to important positions of the state. Hazrat Muabiya built a powerful secular state in a democratic process on the model of a monarchy with a multinational collective effort. The people of Syria had always stood by their leader during the difficult times of war. On the other hand, people distrusted Hazrat Ali's theocratic social system and started flocking to Muabiya's party. Hazrat Ali's loyal soldiers even Hazrat Hasan of the Prophet's family got involved in theft, corruption and lies. Hasan said sadly one day, ‘is there not a single person living in this world who follows the example of the Prophet's Qur'an and Hadith?’
Hazrat Muabiya sent two spies to check the situation in Kufa and Basra. At the same time, 60,000 soldiers were deployed near Kufa and told Hasan through a letter - "Voluntarily surrender or Kufa will be occupied by arms". Hasan sent 12,000 troops to the frontier against Muabiya under the command of Hazrat Qays from the 40,000 soldiers kept by his father, and himself rested in the ancient luxury of Flower Garden in Persia. While resting, news came to Hasan that Hazrat Qays, the commander, was no longer alive, and that the soldiers had broken up and fled. Hasan's own soldiers, who had escaped, and the angry crowd rushed in and tore his stage tent to pieces, expressing their anger and hatred. On the velvet carpet on which he was relaxing with pleasure, a man jerked and lifted the carpet, they began to abuse Hasan as an infidel mushrik. Seeing the dire situation, Hazrat Hasan ran away and hid himself. The timid Hasan informed Mu'abiya that he was willing to surrender without a fight on two conditions. Hazrat Hasan wrote in the contract: 1. I have to be paid the gold, grains and money deposited in the revenue bank of my father's ancestral property in Kufa, so that I don't have to face financial problems for the rest of my life. Two. I have to stop cursing in the name of my father and our family in the khutbah in Friday prayers. Muabiya could have captured Kufa by force if he wanted. Muabiya was not thirsty for the small wealth of Kufa, but he was addicted to drinking the blood of the Prophet Muhammad's family. The wise Muabiya was unwilling to lose even one of his soldiers unnecessarily. He accepted both of Hasan's conditions. However, regarding the second condition, he said - the obligation of cursing the Ali family had been lifted by the state, but if the people practice it voluntarily, the government would not have anything to say. A blind supporter of Hazrat Ali, the self-interested Hasan did not look back at the surviving remaining Shias. He left with his family to Madinah with some wealth of revenue.
Emperor Muabiya, the sole ruler of the entire Arab world, entered Kufa in royal garb. The people greeted him cheerfully with garlands of flowers. The city of Kufa was included in Basra, Damascus was the capital of the Muslim empire. Now one had to remove the thorn with another thorn in secret. Hazrat Muabiyah (R.A.) through a spy informed Hazrat Hasan's wife Zayda bint Ashat bin Qays that if Zayda could kill her husband Hasan then she would be rewarded with one hundred thousand dirhams and taken to the royal palace as the Caliph's daughter-in-law. One day Hasan was fasting, Zayda allowed her husband to break his fast by mixing poison in milk. Forty days after drinking poison, Hazrat Hasan (RA) left the world in the month of Safar, 50 Hijri in 670 AD. When Zayda killed her husband and demanded her reward from Muabiya, Hazrat Muabiya sent Zayda one hundred thousand dirhams and said - I can not make a woman who killed her husband as my daughter-in-law.
Muabiya now thought, while still in power, he must make a permanent arrangement to keep the state power in the hands of the Umayya dynasty. First, he discussed with the trusted people, and he will establish the monarchy by declaring his son Ejid as the prince. The issue created a stir in the whole country. There was endless controversy among historians regarding the fact that Hazrat Muabiya declared his son Ejid a prince, not a caliph, and transferred the power of the state to his son without the support of the people in a democratic manner.
After Muabiya's death in 680 AD, Ezid succeeded his father. The Umayya dynasty ruled for about 90 years from 661 to 750 AD. Therefore, Hazrat Muabiya (RA) would be forever remembered as the architect of the Umayya dynasty in the Arab world. Based on lies, deceit, deception, Islam was born founded by drinking the blood of countless innocent children, youths, men and women of the world, flourished palace conspiracies. It’s inevitable means of survival.
Translated from the works of https://www.facebook.com/russel495
No comments:
Post a Comment