Osman — His favouritism — Osman's death — Ali — Rebellion of Muawiyah — Battle of Siffain — The Kharijis — Assassination of Ali — End of the Republic.
Omar could easily have nominated Ali or his own son, the virtuous Abdullah, surnamed Ibn Omar, as his successor to the Caliphate ; but with the conscientiousness which characterised him he entrusted the election to six notables of Medina. In deviating, however, from the example of his predecessor he made a mistake which paved the way to Ommeyade intrigue. The Ommeyades now formed a strong party in Medina; they had long been the rivals of the Hashimides, the family of the Prophet, and hated them fiercely ; they had pursued Mohammed with bitter ferocity ; and it was only after the fall of Mecca that they had adopted Islam from motives of self-interest. They had seen in the progress of Islam the means of personal aggrandisement. Their hatred of the simple austere companions of the Prophet who ruled over Islam was burning and implacable. They viewed with ill-concealed jealousy the old Moslems who formed the Council of State, and held the chief offices of government. The pure and simple lives of these saints were a standing reproach to them for their laxity and selfishness. And they easily found allies among the chiefs of the Bedouin tribes attached to them by kinship. By their intrigues they succeeded in keeping Ali out of the Caliphate.
After considerable debate and discussion, lasting over several days, the choice of the electorate fell upon Usman the son of Affan, a member of the Ommeyade family. His election proved in the end the ruin of Islam. Osman, though virtuous and honest, was very old and feeble in character, and quite unequal to the task of government. He fell at once, as they had anticipated, under the influence of his family. He was guided entirely by his secretary, Merwan, one of the most unprincipled of the Ommeyades, who had once been expelled by the Prophet for breach of trust. With his usual patriotism and devotion to the Faith, Ali gave his adhesion to Osman as soon as he was elected. Under Osman commenced that bitter feud between the Hashimides and the Ommeyades which lasted for over a century. But this was not the only evil which came into existence under him. The general body of the Arabs, always refractory and impatient of control, had been brought to order by the personality of the Prophet. The firmness of Abu Bakr and Omar had kept them under discipline. They now began to chafe under Koraishite predominance, and to sow the seeds of sedition in distant parts, and the old racial jealousy between the Modharites and Himyarites, which had nearly died out, began to smoulder afresh, with the most disastrous consequences to Islam. Osman displaced most of the lieutenants employed by Omar, and appointed in their stead incompetent and worthless members of his own family. During the first six years of his rule, the people, though grievously oppressed by the new governors, remained quiet. And in the out-lying provinces, the dangers to which the Saracens were exposed from the common enemies, kept the armies employed. The incursions of the Turks in Transoxiana led to the conquest of Balkh. Similarly were Herat, Kabul, and Ghazni captured. The risings in Southern Persia led to the subjugation of Kerman and Sistan. In the settlement of the new acquisitions, the policy of Omar was followed. No sooner were these countries conquered, than effective measures were set on foot for the development of their material resources. Water-courses were dug, roads made, fruit trees planted, and security given to trade by the establishment of a regular police organisation. Byzantine inroads from the north led to an advance on the country now called Asia Minor, towards the Black Sea. In Africa, Tripoli and Barca, and in the Mediterranean Cyprus, were conquered. A large fleet sent by the Romans to re-conquer Egypt was destroyed off Alexandria.
Whilst Islam was thus extending its sway in distant parts, Ali was endeavouring in Medina to give an intellectual turn to the newly-developed energy of the Saracenic race. In the public mosque at Medina, Ali and his cousin, Abdullah the son of Abbas, delivered weekly lectures on philosophy and logic, the traditions (history), rhetoric and law, whilst others dealt with other subjects. Thus was formed the nucleus of that intellectual movement which displayed itself in such great force in later times at Bagdad.
In the meantime, the weakness of the Caliph and the wickedness of his favourites were creating a great ferment among the people. Loud complaints of exaction and oppression by his governors began pouring into the capital. Ali expostulated several times with the Caliph on the manner in which he allowed the government to fall into the hands of his unworthy favourites. But Osman, under the influence of his evil genius, Merwan, paid no heed to these counsels. At last deputations from the provinces arrived at Medina, to demand redress. They were sent back with promises. On their way home they intercepted an alleged letter of Merwan, purporting to bear the seal of the Caliph, containing directions to the local governors to behead the leaders of the deputations on their arrival at their destinations. Furious at this treachery, they returned to Medina, and demanded the stepping down of the Caliph. The noble Osman met this demand with a stern refusal. Enraged at what they believed the complicity of the Caliph, they beseiged him in his house. At this hour of peril, the Ommeyades deserted the old Chief, and fled towards Syria, where their kinsman Muawiyah was governor. But Osman was bravely defended by Ali and his sons and dependents, and the insurgents had great difficulty in making any impression on the defenders. At last two of the besiegers scaled the wall, entered the house, and there killed the aged Caliph.
ELECTION OF ALI:
On the tragical death of Osman, Ali was proclaimed Caliph without opposition. During the three preceding administrations he had been a prominent member of the Council of State, ever ready to assist his predecessors with advice and guidance. And many of the great administrative works undertaken in the time of Omar were due to his counsel. In fact, that chief placed great reliance upon him and left him as his deputy at Medina during his journey abroad. But throughout he had maintained a noble independence of character, and had devoted himself to the pursuit of learning and the education of his sons. Upon his election he walked with his usual simplicity to the public Mosque, and there, leaning on his long-bow, received the oath of fealty from the people, declaring himself at the same time ready to resign the office to any one more worthy.
The husband of Fatima united in his person the hereditary right with that of election. From the beginning he was beset with the hostility of the Ommeyades. With the honesty of purpose which always distinguished him, and disregarding all advice for temporising, immediately on his accession he gave orders for the dismissal of the governors appointed by Osman, the resumption of the fiefs and estates that had been bestowed, at public loss, by the aged Caliph upon his principal favourites, and the distribution of the revenues in accordance with the rules laid down by Omar. These orders gave great offence to those who had enriched themselves under the last administration. Some of Osman's nominees gave up their posts without resistance, others revolted. Among the latter was Muawiyah, the son of Abii Sufian, who had, with the wealth of the Province, collected a large force of mercenaries, bound to him by love of pay. Thus supported Muawiyah raised the standard of rebellion.
But this was not the only difficulty Ali had to contend with. His refusal to give to Talha and Zubair, two prominent members of the Koraish, the governments of Kufa and Bussorah had converted their uncertain friendship into implacable hatred ; and Ayesha, the daughter of Abi Bakr, who entertained an inconceivable dislike to Ali, fanned the flame. Talha and Zubair, forgetting their oath of fealty, escaped first to Mecca and then towards Irak, where they were joined by Ayesha. The insurgents were able to collect here a large army with the object of attacking the Caliph. Ali, who had pursued them closely, besought them several times to desist from fratricidal war ; but to no avail. The unavoidable took place at Khoraiba, where Talha and Zubair were killed; and Ayesha was taken prisoner. She was sent back with every mark of consideration and respect to Medina. After settling Chaldaea and Mesopotamia, the Caliph proceeded towards Syria. He met the rebels With his usual humanity, Ali endeavoured to bring about a peaceful settlement. But Muawiyah was inflated by pride, and wanted impossible conditions. To avoid unnecessary shedding of blood, Ali offered to end the quarrel by personal combat, but the Ommeyade declined the challenge.
In spite of every exasperation, the Caliph commanded his troops to await the enemy's attack, to spare the fugitives, and to respect the captives. The rebels were defeated in three successive battles, and Muawiyah was ready to fly from the field, when a trick of his accomplice Amr, son of al-Aas, saved them from destruction. He made his mercenaries tie copies of the Koran to their lances and flags, and shout for quarter. The soldiers of the Caliph at once desisted from pursuit, and called upon him to refer the dispute to arbitration. The Caliph saw through the ruse practised by the rebels, but the clamour of the army led him to consent to the course suggested. The choice of an arbitrator on his side fell unfortunately on a weak old man named Abu Musa Ashaari, who was also secretly hostile to Ali. Nor was he any match for the astute Amr, the son of al-Aas, who represented Muawiyah. The Caliph, deprived thus of the fruit of his victories by his own soldiers, retired in disgust with his army towards Kufa. Here, the men who had been most clamorous at Siffin for the reference to arbitration, now repudiated it, and denounced it as sinful. They openly mutinied, and withdrawing to Nahrwan on the borders of the Desert assumed, a threatening attitude. They refused either to return to duty or quietly to disperse to their homes.Their conduct became at last so serious as to compel the Caliph to attack them. The majority fell fighting ; a few escaped to al-Bahrain and al-Ahsa, where they formed the nucleus of the fanatical horde which time after time harassed the empire by their sanguinary attacks. Whilst these events were happening in the east, the Caliph's representative had been completely duped at Daumat ul-jandal. Amr had advised him that for the peace of Islam, both Ali and Muawiyah should be put aside, that Abu Musa should pronounce the deposition of Ali, and that he should then depose Muavviyah, and that being done they should elect a new Caliph. The simple Abu Musa fell into the trap, and mounting the pulpit pronounced, " I depose Ali from the Caliphate ; " Amr, mounting after him, said, " I accept the deposition of Ali, and appoint Muawiyah in his place." This audacious announcement infuriated the followers of the Caliph. The two parties separated, vowing undying vengeance; and Abu Musa retired to Medina, where in subsequent years he received a pension from the Ommeyade court. After this, the war against Muawiyah proceeded in a desultory manner. The Caliph was hampered by difficulties on the eastern frontier, and was unable to direct a large force against him. He thus found himself able not only to secure Syria and proclaim himself Caliph, but also to conquer Egypt. Poison and the dagger helped to remove the most notable followers of the Caliph, who himself was struck down by the hand of an assassin, on the 27th of 17th January, 661 a.c, whilst offering his devotions at the Ramzan, public mosque at Kufa. Thus died, in the prime of his life, "the best-hearted Moslem," to use Colonel Osborn's words, "that ever lived." Mild, beneficent, and humane, ready to help the weak and distressed, his life had been devoted to the cause of Islam. Had he possessed the sternness of Omar's character he would have been more successful in governing an unruly race like the Arabs. But his forbearance and magnanimity were misunderstood, and his humanity and love of truth was turned by his enemies to their own advantage.
Ali is described as a man of ruddy complexion, not very tall, but extremely strong, inclined to stoutness, with a flowing beard, soft grey eyes, and a look of great amiability and kindness. His bravery had won him the title of the " Lion of God " ; his learning, that of the "Gate of Knowledge." Chivalrous, humane, and forbearing to the verge of weakness, as a ruler he came before his time. Most of the grand undertakings initiated by Omar for the welfare of the people were due to his counsel. Ever ready to succour the weak and to redress the wrongs of the injured, the accounts of his valorous deeds are still recited with enthusiasm from the bazaars of Cairo to those of Delhi. How the mail-clad knight rescued a stranger beset by lions in the desert ; how the poor woman, captured by brigands with her wounded and dying husband, wailed for the succour which never failed, and how the "Lion of God " appeared and saved them. Such stories bring back to life the chivalry of the Arabs — personified in their greatest hero. With his dying breath, he inculcated lessons of charity, love, humility, and self-abnegation to his sons. He expressly ordered that no harshness should be used towards his murderer, who should be executed with one blow. In summing up his worth, Masudi says — " If the glorious name of being the first Moslem, a comrade of the Prophet in exile, his faithful companion in the struggle for the Faith, his intimate associate in life, and his kinsman ; if a true knowledge of the spirit of his teachings .and of the Book ; if self-abnegation and practice of justice ; if honesty, purity, and love of truth ; if a knowledge of law and science, constitute a claim to pre-eminence, then all must regard Ali as the foremost Moslem. We shall search in vain to find, either among his precedessors (save one) or among his successors, those virtues with which God had endowed him."
By Fatima, Ali had three sons and four daughters. Fatima had survived the Prophet, her father, only a few months. Whilst she lived, Ali never married another, though the custom of the Arabs permitted his so doing. She was a remarkable woman for the age in which she lived, clever, accomplished and witty ; her sermons, songs and aphorisms, serve as an index to her strength of character and nobility of mind. Her virtues gained her the title of " Our Lady of Light," .by which name she is known among the Moslems. She was tall, slender, and endowed with great beauty, which caused her to be called az-Zahra, "the Beautiful."
With Ali ended the Republic of Islam:
"Thus vanished," says a philosophical writer, "the popular regime, which had for its basis a patriarchal simplicity, never again to appear among any Mussulman nation ; only the jurisprudence and the rules which depended on the Koran, survived the fall of the elective Government. Some of the republican passion, however, which gave to the small States a certain grandeur, and to the grand an excess of force, maintained itself in the nation in spite of the armies of the usurpers."
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