Chapter 5: Ali رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ – The Caliph in Stormy Waters!
Whether understood literally or spiritually, generations of Muslims saw immense wisdom flowing from Ali’s words, reflections, and character. He became known not only for the sword…but for understanding.
THE BRIEF HISTORY OF ISLAM!
Danish Shafiq
6/12/20266 min read
Chapter 5: Ali رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ – The Caliph in Stormy Waters!
The Caliphate Without a Caliph!
Madinah had barely begun to comprehend what had happened. Uthman ibn Affan رضي الله عنه, the third Caliph of Islam, had been martyred inside his own home. The man who had expanded the Muslim state across vast territories... The man who had preserved the unity of the Qur'anic recitation... The man who had once stood beside the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم... had fallen beneath the hands of men from within the Ummah itself.
The shock was unlike anything Madinah had experienced before. For years, the Muslims had faced Persia and Rome. They had crossed deserts. They had conquered fortified cities. They had established provinces stretching from Egypt to the eastern lands. But now the greatest danger was no longer beyond the borders of the Muslim world.
It had entered the heart of the Ummah. The Caliph had been murdered. The authority of the state had fractured. Armed men who had participated in the rebellion were still present in Madinah. And the Muslim community suddenly found itself facing a question for which there was no easy answer: Who could possibly lead the Ummah now?
This was not the peaceful succession that had followed the death of Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه. There was no six-man council quietly deliberating over the future of the Caliphate. There was no atmosphere of security. There was no time for a leisurely political transition. The city was still living under the shadow of rebellion.
The very institution of the Caliphate had been shaken. And yet the Ummah could not remain without a leader. Someone had to accept the burden. Someone had to restore authority. Someone had to prevent the political collapse from becoming complete. And gradually, the eyes of Madinah turned toward one man.
Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه.
But Ali رضي الله عنه did not simply step forward and claim the Caliphate. That distinction is important. He had not spent the final days of Uthman's life campaigning for power. He had not gathered an army around himself. He had not declared himself the inevitable successor.
Instead, according to reports preserved in the early historical tradition, when people approached him after Uthman's (رضي الله عنه) death, Ali رضي الله عنه initially hesitated to accept the position.
The circumstances were too dangerous. The Ummah was divided. The rebels were still influential. The future of the state was uncertain. And the man being asked to lead it understood better than most the enormous responsibility that was being placed upon his shoulders.
Yet the people continued to press him. The Muslim community needed a Caliph. And Ali رضي الله عنه was one of the few men whose standing, character, closeness to the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, and place among the earliest generation of Islam could command broad recognition.
Among those associated with the process were prominent Companions of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم. Talhah ibn Ubaydullah رضي الله عنه. Az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam رضي الله عنه. Ammar ibn Yasir رضي الله عنه. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه. Sa'id ibn Zayd رضي الله عنه. Sahl ibn Hunayf رضي الله عنه. Zayd ibn Thabit رضي الله عنه.
And others from the Muhajirun and Ansar.
The reports differ regarding precisely who was present at each stage and exactly when the allegiance was completed. For that reason, we should be cautious about presenting every later detail as unquestionable fact.
But the larger reality is unmistakable:
Ali رضي الله عنه inherited the Caliphate in the middle of a political earthquake.
This was not a throne waiting peacefully for its next occupant. It was an Amanah surrounded by bloodshed.
The Bayʿah of Ali!
The allegiance to Ali رضي الله عنه therefore cannot be understood simply as another transfer of power. The city was under extraordinary pressure. The murderers and supporters of Uthman's rebellion had not suddenly disappeared. The authority of Madinah had been weakened.
The provinces were watching. And different groups within the Ummah were already demanding different solutions to the crisis. Some wanted the killers of Uthman رضي الله عنه punished immediately. Others understood that the state first needed to regain control before justice could be properly administered.
Ali رضي الله عنه himself did not deny the obligation of justice. The question was one of timing, authority, and ability.
How could a government punish those responsible for Uthman's murder when the government itself had been shaken by the rebellion? How could justice be established without first restoring the authority necessary to enforce it? And how could the Caliphate restore order when armed groups were still present in the very city from which the Caliphate was supposed to govern?
These were not theoretical questions. They were the realities confronting Ali رضي الله عنه from the very first day. And this is the key to understanding his Caliphate. Ali رضي الله عنه did not inherit a functioning political order. He inherited the consequences of its collapse. That would shape almost every decision he made afterward.
Not Everyone Gave Allegiance in the Same Way!
The political situation became even more complicated because the leading Companions did not all respond to Ali's accession in exactly the same manner.
Talhah ibn Ubaydullah رضي الله عنه and az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam رضي الله عنه were among those associated with the allegiance to Ali رضي الله عنه. However, the precise circumstances and degree of pressure surrounding their pledge are reported differently in the historical sources.
Their later disagreement with Ali رضي الله عنه must therefore be understood against this complicated background rather than reduced to a simple story of betrayal. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه, one of the great veterans of Islam and commander of the Muslim forces at Qadisiyyah, did not immediately enter the political struggle. Abdullah ibn Umar رضي الله عنهما likewise remained apart from the conflict.
Their position reflected the uncertainty of the moment. They were not looking at an ordinary succession. They were witnessing a community that had begun to fracture after the murder of one of its greatest Companions.
And beyond Madinah, the political landscape was changing even more rapidly.
In Syria stood Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan رضي الله عنه. He was not merely another provincial governor. He was the governor of a powerful and well-organized province. He possessed an established administration, military strength, and deep political influence.
More importantly, he was a relative of the murdered Caliph and regarded the demand for justice for Uthman رضي الله عنه as an issue that could not simply be ignored. Muawiyah رضي الله عنه therefore did not immediately pledge allegiance to Ali رضي الله عنه.
But at this stage, we should resist the temptation to turn the story immediately into a struggle between two men seeking a throne. The political crisis was more complicated than that. Ali رضي الله عنه represented the newly established authority of the Caliphate in the aftermath of Uthman's death.
Muawiyah رضي الله عنه represented a powerful Syrian administration that demanded justice for the murdered Caliph before recognizing the new political order. Between them stood an Ummah already exhausted by suspicion, competing demands, provincial grievances, and the unresolved question of Uthman's killers.
The lines had not yet become battlefields. But they were beginning to form.
The Burden!
Imagine what had been placed upon Ali رضي الله عنه. He had spent his youth beside the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم. He had fought at Badr. He had stood at Uhud. He had carried the banner at Khaybar. He had witnessed the birth of the Muslim community.
He had watched Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه lead the Ummah after the Prophet ﷺ. He had watched Umar رضي الله عنه transform the Caliphate into a vast and disciplined state. He had watched Uthman رضي الله عنه expand it even farther.
And now... the empire was his responsibility. But the empire he inherited was no longer the empire of Umar. Its frontiers were enormous. Its provinces were powerful. Its wealth was immense. Its political interests were complicated. And its internal unity had been shattered.
Ali رضي الله عنه was not being asked to lead Muslims against Persia. He was not being asked to confront Rome. He was being asked to prevent Muslims from destroying one another. And among those who would soon stand on opposite sides were men and women who had themselves been close to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
That was the tragedy of the age that was beginning. The greatest challenge facing Ali رضي الله عنه would not come from an emperor sitting beyond the frontier. It would come from within the Ummah.
Justice had to be restored.
Authority had to be rebuilt.
The killers of Uthman had to be dealt with.
And the unity of the Muslims had to be preserved.
Yet accomplishing all four simultaneously was far easier to desire than to achieve.
Ali رضي الله عنه had accepted the Caliphate. But accepting the Caliphate was only the beginning. The real struggle was about to start. And before we follow him into the storms of Basra, Jamal, Syria, and Siffin...
we must first return to the beginning.
To the boy who had grown up in the household of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم. To the young believer who had known Islam before it became an empire. To the warrior who carried the banner at Khaybar.
To the husband of Fatimah رضي الله عنها. To the father of Hasan and Husayn رضي الله عنهما. Before he became the Caliph in the storm...
he was simply Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه.
And his story had begun long before the first battlefield appeared.
End of Chapter 5: Part 1