By: Bilal Mohammad
Source: IlmGate
Question: Please explain the story of Mu’āwiyah and Alī (Allah be pleased with them both) in detail about what happened and [did] they [fight] each other for [ruling the Caliphate]?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Before we answer your query, it is important to understand that both ‘Alī and Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with them both) were illustrious companions of the Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace). Being granted the rank of a Sahabi means that both of them along with the rest of the Sahabah (Allah be pleased with them) hold a great status in the eyes of Allah Ta’ālā as apparent from numerous Qur’anic verses and Ahādīth expressing the virtues of the Sahabah [1]. As such, neither do we have the right to look down at any of their actions nor can we criticize the decision made by any of the Sahabah (Allah be pleased with them) after Allah Ta’ālā himself has attested to their piety and uprightness.
Now we shall briefly outline the events surrounding the battle between ‘Alī and Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with them both) more commonly known as “The Battle of Siffīn”:
After the martyrdom of Sayyiduna ‘Uthmān (Allah be pleased with him) in the year 35 AH, the khilāfah was handed over to ‘Alī (Allah be pleased with him). Many pledged their allegiance to him such as the Ansār and Muhājirīn, but there were some who were unwilling to do so until the perpetrators and conspirers behind the martyrdom of ‘Uthmān(Allah be pleased with him) were first dealt with.[2] Out of these people was Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with him) who was currently situated as the governor of Shām.[3] As a close relative of ‘Uthmān (Allah be pleased with him), he also desired that the first initiative of ‘Alī (Allah be pleased with him) should be to put these perpetrators to task.[4] ‘Alī (Allah be pleased with him) also desired the same but he felt that the current state of affairs demanded that the empire is first brought into control before taking the next step. Those who conspired against ‘Uthmān (Allah be pleased with him) were high in numbers and if dealt with too early would have struck an uproar and caused further fitnah throughout the land. [5]
As such, when Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with him) demanded that action be taken against these people, ‘Alī (Allah be pleased with him) did not respond in the affirmative and further disagreed with Mu’āwiyah’s (Allah be pleased with him) plan of action. Those who were with Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with him) told him that ‘Alī (Allah be pleased with him) was only stalling and did not want to go after the conspirers of ‘Uthmān’s (Allah be pleased with him) martyrdom at all. This was further aggravated by some misinforming Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with him) that ‘Alī (Allah be pleased with him) made way for the conspirators to take down ‘Uthmān.[6] Misunderstanding ‘Alī’s (Allah be pleased with him) stance, Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with him) made the decision to go ahead with his own agenda even if ‘Alī (Allah be pleased with him) did not agree.[7]
When ‘Alī (Allah be pleased with him) heard about Mu’āwiyah’s (Allah be pleased with him) plan of action, he first sent envoys to negotiate with Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with him). Upon failure, he made a decision to gather his army and head towards Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with him) to stop him and take control of the situation before it weakens the Muslim empire. Soon, this resulted in a confrontation between the two armies around a place called Siffīn in Syria. It first began with negotiations [8] but eventually led to a full out battle with many casualties on both sides. As ‘Alī’s (Allah be pleased with him) army gained the upper hand, a proposal was made by the army of Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with him) to have peace negotiations and cease fighting. [9] At the persistence of some people from his army, ‘Alī (Allah be pleased with him) decided to go ahead with the negotiations. It was decided that each party would choose one person to represent them and make these negotiations, otherwise known as tahkīm. ‘Amr bin al-Ās (Allah be pleased with him) was chosen to represent the army of Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with him) while Abu Mūsā al-Ash’rī (Allah be pleased with him) was chosen to represent the army of ‘Alī.[10] It was further decided that the fighting will cease and the final decision will be made during Ramadan[11] of the same year (i.e. 37 AH).[12]
As Ramadan came about, ‘Amr bin al-Ās (Allah be pleased with him) and Abu Mūsā al-Ash’rī (Allah be pleased with him) met and attempted to make peace by coming to a mutual decision regarding the caliphate and the future of the Muslim empire. In the end, these negotiations did not bear any fruit and both parties left without any probable conclusion. [13]
This concludes the summary of the battle that took place between ‘Alī and Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with them both). We do not wish to give further details since such information is only based off of historical narrations that include many weak narrations as well. Furthermore, this is a matter of creed and belief in regards to the Sahabah (Allah be pleased with them) and as stated before, the Qur’an outlines the great status of the Sahabah (Allah be pleased with them). As such, we cannot disregard our beliefs about the dignity and honor of Sahabah (Allah be pleased with them) based on simple historical analyses of the events that took place during that time. [14]
Before we conclude, we advise you to keep the following points in mind:
1) Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with him) was a great companion [15] of the Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) whom the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) himself made Du’a for in the following words:
“O Allah, make him a means of guidance, one who is guided and guide (others) through him.” [16]
2) Both parties were fighting for the sake of religion and for what they believed to be right. Nevertheless, it is the belief of the Ahl as-Sunnah that Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with him) erred in his decision and ‘Alī (Allah be pleased with him) was on the true path of justice. This does not mean that Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with him) was sinful; it only means that he erred in his decision but was excused because it was for the sake of what he believed was right at that time. [17] This does not discredit his status as a Sahābī in any way; rather, it shows us that when discord occurs there is always one side that’s on the true path leaving scope for the other side as well. We must show gratitude to both Mu’āwiyah and ‘Alī (Allah be pleased with them both) for their sacrifices and their efforts in the path of religion.
In support of the above, consider the following two narrations:
In regards to this event, the Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
“The Day of (Judgment) will not be established till there is a war between two groups whose claims will be the same.”
Hāfidh Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalānī writes in his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhārī that the above mentioned hadith refers to ‘Alī and Mu’āwiyah (Allah be pleased with them both) and this “claim” refers to both of them fighting for the same deen, i.e. Islam.[18]
It is reported in the Tarīkh of Ibn Khaldūn that when ‘Alī (Allah be pleased with him) was asked about the martyrs of the battle of Siffīn, he responded in the following words:
“I swear by the being who controls my life that none from these people (i.e. the martyrs) shall pass away while their hearts are still pure without being assured entrance into jannah.”[19]
3) When reading material on such matters, we should always keep an open mind and never let our tongues be soiled by making mention of any Sahābī in a negative manner.
We shall conclude with words of wisdom expressed by the great caliph ‘Umar bin ‘Abdul ‘Azīz:
“This is the blood (referring to the battles between the Sahabah) from which Allah the Almighty has kept our hands clean from. So it is not suitable for us to soil our tongues by mentioning such matters.”[20]
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Bilal Mohammad
Student Darul Iftaa
New Jersey, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
NOTES
Please see the original article for references.
