trends apparent in this period form an inseparable phase in 'Ali's passive attitude can easily be illustrated by comparing |
which they were often prone and which would otherwise Apart from some of the serious points of disagreement 'Ali accepted the political realities of his day, but never the- |
doubt as to the authenticity of this speech, since it was "Nay, by God, the son of Abu Quhafa [Abu Bakr] had exacted 'Ali thus describes his feelings towards the reign of his two We may now turn to the second observation made above |
the Banu Hashim in general and 'Ali in particular from This question of inheritance soon became one of the most The caliphate of Abu Bakr lasted just over two years, and |
nomination of 'Umar and made sure that the latter should "This is a testament of Abu Bakr, the successor of the Prophet Anyone reading the account of 'Umar's nomination by For our interest, however, at once the most important and |
Bakr for consultation and then were entrusted with the 'Ali's serious disagreements with the policies of 'Umar in 'Umar's attitude towards 'Ali is best illustrated by a |
'Abbas. On a certain occasion 'Umar asked Ibn 'Abbas, "Why |
belonged to the Banu Hashim." "Let us leave this topic," said However, the dominating personality of 'Umar and his Unlike Abu Bakr, 'Umar during his long caliphate could |
either to their pro-'Alid sympathies manifested at the Saqifa, It is not intended to record here in detail the events of the There is hardly any room to doubt the authenticity of the |
which deals with the Shura and the terms fixed by 'Umar. These measures, however, did simultaneously accomplish |
subject of debate in a self-instituted council of electors unless By bestowing both the chairmanship and the final authority "By God, the caliphate (Amr) has again been taken away from In this way, 'Umar dealt a final blow to the superior claims 'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet's uncle and head |
action. All of our sources agree that 'Ali yielded only under "'Umar [from his deathbed] entrusted it [the choice of caliph] It is by no means easy to establish what really transpired in |
This tradition bears the unanimous testimony of both As has been discussed above, even during 'Ali's period of |
correspondence exchanged between 'Ali and Mu'awiya. 'Abd ar-Rahman knew these differences full well and at 'Uthman was a weak man; apart from considerations of |
with the conquests of the Byzantine and Persian empires, The selection of 'Uthman did not pass without serious |
from the people of the house (Ahl al-Bayt) of your Prophet." The most significant point in this whole event of the Shura, |
Notes to Chapter 3
(1) For 'Ali's active participation and unceasing services in furthering the cause of Islam during Muhammad's lifetime, the fullest and most reliable source is Ibn Hisham's Sira. (2) This contrast is pointed out by Veccia Vaglieri, in El2 article "'Ali". (3) Tabari, I, p.1827; Baladhuri, I, p.588 (4) e.g. Isti'ab, III, p.1104. For Shi'i sources see Majlisi, Bihar, VIII, p.59; Ihtijaj, I, p.103 (5) L.V. Vaglieri, El2 article "'Ali" (6) For the Ithna 'Asharites, see Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi and Furu' al-Kafi; for the Isma'ilites, see Qadi Nu'man, Da'a'im al-Islam (7) Some scholars have questioned the authenticity of the Nahj al- Balagha and have suggested that it was written by Ash-Sharif ar- Radi himself and attributed to 'Ali. This allegation, in light of my own research on the subject, is absolutely without foundation. Ash- Sharif ar-Radi, the compiler of the Nahj al-Balagha, died in 406/1115, but most of the material of the Nahj al-Balagha I have found word-for-word in sources written long before the fifth century of Islam. These sources include, for example, Nasr b. Muzahim al- Minqari's Waq'at Siffin, Ya'qubi's Ta'rikh, Jahiz Al-Bayan wa'l- Tabyin, Mubarrad's Kamil, Baladhuri's Ansab al-Ashraf and many other standard works of the second, third, and fourth centuries. I am currently preparing a critical translation of the Nahj al-Balagha in which these sources will be fully analyzed and cited. (8) Hayyan had a princely estate in Al-Yamaha where he used to keep the poet A'sha, of the tribe of Banu Qays, under his protection and in luxury and comfort. After the death of Hayyan the poet lost all those privileges and was stricken by poverty, wandering about from place to place. By quoting a'sha, 'Ali compares his prestigious status and active life during the lifetime of the Prophet with the negligent attitude of the people towards him after the death of the Prophet. See Hadid, Sharh, I, pp. 166 f. (9) Nahj al-Balagha, ed. Muhammad Abu'l-Fadl Ibrahim (Cairo, 1963), I, p.29. For other references before Ash-Sharif ar-Radi see Ibn Abel's Hadid, Sharh, I, pp.205 f. and passim, where Abu Ja'far Ahmad b. Muhammad (d. 274/887) Kitab al-Mahasin, Ibrahim h. Muhammad ath-Thaqafi (d. 283/896) Kitab al-Gharat, Abu 'Ali Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Jubba'i (d. 303/915), and Abu 'l- Qasim al-Balkhi (d. 502/1108) Kitab al-Insaf, are quoted. Also see |
Saduq (d. 381/991), 'Ilal ash-Shara'i', p. 68; Ma'ani, Al-Akhbar, p.132; Mufid (d. 413/1022), Irshad, p. 166; Tusi (d. 460/1067), Amali; p.237 (10) Ibn Sa'd, II, pp. 314 ff; Ibn Hisham, III, pp.352, 368; Ya'qubi, II, p.127; Isti'ab, II, p.57'. Also cf. Vaglieri, El2 article "Fadak". For the Shi'i position see Tabarsi, Ihtijaj, I, pp.131-149 (11) Various versions in Ibn Sa'd, II, pp. 314 ff; Bukhari, Sahih, II p. 435. For the Shi'i position, see Ya'qubi, II, p.127, also Amini, A'yan, II, pp.461 ff. (12) Jahiz, Rasa'il, ed. Sandubi, "Min Kitabihi fi'l-'Abbasiyya", p.300 p. 20; Mas'udi, Tanbih, p.288; Ibn Hajar, Sawa'iq, pp.12 f. (14) See the whole account in Tabari, I, pp.2137 ff.; Ya'qubi, II, p. 136 f.; Hadid, Sharh,, I, p.163 ff. (15) Ya'qubi, ibid.; also see Tabari, I, p. 2138 ; 'Iqd, IV, p. 267, with slight variations in wording (16) Tabari, I, p.2137; Ya'qubi, loc. cit.; Hadid, Sharh, I, p. 164. Also see Mubarrad, Kamil, I, p.7 (17) cf. Mas'udi, Muruj, II, pp.332 f. (18) cf. Vaglieri, EI2 article "'Ali" (19) Tabari, I, p.2769 (20) Reference to Qur'an, XLVII, 9 (21) Reference to Qur'an, XXXIII, 33 (22) Tabari, I, pp.2770 f. (23) Abu 'Ubayda b. al-Jarrah,, in whom 'Umar had full confidence and who was one of the triumvirate, had died in the plague of 639- 640. (24) Ibn Sa'd, III, pp. 6i f., pp.331 ff; Baladhuri, V, pp. i6 ff.; Ya'qubi, II, pp. 160 ff.; Tabari, II, pp. 2778 ff.; Mas'udi, Tanbih, pp.290 f.; Dhahabi, Ta'rikh, II, pp.74 ff.; Hadid, Sharh, I, pp. 163 ff; pp. 185 ff.; 'Iqd, IV, p.275 (25) Isti'ab, IV, pp. 1697-9; Tahdhib, III, p.414 (26) Ibn Sa'd; III, pp.341 ff.; Baladhuri, V, p. 18; Ya'qubi, II.. p. 160; Tabari, I, pp.2770 ff.; Mas'udi. Tanbih, p.291 ; 'Iqd, IV, p.275; Hadid, Sharh, I, p. 187 (27) e.g., see different isnads in Tabari, loc. cit., and Baladhuri, loc. cit., where the reports of Muhammad b. Sa'd from Waqidi, a die-hard pro-'Uthinanid, are exactly the same as that of Abu Mikhnaf, a confirmed Shi'i. Even reports going back to 'Umar's son 'Abd Allah and that of Ibn 'Abbas are the same. (28) Studies, I, pp. 80-99 (29) Ibn Sa'd, III, pp.344 ff.; Baladhuri, V, pp. 16, 18; Tabari, I, p. 2778; 'Iqd, IV, p.275 |
(30) See 'Umar's conversation with the members of the Shura and especially with 'Ali and 'Uthman in Tabari, I, p.2779; Baladhuri, V, p. 16. The oldest source or. this subject, the fragment of the Ta'rikh al-Khulafa records the same conversations of 'Umar with the electors and indicates at least 'Umar's awareness (though not his acceptance) of the strength of 'Ali's claims. See Abbott, Studies, I, p. 81. Also see Ibn Sa'd, III, pp.62 and 339 ff, where a later version incorporates some dramatic changes in the tradition at the expense of 'Ali. (31) Baladhuri, V, p. 19; Tabari, I, p.2780; 'Iqd, IV, p.276; Hadid, Sharh, I, p.191 (32) Aghani; VI, pp.334 f. (33) Baladhuri, V, p.19; Tabari, I, p.2780; 'Iqd, IV, pp.275 f. (34) Baladhuri, V, pp. 21 f.; Tabari, I, pp.2779 f. (35) i.e. "When my personal excellence was not questionable in comparison to Abu Bakr, how can it be then compared to men like Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas, 'Abd ar-Rahman, and 'Uthman etc.?" (36) See note 8 above (37) Baladhuri, V, p.22; Ya'qubi, I, p. 162; Tabari, I, p.2793; 'Iqd, IV, p.279; Hadid, Sharh, I, pp. 188, 194 (38) Baladhuri, V, p.24; Tabari, I, p.2796 (39) Baladhuri, V, p. 33 ; Mas'udi, Muruj III, p.225 (40) Tabari, I, pp. 3082 ff, 3085; Dinawari, Akhbar, p. 142; Mas'udi, Muruj, II, pp.353 f.; Ya'qubi; II, p. 180 (41) See Vaglieri, EI2 article "'Ali," (42) Minqari, Waqi'at Siffin p.87 (43) ibid., p.89 (44) Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddima, pp.542 f; 'Iqd, IV, p.313; also see Mas'udi, Muruj, II, pp.425 ff (45) For the details of each one's wealth, see Ibn Khaldun, loc. cit.; Mas'udi, Muruj, II, p.332 (46) Baladhuri, V, p. 49; Tabari, I, p.2871 (47) Tabari, I, p.2785; 'Iqd, IV, p.279 (48) ibid. (49) Tabari, I, pp.2786 f.; 'Iqd, loc. cit. |