Introduction
Fitna is the civil war in the early Islamic faith that resulted from the murder of Caliph Uthman by the Egyptian rebels. The Islamic religion faced a crisis in 656 CE after the death of the third Caliph that led to leadership controversy on who should be the successor of the Prophet Mohammed, aiding the First Fitna (Kim and Choi). The conflict that led to the civil war was between the fourth Rashidun Caliph Ali and Muawiya, the Syrian governor. Strong disagreements caused divisions in the Islamic empire, and how power was handed to Ali after the assassination of Uthman. The Umayyads criticized the transfer of power with Muawiya and other Muslims seeking vengeance from the Caliph. Ali failed to comply with them because of internal and political ordeals.
This caused fights accompanied by hostile environments that lasted until Ali was overthrown from leadership and later assassinated by the Kharijites. This paper will deeply analyze the causes of the civil war between Ali and Muawiya that led to the most crucial battle in the history of Islam.
Main body
The prolonged armed struggle between Ali and Muawiya was rooted in history from the Hashemites and the Umayyads dynasties. The two groups were great cousins with rivalry and enmity during the reign of Abdul Muttalib. Leadership was passed from one dynasty to the other after every victory in battle. The Umayyads were the strongest dynasty because they were the first to rule the kingdom (Schubel). The power was passed from father and son, and the Quraish of the Hashemites handed power to the Umayyads after the murder of Muttalib. Muhammad continued preaching the importance of handing authority from one clan to the other and declared it his mission to the people. The people of the Umayyads opposed the mission because they never wanted to return the kingdom to another clan since Islam had gained more strength and acquired a considerable following. (Farooq). In addition, they were the wealthiest dynasty, and the leaders felt threatened by the changes in power and leadership that Islam was taking. Muslims conquered Makkah, and the kingdom had to be passed to the Hashemites, and Umayyads accepted. This marked the beginning of the fights because most Umayyads did not entirely agree and were hesitant to let the kingdom to the Hashemites.
After the death of Muhammad, Abu Bakr calmed the crowds with talks and prepared the body for burial. He went and negotiated vengeance and later elected the Caliphate for his outstanding actions (Abbas). This was a critical situation when non of the clans was willing to let the leadership. The Umayyad kingdom was highly entrenched during the rule of the Caliph Uthman because he highly favored them. Favors and nepotism for his clansmen were the central allegations that led to the murder of Uthman. After his murder, Ali was raised to the throne from pressure to protect the Caliphate. The Umayyads rejected this decision, and Muawiya began to criticize Ali’s leadership for making it difficult for the administration to thrive. In addition, Muawiya was prepared to take back power for the Umayyad from the Hashemites, reviving the old rivalry and enmity of the kingdoms.
Ali was outspoken and a straightforward leader who wanted to exert his power over Muawiya because he was elected the Caliph and vested authority. Muawiya was an experienced politician with solid qualities of service acquired during his reign as the governor (Clarke 50). He undermined his leadership of Ali by adopting propaganda and resorting to other means of critics. There was the cry of vengeance for Uthman’s blood from the Umayyads led by Muawiya. He began by mobilizing people to display blood-strained garments with the amputated fingers of Naila, who was Uthman’s wife, at the main mosque in Damascus. Muawiya went ahead and accused Ali of being guilty of the murder of Uthman in an open congregation and maintained that his election was irregular and done by the rebels who aided in the murder of Uthman. This raised emotions among the crowd causing massive divisions between the Umayyads and Hashemites.
Most Muslims trusted the leadership of Ali and took the oath of commitment to the Caliph. A few numbers failed to take the oath and defected from him, which further divided Medina. Talha and Zubair could not take the pledge, defected to join Aisha, and were murdered in Basra. Muawiya used their death to blackmail the leadership and portray them as martyrs and strong Muslims who had taken an oath to seek revenge and justice for the blood of Uthman (Cole). This continued to weaken the leadership and territories of Ali as more Muslims withdrew their support and joined Muawiya, who was keenly building his strength to battle him. He made a strong army that was ready to fight his troops of Ali. Due to more people defecting to the Umayyad’s side, Ali had no strong army at his disposal and relied on volunteers during campaigns. This resulted from the strict stance against corruption and the dismissal of governors, creating more enemies against the leadership of Ali. This increased political instability led to an open rebellion with the troops from the Umayyads clan led by Muawiya.
The Rashidun Caliphate was now widely divided, more people were against Ali, and rebellion was faced by more Muslims, including his mother-in-law, Aisha. An open fight emerged between the Umayyads and the kingdom of Ali. This was after Muawayi failed to honor him as the leader of the Caliphate, forcing Ali to defend and safeguard his strong desire to fight for the Hashemites clan. Ali moved the government to Kufa, where he clashed with Aisha near Basra in the battle of a camel (Farooq). Ali triumphed, and Aisha became his prisoner, actions that angered Muawiya, who marched troops to face Ali in a struggle with no victorious insight. There was an open battle due to the disagreement over their victory of Ali in the fight against Aisha.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Islamic civil war resulted from leadership struggles and succession controversies between the Umayyads and the Hashemites dynasties. Power was to be transferred from one group to the other after victory. After the death of Uthman, Ali was elected to take over the Caliphate decision that was under pressure and led to rebels from the Umayyads. The authorities of Medina were gripped with fear and wanted a Caliph who would protect them from the wrath faced by Muawiya, which led to them persuading the reluctant Ali to take over leadership. This caused a conflict between the Rashidun Caliphate with the aligned forces of Muawiya and Aisha. After protracted disagreements, Ali gathered his forces and moved toward Syria while Muawiya began mobilizing his troops, and the two armies met at Siffin (northern Iraq). War started after the Muawiya troop blocked the way, marking one of the most significant Islamic religious wars. The battle occurred in the Arabian Peninsula between 656 and 661 and ended with Muawiya’s troops overthrowing Ali and establishing the Umayyad dynasty. This marked the end of the Medinan Islamic elite and the transition of hereditary kingship.
Work Cited
Abbas, Hassan. The Prophet’s Heir: The Life of Alī ibn Abī Talib. Yale University Press, 2021.
Clarke, Colin P. “After the Fall of the Caliphate: The Islamic State and the Deviant Diaspora.”SAIS Review of International Affairs, vol. 37, no. 2, 2017, pp. 49–56, Web.
Cole, Juan. “Caliphates and Juntas: Ottoman Legacies in Today’s Controversies over Religion and State in the Arab World.”Social Science History, vol. 42, no. 4, 2018, pp. 797–810, Web.
Farooq. “Ibn Khaldūn’s Defense of Muawiya: The Dynamics of ‘Arabiya, Mulk, and the Counter-Revolution according to the Muqaddima.”Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies, vol. 4, no. 1, 2019, p. 87, Web.
Kim, Dongsuk, and Hyun Jin Choi. “Autocracy, Religious Restriction, and Religious Civil War.”Politics and Religion, vol. 10, no. 2, 2016, pp. 311–38, Web.
Schubel, Vernon James. “Islam and World History.”American Journal of Islam and Society, vol. 36, no. 4, 2019, pp. 100–3, Web.