2- The Saqifa of Bani Sa'idah 1
The Prophet (a.s.) always supported me during his lifetime. He used to introduce me as his successor. In the last time when he appeared to the public, before a massive number of Muslims he introduced me as "Amirul Mo'minin: the commander of the believers", and he asked them to swear me their allegiance and to obey me thenceforth. He asked them to convey that important news to those who were absent on that fateful day.
________________________
1 Saqifa means "shade". The Saqifa of Bani Sa'idah was a very famous place where people used to meet and to discuss their important affairs and matters of the time.
People knew this fact well and knew that it was I, who had to explain the directions of the Messenger of Allah (a.s.) to the others. I was the commander of his army in all the wars and journeys that we had accomplished together. Therefore, it was a faraway, ridiculous idea that some people wanted to start a fight against me concerning this matter. When the Prophet (a.s.) was ill sometime before his departure to the better world, he directed me to prepare an army and join all the companions to this army under the leadership of Usama ibn Zeyd to fight the Romans.
The Prophet (a.s.) did not want to see any disagreement between the two great tribes of al-Aus and al-Khazraj. He ordered that everybody should go to that war. However, everyone looked at me with anger and grudge, for in the past, I had killed their fathers, brothers, or other relatives in different wars.
Thus, the Prophet had dispatched some people from the Muhajireen, the Ansars, and those whose hearts were made to incline to Islam, but those who had remained near the couch of the Prophet (a.s.) did not say anything, so as not to disturb the Prophet (a.s.) and to prevent any disagreement and rebellion against the command of the Prophet (a.s.).
In fact, the Prophet (a.s.) was very serious about his directions concerning the Muslims to join Usama's army and obey him loyally, so that nobody might stand against his will openly.
When the Prophet (a.s.) passed away, some of the commanders in Usama's army gave up their important positions and clearly disregarded the Prophet's orders. Usama remained lonely and helpless among his soldiers.
All these disobediences and revolts were just for one reason; to return to Medina and break the allegiance that the Prophet (a.s.) had. took from them as to my position as the Commander of the Believers.
They gathered in the Saqifa of bani Sa'idah, but did not consult with any of the children of Abdul Muttalib, mor asked me the permission to take off their allegiance paid to me. On that day, I was preparing the Prophet's holy body to be buried, because this thing was much more important than their plots to me.
Oh, my Jewish brother! After the death of the Prophet (a.s.) - and no one, ever since, had filled his empty place in my heart- there came a great suffering for me ... Their conspiracy against me was a very painful betrayal! However, I was patient and did not lose my endurance. Is it not true?"
Everyone said, "Yes, it is true, and you are truly the Commander of the Believers!"
The .Jewish man felt a pain in his heart, when once again, he heard about the sufferings of Ameerol Mo'minin.
3- The usurped Caliphate
"After the death of the Prophet, Abu Bakr became the caliph instead of me. Every time he saw me, he used to ask for my forgiveness for his oppression against me, and he used. to blame his friend Umar, for having usurped my right, and broken their covenant with me. For all these matters, he always asked for my forgiveness.
I said to myself that one day, his reign would terminate and I would gain my true right, for Allah had chosen me for this position. Another thing was that Islam was in his
first days, and I did not want to add another discord to the already existing discords and did not want to fight those who had usurped my true right and position, and start a war among my Muslim brothers.
In those days, my faithful and true companions were those who had a good intention in their hearts and were benevolent for the sake of Allah and his Prophet's satisfaction. They believed in the Holy Quran and they secretly invited me to take back my right from those who had usurped it. They were ready to sacrifice their lives for my right and keep their covenant, but I always invited them to be patient. I used to tell them: may Allah give back my lost right, without any destructive feud between the Muslims.
Others, on that chaotic period, were a group of people who believed strongly in Allah, the Prophet (a.s.), the Holy Qur'an, and Islam, and covertly or openly, invited me to restore my true right. I found them to be true Muslims. They were ready to sacrifice their lives to prove their loyalty to me! But I always tried to make them be more patient. I thought that Allah would soon restore my unfairly usurped right without any fight.
On the other hand, after the death of the Prophet, many people fell into the trap of hesitation and they became greedy for the Caliphate. Each tribe wanted the new caliph to be from their own clan. One thing that was interesting was that they were against each other, but at the same time, they supported each other to keep ME away from the Caliphate! So when the first one (Abu Bakr) died, his friend Umar took over the responsibility of the Caliphate for himself and did exactly like the previous one, and did not give me back my true right.
Once again; the followers of Mohammad (peace be upon him) came to me and, - as you now know, some of them are already dead and some others are still alive – anyway these faithful people asked me to stand up against Umar, but I did not change my mind, and I kept my patience.
We were the family of the Messenger of Allah (a.s.), but we lived in a house that had no roof and the doors were made of palm fronds. There was nothing on our mattress and no blanket to cover us in sleep...During prayers, we often had just one garment which was used by all the members of the family... How many days and nights we spent with hunger ...!
Sometimes after a war, Allah the Almighty set aside some booty for us. Though the Messenger of Allah (a.s.) knew of our hard condition, he gave our shares to affluent and rich men to make their hearts incline to Islam. I myself saw the sufferings of the Prophet (a.s.) when he invited them to Islam, and I knew that I had a heavy responsibility to preserve the circle of Islam and not to break it in no way whatsoever!
On the other hand, if I did some kind of revengeful actions, and gathered some people to support me, I could gather some groups around me with no doubt and they would be ready to fight against our enemies, but that idea had two sides; perhaps some people might stop their support and would then join the opposite side, or some other people might be killed.
I knew that my deep affinity to the Prophet (peace be upon him) was like the kinship of Aaron to Moses, and I was really afraid that the punishment of Allah might befall on my people, like the punishment of Moses' people when they disobeyed Aaron. So I thought it would be better if I drank from the cup of sorrow, held my breath, and kept
my patience. so that Allah would achieve His Will. On that occasion, my recompense would be more, and maybe a kind of forbearance would be considered as privilege for my people, and I knew that the Command of Allah is a determined decree.
I had a solid background from the past and was closest to the Prophet (a.s.) in family relationship, and as his successor. Beyond other things, the Prophet (a.s.) on the day of "Ghadir Khom" had expressed his strong wish about my being his successor, according to the Will of Allah. He invited the people to pledge their allegiance to me as the Commander of the believers after his death, and it was impossible for people to have any bad thought against me in their minds.
Aye ... when the Prophet (a.s.) died. the government of the Islamic lands was in his own house, not in the hands of others or in their houses! And his progeny were definitely more deserving for the position of the "Caliphate" or other rights than the others, because Allah the Almighty had created us pure and innocent from the very beginning. Is it not true?"
Everyone said, "Yes, it is true, and you are truly the Commander of the Believers!"
The Jewish man's heart was choked by emotions and was much paler than hefore.
4- The six men assembly of the Caliphate in (the year 24 After Hegira)
"As you know, after Abu Bakr, the one who had robbed and wore the cloak of Caliphate instead of me, consulted
always with me in everything and always listened to me as to the many complex matters that he had to deal with.
No one can remember a day when he (Umar) did not ask from me. So I thought that finally I would get my right. Therefore, when Umar died unexpectedly, it seemed he had not had enough time to choose his successor, and I thought that I would gain my right of the Caliphate at last, and could do many reforms among the Umma of the Prophet (a.s.). However, the plot changed. Before his death, Umar had chosen six persons and I was the sixth among them. The strange thing was that I did not have an equal right as the others. He had not considered all of my backgrounds, sacrifices, hereditary right, my kinship to the Messenger of Allah (a.s.) and my being his brother, cousin and son-in-law! He himself knew that well, and I was definitely much better and suitable in all these things, than the others. His son Abdullah was the head of this assembly. If one of us was tired or wanted to exit from the assembly, he (Abdullah) had the right to kill us immediately.
And yon, my Jewish brother, have no idea how hard it was for me to be patient in that time ...!
They consulted for some days and believed that each of them was more suitable for this position (the Caliphate). I was always silent. If one of them had a question, I just talked about the past events and my numerous assistance to Islam.
Ridiculously enough, all of them remembered all of my achievements and efforts. I just reminded them of these things, because the Prophet (a.s.) had taken their covenants for my becoming the rightful Caliph and had insisted on my position after him before them all.
However, the sweet taste of authority, earthly wishes and power closed their eyes to these truths. The most important thing was that they wanted to restore their prominence of the past (the pre-Islamic age), and so they usurped my right once again.
I reminded them of the Day of Resurrection, and I wanted to do anything to stop their wrong doings, but all of them pretended to show their acceptance in front of me, whereas in fact, they wanted to choose themselves for the Caliphate, and they did not know that I would not accept that. On the other hand, they knew that I would do exactly according to the Book of Allah and the Sunna of the Prophet (a.s.) and that my successor would be chosen by the Will of Allah and not by me.
In that chaotic time, one of these men listened to his corrupted mind and chose Uthman, because he thought that in the near future, Uthman would appoint him in a high position; therefore, he persuaded the others to choose Uthman for this role... the one who was the least fit for that important position.
During the past, Uthman often had not participated in the wars (of Muslims), and everybody in the Arab peninsula believed that to participate in those wars was a distinct honor. Allah had bestowed many blessings on the Prophet (a.s.) and his family, that Uthman had nothing to do with them ... I am sure that the men, who had chosen him for this responsibility, regretted quickly what they had done only a few hours after their decision!
After a short time, the people who had appointed Uthman ibn Affan for the Caliphate, believed that he was a heretic. Uthman went to see some of his friends (from the Prophet's companions) and begged them to forgive him.
He said he was ready to resign because he wanted to redress his immorality.
Oh, my Jewish friend, that problem was very difficult and greater than the other problems, and I was at the point of overflowing the measure of my patience ...! It is hard to describe those days, but like past situations, I did nothing, but keep silence and be patient.
Yes, after a few hours of Uthman's being chosen as the Caliph on that fatal day, the other members of the assembly came to see me. They wanted me to depose Uthman. and assume this position. They swore before me to be under my command until their last breath, and support me until the day when Allah would return my true right to me.
Anyhow, my friend! Like the previous instances, and in relation with the former caliphs, I had no way but to remain silent, because I did not want to witness the death of my true friends and the true companions of our Prophet (a.s.), whereas if I had called them to death, they would never have hesitated.
As you know well, death to me is like refreshing, cold water in a hot sunny day in the desert! Know that my uncle Hamza, my brother Ja'far and my cousin Ubaydah had made a covenant with Allah, and so my followers had died while keeping their promise. I was the only one who had remained alive, by the Will of Allah, that Allah had revealed this verse about us, (Of the believers are men who are true to the covenant which they made with Allah: so of them, is he who accomplished
his vow, and of them is he who yet waits, and they have not changed in the least). 1
Anyway, if I remained silent in front of ibn Affan and did nothing against him, I knew that his bad behavior and immorality would bring others to kill him too, and stop him from committing corruption ... So, I cloistered myself and kept tolerant until that day I had predicted. I did not say anything against or for Uthman until he died.
Aye ... They finally killed Uthman, and then they came to me trying to convince me to accept the responsibility of Caliphate (but they were not aware that on that critical situation, and in regard with that murder and knowing of their false intentions) I did not have any intention to accept the responsibility of the Caliphate. I knew that they just wanted to follow their desires, so they would not find the fulfillment of their desires in me. I mean the worldly desires and pleasures. However, they accepted me as their new Caliph anymore. But after a while, when Talha and Zobayr could not find their desires with me, they started to walk in a path opposite to mine and created seditious between the people against me. Is it not true?"
Every one said, "Yes it is true, 0 Commander of the Believers!"
The Jewish man could do nothing but cry.
5- The Battle of Jamal
Those who had pledged their allegiance to me with their freewill (Talha and Zobayr) when they did not achieve their goals to be the governors over two great cities in Iraq,
________________________
1 Qur'an, 33:23.
they began conspiring with Aa'isha against me. Even though they knew that after the Prophet (a.s.), the one who had to have the responsibility of protecting that woman was only me and nobody else.
However, these two men forced Aa'isha to sit on a camel and cover the desert until they reached Haw'ab. After the dogs of Haw'ab had barked at Aa'isha, the signs of repentance appeared finally on their faces. They had pledged allegiance to me before the death of the Prophet and also after his death, but what a wicked deed they committed against me!
They came to Bassora and were united with the people who had small hands, long beards, slothful beliefs, and false deeds; those who were sailors or desert dwellers (the Egyptians) ... That woman (Aa'isha) had called them from their cities, and they showed their naked blades and then they fell into the deep sea of war.
On that Occasion, I had to choose one of the two ways opened before me; either to let them go away, but this made them continue their false path, and they would never return to the right path again, or to stand against them, and this way created a bad ending for them, one that I had not wanted for them.
Therefore, before the battle began, I reminded them of everything and told them about the harsh and hard punishment of Allah. I ended my argument and proposed them a way to come to peace with me and acknowledge their mistakes. I asked that woman to go back to her house, and. I wanted from the people around her not to break their allegiance to me, and that Allah would be witness to all this.
O Allah, be the Witness of my deeds on those days! I did everything. I even talked privately to their leaders to persuade them not to start a war, and Zobayr accepted my words. I repeated my intention to the others, but they just showed me their enmity and foolishness. When they insisted on the war, I had no way but to ride on my horse and the result of their deeds was nothing but defeat and violent death ...
Yes, I had no way but to fight them. However, at the end of the battle, I forgave them and did not kill any one of them. Before the war, I could not have forgiven them, because I knew that they would kill innocent people and try to spread dissension allover the country... And I also did not want to accept the authority of that woman, because in many ways, such as in giving testimony and inheritances, the rights of man and woman are different, and choosing a woman as a governor was a wrong act that old nations like the Romans, or those who had lived in the lands of the Queen of Sheba (Saba), had once done Wrongfully.
On the other hand, I had to stand for a battle that I did not like, neither its beginning nor its ending! I just let that woman gather troops and do everything she could, to destroy my army in a short time. However, it was not I, who had started the war. I myself did many things to stop the war. I delayed the moment of the battle, negotiated in many ways, and sent many ambassadors. I also offered them many suggestions that they even did not think about, and I even forgave them. They just wanted the war and nothing else, and I had to fight with them. Then, I did according to the will of Allah, and Allah the Almighty was the Witness over me. Is it not true?"
Every one said, "Yes, it is true, 0 Commander of the Believers!"
The Jewish man began to cry then, and at the same time, he remembered the war that the wife of Moses had waged against Joshua (the successor of Moses), so he was deeply sad for Ali.
