Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique was a very pious man from the very beginning.
He was a rich merchant and even before Islam, he was famous for his honesty, justice and trustworthiness. The Quraish considered him a respected man.
He had the most important duties in Makkah as no blood-money could be accepted without his approval. The blood-money itself used to be kept by him.
He also used to hate liquor as much as he hated it after accepting Islam. He believed it degrades the dignity of a man.

Hazrat Abu Bakr had sincere affection for Rasulallah  from childhood and he was a member of Rasulallah 's close circle.
When Rasulallah  was given Prophethood, the first person he secretly informed was his closest friend, Hazrat Abu Bakr. He was the first man to embrace Islam, and he did so without hesitation - such was the trust and complete faith he had in Rasulallah 's words.

Hazrat Abu Bakr gets the title of Siddique

Rasulallah  was gifted Mi'raj (Ascension) in the 10th year of his Mission, and the next morning he informed his people about the details of the ascension.
Some of them came to Hazrat Abu Bakr and said, "Have you listened to your friend (Rasulallah )? He is claiming that he visited Jerusalem and the Sublime Throne in the Heavens last night and talked with Allah Almighty. Would you believe it?"
Hazrat Abu Bakr  immediately replied. "If he said so then it is an absolute truth".
They again said, "Do you believe that he visited all these places and came back within a small part of night?"
He again replied, "Of course I believe in it and I believe in the things which are farther than it, i.e., the news of Hell and Paradise".

For this Rasulallah  named him as-Siddiq i.e. the most truthful and sincere person in Faith. For Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique had not even the slightest doubt, and his faith was such that nothing could shake it.

The Cave Saur Incident

A famous story of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique is the one of about Cave Saur (or Ghaar-e-Saur).
The night Rasulallah  planned to migrate to Madinah, the leaders of Makkah set out to look for him. He informed Hazrat Abu Bakr that they would leave for Madinah that night, and so they set out on their journey.
Aware of the fact that the Kufar were on a hunt for him, Rasulallah  decided to take an alternative route.

On the way, he and his blessed companion Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique decided to take shelter in a cave called Cave Saur.
Here they hid for 3 days.

Hazrat Abu Bakr  said, as narrated by Umar ibn Khattab, "I swear by Allah that you (the Prophet) will not enter the cave before I have done so, for if there is anything in it, I shall be attacked by it, and not you."
Then he entered the cave and swept it and found some holes in the side of it. He tore up a piece of his garment and plugged the holes with it. As there were still two remaining holes left, he thrust his feet into them and told the Messenger of Allah to enter the cave. When he had done so Rasulallah  laid his head on Hazrat Abu Bakr 's lap and went to sleep.
One of Hazrat Abu Bakr 's foot was stung by a creature in the hole, but he did not move for fear that he might disturb Rasulallah  and wake him up from his sleep.
The effect of the poison returned later on in his life, and was said to be the cause of his death.

Hazrat Abu Bakr's slave, Amir bin Fuhairah, tended the flocks of goats near the cave during the day and supplied them fresh milk in the night.

On the final day, the Kufar reached the cave that Rasulallah  and Hazrat Abu Bakr were in.
Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique was full of worry for the safety of Rasulallah , and the worry worsened when the Kufar were face to face with the two friends in the cave.
But Allah works in wonderful ways; a spider had spun a web across the mouth of the cave which not only helped conceal what was inside the cave, but also decieved the Kufar. They thought the web was old and came to the conclusion that noone had entered the cave in a long time.

Thus, the Kufar ended their search and Rasulallah  and his blessed companion proceeded on their journey to Madinah.

The exalted status of Hazrat Abu Bakr is such that he is mentioned in the Holy Quran for this incident:

"When the disbelievers drove him (Rasulallah ) out; he had no more than one companion. They were two in the cave. And he said to his companion: "Have no fear for Allah is with us". Then Allah sent down His peace upon him".
- The Holy Quran 9:40

Construction of the Holy Prophet's Mosque

There was an urgent need for the construction of a mosque in Madinah, and a house for Rasulallah  and his family.

The land which was selected for this belonged to two orphans. Their guardians wanted to give the land for the mosque free of charge but Rasulallah  did not accept their offer and asked Hazrat Abu Bakr to pay the price for the land.
Thus, Hazrat Abu Bakr became the first Muslim to spend most of his money for the cause of Allahin Madinah. He then participated in the construction of the mosque with the other Muslims.
Sacrifice in the way of Allah

On the occasion of Tabuk expedition, the blessed companions were all giving a portion of wealth in the way of Allah and his beloved Prophet .
Hazrat Umar Farooq decided that he would give exactly half of everything he owned. Once he collected it all, he took it to Rasulallah , who then asked him what he had left for his family. Hazrat Umar replied that he had left exactly half of his wealth for his family, and Rasulallah  accepted his donation.
Shortly afterwards, Hazrat Abu Bakr  was on his way to see Rasulallah and was carrying a small package with him which contained everything he possessed. He then gave it to Rasulallah , who asked him what he had left for his family. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique replied that he had left Allah and his Beloved Rasul for his family.
At this Rasulallah smiled, and it was then that Hazrat Umar Farooq admitted that he could never surpass Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique in willingness to sacrifice for Allah's cause.

Participation in Holy Battles

He fought in almost all the battles along with Rasulallah .
In the first battle of Islam at Badr, he was with Rasulallah  like a shadow.
His own son, who had not embraced Islam at that time, was fighting on the side of Quraish.
After he accepted Islam, he said to Hazrat Abu Bakr, "Dear father! I found you twice under my sword at Badr but I could not raise my hand because of my love for you".
Hazrat Abu Bakr replied, "If I had a chance, I would not have spared you".

It was Hazrat Abu Bakr's suggestion on which Rasulallah  decided to release the prisoners of war after taking ransom.

In the battle of Uhud when some of the Muslims were running away, Hazrat Abu Bakr was firm and when Rasulallah  was brought back to the mountain after being injured, he was with him.
Hazrat Abu Bakr  was the first companion to accept the peace plan of Rasulallah  without any hesitation at Hudaibiyah, when all the Muslims insisted upon fighting. Even Hazrat Umar (R.A.) hesitated to accept the treaty but Hazrat Abu Bakr fully supported Rasulallah 's decision.

Imam of the Holy Prophet's Mosque

Since his arrival in Madinah, Rasulallah  himself led the prayers at his mosque at all times. This was really a high office and was not given to anybody in the presence of Rasulallah  - after all who could lead the Prayer when the Imam of all Imams was present?

However, a few months after his return from the Farewell Pilgrimage in 10 A.H., Rasulallah  fell ill. A time came when he was unable to move and could not go to the Mosque to lead the prayer. He had to appoint someone as the Imam and this honour fell to Hazrat Abu Bakr.
Hazrat Abu Bakr's daughter, Hazrat Aisha  was one of the most beloved wives of Rasulallah . She knew that Hazrat Abu Bakr was a soft hearted man and it would be rather hard for him to replace Rasulallah  in the case of being an Imam. Thus, she pleaded with Rasulallah  to excuse Hazrat Abu Bakr from this duty but Rasulallah  did not change his decision even though he was requested three times.
During those days, there was one time when Hazrat Abu Bakr was not present at the time of the congregational prayer. Somebody asked Hazrat Umar to lead the prayer instead. Rasulallah  after hearing the voice of Hazrat Umar enquired about the Imam and when he found that Hazrat Abu Bakr  was not leading he was annoyed and said, "Nobody will lead the Salat besides Ibn Abu Qahafa (i.e. Hadrat Abu Bakr)". Then Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) was called but by that time Hazrat Umar had completed the prayer. The prayer was repeated by the order of Rasulallah  and this time Hazrat Abu Bakr  led it.
During his sickness, Rasulallah  once felt some relief and went for Zuhr prayer, supported by Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Abbas .
His blessed face beamed with joy and full satisfaction on seeing Hazrat Abu Bakr leading the prayer. Sensing the presence of Rasulallah , Hazrat Abu Bakr wanted to step back but Rasulallah  stopped him and sat down by his side.
After the prayer, Rasulallah  gave his last address:
"Allah offered one of His servants the choice of the life on this earth and a life with Him. The servant accepted the latter".
Hearing this tears came out of Hazrat Abu Bakr's eyes and rolled down to his beard. He thought of the inevitable separation from his Beloved Master, Rasulallah . Most of the people did not understand the meaning of Rasulallah 's address and they were surprised at Hazrat Abu Bakr's crying.

Early in the morning of the last day of his life, Rasulallah 's condition suddenly became better for a while. As his house was joined to the Mosque, he raised the curtain and observed the Muslims busy in prayer under the Imamat (leadership) of Hazrat Abu Bakr .
A smile lit up the pale face of Rasulallah . Seeing the sign of Rasulallah 's recovery, the people in the Mosque lost concentration, due to the sheer delight. They might have fallen out of the line but Rasulallah  smiled and simply asked Hazrat Abu Bakr to lead the prayer. Then he went inside and let the curtain fall.
Rasulallah  leaves this world

When Rasulallah  left this world, Hazrat Abu Bakr was visiting his wife Kharja for a short while.
As soon as he reached Madinah, he went straight to Hazrat Aisha's house where Rasulallah  was, and tears poured down his face as he kissed Rasulallah 's blessed forehead.
Mournfully, he said, “May my parents be sacrificed for you! By Allah, you will not taste death twice. The death which was unavoidable, you have tasted today. There will be no more death for you."

Meanwhile Hazrat Umar, out of love and devastation, was standing outside telling people not to believe that Rasulallah  had passed away. The pain of this incident left Hazrat Umar in a state of great shock, and he refused to believe Rasulallah had passed away.

Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique asked Hazrat Umar to stop talking, but he wouldn't stop. Then Hazrat Abu Bakr gestured towards the people that he was going to address them, and they turned their attention towards him. Then he said:
“Behold, if you people worshipped Muhammad , he has now passed away. And if you worshiped Allah, He is alive and will never die.”
Then he recited a verse from the Holy Quran:

"Muhammad  is but a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) have passed away before him.
Will it be that, when he dieth or is slain, ye will turn back on your heels?
He who turneth back on his heels doth no hurt to Allah, and Allah will reward the thankful. "

- The Holy Quran 3:144

About the moment Hazrat Abu Bakr recited this verse, Hazrat Abdullah said, "It seemed that this verse had just been revealed, although we had recited it several times in the past."

After hearing this short address of Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Umar felt the shock of this painful reality and felt himself collapse due to the utter devastation.
Islam's First Khalifa

Rasulallah  did not nominate his successor and left this choice to his Ummah (followers).

There were two groups of Muslims in Madinah; the Muhajirin (immigrants from Makkah), and the Ansar (Helpers ie. people of Madinah).

After the death of Rasulallah , the Ansar gathered in a big Hall of Madinah known as Saqifah-i-Bani Sa'idah to discuss the appointment of a Khalifah.
At that time, Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar, along with other prominent Muhajirin were in the Mosque. When they were informed about the gathering of Ansar, Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar also went there accompanied by a number of eminent Muhajirin like Hazrat Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah. Hazrat Ali and Hadrat Zubair were not there and so did not attend the gathering.

Much discussion was going on in the gathering of the Ansar about the selection of a Khalifah. Some of the leading Ansar wanted a Khalifah from amongst the Ansar. When Hazrat Abu Bakr heard it, he said, "We acknowledge the sacrifices of the Ansar for Islam. You really deserve to have a Khalifah from amongst yourselves, but Arabs will not agree on any Amir (chief) other than a person from the Quraish."
Hearing Hazrat Abu Bakr, another Ansari, Hazrat Khabab bin Mundhar stood up and said, "Let there be two Amirs (Khalifahs) then, one from amongst Quraish and another from amongst Ansar."
At this, Hazrat Umar stood up and said, "This is not at all possible. There would be great confusion because of two Amirs."
Hazrat Khabbab bin Mundhar did not agree with Hazrat Umar and there was a hot debate between them. Hazrat Abu 'Ubaidah tried to cool them down. Then another Ansari Hazrat Bashir bin an-Nu'man  stood up and said, "The Holy Prophet belonged to the Quraish tribe. Therefore, the Quraish have preference over others. All the Arabs would agree with them. Therefore a Khalifah must be from amongst them. We do not want any dispute with Muhajirin in the matter of Khilafat. We, the people of Madinah, are Ansar (helpers), and we would prefer to remain Helpers of Allah and Rasulallah ."
Another Ansari Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit  also supported this view and said, "There should be a Khalifah from amongst Muhajirin (Quraishis). We people of Madinah, were Ansar (helpers) of Rasulallah  and will remain Ansar (helpers) of his Khalifah as well."
A number of Ansar then supported this view, and there was general satisfaction in the council over the selection of a Muhajir (Quraishi) Khalifah.
Seeing this Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) stood up and said, "I propose the name of Umar and Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah for this post. Select anyone of these two men as your Khalifah." But both of them refused and Hazrat Umar said, "Abu Bakr is the best of all of us because Allah has mentioned him in the Holy Qur'an saying: "The one amongst two in the cave" (9:40).
He further said that Hazrat Abu Bakr excelled at every occasion during the life of Rasulallah . He deputised Rasulallah  in leading prayers and he was appointed as the Chief of Hajj caravan.
Thus Hazrat Umar explained why he believed Hazrat Abu Bakr was the fittest person to be the Khalifah.
Hazrat Abu Bakr  still hesitated but Hazrat Umar  and Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit Ansari took his hand and took pledge of loyalty (Bai'at). Then Hazrat Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah and Hazrat Bashir bin an-Nu'man Ansari also took pledge of loyalty at Hazrat Abu Bakr's hands. Seeing this, people from all sides rushed to pledge loyalty to Hazrat Abu Bakr  as the first successor of Rasulallah .

The next day a general pledge of loyalty (Bai'at) was taken by the Muslims in the Mosque of Rasulallah . Thus Hazrat Abu Bakr assumed the greatest office, after the office of Prophethood, and became the first Khalifah of Islam.
Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique requested that he be called Khalifatur Rasul, or the Khalifa of Rasulallah , whereas the other Khalifas were addressed as Ameerul Mumineen.

He gave his first address as a Khalifah in the mosque after the general pledge of loyalty:
"O People! I have been appointed your trustee, though I am no better than you. If I do right, support me and if I do wrong, correct me. Truthfulness is a deposit and falsehood is defalcation. The weak amongst you is strong in my sight. I will surely try to remove his pain and suffering. And the strong amongst you is weak to me. I will, Allah willing, realise the right from him fully. When obscene things spread among any nation, calamities generally continued to descend upon them. As long as I obey Allah and His Messenger, you should obey me but if I do not obey Allah and His messenger, then obedience to me is not incumbent upon you. Now come and pray."
In his short address, Hazrat Abu Bakr showed the role of an exemplary Khalifah of Islamic Government.
No doubt Islamic Government means "Government of Allah and His Prophet, by His obedient servants for the benefit of the people in this world and in the Hereafter."

About thirty three thousand people took pledge of loyalty (Bai'at) at the hand of Hazrat Abu Bakr in the mosque. The election of Hazrat Abu Bakr is a pointer towards Islamic Democracy and furnishes the example for selection of a leader for a Ummat-e-Muslimah (Muslim Community) till the Day of Judgement.

Hadrat Ali took pledge of loyalty a few months later because he was busy in collecting various parts of the Holy Qur'an.
Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique - the Saviour of Islam

Hazrat Abu Bakr  took the office of Khilafat at the most crucial and critical moment of Islamic history.
He gave Islam life after the death of Rasulallah .
Islam was in its infant stage when he was entrusted with the responsibility of Khilafat.
It was threatened by rebellions, rise of false prophets and apostasy movements. He crushed all the futile powers due to his unshakeable faith. No amount of difficulty could make him deviate from the Sunnah (Path) of beloved Rasulallah .

It was in the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr that Islam started to cross the Arabian borders.
A major part of Iraq came under his rule and Muslim armies had captured many important cities of Syria.

Thus Islam, the religion of the whole of mankind, started to spread across the world under his rule.

He brought unity among the Muslims and crushed all the rebellions. In view of his great service for the cause of Islam at that critical moment when there was a lot of confusion, Hazrat Abu Bakr  is rightly given the title of the Saviour of Islam.
Hazrat Siddiq-e-Akbar passes away
After a fortnight's illness, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique  passed away on Monday, as did the Rasulallah  himself, between Maghrib and Isha prayers, on Jumadi-al-Sani 22, 13 AH (or August 25, 634 AD.)

Before, his departure to the Afterworld, he told his daughter Hazrat Aisha that he wished to shrouded in his used clothes as done by Rasulallah , and some new pieces be added to his shroud.
He also requested that when his funeral became ready for burial, he was to be taken to the shrine of Rasulallah  and permission for entering the Shrine of Rasulallah  be sought. If the door of the shrine opens on its own, he may be buried there.
When the mourners took his funeral to the door of Rasulallah 's shrine, they said: "Ya Rasulallah! Your companion Abu Bakr seeks permission to enter." And true to Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique's words, the door of Rasulallah 's shrine opened on its own.
Then Hazrat Abu Bakr  was laid to rest besides his beloved, Rasulallah .
Hazrat Abu Bakr  used to initiate the recitation of "La Ilaha Illallah" in a circle of his friends at his house. The practice was later adopted by all saints and has become the cornerstone of Sufism.
It was his way and his favours which he imparted upon his companions in that circle of recitation, which continues in the Naqshbandiya order today.
Hazrat Abu Bakr  was the first in many aspects. He was the first Muslim man. He was the first successor of Rasulallah .
He was the first ruler who called himself Khalifatur Rasul (Caliph of Rasulallah ).

Hazrat Siddiq-e-Akbar left behind a noble example of selfless service. He lived and worked for the sake of Islam to his last breath, but sought no reward.

Wives and children

Wives:
His first wife was Qatilah bint 'Abdul 'Aziz who gave birth to his children by the names of Abdullah and Asma .
His second wife, Umm-i-Ruman gave birth to Hazrat Aisha , the most beloved wife of Rasulallah , and Abdur Rahman (R A).

Besides these two he also married Hazrat Asma  and Hazrat Habibah (R.A.).

Children:Daughters -(i) Ummul-Mu'mineen Hazrat Aisha 
(ii) Hazrat Asma
(iii) Hazrat Umme Kulthum, born to Habibah after his death.
Sons -
(i) Hazrat Abdullah,
(ii) Hazrat Abdur Rahman
(iii) Hazrat Muhammad.
Character and Piety
Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq-e-Akbar  was the most distinguished figure of Islam after Rasulallah .

He was mild and gentle but stern when necessary. He was the true embodiment of Islam.
Being lenient, wise, full of wisdom and a great statesman, without doubt he occupies a unique place in the history of Islam.
His name will remain forever in the minds of Muslims.
Hazrat Abu Bakr was the most pious Companion of Rasulallah .

He never took an unlawful meal, regardless of the extent of his hunger.
Once, one of his slaves brought for him some food to eat. He took a morsel out of it but afterwards he learnt that the slave got it as a result of soothsaying.
He then remarked, "Ah! you would have surely killed me".
He tried to disgorge it, and when he did not succeed he drank water and then vomited the whole thing out.

He never spoke any obscene language in any situation.
Once he said a harsh word to Hazrat Umar  which he realised later and asked him to forgive him. Hazrat Umar delayed in excusing him. He was so much perturbed that he went to Rasulallah  who asked Hazrat Umar  to excuse him.

Hazrat Abu Bakr  used to fear Allah most of all.
Once he went to a garden where he saw a bird. He sighed deeply and said, "O bird! You are lucky indeed! You eat and drink as you like and fly, but do not have fear of reckoning on the Day of Judgement. I wish that I were just like you".
Sometimes he said, "I wish I were a blade of grass whose life ended with the grazing of some beast; or a tree that would be cut and done away with".

He was a great worshipper. It is said that Hazrat Abu Bakr  used to perform prayer similar to that of Rasulallah .
He was the one who spent all of his belongings for the sake of Allah and His Beloved Prophet .
Rasulallah 's praise about Hazrat Siddiq-e-Akbar
- "Abu Bakr's name shall be called out from all the gates of Paradise and he will be the first person of my Ummah to enter it."

- "Allah will show His glory to the people in a general way, but He will show it to Abu Bakr in a special way."

- "Never has the sun risen or set on a person, other than a prophet, greater than Abu Bakr."

- "Never was anything revealed to me that I did not pour into the heart of Abu Bakr."

- "There is no one to whom I am obligated and have not repaid my debt except Abu Bakr, for I owe him much for which Allah will compensate him on the Day of Judgement."

- "If I were to take an intimate friend (khalil) other than my Lord, I would have chosen Abu Bakr."

- "Abu Bakr does not precede you because of much prayer or fasting, but because of a secret that is in his heart."

Hazrat Umar Farooq

"If there were to be a Prophet after me, he would have been Umar." - Rasulallah 

Introduction

Hazrat Umar  belonged to the Adi family of Quraish tribe. In the 8th generation, his lineage joins with Rasulallah .
He was born in 583 A.C., about forty years before the great Hijrah. The early life of Hazrat Umar is not known in detail. In his youth he was a famous wrestler and orator, and a spirited person. He was one among the few people in Makkah who knew how to read and write. His main occupation was business.

When the Rasulallah  recieved the revelation and invited people to Islam, Hazrat Umar initially became the sworn enemy of Islam and Rasulallah , and did not hesitate to harm the Muslims at every opportunity.
Hazrat Umar's acceptance of Islam

It was the sixth year of Rasulallah 's mission when the leaders of Quraish called a meeting and asked for volunteers for the assassination of Rasulallah . Hazrat Umar offered himself for this job and everybody in the meeting exclaimed that he was the right person for it.
While he was on his way, with a sword in his hand, he met Hazrat Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas who enquired of him about where he was going. Hazrat Umar told him that he was going to murder Rasulallah . After some discussion Hazrat Sa'd said, "You had better take care of your own family first. Your sister and brother-in-law both have accepted Islam".

Hearing this, Hazrat Umar changed his direction and went straight to his sister's house. When Hazrat Umar knocked at the door, they were being taught the Holy Qur'anby Hazrat Khabbab . His sister Fatima was frightened on hearing Hazrat Umar’s voice and tried to hide the portion of the Holy Qur'an she was reciting. When Hazrat Umar entered the house he enquired about their Islam and on finding that they had accepted Islam, he first fell upon his brother-in-law and beat him severely. When his sister intervened he smote her so violently on her face that it bled profusely. On this his sister burst out: "Do whatever you like, we are determined to die as Muslims".

When Hazrat Umar saw his sister bleeding, he cooled down and felt ashamed. He loved Fatima very much but could not tolerate her conversion to Islam. However, deeply moved, Hazrat Umar asked her to show the pages on which the Holy Qur'an was written. But she was, after all, Hazrat Umar’s sister and told him straight, "You can not touch it unless you take a bath and make yourself clean".

He then took a bath and read the scripts. It was the beginning of Surah Ta Ha (Chapter 20 of the Holy Qur'an). Finally he came to the verse:

"Lo! I even I, am Allah, there is no god save Me. So serve Me and establish Salat for My remembrance."
(Holy Quran - 20:14)

At this, Hazrat Umar exclaimed, "Surely this is the Word of Allah. Take me to Muhammad ".

On hearing this Hazrat Khabbab , who had hidden himself in the house, came out from inside and said, "O Umar! Glad tidings for you. It seems that the prayer of the Rasulallah which he said last night has been answered in your favour. He prayed to Allah: "O Allah, strengthen Islam with either Umar b. Khattab or Umar b. Hisham, whomsoever Thou pleaseth".
Hazrat Umar then went to Rasulallah . On seeing him, Rasulallah  asked him, "Umar! what brings you here”? He said, "I am here to accept Islam".
Hearing this the Muslims shouted with joy, "Allahu Akbar! (Allah is the Greatest)" and the sound echoed though the air of Makkah.

As a matter of fact, Umar’s conversion to Islam was a terrible blow to the morale of the disbelieves. Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas'ud, a great Companion, says, "Hazrat Umar's conversion to Islam was a great triumph, his emigration to Madinah a tremendous reinforcement and his accession to Caliphate a great blessing for the Muslims".
Hazrat Umar gets the title of Al-Farooq

The conversion of Hazrat Umar  strengthened Islam.
Before this, Muslims had lived in constant fear of the disbelievers, and most of them were concealing their faith. The Muslims were now able to offer their Salat publicly. When Hazrat Umar  became a Muslim, he declared his faith openly before the Quraish chiefs. Though they stared at him, they could not do any harm to him. Then once he had been granted permission from Rasulallah , he led a party of the Muslims to the Kabah to offer Salat. Hazrat Hamza, who had accepted Islam a few days before Hazrat Umar , carried another party of the Muslims to Kabah.
When all the Muslims gathered in the Kabah, they offered their Salat in congregation. Rasulallah  led this, and it was the first public Salat in the history of Islam. For this courageous and bold action of Hazrat Umar , Rasulallah  gave him the title of al-Farooq i.e., the one who makes a distinction between the right (haqq) and the wrong (batil).
Migration to Madinah

When the Muslims were ordered to migrate to Madinah, most of them left Makkah quietly and in secret, but Hazrat Umar  declared it openly.
He put on his armour and first went to the Kabah. After performing the Salat, he announced loudly: "I am migrating to Madinah. If anyone wants to check me, let him come out. I am sure that his mother would cry for his life".
There was no man in Makkah to accept the challenge of Hazrat Umar . Then he migrated to Madinah boldly.
Hazrat Umar's services to Islam

Hazrat Umar  had great love for Allah and Rasulallah . He participated in almost all the big battles: Badr, Uhud, Ahzab, Khaibar, Hunain etc. In the expedition of Tabuk, he gave half of his wealth in the path of Allah.
He was next to Hazrat Abu Bakr  in the sacrifice of his belongings for the cause of Allah.
Rasulallah  also had a deep love for him. Once he remarked, "Were a prophet to come after me, he would have been Umar".
In another Hadith mentioned in Bukhari, Hazrat Abu Hurairah  narrated that Rasulallah  said, "In Bani Isra'il (Israelites), there were people who were not prophets but talked to Allah. Were anyone in my Ummah like those persons, he would be Umar".
The death of Rasulallah  was a great shock to him, and he could not believe it until Hazrat Abu Bakr  reminded him of a clear verse of the Holy Qur'an on the subject. He then went to the Council Hall along with Hazrat Abu Bakr  where the people of Madinah had assembled to select the First Caliph.
Hazrat Umar  was the first person to pledge loyalty (Bai'at) at the hand of Hazrat Abu Bakr, and then helped him throughout the duration of his rule.
Hazrat Umar Farooq - the second Khalifa of Islam

During Hazrat Abu Bakr's illness he consulted the people about the next Khalifah, and then gave his decision in favour of Hazrat Umar  who took the charge of Khilafat after the death of Hazrat Abu Bakr  on 22nd of Jamadius Thani 13 A.H. (23rd August 634 AC).
Umar (R.A.) followed fully the ways of Rasulallah  and the policy of his predecessor, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique, with his characteristic zeal and vigour. It was his strict adherence to the Sunnah of Rasulallah  which helped him to subdue the mighty empires of Persia and Byzantine.

The period of Hazrat Umar's Khilafat undoubtedly is the Golden Age of Islam in every respect.
He was a man of extraordinary genius who not only moulded the destiny of the nation but made history of his own.
He followed the footsteps of Rasulallah  to the fullest extent. It was Hazrat Umar under whose rule Islam became an international power and the mighty empires of Persia and Byzantine crumbled before the army of Islam.
Within ten years of his glorious rule, the whole of the Persian Empire, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and a part of Turkey came under the banner of Islam and the nations entered the fold of Islam.
He was not only a conqueror but also an exemplary administrator who originated an efficient system of administration, and thus he was the real founder of political system of Islam. He enforced Divine Law (Shari'ah) as the code of a newly formed International Islamic State; he safeguarded the internal safety by introducing the police force: he gave stipends to the poor; he constructed cantonments and forts for the safety of Islamic armies; he founded new cities for the growth of Islamic culture and civilisation; he improved agriculture and economics of the Islamic State; he founded the educational system in an Islamic State; in brief he was the founder of a great Islamic State.
Fall of the Persian empire

During the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr , Hazrat Khalid bin Walid conquered part of the Persian Empire known as the Kingdom of Hira. Then he was ordered by Hazrat Abu Bakr  to join the expedition to Syria.

At the time of his departure, he appointed Muthanna bin Harith as the commander of the Islamic army. The Persians became furious at the loss of the kingdom of Hira and the Emperor sent a large army under the command of a very famous General, Rustam the Commander-in-Chief of Persian armies.
In view of the growing pressure of Persians, Muthanna requested Hazrat Umar  for reinforcement. At that time there was a large gathering of Muslims in Madinah waiting to take pledge of loyalty (Bai'at) at the hand of the new Khalifa (Hazrat Umar). He put the matter before the Muslims but did not get any response in the beginning. Then Hazrat Umar  in his sermons stressed the importance of Jihad and a large number of Muslims volunteered to help Muthanna against the Persians. Abu‘Ubaid ath-Thaqafi was appointed as the commander of the Islamic army comprising five thousand men. In the meantime Persians attacked the places conquered by Muslims and they lost some of them. In the early stage of the battles Rustam sent his subordinates to face Muslims.
It is reported from Hazrat Ibn Umar  that Hazrat Umar  dispatched an army to Persia, making a man called Sariyya  the leader of it. It is said that one day Hazrat Umar  was delivering the Friday sermon in Madinah. In it he said loudly "Ya Sariyya al-jabal!" which means "O Sariyya, [towards] the mountain!", and then resumed the sermon.
After a month a courier came from the army bearing of good news. He said, "The people of the army heard Hazrat Umar 's voice on that day. We all went towards the mountain and Allah made us victorious."
The severe famine and plague

In the year 17-18 A.H, Hijaz and Syria were faced by severe famine and drought. Hazrat Umar took steps to get food supplies from Egypt, part of which had been conquered by Hazrat Amr bin al-'As . He sent three big ships of grains to Madinah which were unloaded in the presence of Hadzrat Umar . He himself distributed the grains among the needy.
Hazrat Umar  did not take any delicacy (butter etc.) during the famine period. When he was requested to take care of his health, he said, "If I don't taste suffering, how can I know the sufferings of others?"

When the famine became intolerable, he prayed to Allah in a big gathering of Muslims. It has been narrated that the prayers had not even finished when rains started to pour down.
About the same time, plague spread in most parts of Iraq, Syria and Egypt and it caused great havoc not only to civilians but also to the Muslim armies. After the plague, Hazrat Umar went to Syria to inspect the losses caused by the plague. Three important figures, Hazrat Abu Ubaidah, Mu'adh bin Jabal and Yazid bin Abu Sufyan  had passed away. He appointed Mu'awiyah bin Abi Sufyan as the Governor of Damascus in place of his brother Yazid bin Abi Sufyan.
Martyrdom of Hazrat Farooq-e-Azam 

In 23 A.H., when Hazrat Umar returned to Madinah from Hajj, he raised his hands and prayed:

"O God! I am advanced in years, my bones are weary, my powers are declining, and the people for whom I am responsible have spread far and wide. Summon me back to Thyself, my lord!"

Some time later, when Hazrat Umar went to the mosque to lead a prayer, a Magian named Abu Lulu Feroze, who had a grudge against Hazrat Umar on a personal matter, attacked him with a dagger and stabbed him several times. Hazrat Umar reeled and fell to the ground.
When he learned that the assassin was a Magian, he said, "Thank God he is not a Muslim."

The injuries were so serious that the great Khalifa died the next morning.
Before his death, the Muslims asked him about his successor and he appointed a panel of six persons; Hadrat Uthma Zubair, Talha, Sa'd bin Waqqas and Abdur Rahman bin 'Auf  to select a Khalifah from amongst them within three days after him.

He requested Hazrat Aisha  for permission for his burial beside Rasulallah , just as Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique expressed the same wish. Though she had reserved that place for herself, on Umar's request she gave it to him and that is where he was buried.
Character and Piety

He was extremely pious and God-fearing. His success lay in two things: fear of Allah and his love for Rasulallah .
He never used even oil from the Baitul Mal (Public Treasury) to burn a lamp at night for his personal needs. Whenever he finished the official work he put off the lamp. He used to patrol in the city at night to find out the needs and requirements, and conditions of the people.
He did not hesitate to take his wife to work as a midwife for a poor woman. The salary he got from the Baitul Mal was so low that it was hardly enough for him and his family's needs. When some of the eminent Muslims requested him to increase the amount he said, "Rasulallah  has left a standard by his personal example. I must follow him".
Hadrat Umar was one of the most just rulers in Islamic History. All the citizens, including the Khalifa himself, were equal before law.
Once he appeared before a court in Madinah to clarify his position against a complaint. The Qadi (judge) wanted to stand in his honour, but he did not allow him to do so, so that there would be no distinction between him and an ordinary person before Law.
He was really the founder of the modern democratic system.

In short, he was a perfect example of an ideal character, and was the greatest Khalifah of Islam after Hazrat Abu Bakr .
He selflessly devoted his whole energy for the cause of Islam and the Muslim world will always be indebted to him for his great achievements.
Hazrat Umar as a Great Scholar

Before the advent of Islam there was no tradition in Arabia of reading or writing. There were only seventeen people amongst the Quraish who could read or write at the time when Rasulallah  started to receive Divine revelations.
Hazrat Umar was one of those seventeen persons. His writing and lectures are still found in some old books.
The first address he gave as a Caliph was:
"O Allah, I am strict, make me soft. I am weak, give me power. The Arabs are like refractory camels, I will endeavour to bring them to the straight path."
He was also interested in poetry and sometimes he composed verses. Hazrat Umar  was one of the most fluent of the Quraish in language.
Arabic-knowing persons can appreciate the fluency of his writings and addresses. Many of his sayings became aphorisms of literature.

He was a great Jurist and Theologian of Islam. Because of the fear of making any mistake, he did not quote many Ahadith even though he was fully conversant with them. He never allowed a person to quote any Hadith which was not well known without producing any attestator in support of it.
If somebody quoted a Hadith before him which he had never heard, he at once asked him to bring a witness; failing which he would be punished.

He was expert in deriving laws from the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith. A full volume could be complied out of the verdicts and judgements given by Hazrat Umar . As a matter of fact he opened a new door of Ijtihad (disciplined judgement of a jurist) in the history of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence, and settled a number of disputable cases during his Khilafat.
Preaching of Islam

As the viceroy of Rasulallah , his foremost duty was to spread and preach Islam. As mentioned above, the aim of various battles and wars was to clear the way for the Muslims for preaching Islam.
Whenever any army had to attack a place, they had to call the inhabitants of the place to Islam. Hazrat Umar was very strict in this respect and he had given standing orders to the commanders not to start war unless they had first invited the people to Islam. If they accepted it, there was no question of war and if they did not, then the war was fought only with those who were not giving a free hand to Muslims to preach the Right Path.

No person was ever forced to forsake his own faith and accept Islam.

The method adopted to preach Islam was demonstration by actual practice. For this purpose he ordered Muslims to establish their own quarters and present the practical shape of Islam before the population. Seeing the truthful way, the inhabitants of the place were attracted towards Islam. No soldier was allowed to take any property or anything by force from the conquered people.

Because of fair treatment by the Muslims, sometimes the whole army of the enemy accepted Islam.
After the battle of Qadisiya, a battalion of four thousand Persians accepted Islam. After the victory of Jalula, the chiefs of the place entered the folds of Islam along with the inhabitants. A commander of the army of Yadzgird, named Siyah accepted Islam with his battalion during a battle in Persia. All the inhabitants of the town of Bulhat in Egypt accepted Islam at one time without the use of any force only by seeing the piety of the Muslims. A rich merchant and the chief of a place in Egypt, named Shata, accepted Islam with all the inhabitants of the place only after hearing about the character and piety of Muslims at the time when Muslims had not even reached that place.

These are a few examples to show how Islam spread because of the character of Muslims at that time.
Hazrat Umar  was very strict in ensuring that no Muslims forced any non-Muslim to accept Islam. Through his advice, letters and addresses, he made it clear to all the Muslims that they had to adhere to the ways of Rasulallah , which was the only method to preach Islam.
Wives and children

Wives:

1. Hazrat Zainab  accepted Islam but died in Makkah. She was sister of Uthman bin Maz'un. She gave birth to Hazrat Abdullah Abdur Rahman and Hazrat Hafsah (wife of Rasulallah ) were the children she bore to Hazrat Umar.

2. Malkiah bint Jarwal, she did not accept Islam and was divorced in 6 A.H. according to Islamic law. She gave birth to Ubaidullah.

3. Quraibah bint Abi Ummiyah, she also did not accept Islam and was divorced in 6 A.H.

The above three marriages had taken place before Hazrat Umar (R.A.) accepted Islam. After accepting Islam he contracted marriages with the following:

4. Ummi Hakim bint-ul-Harith, she gave birth to a girl named Fatimah.

5. Jamilah bint Asim, she gave birth to a son who was named Asim. She was a Muslim but was divorced for some other reason.

6. Umm Kulthum bint Hazrat Ali . She was married in the year 17 A.H. She gave birth to Ruqayyah and Zaid.

7. Atikah 


Children:
Daughters -
1. Ummul Mumineen Hazrat Hafsah  - the chaste wife of Rasulallah .
2. Ruqayyah - the youngest daughter of Hazrat Umar.
Sons -3. Abdullah
4. Ubaidullah
5. Asim
6. Abu Shahmah
7. Abd-ur-Rahman
8. Zaid
Hazrat Umar - the Pioneer of Islamic democracy

Hazrat Umar  was the pioneer of modern civilisation who formed a state based upon the Islamic democratic system, the system which was incorporated in the West as late as 19th and 20th centuries.
He was the greatest democratic administrator whose example is unparalleled not only in the history of Islam but also in the history of modern civilisation. A vast part of the Middle East, Persian Empire and Byzantium, was conquered during the ten years of his Khilafat which he consolidated into a state governed by Islam i.e. laws.
The constitution of Islamic Khilafat during the time of Hazrat Umar  was based entirely on the Islamic democratic system. All matters were decided after consultation with the Shura (the council of advisors).
He remarked, "It is essential for a Khalifah to consult his Shura." Once he said, "I do not desire that you may follow anything that arises from my caprice".

Hazrat Umar had clearly stated on various occasions that he should be obeyed as long as he was obeying Allah and Rasulallah .
Muslims and non-Muslims were treated alike. Although the Arab peninsula was declared to be purely an Islamic State, his attitude towards the non-Muslims was very tolerant. He allowed the Jews and the Christians, living in the Peninsula, to stay there if they so wished and nobody would interfere in their religious affairs. To those who desired to migrate he ensured a safe journey up to the borders. Hazrat Umar  also gave compensation for their properties and other facilities.
Introduction of the Islamic calendar

For the first time in the history of Islam, Islamic calendar was introduced in the present form by Hazrat Umar .
The date of start of this calendar was fixed as the date of the Hijrah (migration) of Rasulallah . Thus the calendar is also known as the Hijrah Calendar.
Rasulallah 's praise about Hazrat Farooq-e-Azam

"If there were to be a Prophet after me, he would have been Umar."- (Tirmidhi)

"Amongst the nations before your time, there have been inspired people (who were not Prophets), and if there is one amongst my Ummah, he is Umar". - (Bukhari and Muslim)

Hazrat Usman Ghani

"Every Prophet will have a special companion in Heaven, and my companion there will be Usman."
- Rasulallah 

Introduction

Hazrat Usman (R.A.) belonged to a noble family of Quraish in Makkah. His ancestral lineage joins with that of Rasulallah  in the fifth generation. He was from the Umayyah family of Quraish, which was a well reputed and honourable family of Makkah during the pre-Islamic days.

Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was born in 573 A.C. His father's name was Affan bin Abul-As and he himself was known by the name Usman ibn ‘Affan.
Hazrat Usman was one of the few persons of Makkah who knew how to read and write. When he grew up, he started business in clothing which made him very rich. He used his money in good and charitable ways and always helped the poor. Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was a soft natured and kind hearted man. He did not hesitate to spend any amount of money on seeing a man in trouble in order to remove his misery. For his noble qualities the Makkans had great respect for him.
Hazrat Usman's acceptance of Islam

Hazrat Usman (R.A.) accepted Islam when Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) preached to him. He was one of those Muslims who accepted Islam in its very early days.
Though Banu Hashim (Rasulallah 's family) was rival to Banu Umayyah (Hazrat Usman's family), and the latter was in power at that time,Hazrat Usman (R.A.) did not hesitate to acknowledge the Prophethood of Rasulallah .
This was one of the reasons why Quraish leaders belonging to Banu Umayyah (like Abu Sufyan) were opposing Rasulallah . Thus, the acceptance of Islam in such a position shows the clear-mindedness of Hazrat Usman (R.A.). When he accepted Islam, the Quraish who once loved Hazrat Usman became his enemies. Even his relatives (like Hakam, one of his uncles) began to rebuke him and chastised him severely.

One of the daughters of Rasulallah , Hazrat Ruqayyah (R.A.) was married to one of the sons of Abu Lahab, a bitter enemy of Islam. When Rasulallah  started to preach Islam, she divorced Abu Lahab's son. Then Rasulallah  married her to Hazrat Usman (R.A.)
Migration to Abyssinia

When life in Makkah became difficult for the Muslims, he went to Rasulallah  and sought permission to take refuge in Abyssinia along with other Muslims. The permission was granted. Hazrat Usman and his wife crossed the Red Sea with other Muslims and migrated to Abyssinia.
At the time of his migration Rasulallah  remarked: "Usman is the first man of my Ummah to migrate with his family for the sake of Allah." He stayed there for a couple of months and returned to Makkah when he was wrongly informed by somebody that the Quraish had accepted Islam.
Hazrat Usman gets title of Dhun Nurain

Hazrat Usman (R.A.) migrated for the second time with other Muslims to Madinah.

He could not participate in the first battle of Islam against non-believers of Makkah at Badr, because his wife was very ill. She died before the Muslims returned from Badr after the victory. Rasulallah  gave him glad tidings that he would be rewarded as though he had participated in the battle.

After the death of Hadrat Ruqayyah (R.A.), Rasulallah  married his next daughter, Umm Kulthum, to Hazrat Usman and so he was given the title of Dhun Nurain i.e., the man with two lights.
Hazrat Usman's services to Islam before Caliphate

He was a very prominent Muslim to serve Islam by all means. He participated in almost all the battles against the non-believers in which Rasulallah  had also taken part, except the Battle of Badr.
At the time of the Treaty of Hudaibiya, he was sent to Makkah to negotiate with the non-believers. Shortly after, the Muslims were wrongly informed that he was murdered by the Kuffar of Makkah. It is for this reason that Rasulallah  sought a pledge by the Muslims to fight with the non-believers in revenge of his murder. That pledge is known as Bai'at al-Ridwan (the Pledge of Ridwan). For Hazrat Usman’s pledge, Rasulallah  put his left hand (representing Hazrat Usman's hand) on his right hand.
When the Muhajirin (emigrants) from Makkah came to Madinah, they had great difficulty in getting drinking water. Hazrat Usman (R.A.) bought a well named bi’r-i-Rumah from a Jew for twenty thousand dirhams for free use for the Muslims.
That was the first trust ever made in the history of Islam. Rasulallah  gave him the glad tidings of Paradise for this act.

When the number of Muslims increased, Rasulallah 's mosque became too small to accommodate the increasing population. It was Hazrat Usman (R.A.) who responded to Rasulallah 's call and bought land for its extension.When Rasulallah  went to the expedition of Tabuk, Hazrat Usman bore the expenses for one third of the Islamic army (about 10,000 men). He also gave one thousand camels, fifty horses and one thousand Dinars (gold coins) to support the rest of the army.
On this, Rasulallah  remarked, "Nothing will do any harm to Usman from this day, whatever he does."

Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was one of the scribes of the Wahi (revelation) and also used to write other documents (letters and messages etc.) for Rasulallah .

At the time of the election of Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.), Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was present in the Assembly Hall of Madinah. During the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar, he was a member of the Shura (Advisory Council). He occupied a prominent position in the affairs of the Islamic State during that time.
Hazrat Usman Ghani - the third Khalifa of Islam

Before his death, Hazrat Umar (R.A.) appointed a panel of six men to select a Khalifah from amongst themselves and then sought his approval through Bai'at (Pledge of loyalty) by the Muslim public. He also instructed them to make the nomination within three days. The panel included Hazrat Usman, Ali, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas, Talha, Zubair and Abdur Rahman bin 'Auf (Ridwanullahi Alaihim) as the members.

The panel could not arrive at any decision even after long meetings. Then, Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin 'Auf proposed somebody to withdraw his name in order to decide the matter. When he got no response, he withdrew his own name.The remaining members agreed that he could take a decision. He consulted each member individually except Hazrat Talha (R.A.) who was not present in Madinah at this time. It so happened that Hazrat Usman proposed Hazrat Ali's name and Hazrat Ali proposed Hazrat Usman's name for the post of Khalifah. But Hazrat Zubair and Sa'd (R.A.) were more in favour of Hazrat Usman than Hazrat Ali.
After more consultations with other companions and careful consideration during the third night, Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin ‘Auf (R.A.) gave his decision in the morning of the fourth day, in favour of Hazrat Usman (R.A.).

First of all, Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin ‘Auf (R.A.) took Bai'at at the hands of Hazrat Usman and then all the Muslims present in the Mosque followed suit and took Bai'at (pledge of loyalty) at the hands of Hazrat Usman (R.A.). In this way, Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was declared to be the third Khalifah.When Hazrat Talha (R.A.) returned to Madinah, Hazrat Usman (R.A.) requested him either to accept the post of Khalifah (as he was one of the people proposed by Hazrat Umar for the post) or to acknowledge him as Khalifah by taking Bai'at. Hazrat Talha declined to be the Khalifah and took pledge of loyalty at his hand, saying "How can I object to your being the Khalifah when all the Muslims have agreed upon you."
The conquests during Hazrat Usman’s caliphate

During the caliphate of Hazrat Usman (R.A.), the Muslims conquered a number of new areas.
They took over Antalya and Asia Minor in the west including Cyprus. Afghanistan, Samarkand, Tashkent, Turkmenistan, Khurasan and Tabrastan in the East and North East; and Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco in North Africa.

In this way Muslims were ruling over a vast part of Asia and Africa viz. Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Persia or Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and of course Arabia and Yemen including the Gulf states.
All these countries and places were under one flag, and the Islamic state was far bigger than any of the past mighty Byzantine or Persian Empires had ever been.Islam as a religion was also prevailing in Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) and in some parts of East and Central Africa though these places were not under the direct control of the Caliphate.
Internal issues of Hazrat Usman's caliphate

The first half of Hazrat Usman's caliphate was very peaceful. During this time, the Muslims gained many victories as described above, and the caliphate extended to a vast area of the then known world.But the later part of Hazrat Usman's caliphate was marred by a terrible civil war which ultimately led to the murder of the Caliph himself. Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was a very gentle and soft-hearted person. The people who wanted to create chaos among the Muslims took advantage of his soft nature. Hazrat Umar's stern hand had kept away the undemocratic and non-Islamic customs, and the practices that prevailed in the courts of Persian and Byzantine Empires. But Hazrat Usman (R.A.) sometimes overlooked the faults of the governors and other officers in various provinces, though he himself totally and completely followed the ways of Rasulallah  and the first two Caliphs.
His compassionate nature made the provincial governors bold, as a result of which unrest in the provincial capitals grew and ultimately it engulfed the whole Islamic State.

The enemies of Islam were in search of a suitable occasion to work against Islam and the Muslims. They finally found the desired opportunity for this and sent out their men to disturb the peace and to spread false news. Only the main events that happened during that time will be discussed in the following lines.
Conspiracy of Abdullah bin Saba

Abdullah bin Saba was a clever Yemenite Jew who had falsely accepted Islam; he pretended to accept Islam only for self-interest and to destroy peace of the Islamic state. He took the leading part in the agitation against Hazrat Usman (R.A.). He had a number of followers who had accepted Islam only to create disharmony among the Muslims.
He invented quite a few beliefs and started to preach them. He based his beliefs upon the love of Rasulallah  and his family.

The main belief invented by Abdullah bin Saba was that every Prophet left a Wasi (administrator) behind him, and the Wasi was his relative. For example, Hazrat Musa made Hazrat Harun his Wasi. Consequently, Rasulallah must have a Wasi, and his Wasi was Hazrat Ali (R.A.) Being the Wasi, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was the only rightful man to be the Khalifah.
He went to the extent of declaration that the Khilafat of Hazrat Abu Bakr, Umar and Usman (R.A.) was unlawful. The only way to redress matters was to remove the then Caliph, Hazrat Usman (R.A.).

He started to give wrong commentaries of various verses of the Holy Qur'an and twisted their meaning in favour of his beliefs.
He preached his false self-coined beliefs secretly and selected the main headquarters of Muslim military power (Kufa, Basrah, Syria and Egypt) as centres of his activities.
He picked up a number of newly converted Muslims who lent an easy ear to his preachings. Some simple Muslims who were holdinghaving certain complaints against various governors also joined him.
It was the real cause of all the troubles.

First of all, he visited Madinah to note the internal conditions of the capital. He pretended to be a very pious Muslim but could not get much followers over there. Then he went to Basrah and started to preach his beliefs and incite the public against Muslim officers. At that time, Hazrat Abdullah bin Amir was the Governor. Hearing about his activities, he called him and made certain enquiries of which Abdullah bin Saba became frightened and left Basrah leaving his followers and workers over there under the supervision of Hakim bin Hublah, one of the opponents of the governor.

From Basrah, Abdullah bin Saba moved to Kufa and found it more suitable for his destructive activities. He pretended to be a very pious Muslim and because of his show of piety, a number of simple Muslims started to respect him. Then he preached his beliefs.
Soon the governor of Kufa, Hazrat Sad bin al-'As was informed about him. He called him and warned him against his false beliefs and the damage he wanted to cause to the Muslim community. For this reason, he left Kufa as well but made Ashtar as his deputy with instructions that the mission should be continued secretly. From there, he also went to Damascus but was not successful because of the strict control of Hazrat Amir Mu'awiya (R.A.).

At last, he selected Egypt and went there. The governor of Egypt, Hazrat Abdullah bin Sarah was busy in the battles against Byzantine forces in North Africa and could not pay much attention to Ibn Saba's activities. He continued correspondence with his followers in Basrah, Kufa and other places from Egypt, and gave them directions for creating disorder and rivalry among the Muslims.
His followers, most of whom were pretending to be Muslims, used various techniques to increase their strength. They made a great show of piety and posed to be very pious worshippers. They incited people to forge complaints against the governors, various officers and the Khalifah as well.
A new campaign against most of the officers was started by calling them irreligious, non-practical and bad Muslims. They sent forged letters from place to place which talked of injustice and unrest in the place from where they were posted. Such letters were usually sent to Sabaites (the followers of Abdullah bin Saba) who read them out to as many people as possible. These forged letters also showed that Hazrat Ali, Talha, and Zubair (R.A.) had full sympathy for them and their mission and they disliked the Khalifah, Hazrat Usman (R.A.).
These were the three leading Companions in Madinah at that time. Thus, the people of various places began to believe that there was a widespread unrest and that the leading Companions wanted to remove the Khalifah, Hazrat Usman.

The Sabaites also worked throughout the state against various governors. They were the real cause of their removal from time to time.
Sabaites were the main figures behind the removal of Hazrat Abu Musa Ash'ari from the governorship of Basrah at the time when their mission was not so popular. They spread rumours against Hazrat Walid bin 'Uqbah, governor of Kufa, and wrongly accused him of drinking liquor, and provided false witnesses against him because of which the Khalifah punished him.
When he was punished, they accused the Khalifah of punishing innocent Muslims. When Hazrat Abdullah bin Amir (R.A.) was appointed as the governor of Basrah to replace Hazrat Abu Musa Ash'ari, they incited the public against him and against the Khalifah, saying that he was given the governorship in his young age only because he was related to Hazrat Usman.

On one side, they incited the people against the governors and on the other they accused the Khalifah. On the basis of complaints, when Hazrat Usman (R.A.) removed the governors they criticised him to be unduly kind to his relatives by appointing them to big posts.
Allegations against Hazrat Usman

1. Hazrat Usman belonged to the Quraishi family of Banu Umayyah. Before Islam, there was rivalry between Banu Umayyah and Banu Hashim (another Quraishi family to which Rasulallah  and Hazrat Ali  belonged). In Madinah, the Sabaites incited Banu Hashim against Banu Umayyah, actually against Hazrat Usman, bysaying that he was removing Hashmites from the big offices in order to support Umayyads and that he was unduly considerate to his family.
2. They alleged that Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was extravagant and gave away money to his relatives, thus squandered the Baitul Mal. The allegation was absolutely false. Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was one of the wealthiest merchants in Arabia due to which people gave him the title of Ghani (the rich man).
His liberal contributions towards the cause of Islam during the life of Rasulallah  have been mentioned in the preceding pages. His generosity continued in the same way during his Caliphate. He spent his own money to help the poor, and also his relatives but never took anything wrongfully from the Baitul Mal. Not only this, he did not accept any allowance from the Baitul Mal for his services as Caliph.
Through his addresses and speeches, he clarified his position several times and gave satisfactory explanations to the false accusations against him. Once he promised to give one fifth of the booty of Tripoli, the state share, to Hazrat Abdullah bin Sarah, the then Governor of Egypt, for his invaluable services and the bravery he showed in the battles that took place between the Muslims and the Byzantine forces in North African territories. But because the general public disapproved his view, he asked Abdullah to return that share.

3. One of the allegations, levelled by Sabaites against Hazrat Usman, was that he had burnt some copies of the Holy Qur'an. The fact was that Hazrat Usman (R.A.) sent copies of the Holy Qur'an, written by Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit by the order of Hadrat Abu Bakr during his caliphate, to various places of the state and asked the governors and other officers to burn all those copies of the Holy Qur'an which were incomplete and were not in accordance with the Holy Qur'an compiled by Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit.
This was done in order to avoid confusion between the Muslims because there were some copies of the Holy Qur'an at that time in which the order of the Surahs (chapters) was not like that which was proposed by the Rasulallah  in accordance to Hazrat Jibrail's instructions as commanded by Allah. Moreover, some of the copies existing at that time at various places other than Madinah were lacking in some chapters, and were incomplete. For this reason, Hazrat Usman (R.A.) got copies made of the standard Book which was compiled during the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) and sent them to various places. Differences had also arisen due to differences in handwritings so he also standardised the way of writing the Holy Qur'an.
This has been considered as one of the greatest services of Hazrat Usman (R.A.) rendered to Islam for which he has been given the title of Jami'ul-Qur'an (the Compiler of the Qur'an) although the Holy Qur'an was compiled in a book form by Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) on the insistence of Hazrat Umar (R.A.).

4. At this point, I would like to mention something about Hazrat Abu Zarr Ghafari (R.A.) because this allegation is concerned with him. He was a well-known and pious Companion of Rasulallah , who always kept aloof from the world and its riches. He was not in favour of accumulation of money and saving it. Regarding the Baitul Mal (public treasury), he held the view that all the money should be spent for the welfare of Muslims as soon as it came through taxes etc. In Syria, he started to publicise his opinion and a number of people followed him. Seeing this, Hazrat Amir Mu'awiya wrote to Hazrat Usman who recalled Hazrat Abu Dharr to Madinah and then he retired to a village named Rabdhah near Madinah. Abdullah bin Saba tried to gain favour of Hazrat Abu Zarr (R.A.) when he was in Syria but he rebuked Ibn Saba and told him that the beliefs he was preaching were foreign to Islam and that his aim was to create chaos among the Muslims.
When Hazrat Abu Zarr (R.A.) had retired, they started accusing Hazrat Usman of forcing him to live in a village. Not only this, but they also accused him of ill treatment of other recognised companions like Hazrat Ammar bin Yasir and Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas'ud (R.A.) But all of these accusations were false.

5. One of the allegations against Hazrat Usman was that he called Hakam bin As to Medina who was exiled by Rasulallah . However this step of Hazrat Usman was not too wise. Not only this, but he also appointed Hakam's son Marwan as his chief secretary which was not liked by some prominent Companions and also by the Muslim public.

The forthcoming discussion on this point would reveal that Marwan became the main cause of the insurgents' existence who ultimately assassinated the Khalifah. It is alleged that he wrote to Egypt's governor, Hazrat Abdullah to kill Muhammad bin Abi Bakr whom Hazrat Usman had appointed the governor of Egypt in place of Muhammad bin Abi Bakr when the insurgents pressed Hazrat Usman to do so but this, too, was false. The letter was sheer forgery.

There are some other false allegations which were levelled by Sabaites to defame the Khalifah. Since most of them are purely theological in nature and not political, they have not been mentioned here.
Conference of the Governors

When the unrest caused by Sabaites continued to grow in all parts of the State, the news began to pour into Madinah. The leading companions asked Hazrat Usman to take steps against them. So, he called a conference of the governors in Madinah in the year 34 A.H., just after the Hajj.
All the governors attended the meeting. Hazrat Usman (R.A.) enquired from them about the growing unrest in the State. They told him that it was due to some mischief-mongers who wanted to overthrow the government. They suggested that such persons must be punished and those who were the leaders must be put to sword. But Hazrat Usman disliked the suggestion and told them that without just cause he would never shed even a single drop of Muslim blood. Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was not willing to take stern action against such persons because he did not wish that hundreds of men should be massacred for his interest. Instead, he sent a mission of four persons to tour the provinces: Muhammad bin Muslimah, Usamah bin Zaid, Ammar bin Yasir and Abdullah bin Umar .
After the governors' conference was over Hazrat Amir Mu’awiya (R.A.) suggested that he should leave Madinah and should pass some time in Damascus but he said, "I would not leave Madinah even if the people kill me. No price can take me away from the land of the Holy Prophet ."
Then Hazrat Amir Mu'awiya (R.A.) requested Hazrat Usman (R.A.) to allow him to send an army to Madinah for his protection but Hazrat Usman did not even agree to that.

The mission sent by Hazrat Usman toured various places and talked with the people. Three of them returned to Madinah and reported to Hazrat Usman that the conditions were normal. The fourth member of the mission Hazrat Ammar bin Yasir (R.A.) did not return. He was sent to Egypt where Abdullah bin Saba and his followers coaxed him and he started to live with them instead of returning to Madinah.
Saba gets friends

Abdullah bin Saba was in search of some important men who had influence over the Muslims. At last, he won over three important figures. One amongst them was Hazrat Ammar bin Yasir, described above. The other two joined Ibn Saba before Hazrat Ammar. They were Muhammad bin Abi Hudhaifah and Muhammad bin Abi Bakr.

Muhammad bin Abi Hudhaifah was an orphan and was brought up by Hazrat Usman along with some other orphans. When he grew up he desired some big post. Hazrat Usman (R.A.) did not consider him fit for that. So he left Madinah and went to Egypt and ultimately joined Ibn Saba.

Muhammad bin Abi Bakr (R.A.) was in debt. The creditor complained to the Khalifah who decided the case impartially in favour of the creditor as a result of which Muhammad bin Abi Bakr left Madinah, went to Egypt and ultimately joined Ibn Saba.
Plan of the Sabaites

The Sabaites were planning to cause a general rising while the Governors were away attending the conference. However, the plot could not be carried out.

Kufa was the main centre of the Sabaites besides their headquarters in Egypt. The hooligans of Kufa tried to carry out the plan and did not allow the governor to enter the city when he returned from the conference. They demanded that Hazrat Musa Ash'ari should be appointed as the governor in place of Sa'd bin As. Their request was granted and Hazrat Usman (R.A.) sent Hazrat Musa Ash'ari to Kufa.
Then they chalked out another plan and decided that their ring leaders should meet at Madinah. This plan had to serve double purpose. On the one hand, they wanted to study the situation for future course of action, and on the other hand they wanted to show the public that they put their grievances before the Khalifah but he did not pay any attention to them.

According to the plan, three delegations came, one from Egypt, the second from Kufa and the third from Basrah. Hazrat Usman was informed about their plan but he accepted it quietly. When these Sabaites entered Madinah, some Companions suggested to Hazrat Usman (R.A.) to kill them but he said that without sufficient legal grounds no man would be executed, and that he would try to remove the misunderstandings. He told them, "I will be kind to them and if kindness fails to work I would rather sacrifice myself for Allah's Will."
Hazrat Usman (R.A.) listened to them and gave a long address in which he replied to all the charges which were put against him. Some parts of his historical address are quoted here:

"I have been accused of loving my kinsmen and being unduly kind to them. It is not a sin to love one's relatives but I have never been unjust to other people due to this. Whatever I give them is from my own pocket. I never spent anything on my relatives and kinsmen from public funds."

"It has been said that I have appointed comparatively young men as officers. I did it only because I found them more able for the cause of Islam. Nobody could deny their honesty and the work they rendered for the cause of Islam and the Muslims. The appointment of Usamah as the commander of the army by Rasulallah  is proof that youth is no disqualification."

"It has been alleged that I gave the whole booty of North Africa as reward to the governor of Egypt. It is true but when I learnt about the public objection to it, I took back the money from the governor and deposited it in the Baitul Mal."

"It is said that I have reserved the public pastures for my personal use. I swear by Allah that I never did it. In public pastures, only those animals graze which are the property of the Baitul Mal (public treasury). All of you know that when I was entrusted with this office (i.e. caliphate) I had more animals than anyone in the whole of Arabia but now I have only two camels that are to serve me at the time of Hajj. How could I reserve the public pastures for my personal use?"

"I have sent authorized copies of the Holy Qur'an to every part of the empire. There are people who object to this. You all know that the Holy Qur'an is only one book sent down by Allah. The Companions who wrote down this book, under the eyes of the Holy Prophet, are still alive. It is they who compiled the copy which I have sent."

"It is said that I called Hakam to Madinah, who was exiled by Rasulallah. Actually Rasulallah  exiled him from Makkah to Taif. Then Rasulallah  had allowed him to live at Madinah on my request. I only put into force the permission granted by Rasulallah  himself."

In this way Hadrat Uthman gave satisfactory explanations to all the allegations put against him by the Sabaites. At the end of his address, he said to the audience
"Tell me if all I have said is not correct."

But the aim of these ring leaders was to create mischief. They returned to their places and instead of telling the truth, they told them that the Khalifah was not ready to set things right. Then they planned to send strong contingents from places like Basrah, Kufa and Egypt for the forthcoming Hajj. The parties were to leave their places pretending to perform Hajj but their real aim was to go to Madinah and decide the matter with the sword i.e. to change the Khalifah by force. Though the Khalifah, Hazrat Usman, knew about this plan beforehand, he did not want to use force. He was determined to win over his enemies with love and compassion.
Insurgent (Sabaites) enter Madinah

The time of Hajj in the year 35 A.H. (656 A.C.) came near, and they started to put their plans into action. In the month of Shawwal 35 A.H., they started arriving in small groups from various places. In all, about three thousand Sabaites came, one thousand from each place viz. Basrah, Kufa and Egypt. The groups from Basrah stayed at Dhi Khashab, and those from Kufa stayed at Awas while the Egyptians stayed at Dhi Murwah. All three places are near Madinah. All of them wanted Hazrat Usman to step down but there was some difference of opinion regarding the next Khalifah.Because of Ibn Saba, the Egyptians wanted Hazrat Ali (R.A.), but Kufites preferred Hazrat Zubair while Basrites were in favour of Hazrat Talha. The Egyptians came to Hazrat Ali and requested him to accept the Khilafat. Hazrat Ali replied, "Rasulallah  has told us that the parties of Dhi Khashab, Dhi Murwah and Awas are cursed. Every pious Muslim knows it. I can't cooperate with you. Go back to your places."
The insurgents from Kufa made the same request to Hazrat Zubair who also gave the same reply. The Basrites approached Hazrat Talha who also refused.
When Hazrat Usman heard about the insurgents, he sent some of the leading Companions including Hadrat Ali to them. Hazrat Ali assured the insurgents that their complaints would be listened to. They put forward certain demands including the dismissal of the governor of Egypt and appointment of Muhammad bin Abi Bakr as the new governor.Hazrat Usman acceded to their demand without any question. Then he gave a short address in which he said, "By Allah, for the cause of truth, I am ready to obey even a slave. I promise to fulfil your demands."
Saying this, tears rolled down the eyes of Hazrat Usman, and the audience also wept.

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) then again assured the insurgents and they seemed to be satisfied and started to return from where they had come from. All the Muslims in Madinah thought that the trouble had ended.
The siege of Hazrat Usman's house

A few days later, the people of Madinah were surprised to hear shouts of "Revenge, revenge!" in the streets. Hearing the shouts, Hazrat Ali came out to enquire about the matter. The insurgents showed a letter to him under the seal of the Khalifah and signed by Marwan bin Hakam, the chief secretary of Hazrat Usman (R.A.). The letter was being carried to the Governor of Egypt by a special messenger whom they intercepted on the way. The letter said; "Uqtul Muhammad bin Abu Bakr" (Kill Muhammad bin Abu Bakr) instead of "lqbil Muhammad bin Abu Bakr" (i.e. Accept Muhammad bin Abu Bakr as governor).
Note: It seems that the "Nuqtab" (dot) of Arabic letter "Ba" was wrongly placed at the top maing it similiar to another letter "Ta" due to which the meaning was totally changed. But according to most of the historians the letter was intentionally written by Marwan about which Hazrat Usman did not know. While some others say that it was a plot of the insurgents and they produced a forged letter. For the reason given in the Glorious Caliphate by Athar Hussain, the conclusion is that the letter was clean forgery.
Hazrat Ali tried to pacify them but they did not listen to him and went straight to Hazrat Usman, saying: “We do not want Usman (R.A.) to be the Khalifah. Allah has made his blood lawful for us. You should also help us." Hazrat Ali said, "By Allah, I have nothing to do with you. It seems that you have hatched a plot and are trying to carry it out."
When the insurgents went to Hazrat Usman (R.A.) he took a solemn oath that he knew nothing about the letter. But they refused to believe him and said, "Whether you wrote it or not, you are unfit to be the Khalifah and you must abdicate."
Then, they threatened to kill him to which Hazrat Usman (R.A.) replied, "I do not fear death, but I do not want to shed Muslim blood."

When Hazrat Ali saw that the insurgents were out of control and Hazrat Usman did not want to use force against them, he left for Ahjar, a place a few miles away from Madinah, because his position was becoming difficult as the insurgents wanted to drag him into the dispute.

Afterwards, the insurgents demanded Hazrat Usman (R.A.) to give up the Khilafat. He rejected their demand and said, "I can't take off the robe of honour with my own hands that Allah has bestowed upon me."Consequently, the insurgents began a violent siege of his house and did not allow him to come out except for offering Salats in the Masjid. But later on, they did not even allow him to leave his house even for the Salats. The siege went on for forty days. During the last few days, they also stopped the supply of water. Some brave Muslim youths like Hazrat Hassan, Hussain, Muhammad bin Talha, Abdullah bin Zubair (R.A.) were guarding the gate of the house so that nobody among the insurgents could enter the house. Beside Hazrat Uthman and his wife, Nailah, Marwan bin Hakam was also in the house. He did not allow any person to fight with the insurgents although a fight took place between Hazrat Hassan, Hussain and Marwan and the insurgents when they did not allow Ummul Mu'minin Hazrat Habibah (R.A.) to supply meals to Hazrat Usman. Hazrat Hassan received minor injuries but Marwan was seriously hurt. However, the insurgents did not fight with Hazrat Hassan and Hussain because of the fear of Hashmites. During the siege, Hazrat Usman sent Abdullah bin ’Abbas to Makkah to lead the Hajj and also to inform people about the insurgents. He also sent messengers to provincial governors.

When hardship grew, some eminent companions like Hazrat Mughirah bin Shu'bah requested the Khalifah to take action against the insurgents and said that all the people of Madinah were ready to fight for him but he did not agree to shedding of Muslim blood. Then they proposed that he should leave the house through the back door and either go to Makkah or to Damascus where he would be safer but he accepted neither of the proposals. Things got worse day by day, and at last the crisis heightened.
The Martyrdom of Hazrat Usman Ghani

The only weapons that were with Hazrat Usman was his kindness and soft nature. He addressed the insurgents several times from the roof of his house and reminded them about his family relations with Rasulallah , and the services he had rendered to Islam but they never listened to him.
The insurgents were afraid that the Hajj was coming to an end and after the Hajj a number of supporters of the Khalifah would go to Madinah. They decided therefore to assassinate him without delay. As stated before, they did not want to fight with Hashmites like Hazrat Hassan, Hussain and Abdullah bin Zubair who were standing guard at the main gate of Hazrat Usman's big residence. The reason not to fight with Hashmites was that they had incited a number of people against Banu Umayyah (Hazrat Usman’s family) in favour of Banu Hashim (Hashmites). So the insurgents climbed the back walls of the house and entered the room where Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was reciting the Holy Qur'an.
On seeing Hazrat Usman, one of the insurgents hit his head with an axe while the next struck him with a sword. His wife, Hazrat Nailah tried to shield her husband but she also got several wounds and her fingers were chopped off. Chronicles record that Muhammad bin Abu Bakr was the leader of the assassins. He got hold of Hazrat Usman’s beard and pulled it. On this Hazrat Usman remarked, "Oh my dear nephew if your father (Hazrat Abu Bakr) was alive you would never have done this."
The remarks of Hazrat Usman cut him and he turned back and did not take part in the assassination.
After giving severe injuries to Hazrat Usman, one of the insurgents, an Egyptian named Amr bin Hamq cut off the Khalifah's blessed head.
Hazrat Usman , one of Islam's greatest personalities, was assassinated on Friday, the 17th Dhul-Hijjah, 35 A.H. (the 17th July, 656 A.D.).
A Great Martyr

Hazrat Usman was a great martyr as prophesied in the following Hadith quoted by Bukhari and others:
Hazrat Anas (R.A.) narrated that Rasulallah , Hazrat Abu Bakr, Umar, and Usman went up the Mount of Uhud (the mountain near Madinah) and when it quivered because of them, Rasulallah  kicked it with his foot and said, "Keep steady, Oh Uhud, for on you stands a Prophet, a Siddiq and two martyrs."

In the above Hadith, Hazrat Abu Bakr had been mentioned as the Siddiq (truthful friend) while Hazrat Umar and Hazrat Usman (R.A.) had been prophesied as the martyrs.
The news of martyrdom

The news of Hazrat Usman's cruel assassination shocked everybody. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) received the news when he was returning from Ahjar to see Hazrat Usman. He was stunned on hearing about the assassination of Hazrat Usman and exclaimed, "Oh Allah, You know it, I am free from any blame."
He rebuked his sons Hazrat Hassan and Hussain (R.A.) and others who had stood guard at the gate for not being more alert.

After assassinating the Khalifah, the insurgents virtually took over charge of Madinah. They also looted the Baitul Mal. The people of Madinah were afraid of them and did not come out of their houses. The body of the Khalifah could not be buried for two days.
At last, some Muslims in succeeded in getting into the house and carried out the burial service. There were only 17 Muslims who participated in the burial prayers due to the circumstances at the time. Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was 82 years old at the time of his assassination and remained in the office of Khilafat for about 12 years.
His words "I do not want to spill Muslim blood to save my own neck", will be remembered for ever in the history of Islam. He sacrificed his life to save the blood of Muslims.
Consequences of assassination

The assassination of Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was unparalled in Islamic history and it had far reaching effects. Hazrat Hudhaifah , the secret keeper of Rasulallah 's prophecies made the following remark when he heard of the assassination of Hazrat Usman:
"Ah, the assassination of Usman has divided the Muslims till resurrection, they will never be united again."

It proved to be true because just after the assassination, civil war started and continued up to the tragedy of Karbala. At that time, the Muslim community was divided into four groups:
1. Uthmanis: The Syrians and Basrites were in favour of capital punishment of the assassins. Syrians thought Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah was the most suitable person to punish the assassins, while the Basrites wanted the Khalifah from any of these two; Talha or Zubair, as they were included in the panel appointed by Hazrat Umar to select the Khalifah.

2. Shia: These people did not think Hazrat Usman (R.A.) fit for Khilafat and called themselves as the "Shi‘an e Ali" i.e., the friends of Ali. Kufans and some Egyptians were in this group. According to Sunni historians, the assassins were from amongst this group.

3. Murhabah: These were those people who were busy in Jihad (holy wars) at the time when Hazrat Usman was assassinated. They said: "Neither are we with Uthmanis nor with Shi'as. We want to keep aloof from their differences."

4. Ahle Sunnah wal Jamaat: These were the bulk of the Companions and the Muslims of various parts of the Islamic state including Makkah, Madinah and other parts of Arabia.
They said, "We love both Hazrat Usman and Hazrat Ali and consider them as righteous and pious Companions. We do not curse any of the Companions & the righteous Muslims. If any of the Companions committed a mistake it was due to his Ijtihad (his disciplined verdict based upon the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet) and he will not be questioned for it. We follow the Sunnah of Rasulallah  and the Sunnah (ways) of his righteous jama'ah (the group of all the Companions)."

The first and the third group, ie. Usmanis and Murhabah proved to be temporary political groups but the other two ie. Shias and the Ahle Sunnah wal Jamaat (Sunnis) took the shape of permanent theological groups and still exist.

Hearing the news of Hazrat Usman's assassination, Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas (R.A.), a prominent commentator of the Holy Qur'an remarked, "Allah may have stoned us as He stoned the people of Lot, if the majority of Muslims had supported the assassination of Hazrat Usman."
Hazrat Thamamah bin 'Adi (R.A.) the governor of Yemen started to cry and weep hearing the news of the assassination of Hazrat Usman. Hazrat Abdullah bin Salam (R.A.), well versed in the past scriptures, said: "By Allah, the power of the Arabs has finished now."

Hazrat Aisha (R.A.), the most beloved wife of Rasulallah , said, "Ah, Usman has been assassinated most cruelly. His record of deeds is shining like a well washed cloth."

Hearing the news of the assassination, Hazrat Abu Hurairah and Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit (R.A.) started to weep continuously and their tears did not stop for a long time.

The shirt of Hazrat Usman, which was marked with his blood, and the cut fingers of his wife, Hazrat Nailah, were carried to Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.), the Governor of Syria, in Damascus.
When they were shown to the Muslim public, the whole gathering started to cry and shouted, "Revenge, revenge!".

Mr. Joseph Hell, a Western historian says: "The assassination of Usman was a signal for civil war."
Mr. Wellhausen, a German historian says, "The murder of Usman was more epoch-making than, almost any other event of Islamic history."
Philip Hitti has remarked: "With Usman's death the political unity of Islam came to an end. Soon Islam's religious unity was divided. Islamic society entered upon a period punctuated with schism and civil strife that has not yet ended."
A Muslim historian, Prof. K. Ali, writes, "Unity of Islam which was maintained by the first two Khalifah was lost and serious dissensions arose among the Muslims."

The assassination of Hazrat Usman was followed by great civil wars and battles between the Muslims, the details of which will be discussed later. The system of centralised government initiated by Hazrat Umar and developed by Hazrat Usman was shattered and a number of internal movements started, of which the Kharijite's movement was the most serious.
Victories

Hazrat Usman’s reign constituted a glorious period in the history of Islam. The territories of Islamic state (caliphate) were immensely extended. Though the conquests during his time were not so much in number as during the time of Hazrat Umar, nevertheless they were not few in number either. He ruled over a vast part of the then known world, right from Kabul (Afghanistan) to Morocco. He put down the rebellions with an iron hand.

During Hazrat Usman’s period of caliphate, the Muslim naval force was developed and Muslims began naval victories. The victory over the huge naval force of the Byzantine Empire comprising 500 ships has been termed as the Grand Victory.

After the capture of North African territories by Muslims and gaining full control over Mediterranean, the mighty power of Byzantine and Roman Empires had collapsed. Actually Islam was at the zenith of its glory during the period of Hazrat Usman.
Official Manuscript of the Holy Quran

One of the magnificent services to Islam done by Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was to safeguard any possible change in the codex of the Holy Qur'an.

After the conquests by the Muslims, hundreds of thousands of non-Arabs, whose mother tongue was not Arabic, accepted Islam because of its teachings.
Hazrat Hudhaifah (R.A.), one of the prominent Companions of Rasulallah , went for Jihad during that time and noticed many differences in the manner of recitation of the Holy Qur'an. The Syrians recited in a way different from that of Kufis while the Kufis differed from the Basris and so on. As a matter of fact, these differences were due to the differences in the way of writing Arabic.
Seeing this condition, Hazrat Hudhaifah reported the matter to the Khalifah on his return from Jihad, and suggested that the Madinah codex should be regarded as authentic, i.e. the Holy Qur'an, which was written and compiled in book form during the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) and was kept with Ummul Mumineen Hazrat Hafsah (R.A.).
Hazrat Usman (R.A.) took that Book from Hazrat Hafsah(R.A.) and canonised the Madinah codex. He asked Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit (R.A.), the person who wrote it during the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr, to make copies of the same with the help of some other Companions like Abdullah bin Zubair and Sa'd bin 'As etc.
Then he ordered all other copies, beside the Madinah codex, to be burnt and destroyed throughout the State. Those people who earned their living in the provinces as the receptacles and expositors of the sacred text were not pleased with this act.
It has been discussed before that such persons criticised Hazrat Usman for burning unauthentic texts. However, for this great service Hazrat Usman (R.A.) is famous as the Jami'ul Qur'an (the compiler of the Qur'an), and for this act, the Muslim world will forever be indebted to him.
Hazrat Usman; the great scholar

Hazrat Usman had beautiful handwriting, and for this reason Rasulallah  appointed him as one of the scribes of the Wahi (revelation).

His style of writing was well recognised among the Companions. Arabic knowing persons can recognise the fluency of his writings especially of the letters and the orders he sent to various officers during his Khilafat.Though he was not an orator but his way of lecturing was very powerful and effective. His addresses and lectures can be viewed in many history books.
Hazrat Usman was a great scholar of the Holy Qur'an and was a Hafiz (one who commits the whole Holy Book to memory). He was well versed in Shan-i-Nuzul, which is the chronology of the revelation of various verses and chapters of the Holy Qur'an, and was considered an authority in this respect.
He was one of the few Companions who excelled in deriving laws from the verses of the Holy Qur'an.

Although his jurisdiction was not of the standards of Hazrat Umar and Hazrat Ali (R.A.), nevertheless he was well qualified in this respect. His verdicts and judgements have been mentioned in many books.

He was also considered an authority on the laws of Hajj. Even Hazrat Umar (R.A.) used to ask Hazrat Usman regarding Hajj during his time.
Character and Piety

Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was a very pious Companion and a man of high character. He was the most modest of all the Companions.Once, Rasulallah  was sitting with some of his Companions and the shin of his mubarak leg was not covered. In the meantime, somebody informed him about the arrival of Hazrat Usman (R.A.). Rasulallah  immediately covered it and remarked, "Even the angels have regard for the modesty of Usman."
He was a strict follower of the Sunnah of Rasulallah . Somebody asked him the reason for smiling after wudu. He replied that he had seen Rasulallah  smiling after making wudu, so he smiled in order to follow him. Once, he demonstrated to the Muslims the correct way of making wudu according to the Sunnah of Rasulallah .
He used to fear Allah very much. Tears used to roll down his face due to Allah's fear. Whenever the consequences to be faced in the grave were described before him, he used to weep so much that his beard would moisten with tears. Sometimes he wept and cried seeing a corpse or a grave due to his fear of Allah.
He used to say, "The grave is the first stage of all the stages of the Hereafter. If a person is successful there, he would be successful on the Day of Judgement too. If a person faces difficulty in the grave, other stages will also be difficult for him."
He used to carry out household work although he was one of the wealthiest persons in the whole of Arabia. He would not wake his slave to take any help from him when he got up to perform Tahajjud Salat.
Hazrat Usman was very soft spoken. If any person talked to him in a harsh tone he always replied gently. Once when he was delivering the Jummah Khutba, a person shouted during the Sermon: "Oh Usman, repent for Allah’s sake and keep away from going wrong." He immediately turned his face towards the Qiblah and exclaimed, "Oh Allah, I am the first to repent before Thee and to turn towards Thee."

He never took any allowance from the Baitul Mal for his services as a Khalifah. Hazrat Umar recieved 5,000 Dirhams annually as an allowance from the public treasury, thus Hazrat Usman contributed 60,000 Dirhams after his 12 years service, towards the Public Fund.

Examples of his generosity have already been given. He was the most generous among all the wealthy Companions and never hesitated to spend his money for the cause of Islam and Muslims. His house was one of the biggest in Madinah which he built near the mosque of Rasulallah .

He established a library in the back of his house for the education of the Muslims.
Wives and children
Hazrat Usman was first married to Rasulallah 's daughter, Hazrat Ruqayyah (R.A.) who died in Madinah while Rasulallah was away on the expedition of Badr. Then he was married to the younger daughter of Rasulallah  whose name was Hazrat Umme Kulthum. She also died in the year 9 A.H.
His first wife, Hazrat Ruqayyah, bore him a son called Abdullah, who died at an early age. He had no child from Umme Kulthum (R.A.).

After the death of his second wife Hazrat Umme Kulthum, he married the following ladies at different times: Fakhtah bint Walid; Umme Amr bint Jundah; Fatimah bint Shaibah; Umme Banin bint Uwainah; Ramlah bint Shaibah; Aishah; Umme Aban; and Nailah bint Farafsah, his last wife whose fingers were chopped by the insurgents.

Eleven sons were born to him from different wives. Some of them died at an early age. One of his sons, Aban became famous and held high positions during the Umayyads. He had six or seven daughters.

Hazrat Ali bin Abu Talib

"I am the City of Knowledge; and verily Ali is the Gate of it."
- Rasulallah 

Introduction

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was born thirty years after the birth of Rasulallah . He belonged to the most respectable family of Quraish, the Banu Hashim.

His father, Abu Talib, was the real uncle of Rasulallah  who brought him up after the death of Rasulallah 's grandfather. Rasulallah  took care of Hazrat Ali and brought up him like his own son.


First youth to accept Islam

When Rasulallah  started to spread Islam, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was about ten years old. When Rasulallah  told Hazrat Ali about Islam, he accepted it immediately and thus he became the first youth to enter the folds of Islam.

When Rasulallah  started to preach openly, he invited all of his family members to a feast and announced his mission before them. None listened to him, but the young Hazrat Ali stood up and said, "Though my eyes are sore, my legs are thin and I am the youngest of all those present here yet I will stand by you, Oh Messenger of Allah."
Hearing this all the leaders of Quraish laughed, but Hazrat Ali proved his words to be true after supporting Rasulallah  in his mission from the beginning till the end.

The night when Rasulallah  was migrating to Madinah, his house was surrounded by tribesmen who had plotted to assassinate him. They were ready to kill any person who left the house. In such a situation, Rasulallah  asked Hazrat Ali (R.A.) to sleep in his bed, and he followed the command gladly and immediately jumped in the bed.

Although the Makkans did not accept his mission, they still considered Rasulallah  the most trustworthy man of Makkah and continued keeping their trusts (cash and gold etc.) with him.
It was Hazrat Ali (R.A.) to whom Rasulallah  gave the duty to return the trusts to the owners when he was leaving Makah for Madinah. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) migrated to Madinah after fulfilling his duty of returning people's goods.


Life in Madinah

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was very close to Rasulallah , and the closeness became a permanent relationship when he married his most beloved daughter, Hazrat Fatima (R.A.) to Hazrat Ali (R.A.).

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) also had a most distinguished honour; that the progeny of Rasulallah  continued through Hazrat Ali’s sons, Hazrat Hassan and Hazrat Hussain (R.A.). The two children were the most beloved of Rasulallah  and he, in turn, was very dear to them.

When Rasulallah  went to the expedition of Tabuk in 9 A.H., he left Hazrat Ali in charge of Madinah. On this, some hypocrites remarked that Rasulallah  did not like Hazrat Ali. On this, Rasulallah remarked, "You are in the same position in relation to me as Aaron was with relation to Moses. But the only difference is, there is no Prophet after me."


His Bravery and the Zulfiqar

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was extremely brave and his courage knew no limits. He participated in almost all the battles against the non-believers during the time of Rasulallah . History is full of stories about his bravery.

In the first battle of Islam at Badr, he was holding the flag of Islamic army. When three famous warriors of Quraish challenged the Muslims according to Arab tradition, Hazrat Ali (R. A. ) along with Hazrat Hamzah and Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (R.A.) accepted the challenge. Hazrat Ali killed his opponent, Walid, with just one thrust of his sword and cut him into two pieces. Then he went on to help Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (R.A.) in defeating the next Quraishi warrior.

In the battle of Uhud, Hazrat Mus'ab bin Umair, the holder of the Islamic flag and a fearless warrior, was martyred. Then it was Hazrat Ali (R.A.) who upheld the flag. Seeing this, one of the non-believers, Abu Sa'd challenged him. Hazrat Ali fought him and he fell down to the ground naked. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) felt pity on him and left him in that condition.

In the battle of the Trench, a famous warrior by the name of Abdwood challenged the Muslims after jumping on his horse across the trench. Nobody dared to accept his challenge except Hazrat Ali. Rasulallah  warned Hazrat Ali about Abdwood but Hazrat Ali insisted on going and fighting him. Then Rasulallah  gave him his famous sword, the Zulfiqar, and put a turban on his head. A few minutes later, people saw Abdwood’s head cut off from his body by Hazrat Ali.

Hazrat Ali gets title of Asadullah

Due to his bravery, Hazrat Ali was popularly called Asadullah, the Lion of Allah.

In the battle of Khaibar against the Jews, the Muslims tried to conquer the strongest Jewish fort, Qumus, but were not successful in the beginning.
Then Rasulallah  said, "Tomorrow, I will give the command to such a brave person who loves Allah and His Prophet, and whom Allah and His Prophet love." Everybody had a great desire to be that fortunate man. The people were rather surprised when, the next morning, Rasulallah  called Hazrat Ali, who was ill and his eyes were sore. Rasulallah  applied his saliva over the eyes of Hazrat Ali (R.A.); they were cured immediately. Then he gave the command, and advised him, "Firstly, call them towards Islam. Even if one man is guided towards Islam because of you, it would be better than red camels."

Following the advice of Rasulallah , Hazrat Ali invited the Jews towards Islam. Instead of accepting the Right Path, they sent their commander Marhab, a great warrior of Arabia and one of the bravest men of his time. He challenged Hazrat Ali to fight. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) accepted the challenge and slew him in one attack. His famous sword cut Marhab's body into two pieces.

He showed great bravery in each and every battle he fought, thus he was famous throughout Arabia. He was one of the greatest warriors of Arabia.


Hazrat Ali (R.A.), the great scholar of Islam

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was not only a great warrior but a great scholar as well.

Rasulallah  said about him, "I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate."

He was one of the great jurists among the Companions. Rasulallah appointed him as the Qadi (Judge) of Yemen during his life time. He was a master of Arabic and his writings were as effective as his speech. More about his scholarly services to Islam are mentioned later on in this article.

Special Messenger of Rasulallah 

In 9 A.H., the first Hajj of Islam took place. Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) was appointed as the leader of the Hajj group. After he left Madinah, revelation came to Rasulallah , according to which, the treaty with the non-believers had to be dissolved.
The announcement was to be made on the great day of Hajj. Rasulallah  asked Hazrat Ali to carry the message on his behalf. He gave Hazrat Ali (R.A.) his own she-camel, Qaswa, on which Hazrat Ali rode and went to Makkah to read out the message infront of the crowd on the occasion of Hajj.


The excellence of Hazrat Ali

There are so many virtues and services of Hazrat Ali (R.A.) that it is difficult to mention them all here. On many occasions, Rasulallah  had prayed for him specifically. When he sent Hazrat Ali to Yemen in Ramadan 10 A.H., he blessed Hazrat Ali (R.A.) with the following prayer, "Oh Allah, put truth on his tongue, and enlighten his heart with the light of guidance." Then, he himself put a turban on his head and gave him the black flag.

On one occasion Rasulallah  said to Hazrat Ali, "You pertain to me and I pertain to you, " He also said, "When I am patron of anyone, Ali is also his patron."
Once Rasulallah  said, "Only a hypocrite does not love Ali, and a believer does not hate him."

According to a Hadith transmitted by Imam Ahmad, Rasulallah  said to Hazrat Ali, "You have a resemblance to Jesus, whom the Jews hated so much that they slandered his mother and whom Christians loved so much that they placed him in a position not rightly his."
Hazrat Ali afterwards said, "Two types of people will perish on my account, one who loves me so excessively that he praises me for what I do not possess, and one who hates me so much that he will be impelled by his hatred to slander me."


Shock of Rasulallah 's death

The death of Rasulallah  was a great and painful shock to Hazrat Ali (R.A.).

He had attended to him day and night during his illness, and after his death he himself bathed the Blessed Body and enshrouded it.


Pledge of loyalty (Bai'at) to the former Khalifahs

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) had taken pledge of loyalty at the hands of all the past three Khalifahs.

However, he was late in taking pledge at the hand of Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) due to the serious illness of his beloved wife, Hazrat Fatima (R.A.) and that he was also busy in the collection of the Holy Qur'an.
It is mentioned in the famous history book, Tabaqat ibn Sa'd, that when Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) enquired of Hazrat Ali (R.A.) as to why he was so late in taking the pledge of loyalty and whether he disliked his Khilafat, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) replied, "I do not dislike your leadership but I had taken an oath after the death of the Holy Prophet not to put on my sheet (i.e. not to engage in any work) except for performing Salat until I have collected all the parts of the Holy Qur'an."
Then Hazrat Ali (R.A.) took pledge of loyalty at the hand of Hazrat Abu Bakr and helped him throughout his Khilafat. He was very active during the time of Hazrat Umar and also married his daughter, Hazrat Umm e Kulthum to him. In the matter of Hazrat Usman's election, he voted in his favour as has been mentioned before.

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was one of the very important members of Shura (Advisory Council) during the time of the first three Khalifahs. He was also the great jurist (Mufti) of Madinah during the time of past Khalifahs. He was among the panel of six persons who had to select the Khalifah amongst themselves after Hazrat Umar (R.A.). Hazrat Usman had great regard for him and consulted him in all matters. His sons were the main guards at Hazrat Usman’s residence when the rebels laid siege to his house.

Thus, without doubt, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) gave everything possible to support to all of his predecessors.


Hazrat Ali (R.A.), the fourth Khalifah of Islam

The insurgents' shameful act of assassinating Hazrat Usman could have never been imagined by Hazrat Ali or any other eminent Companion in Madinah. It came as a total shock to Hazrat Ali (R.A.) whose two sons, Hazrat Hassan and Hussain (R.A.) were guarding the gate of Hazrat Usman’s residence. The insurgents, after climbing the back wall of the residence, had assassinated the Khalifah.
The assassination of Hazrat Usman was in fact an idea used to create division amongst the Muslim Community, which was the goal of the cursed Abdullah Bin Saba and his followers (the insurgents), and they achieved it.

After the assassination of Hazrat Usman, the insurgents virtually controlled the Capital of Madinah for several days. The Muslims were in pain and shock, and sat behind closed doors. After the assassination of Hazrat Usman (R.A.), an unprecedented calamity had befallen the Muslims and for three days, Madinah was without any government.

Afterwards, the insurgents approached Hazrat Ali (R.A.) to be the Khalifah. Egyptians led by Ibn Saba and Ghafqi were the main group of insurgents behind the proposal for the Khilafat of Hazrat Ali (R.A.). Hazrat Ali first declined to bear the responsibility of this great office. But the insurgents pressed him to accept it. As a matter of fact, Hazrat Ali wanted to approach Hazrat Talha and Hazrat Zubair (R.A.) who were included in the panel of the six persons appointed by Hazrat Umar (R.A.) to select a Khalifah. He wanted to take pledge of loyalty at the hands of any of these two gentlemen.
But in the end, pressed by the threats of the regicides, he decided to put the matter before the Muslim public in the Mosque of Rasulallah . Most of the Companions in Madinah considered him to be the fittest person for Khilafat after Hazrat Usman (R.A.). He then agreed to take the responsibility and gave his consent.

On 21st Dhul-Hijjah 35 A.H., pledge of loyalty took place at the hands of Hazrat Ali . First of all, the leading insurgents took the pledge of loyalty at his hands, followed by the general public of Madinah. Hazrat Talha and Zubair (R.A.) did not want to take a pledge until the case of Hazrat Usman's assassination was decided. Before that, Hazrat Ali had offered the office of Khilafat to both of them but they had declined.
However, under the threats of insurgents, they took the pledge of loyalty at Hazrat Ali’s hands, on one condition, "You (i.e. Hazrat Ali) have to decide matters according to the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah, and punish the guilty according to Islamic Law." Hazrat Ali (R.A.) agreed to their conditions. Hazrat Sa'd bin Waqqas said that he would take pledge when all the Muslims had done so. The following Companions did not take pledge at the hands of Hazrat Ali (R.A.): Hazrat Muhammad bin Muslimah, Usamah bin Zaid, Hassan bin Thabit, Ka'b bin Malik, Abu Sa'id Khudri, Nu'man bin Bashir, Zaid bin Thabit, Mughirah bin Shu'bah and Abdullah bin Salam. Most of the members of Banu Umayyah (Hazrat Usman's family) also did not take pledge of loyalty at Hazrat Ali’s hands. Some of those who did not take the pledge of loyalty went to Syria.

However, the majority of the Muslims in Madinah took pledge at the hands of Hazrat Ali. According to Ahle Sunnah wal Jamaat, Hazrat Ali was the most suitable and the fittest person for Khilafat after Hazrat Usman (R.A.). If some of the Companions did not take pledge at his hands, it was because of the political situation of that time, and it did not mean that his Khilafat was not accepted by the Muslim majority.
Besides Hazrat Ali (R.A.), nobody including Hazrat Mu'awiyah (R.A.) claimed to be the Khalifah at that time. The difference between them was the question of how to punish the assassins, which took the shape of various battles. As it would be seen afterwards, Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) declared his Khilafat only after the death of Hazrat Ali (R.A.). Hazrat Ali was declared to be the Khalifah, not only by the insurgents, but by the Muslim public as well including the leading Ansar and Muhajirin.


Disobedience of Abdullah bin Saba and his followers

On his third day as the Khalifah, Hazrat Ali asked all the Sabaites (the insurgents) to return to their places. Some of them started to go back but a party lead by Abdullah bin Saba did not obey the Khalifah, pretending all the while to be his friends.

In the history of Islam, this was the first incident of disobedience to a Khalifah. Their aim was to be with him in order to create mischief as it would be observed later.

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) faced a very difficult situation. His three main problems were:

1. To establish peace in the State and to set right the deteriorating political situation.

2. To take action against the assassins of Hazrat Usman (R.A.). Some of them were amongst the persons who requested Hazrat Ali (R.A.) to accept Khilafat, but neither he nor any other Muslim at that time knew the identity of the real assassins. It was the hardest job at that time to find the real assassins because the persons who recognised them had already left Madinah, and those among the Sabaites who were present there did not tell Hazrat Ali the truth.

All of the Sabaites told Hazrat Ali (R.A.) that they did not want to assassinate Hazrat Usman, and that was done only by some wicked persons whom they did not recognise. Therefore, some time was required to investigate the matter and that was possible only after the peaceful atmosphere was restored in the State which, unfortunately, never occurred during the caliphate of Hazrat Ali as the situation continued to worsen.

3. The third problem was the attitude to be adopted towards those Companions (R.A.) who would not pledge loyalty at the hands of Hazrat Ali unless he either handed over the assassins to them, or punished them according to Islamic Law. Though we cannot criticise the sincerity of their intention but in fairness to Hazrat Ali, it has to be said that it was a rather impossible job for Hazrat Ali (R.A.) to fulfil their demands immediately, considering the situation.

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was a very straight-forward man who considered the Khilafat as a great trust. His aim was to establish peace in the State, which should be the first aim of every good ruler in such a place where rebels try to destroy the order.
According to leading Islamic Jurists, it is quite right for a Muslim ruler to delay the cases of murder etc. in order to establish peace in the Islamic State (as mentioned by Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi in his book "Ahkam-ul-Qur'an', Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was quite right in his decision to tackle the assassins on restoration of normality). The majority of the Muslims, ie. the Ahle Sunnah wal Jamaat, have agreed with him on this point.


Hazrat Ali (R.A.) seeks to find the identity of Hazrat Usman's assassins

After assuming office, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) tried to find out the identity of the assassins of Hazrat Usman (R.A.). He called Marwan bin al-Hakm, the chief secretary of Hazrat Usman who was present in the house at the time of the assassination, but he had already left for Damascus along with a number of Banu Umayyads.

The only other witness was Hazrat Nailah, the wife of Hazrat Usman (R.A.). But she was a housewife and she could not tell the names of the persons present at that time, except the features of some of them. She could only name Muhammad bin Abi Bakr who had entered the house, but as stated before, he had left the house before Hazrat Usman's assassination. Moreover, Muhammad bin Abi Bakr took an oath (in accordance to Islamic Law) that he was not an assassin and he had left the house as soon as Hazrat Usman (R.A.) recognised him and said, "O my dear nephew, if your father (Hazrat Abu Bakr) were alive you would have not committed this." Hazrat Nailah gave her evidence in favour of Muhammad bin Abi Bakr and had confirmed that he was not one of the assassins. In spite of his efforts, Hazrat Ali could not locate the assassins.


Hazrat Ali (R.A.) dismisses the governors

In the opinion of Hazrat Ali (R.A.), the governors appointed by Hazrat Usman (R.A.) were basically responsible for all the events as they did not pay much attention to the activities of the insurgents. So he dismissed all the governors appointed by Hazrat Usman (R.A.).

Some of the Companions did not agree with Hazrat Ali (R.A.) on this. Among such persons were Hazrat Mughirah bin Shu'bah and Hazrat Ibn Abbas (R.A.). They advised Hazrat Ali not to take such a hasty action. According to them, it was not wise to dismiss them unless they pledged loyalty to Hazrat Ali, because Hazrat Usman’s assassination could be an easy excuse for them to refuse the pledge of loyalty to Hazrat Ali. Hazrat Ali did not listen to their advice because he believed that expediency should not be the guiding factor. Hazrat Mughirah bin Shu'bah (R.A.) was totally against Hazrat Ali’s action. He left Madinah and went to Makkah.

Hazrat Ali then appointed Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas as the governor of Yemen; Hazrat Usman bin Hanif as the governor of Basrah; Hazrat Ammarah bin Hassan of Kufa, and Qais as the governor of Egypt. Hazrat Sahl Bin Hanif was asked to take charge of governorship of Syria from Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.).

When the new governors went to take charge, they were faced with difficulties.
Egypt was one of the provinces in favour of Hazrat Ali (R.A.)but when the new governor, Qais, reached there the public was divided into three groups. Some of them accepted him but others demanded that the assassins must be punished first. There was a third group, belonging to Sabaites and the insurgents, who demanded that the assassins must not be punished in any case.
The same difficulty was faced by the newly appointed governor of Basrah. A group of people were in favour of the insurgents while the other was against them. While the governor of Kufa was on his way a spokesman of Kufis came and asked him to return to Madinah because they did not want to change their governor Hazrat Musa Ash’ari (R.A.) in any case. So Hazrat Ammarah bin Hassan (R.A.), the governor designate, returned to Madinah.

The new governor of Yemen, Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas did not face any difficulty because Ya'la, the old governor, had already left Kufa for Makkah before Hazrat Ibn Abbas reached there. When Hazrat Sahl bin Hanif, the governor designate of Syria, reached Tabuk (the out-post of Syria), Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah's cavalry men stopped him from proceeding any further and asked him to go back to Madinah. Thus, Kufa and Syria were the two provinces which had openly flouted Hazrat Ali’s authority.

Hazrat Ali then sent his special messengers to Kufa and Syria. The governor of Kufa, Hazrat Abu Musa Ash'ari (R.A.) sent a satisfactory reply and assured Hazrat Ali of his loyalty to him. Not only this, but he also wrote to him that he had already taken pledge of loyalty for him from the people of Kufa.

The case of Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) was entirely different.


Hazrat Amir Muawiyah's demand for assassins

After the assassination of Hazrat Usman (R.A.), his family (except his wife Nailah) reached Damascus and told Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) the details. They also carried with them the blood stained shirt of Hazrat Usman (R.A.) and the chopped off fingers of his wife Hazrat Nailah.

Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah, a kinsman of Hazrat Usman (R.A.), was shocked on hearing the news, and when it was made public, all the Muslims of Syria were greatly perturbed. Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) was a great statesman and was in Syria for about 20 years. He hung the blood stained shirt and the chopped off fingers of Hazrat Usman's wife on the Mimbar (pulpit) of the Jami' Mosque of Damascus which caused great disturbance amongst the Syrian Muslims. This was the situation of Syria when Sahl bin Hanif, the governor designate of Syria, was forced to return to Madinah from Tabuk.

On receiving the special messenger from Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) did not reply for about three months and detained the messenger. Then, he sent his own messenger to Hazrat Ali (R.A.) in Rabi'ul Awwal, 36 A.H. The messenger handed over the letter to Hazrat Ali addressed as "From Mu'awiyah to Ali".
When the letter was opened it was a blank piece of paper on which only "Bismillahir rahmanir raheem"(In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful) was written. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was amazed to see the letter, which was in fact, an insult to the office of the Khalifah. The messenger also told Hazrat Ali (R.A.) that 50,000 Sheikhs of Syria were bemoaning the death of Hazrat Usman and were determined to fight until the assassins were handed over to them. Hazrat Ali replied, "O Allah! You know it well that I am free from any charge of Hazrat Usman’s assassination. I swear by Allah that the assassins have escaped."

The Sabaites pretending to be friends of Hazrat Ali, tried to create another disturbance by trying to kill the messenger, but Hazrat Ali (R.A.) did not allow it. However, an exchange of hot words took place between them and the messenger.

Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah's reply was a clear indication of his intention. The matter was not going to be settled without force. Therefore, Hazrat Ali decided to use force against Hazrat Mu'awiyah (R.A.) and started preparations for it.
Hazrat Ali's elder son, Imam Hassan (R.A.) was a man of rather mild temper. He requested his father to give up the Khilafat and not to think of fighting against Muslims (i.e., to start a civil war). But there was no other way and Hazrat Ali (R.A.) had to handle the situation with an iron hand in order to keep the provinces under the centre, as they were since the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.).

This was the first time in the history of Islam that the Muslims were preparing to fight against each other. As a Khalifah, Hazrat Ali was quite right in his decision. Not to pledge loyalty was an open revolt against his authority and he had to deal boldly with any type of internal rebellion. Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.), as a matter of fact, was understandably driven by strong emotion on the tragic assassination. The family of Hazrat Usman (R.A.), which had reached there after the assassination, was also a cause of this attitude. Moreover, some of the Sabaites, whose only aim was to divide the Muslim community, had reached Syria and incited the Muslims against Hazrat Ali. They were playing a double role. On the one side, a group of them was with Hazrat Ali (R.A.) to stir him up against Hazrat Mu’awiyah (R.A.), while on the other side some of them went to Syria only to inflame the feelings of Muslims over there.
Under such conditions, Hazrat Mu'awiyah (R.A.) had no alternative but to insist upon his demand for punishment of the assassins before pledging loyalty to Hazrat Ali (R.A.).


Hazrat Aisha's demand for the chastisement of assassins

While Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was preparing for war against Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah, another difficulty arose. After the assassination of Hazrat Usman (R.A.), some members of his family went to Hazrat Aisha (R.A.) who was in Makkah to perform the Hajj.
They and a number of Madinites informed her about the tragedy while she was on her way from Makkah to Madinah after the Hajj.

Hearing the news of assassination of Hazrat Usman, she returned to Makkah and appealed to the people over there to avenge the death of Hazrat Usman (R.A.). Hundreds of people, including the governor of Makkah, came out at Hazrat Aisha's call. The governor of Yemen, Ya'la bin Munabbah also joined her in Makkah. Among Banu Ummayyads who joined Hazrat ‘Aisha in Makkah were Sa'id bin ‘As, Walid bin ‘Uqbah and Marwan bin Hakam.

In the meantime, Hazrat Talha and Zubair (R.A.) demanded Hazrat Ali to punish the assassins. He told them, "Please wait. I will do my duty as soon as conditions allow me."
Hazrat Talha and Zubair were not satisfied with Hazrat Ali’s reply and left Madinah for Makkah to join Hazrat Aisha (R.A.). However, they had not correctly assessed the delicate situation in Madinah. The city was not free from the grip of Sabaites and there was a general feeling against Umayyads in the public. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was anxious to restore peace first so that the assassins could be punished.

In Makkah, Hazrat Aisha (R.A.) started to march to Madinah at the head of about two thousand men with the object of dealing with the assassins. Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair was also there. They also asked him to join, but he declined to do so and remained neutral.

When Hazrat Aisha was about to march to Madinah, proposals came to visit Basrah first to collect more supporters. So, she decided to go to Basrah.


Hazrat Aisha goes to Basrah

While Hazrat Aisha was on her way to Basrah, more people joined her on the way. By the time she reached Basrah, there were three thousand men under her flag.

The governor of Basrah, Usman bin Hanif (appointed by Hazrat Ali), sent some men to find out the object of her visit. She and other Muslims told them that they wanted to tell people of their duty towards the late Khalifah so that proper action would be taken to punish the assassins.
The messenger of the governor asked Hazrat Talha and Zubair for what reason they were breaking the pledge at the hands of Hazrat Ali. They told them that the pledge was taken from them at the point of sword, and that they would have kept the pledge if Hazrat Ali had avenged Hazrat Usman’s assassination.

The governor of Basra decided not to allow them to enter the city till he got help from Hazrat Ali. He called a public meeting and asked people to fight against them. In the meeting, some people favoured the governor while some of them supported Hazrat Aisha, Talha and Zubair.
The supporters of Hazrat Ali (R.A.) and the governor came out to fight.


Hazrat Aisha takes over Basra

Hazrat Aisha gave a stirring speech before the Muslims. It was so impressive that half of the supporters of the governor left him and joined Hazrat Aisha. Seeing this, she tried to settle the matter peacefully instead of fighting. But the same agents of Abdullah bin Saba (Sabaites) especially his famous disciple, Hakim bin Hublah, did not allow any settlement.
He attacked Hazrat Aisha's army before the governor gave him permission to do so.

The fight then took place but no result came out till the evening. In the meantime, the governor got instructions from Hazrat Ali to resist Hazrat Aisha's army if they did not agree to pledge loyalty to him. Then a furious battle took place in which Usman bin Hanif, the governor, was defeated and captured. Hakim bin Hublah and some of his followers were killed, and Basra was occupied by Hazrat Aisha and her supporters.

The capture of Basra by Hazrat Aisha (R.A.) made the situation very grave. The Islamic state was really on the verge of serious civil war. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) never wanted to start war against the Muslims but the internal situation at that time compelled him to do so. War was unavoidable.
The Khalifah, therefore, postponed his march to Syria for the time being in order to set things right in Iraq. He decided to march on to Basra. A number of Ansar and other Companions were not in favour of Hazrat Ali (R.A.) leaving Madinah, instead they asked him to send his army. When Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was leaving Madinah, Hazrat Abdullah bin Salam (R.A.) took hold of his camel and said, "O Amirul Mumineen (Leader of the believers), don't leave Madinah. If you leave at this moment, you will never come back and the Capital will be changed." But he decided to go ahead with his mission due to the seriousness of the situation.

Some of the Companions remained neutral and did not join Hazrat Ali (R.A.) even though he asked them to do so. Among such persons were Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar, Muhammad bin Muslimah, Sa'd bin Waqqas and Usamah bin Zaid (R.A.)

Hazrat Ali started for Basra towards the end of Rabi’ul Awwal, 36 (A. H.) i.e. Nov. 656 A.D.
Abdullah bin Saba and his followers were accompanying Hazrat Ali.

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) asked Abu Musa Ash'ari to send help but he got no response because Hazrat Abu Musa (R.A.) dreaded a civil war. Therefore, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) sent his eldest son, Hazrat Hassan (R.A.), to Kufa who addressed the people and pleaded for Hazrat Ali (R.A.). The people were stirred on the appeal and about nine thousand men marched on to join Hazrat Ali (R.A.).


Hazrat Ali (R.A.) seeks peace

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) assured all the people accompanying him that he would try his best to avoid bloodshed and to set things right peacefully. On reaching Dhi Qar (a place near Basrah), Hazrat Ali with his characteristic aversion to bloodshed, sent his cousin Abdullah bin Abbas and Qa'qa bin Amr (R.A.) to negotiate peacefully with Hazrat Aisha, Talha, and Zubair (Rid. A.) who were preparing to face Hazrat Ali (R.A.) with a big army.

The messengers of Hazrat Ali (R.A.) assured Hazrat Aisha, Talha, and Zubair (Rid. A.) that Hazrat Ali would avenge the assassins of Hazrat Usman (R.A.) as soon as peace was established in the state. Hearing this, they were satisfied and there were hopes for a peaceful settlement.

But in the army of Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was Abdullah bin Saba and his henchmen, to whom peace was fatal. At the possibility of a peaceful settlement, they were much disturbed. They met in a secret council and whispered to each other that Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was prepared to avenge the death of Hazrat Usman (R.A.). They were determined to make the peaceful settlement a total failure. They sent their agents to Basrah to incite the Muslims population by saying that if Hazrat Ali (R.A.) entered Basrah he would enslave all the inhabitants and would kill all the youths. The Basrites, therefore, must check and fight him back.

Hazrat Ali (R.A.), hoping for a peaceful settlement, marched towards Basrah to talk personally with Hazrat Talha and Zubair (R.A.). The two armies came face to face with each other.
Hazrat Ali gave an address to the Basrites in which he said, "I am but your brother. I will avenge Hazrat Usman's assassins," Hazrat Talha, Zubair and the Basrites were fully satisfied with what Hazrat Ali (R.A.) told them. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) also returned to his camp very satisfied. He gave strict orders to his men not to fight in any case, and prayed all night to Allah.

But Ibn Saba and his henchmen had planned otherwise.
In the darkness of night, they made a sudden attack on Hazrat Aisha's army. Hazrat Talha and Zubair were startled by the sudden attack and said that Hazrat Ali (R.A.) could not desist from shedding Muslim blood and he has ordered a night attack. On the other hand, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was shocked when he was told by Sabaites that Hazrat Talha and Zubair had taken them by surprise. He also remarked in the same way that they did not stop from taking the blood of Muslims.
According to Tabari, the following Sabaites were the leaders behind this plan: Ashtar Nakh'i Ibn Sauda, Khalid bin Muljam, Alba bin Haitham and Shuraib bin Aufa. Ibn Saba was the ring leader.

The Battle of the Camels (Jamal)

Soon a full scale war started. Hundreds of Muslims fell on each side. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was greatly pained at the situation. He tried to stop the battle but it had already flared up.

At dawn, the troops of Hazrat Aisha (R.A.) apprised her of the situation and suggested that she should mount on a camel in Hijab (Pardah) so that the situation might ease. But it had the opposite effect, and the Basrites thought that Hazrat Aisha was in the field to fight with them.
During the fight, Hazrat Ali reminded Hazrat Talha and Zubair (R.A.) of the words of Rasulallah : "One day, you (Talha and Zubair) will fight Ali wrongly." They remembered the saying and left the battlefield, but when Hazrat Talha was leaving the field somebody rained arrows on him and he was killed.

When the fight did not come to an end, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) ordered one of his men to cut the hind legs of the camel on which Hazrat Aisha was mounting in a howdah (carriage positioned on the back of the camel). The order of Hazrat Ali was carried out and the camel fell on its forelegs. Hazrat Aisha was taken out of the howdah with due respect.
The battle came to an end in favour of Hazrat Ali (R.A.). Hazrat Aisha (R.A.) was sent with due respect to Madinah, escorted by her own brother, Muhammad bin Abi Bakr. In this battle, about ten thousand Muslims on both sides lost their lives.
Hazrat Ali (R.A.) felt deeply moved because of the loss of Muslim blood.

Hazrat Zubair, who had already left the field after remembering the Holy Prophet's saying, was going to Makkah. He stopped in a valley to perform his Salat, but was slain by a man, named Amr bin Jarmoz while he was busy in his Salat. When Hazrat Ali came to know, he rebuked the murderer by saying, "I have seen him fight for the Prophet of Allah several times. I give the murderer the news of hell-fire."

After the battle, Hazrat Ali took pledge of loyalty from the people of Basrah and appointed Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas as the governor of Basrah. He granted general amnesty to all those who fought against him including Marwan bin Hakam and other persons of the Banu Umayyah family. The address which Hazrat Ali (R.A.) gave at Jami' Mosque of Basrah before the pledge of loyalty moved the Muslims, and they were convinced that Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was a just Khalifah.


Change of the Islamic capital

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was very much grieved at seeing the disrespect shown to the blessed city of Madinah when the insurgents laid siege to the late Khalifah's house and then assassinated him. He wanted to change the Capital to save Madinah from future political disturbance.
After staying at Basrah for a few days, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) went to Kufa. There he was given a warm welcome. He got more supporters at Kufa and thought it to be a more suitable place as the Capital of his Khilafat. Therefore in Rajab 36 A.H., he decided to transfer the capital from Madinah to Kufa.


Hazrat Ali’s Final Invitation to Hazrat Mu'awiyah

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) now turned his attention towards Hazrat Mu'awiyah (R.A.). He was then ruling over the whole Islamic State with the exception of Syria. The peace-minded Hazrat Ali (R.A.) wanted a peaceful settlement. He, therefore, wrote a letter to Hazrat Mu'awiyah (R.A.) asking him to take pledge of loyalty at his hand in the interest of Islam and the unity of the Muslims.
But Hazrat Mu'awiyah again demanded of him to avenge Hazrat Usman’s assassins first.

The show of Hazrat Usman's blood-stained shirt and the chopped-off fingers of his wife, Hazrat Nailah, was still going on in the Jami' Masjid of Damascus. The powerful Syrians had rallied round Hazrat Mu'awiyah.
On the other hand, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was still unable to overcome the insurgents. When Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah's messenger came to Hazrat Ali demanding him to hand over the assassins, 10,000 men of Hazrat Ali’s army said with one voice, "All of us are the assassins of Hazrat Usman (R.A.)." Hazrat Ali (R.A.) then said to the messenger, Hazrat Muslimah, "You can see for yourself the situation. I am still unable to find out the real assassins."
But Hazrat Mu'awiyah was determined not to give up his demand. Hazrat Ali (R.A.), finding no other way, was compelled to declare war against Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.).


The Battle of Siffin

The above situation forced Hazrat Ali (R.A.) to march out against Syria. In the beginning, there was not much response for Hazrat Ali’s call. But when Hazrat Ali explained the position to the Muslims, a large army gathered around Hazrat Ali and 50,000 Muslims came out under his banner to fight the Syrians.
When Hazrat Mu'awiyah (R.A.) came to know about Hazrat Ali’s advance, he too proceeded with a vast army and occupied a better position in the field. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) encamped at Siffin, and Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah on the other side of Siffin.

Hazrat Ali’s intention was not to shed Muslim blood in vain. He, therefore, tried to make peace again and sent a deputation of three men on a peace mission to Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.). Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) again demanded that the assassins of Hazrat Usman must be slain before any compromise can be reached and that he was demanding this as the next of kin of Hazrat Usman. The demand was again refused by Hazrat Ali (R.A.) on the ground that he was not able to locate the real assassins and it would need some time, and that the pledge of loyalty must be taken without any condition.

In the month of Dhul Hijjah 36 A.H., Hazrat Ali (R.A.) ordered his troops to take positions. But there seemed unwillingness to fight on both sides; Muslims were facing Muslims.
However, in the beginning the fighting began with single combats followed by light encounters of single battalions. Thus, the whole month of Dhul Hijjah ended without any big fight.

When the moon of Muharram appeared, Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Mu'awiyah made a truce for one month. During this time, he again had an opportunity for renewed peace talks. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) sent another mission led by 'Adi bin Hatim Tai to Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.). But this time, Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) took it as a threat and refused to recognise Hazrat Ali (R.A.) as the Khalifah unless he avenged Hazrat Usman's assassination. In this way, the last attempt proved to be fruitless.

On the evening of the last day of Muharram, 37 A.H. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) gave orders to his army to attack the Syrian forces because they had been given enough time to think.
The war started the following morning. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) gave strict orders that no person should be killed if he left the field or ran away. Women and old people would be safe and secure.
Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) also gave the same orders to his army.

The war started on Tuesday 1st Safar, 37 A.H.
On the first day, a battalion of Hazrat Ali’s army led by Ushtar fought with the Syrians who were led by Habib bin Muslimah. On the second day, another battalion led by Hashim bin 'Utbah from Hazrat Ali’s side fought with the Syrians led by Abul A'war Salama.
On the third day, the battalion from Hazrat Ali's side was led by Hazrat Ammar bin Yasir and the Syrians were led by Amr Bin As (R.A.).
During the battle, Hazrat Ammar bin Yasir (R.A.) was martyred but no result came out. The martyrdom of Hazrat Ammar bin Yasir, however, proved that Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was right because of the following Hadith mentioned in Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi and other authentic books of Hadith.
According to this Hadith, Rasulallah  said, "Ammar bin Yasir will be killed by a group of rebels." Since Hazrat Ammar (R.A.) was fighting in favour of Hazrat Ali, and was killed by the army of Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.), Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was in the right and his opponents were the rebels.

For seven days, the battle continued in this way. A new battalion would fight from each side under a new commander.
On the 8th day, the whole army of Hazrat Ali (R.A.) clashed with that of Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.). A fierce battle was fought but with no end in sight. According to most of the historians, Hazrat Ammar bin Yasir was martyred on that day. However, no result came out till the evening.
The death of Hazrat Ammar bin Yasir was a shock to Hazrat Ali (R.A.). The battle went on the whole night. At one point, Hazrat Ali reached the tent of Hazrat Mu'awiyah and challenged him to fight personally with him, instead of shedding Muslim blood and the winner would be the Khalifah. But Hazrat Mu'awiyah (R.A.) did not accept the challenge because Hazrat Ali was one of the greatest warriors of Arabia.

On the second day of the battle, Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) was about to lose the battle. But, Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah was a person of sharp intelligence and had been the governor of Syria from Hazrat Umar's time. He had with him Hazrat Amr bin As (R.A.), the conqueror of Egypt and a recognised statesman of Arabia.
Seeing the impending defeat, he consulted Hazrat Amr bin 'As (R.A.), who advised Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah to give orders to the troops of the front ranks to fasten the Holy Qur'an to their lances, as a sign that war would cease and that the decision would be referred to the Holy Book.

Seeing copies of the Holy Qur'an on lances, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) recognised it as a clever move of the enemy, but a many of his men did not share his view and stopped fighting. Being helpless, Hazrat Ali then ordered his troops to stop fighting.


Arbitration

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) sent his envoy to Hazrat Mu'awiyah (R.A.) to find out what he meant by making the Holy Qur'an a judge. Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah told him that he wanted an arbitration through judges, one from his side and the other from Hazrat Ali’s side, and that both the parties should abide by the decision of the judge.
Hazrat Ali accepted. He tried to make Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas the arbitrator from his side, but some of his followers objected to it, on the ground that he was related to Hazrat Ali. They proposed the name of Hazrat Musa Ash'ari (R.A.). Hazrat Ali accepted their proposal and he was appointed as the arbitrator of Hazrat Ali’s (R.A.) side. Hazrat Mu'awiyah appointed Hazrat Amr bin 'As (R.A.) as the arbitrator from his side, and none of his followers questioned his choice although he was related to Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah.
This shows that the followers of Hazrat Mu'awiyah were more united than the followers of Hazrat Ali. There were many Sabaites in Hazrat Ali’s camp and they were the real cause of such differences. Whenever they saw the Muslims uniting, they tried to create confusion with the aim of disuniting them.

In case the two arbitrators could not come to an agreement, the decision was to lie with eight hundred men (four hundred from Hazrat Ali’s camp and four hundred from Hadrat Mu'awiyah camp) and it would be settled by the majority.
A place named Dumatul Jandal, in between Syria and Iraq, was proposed for the talks. Both the judges, with the 800 men, would go there to finalise their decision by the month of Ramadan, and to make it public. A temporary agreement was signed on 13th Safar, 37 A.H. between Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Mu'awiyah.
The two armies then left for their homes leaving about 90,000 men dead in the field of Siffin, which number exceeded the total Muslim casualties in all the Islamic battles against the non-Muslims in the past.


The Kharajites (or Khawarij)

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) who was almost winning the battle against Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) marched back from Siffin with a sense of loss. There was a tremendous loss of Muslim lives in Siffin. Never before in the history of Islam had the loss of Muslim blood been so heavy.
Hazrat Ali after all wanted a peaceful solution, although the price was heavy.

When Hazrat Ali announced the agreement before his troops, they formed of various tribes. Two brothers of the Tribe of Anza stood up and opposed the appointment of Arbitrator between the two parties, for Allah's commandments were with them in the form of the Holy Qur'an which is the best Judge. Other people also followed this example, and a good many people were against the arbitration.
According to them, the Arbitration was against the spirit of Islam. Some of these men requested Hazrat Ali to throw away the agreement, but he said, "I did not want any agreement at that stage but you forced me to do so. When I have given my word of honour, you are forcing me to give it up. I would never do that." The followers of Hazrat Ali then split into two groups. One group stood by the agreement, while the other said that the arbitration was un-lslamic.

The second group, which was opposing arbitration, were known as Kharijites ("Khawarij" in Arabic). By the time Hazrat Ali returned to Kufa, their number reached 12,000. They did not stay with other Muslims in Kufa; instead, they encamped at Harorah and appointed Sheith bin Rabi'i as their commander-in-chief, and Abdullah bin Kawa as their Imam to lead Salats.

The Kharajites announced their policy which was as follows:

"The Bai'at (pledge of loyalty) is only for Allah, and He alone is to be obeyed. To spread good and forbid evil according to the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah is our foremost duty. There exists neither a Khalifah nor an Amir. Both Ali and Mu'awiyah are in error. Mu'awiyah is in error because he did not accept Ali, while Ali is in error because he agreed on arbitration. After gaining power, we will set up a social order based on Allah's Book (the Holy Qur'an)."


Hazrat Ali (R.A.) sends his emissary to the Khawarij

After returning to Kufa, Hazrat Ali sent Abdullah bin Abbas to remove the misunderstanding of the Khawarij. Instead of returning to the right belief, they started a lengthy argument with him. Seeing this, Hazrat Ali himself went to them. He gave them all the assurances that the arbitration would only be accepted if it was based upon the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah. He was successful in his efforts after great difficulty, and the Khawarij joined him again temporarily.


Verdict of the Arbitrators

The two arbitrators thought over the matter for six months, then met at the frontier town of Dumatul Jandal in Sha'ban, 37 A.H. (Jan. 658). Each of them had four hundred men with him. The commander of men from Hazrat Ali’s side was Shuraih bin Hani, and the Imam was Hadrat Abdullah bin Abbas. The four hundred men from Hazrat Mu'awiyah's camp were under the command of Surjil bin Samah. Besides these, some neutral Companions like Abdullah bin Umar, Abdullah bin Zubair, and Sa'd bin Waqqas were also present there.

Hazrat Amr bin As, the judge appointed by Hazrat Mu'awiyah, was a famous statesman and diplomat of Arabia. On the other hand, Abu Musa Ash'ari, the judge from Hazrat Ali’s side, was a simple Muslim, unacquainted with diplomatic tactics.
In the beginning, a discussion between the two judges took place. A scribe was ordered to write down the points of agreement during the discussion. They reached on the following agreement after a long discussion:

"Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Mu'awiyah both withdraw their right for the Khilafat. The Muslims should appoint a third person as their Khalifah."

According to some historians, the discussion was not recorded and the agreement was reached verbally. However, they could not reach an agreement on the choice of the most suitable person to be approved as the Khalifah in place of Hazrat Ali or Hazrat Mu'awiyah.

After the agreement, Hazrat Amr bin As asked Hazrat Abu Musa Ash'ari to make it public by announcing it in the mosque before the Muslims. Hazrat Abu Musa (R.A.) announced, "We have agreed that neither Ali nor Mu'awiyah would be considered as the Khalifah. You may elect any other man you think fit."
After this Hazrat Amr bin As (R.A.) stood up and said, "I do not consider Ali fit for the Khilafat, but in my opinion Mu'awiyah is fit for it."
This statement of Hazrat Amr not only showed the split of opinion between the arbitrators, but also meant a one sided decision according to which Hadrat Ali (R.A.) was supposed to lose his power but not Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.).

Hearing the statement of Hazrat Amr ibn As (R.A.), there was a huge uproar. The result of the arbitration was a mere confusion. In this way, the arbitration proved to be futile and the hope of peace was gone. Both the parties left the place in great disgust. The acceptance of such arbitration really proved to be disastrous to Hazrat Ali. Hazrat Ali lost the case before it opened.

When Hazrat Ali (R.A.) heard the result of the arbitration, he said, "The judgement is not based upon the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah which was the condition for arbitration. Therefore it cannot be accepted."
He then delivered a lecture in the Jami' Masjid of Kufa and asked the Muslims to prepare to attack Syria.


The split in the Muslim community

As soon as the Khawarij knew the result of arbitration, they again separated and this time rose in an open revolt. A new group was thus created in the history of Islam which proved to be more dangerous than any other group existing before then.

As it has been discussed in connection with the assassination of Hazrat Usman (R.A.), the Muslim community was divided into four main groups viz, Usmanis, Shi’an e Ali, Marhabah and Ahle Sunnah wal Jamaat. The Marhabis were absorbed in other groups but the remaining three groups were still existing. Now the fourth group, the Kharajites, was formed. Before proceeding further, here are the main beliefs of these groups:

1. Usmanis: They were now confined to Syria under the banner of Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.). They demanded that until the assassins of Hazrat Usman were punished or handed over to them, they would not accept the Khilafat of Hazrat Ali. But after the so-called judgement of the arbitrators, they totally rejected the Khilafat of Hazrat Ali and took Bai'at (pledge of loyalty) at the hand of Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah after declaring him as the Khalifah. This will be discussed in more detail later on.

2. Shi'an e Ali (or Shia): They called themselves the friends of Hazrat Ali (R.A.) in the beginning, but later on they developed their own beliefs and considered Hazrat Ali as Wasi i.e., the Administrator of Rasulallah , and the only fit person for Khilafat. They not only criticised and condemned Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) but also condemned Hazrat Umar, Hazrat Abu Bakr, and Hazrat Usman (R.A.) and discarded the authority of the first three Khalifahs. However, they did not criticise the first two Khalifahs openly during the time of Hazrat Ali (R.A.). As years passed, this group became an exponent of a separate school of thought in Islamic Law and Jurisprudence and they wrote their own books of Hadith, history of Islam and commentaries of the Holy Qur'an based upon their beliefs.
They disagreed with most of the works produced by Sunni Scholars.

3. Ahle Sunnah wal Jamaat: The majority of the Companions and Muslims at the time were not only in favour of Hazrat Ali but all the preceding Khalifahs i.e. Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Umar and Hazrat Usman (R.A.). They believed that the Right Path was to follow the Sunnah of Rasulallah  and the traditions of his pious Jamaat (i.e. all the Companions), especially the first four Khalifahs who set great examples to solve various problems according to the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah. This group was the great majority not only at that time, but in all the periods of Islamic History.

They fully supported Hazrat Ali (R.A.) during his Khilafat. According to them, Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) was not right in rejecting Hazrat Ali's authority. But they considered that mistake based upon ljtihad. After all, he was a pious Companion and the sincerity of a Companion must never be questioned.
Hazrat Shah Waliullah, in his famous book, Izalarul Khafa writes, "Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) was an excellent Companion of Rasulallah . Do not criticise or condemn him otherwise you will be committing a Haram (unlawful) act, because in a Hadith Rasulallah  said, "Do not curse my Companions! Do not curse my Companions!I swear, by Him in Whose hand my life is, that even if one among you had as much gold as Mount Uhud and spent it in the way of God, this would not be equal in reward to a few handfuls of them or even to half of that." (Abu Da'ud)."
According to a number of Ahadith, it is forbidden for a Muslim to criticise a Companion. In a number of Ahadith, the virtues of Hazrat Mu'awiyah (R.A.) have been mentioned. Once, Rasulallah  prayed for Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah as follows, "O Allah, make him a Muslim who would be with Your Guidance and such a Muslim who may guide others."
Ibn Sa'd says that Rasulallah  prayed for Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah as follows, "O Allah, give him the knowledge of the Book (Holy Qur'an)and make him the ruler of the countries, and save him from the punishment (of the Hereafter)." Moreover, Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) was one of the scribes of the Revelation during the time of Rasulallah .
It is necessary, therefore, that we must not question his sincerity. Due to political conditions at that time, he was strict in his demand of chastisement of the assassins of Hazrat Usman (R.A.). Most of the historians agree on this point that he did not declare himself a Khalifah during the life of Hazrat Ali, although people pledged loyalty at his hand.

4. The Kharajites or Khawarij: The Khawarij were more of a political group than theological. They accepted the authority of Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar (R.A.) but denounced Hazrat Usman, Hazrat Ali, and Hazrat Mu'awiyah (Rid. A.). They said that the Hakam (Arbitrator/Judge for the dispute between Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Mu'awiyah) was against the principles of Islam. Only Allah was to be obeyed through the Holy Qur'an, and not the Hakam. They also formulated a number of other beliefs as well. In the later period of Islamic history, this group became almost extinct.


The Kharijite trouble

The Khawarij set up their centre at Nahrwan and began to preach their cult. Many people gathered around them and they gained sufficient strength. They were very harsh to those who differed from them and regarded such Muslims as rebels against Islam, and murdered them. Loyalty to the Khalifah was a great crime in their eyes and they called it "the cult of personality".
The Kharijites seemed to be very pious as far as their appearance was concerned. They used to offer long Salats, wore simple dress and were honest in their dealings. But they were severely misguided in beliefs and killed all those who said that they were the followers of the Khalifah.

After the failure of arbitration, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) wanted to march to Syria but the Kharijite movement diverted his attention. It was a great danger not only to the Muslim unity but to Islamic beliefs and practices as a whole. There was an urgent need to wipe out such a movement in its early stage. Therefore, he set out for Nahrwan, the centre of Khawarij, instead of Syria.

Once he reached there, Hazrat Ali tried to negotiate with them peacefully. He sent some prominent Companions to persuade Khawarij leaders but they did not listen to them. Then Hazrat Ali asked them to hand over such people who have murdered innocent Muslims. He told them that he would leave the rest if they handed over the murderers. To this, they replied to the Khalifah, "All of us are murderers and we want to murder all of your followers. We will never stop doing this."

Then there came a point when there was no other way than to fight them. Before declaring war against them, Hazrat Ali declared that those who would be loyal to him or those who left Nahrwan and did not fight would be granted amnesty. On his appeal, 3000 Kharijites repented and again took Bai'at at his hands. The rest did not move from their position.

The battle began. A fierce fight took place. The Kharijites fought desperately but were defeated. Most of their leaders were slain. After the battle, Hazrat Ali searched the slain body of the man about whom Rasulallah  had prophesied, and had given some signs which were really the forecast of Kharijite trouble. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) found the body with all the signs told by Rasulallah  and remarked, "Rasulallah  was very true in his prophecy."


Unwillingness to march to Syria

After the battle at Nahrwan, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) wanted to march on to Syria but his men were in no mood to do so. They asked to rest when he was encamping at Nakhila, some miles away from the Capital. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) allowed them to take some rest over there but they started to slip away to their homes, and only a few of them were left with him. Seeing the situation, Hazrat Ali was also forced to return to Kufa.

After some time, Hazrat Ali again asked the Kufis to march on to Syria. He gave a stirring address in the Jami' Masjid of the Capital but the leaders of Kufa did not show any inclination. Despite many efforts, Hazrat Ali was not successful in raising another army against the Syrians.


The loss of Egypt

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) appointed Hazrat Qais bin Sa'd (R.A.) as the governor of Egypt. He took pledge of loyalty from the Egyptians for Hazrat Ali (R.A.). The inhabitants of the town of Khartaba were not loyal to Hazrat Ali. He left them alone on the condition of a peaceful conduct. Some friends of Hazrat Ali, who were keeping an eye on the governorship of Egypt, started to doubt the loyalty of Qais (R.A.) to Hazrat Ali. They told Hazrat Ali that Qais (R.A.) was more sympathetic to Hazrat Mu'awiyah and must be sacked.

When Hazrat Mu'awiyah noticed that the position of Hazrat Qais was doubtful in the eyes of Hazrat Ali, he declared him as his own man. Hearing this, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) dismissed him and appointed Muhammad bin Abi Bakr as the governor of Egypt. Muhammad bin Abu Bakr was a young man and was not able to control the Egyptians in a tactful way. He forced the people of Khartaba to pledge loyalty for Hazrat Ali and remained busy with them for a long time. In the meantime, the battle of Siffin took place but he was so busy with the internal affairs of Egypt that he could not send any army to help Hazrat Ali (R.A.).

After the battle of Siffin, Hazrat Ali appointed Malik bin Ushtar as the governor of Egypt. Ibn Ushtar was a strong man, but he passed away while carrying out this duty. Muhammad bin Abi Bakr, therefore, continued as the governor of Egypt.

After the award of the arbitration, the Syrians declared Hazrat Mu'awiyah as their Khalifah and took Bai'at on his hands. According to a number of historians, Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah did not declare himself as the Khalifah during the life of Hazrat Ali (R.A.).
However, he tried to extend his control over the Islamic state after the award. The first step was to send his army under the command of Hazrat Amr ibn As to attack Egypt. Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, the governor of Egypt wrote to Hazrat Ali for help. But before he got any help Amr ibn As (R.A.) reached Egypt with six thousand men. Ten thousand inhabitants of Khartaba also joined his army. They easily beat back two thousand men of Muhammad bin Abi Bakr. He himself took shelter in a house but was caught and slain.
In 38 A.H., Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) became the master of Egypt. He appointed Hazrat Amir ibn As as the governor.


Unrest in Basra and Iran

Hazrat Abdullah ibn Abbas (R.A.) was the governor of Basra, controlling the whole of Persia and other parts of the Islamic State in the East. Basrites were pro-Hazrat Ali but there were Usmani (pro-Hazrat Mu'awiyah) elements present there too. In 38 A.H., Hazrat Abdullah ibn Abbas went to Kufa to pay a visit to the Khalifah. Abdullah ibn Hadrami, an Usmani (pro-Hazrat Mu’awiyah) was in Basrah in those days. In the absence of Ibn Abbas, he saw his chance and incited the people to avenge the assassination of Hazrat Usman. He gained support and was able to raise an army which invaded Basrah. The governor's deputy, Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan, could not face him and fled.
Hearing the rising, Hazrat Ali sent Jariah ibn Qudamah who belonged to the Bani Tamim tribe. He went to Basrah with fifty people and negotiated with the Basrites, most of whom were from Bani Tamim tribe. He was successful in his mission and the rebellion was put down. Ibn Hadrami and seventy of his followers shut themselves in a house which was burnt by pro-Hazrat Ali Basrites.

When the people of Eastern Persia and Kirman heard the burning of Ibn Hadrami, they refused to pay Kharaj Revenue in protest. However, their rising was put down by police action.

After consulting with Abdullah ibn Abbas (R.A.), Hazrat Ali appointed Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan as the governor of Basrah to control Persia and other Eastern parts of the State.


Pro-Hazrat Mu’awiyah parties invade various parts

After the award, Usmanis tried to create general unrest in the country. During the year 39 A.H., strong parties were set out from Syria. Hazrat Ali (R.A.) tried to stir his friends in Kufa but they would not come out at Hazrat Ali’s call. Neither were they prepared to fight the Syrians again, nor did they try to check the invading parties of Usmanis.

One of such parties went to Ain al-tamr under the command of Nu'man ibn Bashir but he was defeated by Hazrat Ali’s governor, Malik ibn Ka'b. Another party of six thousand men under Sufyan ibn Auf went to Ambar and Mada'in (Midian). They killed the officer in charge of Ambar. Hazrat Ali sent Sa'id ibn Auf with an army but they ran away. Another party of three thousand men under Dahak ibn Qais came as far as the neighbourhood of Basrah. Hazrat Ali sent four thousand men under Hajar ibn Adi. A fight took place in which 19 Syrians (Usmanis) were killed. The rest of them ran away in the darkness of the night.

In the same year (i.e., 39 A. H.), Hazrat Ali sent his deputy Ibn Abbas, to lead the Hajj. Hazrat Amir Mu’awiyah also sent his deputy, Yazid ibn Sanjar to lead the Hajj. A tussle between the two men took place. At the end it was settled that a third person, Shaibah ibn Uthman ibn Abi Talha, would lead the Hajj. In this way, Hazrat Ali lost this symbol of Khilafat as well.

Hazdrat Ali’s hold weakened day by day. His most effective and eloquent speeches could not arouse his friends to action. Each day that passed witnessed the Khalifah growing more and more helpless.

A number of other incidents between pro-Mu'awiyans and pro-Alis also took place in the same year, the details of which are ignored here.


Loss of Hijaz and Yemen

Hijaz and Yemen were still under the control of Hazrat Ali (R.A.). In the year 40 A.H., Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah sent Busr ibn Abi Artat with three thousand men to Hijaz. First of all he went to Madinah. The governor of Madinah, Abu Ayyub was not able to check the Syrians and he left for Kufa. Busr took pledge of loyalty from the Madinites forcibly for Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.), and exclaimed, "Had Hazrat Mu'awiyah not forbidden me, I would not have left a single adult in Madinah alive."

After taking over Madinah, Busr reached Makkah and occupied it, unopposed. There too, he took the pledge of loyalty from the Makkans for Hazrat Amir Mu’awiyah forcibly.

From Makkah, Busr went to Yemen. At that time, Hazrat Ubaidullah ibn Abbas was the governor of Yemen. Hearing of the Syrian army he fled to Kufa. Busr occupied San'a, the capital of Yemen and killed two little sons of Hazrat Ubaidullah. He also slew a number of Hazrat Ali’s supporters in Yemen.

Hearing the cruelty of Busr, Hazrat Ali sent Jariah ibn Qudamah with two thousand men. But before he reached Yemen, Busr fled to Syria. He also sent Wahb ibn Mas'ud with another two thousand men to Hijaz. Jariah ibn Qudamah, after establishing Hazrat Ali’s rule in Yemen, was advancing to Makkah. As soon as he reached the Holy city, he received the shocking news of Hazrat Ali’s assassination which ended his campaign.

According to Ibn Jarir, at the end of the year 40 A.H. a treaty was signed between Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah and Hazrat Ali, on the request of Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah to avoid bloodshed among the Muslims. Under that treaty, Syria and Egypt remained under the control of Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah, and the rest of the state under the control of Hazrat Ali. Thus, the conflict between the two parties ended. This civil war which ended to the detriment of Hazrat Ali was the end of Islamic democratic rule.

But according to some other historians, no treaty took place between Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Mu'awiyah. While Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was preparing to attack Syria, (for which he had issued an ordinance compelling each and everyone under him to march to Syria) he was assassinated.


Victories

The civil war did not allow Hazrat Ali (R.A.) to launch Jihad (Holy War), and the Islamic Empire saw no further extension. However, some parts of Sistan (near Kabul) were conquered during this period. According to some historians, Muslims made a naval attack on Kohan (near Bombay, India) in the year 38 A.H.


The assassination of Hazrat Ali (R.A.)

After the battle of Nahrwan, the Khawarij had gone underground. As a matter of fact, they were as much against Hazrat Ali (R.A.) as they were against Hazrat Mu'awiyah (R.A.). They were still working against the Khilafat and were greatly disgusted with the civil war that seemed endless.

To end this state of affairs, they worked out a dangerous plot. According to them, Muslims were divided because of differences between Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah. They also disliked Hazrat Amr ibn As and considered him as chief planner for Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah. They decided, therefore, to assassinate all three of them. It was planned that the three personalities would be struck at the same time on the same day.

The three persons, appointed to assassinate Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Mu'awiyah, and Hazrat Amr ibn As (Rid. A.) were Abdur Rehman Muljam, Bark ibn 'Abdullah, and Amr ibn Bark respectively. The early hours of the 17th of Ramadan, 40 A.H., was fixed for the assassination.

After the Fajr Salat of the 17th Ramadan in the year 40 A.H. (661 A.D.), the three appointed Khariji assassins struck the three men. Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah escaped with a scratch, Hazrat Amr ibn As did not turn out for the Imamat because he was sick that day thus he was unhurt, but Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was mortally wounded with the poisoned sword of Ibn Muljam.
He passed away in the evening of Ramadan 20, 40 A.H.

Ibn Muljam was caught by the people after he had struck Hazrat Ali. Hazrat Ali asked the Muslims to slay him if he died. While he was passing away, Hazrat Ali called his sons and advised them to serve Islam and to be good with the Muslims. When somebody asked him if the Muslims should take pledge of loyalty at the hands of his elder son, Hazrat Hassan, he replied, "I leave this decision to the Muslims." He also advised people not to kill any person other than the assassin to avenge him.

He was 63 years old at the time of his death, which is the same age at which Rasulallah  himself passed away. Hazrat Ali ruled for four years and nine months as the Khalifah.

According to a number of historians, his real grave is not known because his son Hazrat Hassan took out his body from the grave after he was buried, and in order to protect his father from the Kharijis, he buried him at an unknown place.


Period of his Khilafat

The period of Hazrat Ali’s Khilafat extending to four years and about nine months, was marked by civil war. His rule was characterised by a series of revolts for the first time in the history of Islam. He was elected as the Khalifah in the most critical period of Islamic history.
The martyrdom of Hazrat Usman was an extraordinary event about which Rasulallah  had already prophesied. Hazrat Ali was in a very difficult situation. On the one hand, the assassins and the insurgents were creating endless trouble for him, and on the other hand Banu Umayyah (Hazrat Usman's family) fled to Syria and incited Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah to insist on avenging Hazrat Usman’s death.

Hazrat Ali faced these problems and difficulties with extraordinary courage and strength, and presented before us an exemplary character. He never had full support even from his friends in Kufa, but still remained firm in his position to uphold the Islamic State.

As it has been described before, he could never locate the real assassins of Hazrat Usman and this could not be achieved until peace was established. Therefore, his first task was to create an atmosphere of peace in the State. But the Sabaites (insurgents) never wanted peace. They worked on both sides. On the one side, they made it difficult for Hazrat Ali to find out assassins, and on the other hand they sent their agents to Syria to incite the people (especially Umayyads) against Hazrat Ali. Their main aim was to let the Muslims fight among themselves so that they might prosper. Although Hazrat Ali knew all this, he was unable to take any firm action because of the civil war.

The third problem faced by Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was the Kharijite movement. They were extremists and misled a number of innocent Muslims. They did not hesitate to use sword against persons who would not agree with them. They developed many beliefs foreign to Islam, and although they appeared to be very pious, they were extremely corrupt. Hazrat Ali dealt with them with an iron hand. He realised that if they were not wiped out in the beginning, they would mislead future generations. He was successful in destroying their stronghold. However some of them, who escaped, went underground but they were never in a strong position.

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) tried his utmost to unite the Muslims and bring them back on one platform, but he was not successful. The tragic death of Hazrat Usman (R.A.) was a signal for bloodshed among the Muslims. The Companions were not to be blamed for it at all. This was caused by anti-Islamic elements in the form of Sabaites, (Abdullah ibn Saba and his followers). Historical facts bear it out that Abdullah ibn Saba became the greatest enemy of Islam. It was he who shattered the unity of Muslims forever.
After completing their mission, the Sabaites made a pretence of being Hazrat Ali’s friends but they never helped him nor the cause of the Muslim Unity. No sooner had Hazrat Ali assumed Khilafat than a group of the same miscreant Sabaites, who had brought about the cold-blooded assassination of Hazrat Usman (R.A.), began to demand due retribution for the murder of the Khalifah and started to incite Muslims only to create division among them. Thus, they played a double role. A group of them showed themselves as friends of Hazrat Ali and another group (much smaller than the first) went to Syria and other parts of Islamic State to incite the Muslims against Hazrat Ali (R.A.).

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) faced all these problems, and though they were not minor at all, he proceeded with great courage and faith. He never lost heart. He was a man of strong will power and determination, and to question his decisions would be absurd.


General Administration

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) followed the administrative pattern set by Hazrat Umar (R.A.) and did not make any noticeable changes. He tried to improve the administration of those places where it was not proper during the time of Hazrat Usman (R.A.).

He usually gave useful advice to his governors at the time of their appointment. When he appointed Hazrat Ka'b ibn Malik for supervision of various officers in various provinces he gave him the following instructions, "Check officers of each and every district of Iraq thoroughly so that they may not act wrongly".

Overall, Hazrat Ali was the last of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. He was steadfast in his faith, and courageous in his actions. He lived by the words of Rasulallah , and his only interest was to uphold the words that had been passed down from Rasulallah  to the previous three Caliphs before him.


Tasawwuf and Hazrat Ali

The genealogical chain of Sufis (Islamic mystics) ends at Hazrat Ali (R.A.), and through him it is linked to Rasulallah  in most of the Sufi orders; the Naqshbandiya chain is linked to Rasulallah  through Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique.
Thus, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) has been considered as the great Imam of Tasawwuf (spiritual science/mysticism).

As it has been mentioned in the book, Tasalsulat i Imdadiah, Hazrat Shah Waliullah of Delhi holds the view that the genealogical chain of the great Sufis is linked to Rasulallah  through all the first four Caliphs, amongst whom Hazrat Ali (R.A.) stands like a gateway between the Sufis on one hand, and the first three caliphs and Rasulallah  on the other hand.
Spiritual secrets were transferred by Rasulallah  to Hazrat Abu Bakr. From Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.), the secrets were transferred to Hazrat Umar; and from Hazrat Umar (R.A.) to Hazrat Uthman; and from Hazrat Usman (R.A.) to Hazrat Ali; and from Hazrat Ali to the Sufis, usually through Imam Hassan Basri (R.A.) as it is believed in most of the schools of thought of Tasawwuf.

It has been confirmed that Hazrat Hassan Basri met Hazrat Ali at the age of 15. In the science of Tasawwuf, training under the Sheikh (Murshid or Pir or Spiritual Guide) is not necessary and spiritual secrets can be transferred even in a single meeting from the Sheikh to the Mureed (the spiritual disciple). Therefore, the great Sufis do not doubt the fact that Hazrat Ali (R.A.) transferred spiritual secrets to Hazrat Hassan Basri (R.A.), from whom they were passed on to the succeeding generations.

Therefore, Hazrat Ali (R.A.) and Imam Hassan Basri are the most important links in the genealogical orders (or Shajrahs) of most of the schools of thought of Tasawwuf.


Wives and Children

1. Hazrat Ali’s first wife was the most beloved daughter of Rasulallah , Hazrat Fatima (R.A.). He had three sons (Hazrat Hassan, Hussain and Mohsin), and two daughters (Hazrat Zainab and Umme Kulthum) from her. The youngest son, Hazrat Mohsin, died in childhood.


After the death of Hazrat Fatima, he married a number of wives from time to time:

2. Umm al-Banin bin Hizam. She gave birth to his sons, Hazrat Abbas, Ja'far, Abdullah and Uthman. All of these, except Hazrat Abbas were martyred at Karbala.
3. Saila bint Mas'ud, who gave birth to his sons, Hazrat Ubaidullah and Abu Bakr. They were martyred at Karbala.
4. Asma bint Umais who gave birth to sons, Hazrat Yahya and Muhammad Asghar.
5. Sahba bint Rabi'a who gave birth to Hazrat Umar and Ruqayyah.
6. Amamah bint Abil 'As: She was daughter of Zainab (R.A.), daughter of Rasulallah . She gave birth to Hazrat Ali's son, Muhammad Awsat.
7. Khaulah bint Jalfar who gave birth to Muhammad Akbar.
8. Umme Sa'id who gave birth to Ummul Hassan and Ramlah Kubra.
9. Mahyah bint Ummul Qais, she gave birth to a daughter who died in childhood.

He also had daughters whose mothers' names have not been identified:
Umme Hani, Maimunah, Zainab Sughra, Ramlah Sughra, Umme Kulthum Sughra, Fatima, Umamah, Khadijah, Umme Salama, Umme Ja'far, Jamanah and Nafisah.

According to Ibne Jarir, Hazrat Ali had 17 daughters and 14 sons. His family continued through five sons: Imam Hassan, Imam Hussain, Muhammad ibn Ali, Umar bin Ali, and Abbas ibn Ali.