(THE FIRST CIVIL WAR Continued)
THE BATTLE OF THE CAMEL
Ali Attempts to Establish a Kafan Alliance
When Ali heard that Aishah was marching on Busra, his thoughts turned at once to its near neighbour, the city of Kufa. Like Busra, Kufa was a new township that had but lately been settled by the Bedouine tribes mostly from the Yemen. It was a busy, thriving community, intenseley proud of its prosperity and its rapid development. If the confederates envisaged making Busra the centre of their activities, perhaps, Ali reasoned, the Kufans might consider the advantages of becoming the rival capital. To this end Ali instructed his envoys Muhammad Ibn Jaffar and Muhammad son of Abu Bakr in the following words:-
“Should they (the people of Kufa) respond to my call, tell them, how I prefer them to all other subjects of the Commonwealth. Give them the tidings that I intend to make Kufa the capital of my Empire. Treat the Kufans with kindness, and ask them to come and arbitrate between us and those that have separated from Point out to them that I am putting my trust in them at this critical juncture. Let them come forward to help the religion of God, and adopt such measures as may help to reconcile the divided Muslims, and make them brethren once again.” us.
The Cold Reception of the Envoys
In spite of these assurance from Ali, Abu Musa,the governor of Kufa, received the envoys coldly. Made cautious by the success of Aishah at Busra, he had decided, in spite of his sworn allegiance to Ali when he had become Caliph, to follow a policy of strict neutrality. When the envoys delivered Ali’s letter to him, he remained silent, nor did he follow the usual custom of taking these ambassadors to the mosque, there to read the letters they carried in the presence of the congregation so that every one present might have the chance to give his opinion on them. On the evening after Abu Musa had first seen the envoys, his reply, when some one asked him if he was willing to go out (i.e. to join Ali), was, “Today my opinion in not what it was yesterday. What we hated yesterday has drawn upon us what we see now. There are only two alternatives going out (to join Ali) or sitting at home (to watch the turn of events). The latter is an ideal way while the former is a way of mischief, from which every one ought to refrain.” None sitting nearby uttered a word, their silence approving what the governor had said, in spite of the sorrowful reproaches of the envoys whom Ali had sent.
Turning towards these outraged ambassadors, Abu Musa then continued “the inauguration of the Caliph places you and your master (Ali) in an awkward position. Therefore we have decided not to engage ourselves in the struggle, unless sheer necessity compels us to do so. Let it be understood that we shall not take sides until you have rid yourselves of the murderers of the Caliph Uthman. Now both of you may return to Ali and inform him of our decision.”
Ali’s reaction to this reply was to send two further ambassadors, the great magnates Ashtar and Ibn Abbas, in the hope that two such respected figures might succeed where the previous envoys had failed. They, too, were received coldly by Abu Musa, who made the following speech in response to their request: “The companions of Muhammad (may peace be upon him) knew more of God and His Apostle than thos who have not had the opportunity of meeting him. Certainly you have a right over us. My humble advice to all of you that you should not assume the air of having God’s authority with you, and should not make war on God. Let your followers who have come from Medina go back to their homes till they all agree on an unanimous verdict, and they know best who is to be relied upon. The present rebellion can be appropriately epitomised in the famous sentence of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, who predicted of the approaching time when “he that sleepeth in it is better than he that sitteth; and he that sitteth is better than he that standeth; and he that standeth is better than he that walketh on foot; and he that walketh on foot is better than he that rideth.” Therefore I will give you this advice. Sheath your swords, take off the head of your lances, cut your bowstrings and take the injured into your houses, till a solution is found to the present crisis, and disturbances cease.”
Ali sends his son Hasan to Kufa
When Ashtar and Ibn Abbas returned unsuccessful to Ali’s camp, Ali decided to make still one more bid for the support of the Kufans. This time he chose for ambassador no less a person than his own son Hasan, believing that the grandson of the Holy Prophet must surely endear himself to the Believers in Faith. By the time Hasan reached Kufa the city had become a hotbed of intrigue. Spurred on by propaganda from Aishah, some of the Bedouin tribes had declared against Ali, while others wavered between the two causes. Abu Musa was anxious not to stir up open disagreement and, although he received Hasan with great respect, he did everything he could to deter him from going to the Mosque to address the Kufans publicly. Hasan, however, was determined to deliver Ali’s message to the people of Kufa and nothing could turn him from his resolve.
Accompanied by Ammar, who had so manfully defended the Alid cause at Busra, Hasan made his way to the Mosque, followed by an increasing number of Kufans. As soon as he entered the Mosque there was a loud burst of applause, for Hasan was personally much beloved by the Believers. Those Bedouine who were inclined towards Aishah and her cause, were however unwilling to be convinced of the justice of Ali’s arguments and the applause rapidly gave way tumult. which she had instructed the Kufans either to observe strict neutrality or to go over to her side and join her army. Two letters from Aishah were produced, “
After carefully studying the contents of these letters Hasan put a question to the Kufans, “Did not God enjoin upon Aishah,” he asked, “the duty of living quietly in her house, and leaving it to the men to fight on the battlefield until the sedition was quelled? What an irony of fate”, he continued, that she should command us to do her part and has taken upon herself to do our part”.
This criticism of Aishah’s conduct incensed the opposing faction, who would not tolerate any censure of the Mother of the Faithful. A heated debate ensued but Hasan, calling upon the people to be calm, addressed them as follows:-
“Your Caliph” said he “needs your assistance. It is both in your interest and a duty incumbent upon you to help him. Can you give any reason for refusing him help? Is there any one who can reasonably accuse him of having shown any covetous inclinations, or withholding or perverting justice? Can anyone amongst you say that he thrust himself into the Caliphate, or that he proved himself unworthy of this dignity in any way? Beware of those rebels who pretend to have taken up arms to avenge the murder of Caliph Uthman. O ye people of Kufa! the avenging of Uthman is only a pretext to dethrone the Caliph, (Ali) and it is this which is their real aim. Ali was unanimously elected at Medina, and Talha and Zubair, who now lead the rebels, took
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The First Civil War (Contd.)
the oath of allegiance to him. They were the first to support my father, and now are the first to forswear him. Therefore come and do what is good, and forbid what is evil.’ 35
This moving address had the desired effect. The heads of the various tribes declared that, since they had sworn allegiance to Ali, who had made several overtures. to them through various envoys, it was high time for them to comply with the commands of their Caliph. The magnetic personality of Hasan, his attractive and pleasing manner and his great personal popularity had succeeded, at long last, where all other envoys had failed. The hearts of the Kufans were won over and they responded most handsomely to his call for the enlistment of. volunteers.
Hasan told them that he was going to join his father and that he would consider it a great honour to march at the head of any men who cared to volunteer. Soon a force of ten thousand strong left Kufa to swell the army of Ali.
Some historians say that Ammar did not accompany Hasan on the mission to Kufa but that he was sent there together with Ashtar, shortly after Hasan’s departure with instructions to take the citadel by force of arms. While Hasan was busily negotiating with the Kufans in the Mosque, Ashtar, these historians allege, stormed the fortress of Abu Musa, taking it completely by surprise. He then sent the defeated garrison to tell the governor what had happened in his absence. By the time the defeated soldiers arrived at the Mosque, the audience had been so much moved in Hasan’s favour that, far from going to Abu Musa’s aid they would willingly have sacked Abu Musa’s castle had Hasan not intervened to prevent them.
Aal-e-Qutub Aal-e-Syed Abdullah Shah Ghazi 