The
First Islamic Civil War (656–661), also called the
First Fitna ( "The Fitna of the killing of Uthman"), was the first major
civil warA civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
within the Islamic Caliphate. It arose as a struggle over who had the legitimate right to become the ruling
CaliphThe Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
. The dispute shattered the unity of the Muslim
ummahUmmah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
and set into motion long-term trends that ended in the division of Islam into Shi'a and
SunniSunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
sects.
The Fitna began as a series of revolts fought against first Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, and the fourth and final of the Sunni
Rightly Guided CaliphsThe Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs who established the Rashidun Caliphate. The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the Abbasid Dynasty...
, caused by the controversial assassination of his predecessor, Uthman Ibn Affan. It lasted for the entirety of Ali's reign, and its end is marked by
MuawiyahMuawiyah I was the first Caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. After the conquest of Mecca by the Muslims, Muawiyah's family converted to Islam. Muawiyah is brother-in-law to Muhammad who married his sister Ramlah bint Abi-Sufyan in 1AH...
's assumption of the caliphate (founding the Umayyad dynasty), and the subsequent recorded
peace treatyA peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, that formally ends a state of war between the parties...
between him and Hassan ibn Ali.
Battle of Bassorah
Ali was first opposed by a faction led by Talhah, Al-Zubayr and Muhammad's wife,
AishaAisha bint Abu Bakr also transcribed as was Muhammad's favorite wife...
bint Abu Bakr. First they gathered in Mecca then moved to
BasraBasra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
with the expectation of finding the necessary forces and resources to mobilize people in what is now Iraq. The opposers encamped close to Basra, and the subsequent heated exchange & protests during the parley turned from words to blows, leading to loss of life on both sides. When Ali asked them for obedience and a pledge of allegiance, they refused. The two parties met at the
Battle of BassorahThe Battle of Bassorah was a battle that took place at Basra, Iraq in 656 between forces allied to Ali ibn Abi Talib and forces allied to Aisha , who wanted justice on the...
(Battle of the Camel) in 656, where Ali emerged victorious.
Battle of Siffin
Later Ali was challenged by
Muawiyah IMuawiyah I was the first Caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. After the conquest of Mecca by the Muslims, Muawiyah's family converted to Islam. Muawiyah is brother-in-law to Muhammad who married his sister Ramlah bint Abi-Sufyan in 1AH...
, the governor of
LevantThe Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
and the cousin of
UthmanUthman ibn Affan was one of the companions of Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He played a major role in early Islamic history as the third Sunni Rashidun or Rightly Guided Caliph....
, who refused Ali's demands for allegiance and called for revenge for Uthman. Ali opened negotiations with him with the hope of regaining his allegiance but Muawiyah insisted on Levant autonomy under his rule. Muawiyah replied by mobilizing his
LevantThe Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
ine supporters and refusing to pay homage to Ali on the pretext that his contingent had not participated in his election. The two armies encamped themselves at Siffin for more than one hundred days, most of the time being spent in negotiations. Although Ali exchanged several letters with Muawiyah, he was unable to dismiss the latter, nor persuade him to pledge allegiance. Skirmishes between the parties led to the
Battle of SiffinThe Battle of Siffin occurred during the First Fitna, or first Muslim civil war, with the main engagement taking place from July 26 to July 28. It was fought between Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muawiyah I, on the banks of the Euphrates river, in what is now Ar-Raqqah, Syria...
in 657. After a week of combat was followed by a violent battle known as laylat al-harir (the night of clamor) the Muawiyah's army were on the point of being routed when Amr ibn al-Aas advised Muawiyah to have his soldiers hoist
mushafA mus'haf is a codex or collection of sheets . The Qur’an, which Muslims believe to have been revealed at various times and in various ways during the 23-year period at the end of Muhammad's life, was collected into a codex under the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan..The Islamic term al-Qur’ān...
(thin parchments inscribed with verses of the Qur'an) on their spearheads in order to cause disagreement and confusion in Ali's army.
Arbitration
The two armies finally agreed to settle the matter of who should be Caliph by arbitration. The refusal of the largest bloc in Ali's army to fight was the decisive factor in his acceptance of the arbitration. The question as to whether the arbiter would represent Ali or the
KufansKufah may refer to:* Ovophis okinavensis, a.k.a. the Okinawa pitviper, a venomous pitviper species found in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan.* Alternative English spelling for Kufa, a city in modern Iraq....
caused a further split in Ali's army. Ash'ath ibn Qays and some others rejected Ali's nominees,
`Abd Allah ibn `AbbasAbd Allah ibn Abbas was a paternal cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is revered by Muslims for his knowledge and was an expert in Tafsir , as well as an authority on the Islamic Sunnah.-Family:...
and Malik al-Ashtar, and insisted on Abu Musa Ash'ari, who was opposed by Ali, since he had earlier prevented people from supporting him. Finally Ali was forced to accept Abu Musa.
Battle of Nahrawan
Some of Ali's supporters, later known as
KharijitesKharijites is a general term embracing various Muslims who, while initially supporting the authority of the final Rashidun Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, the son-in-law and cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, then later rejected his leadership...
(
schismaA schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...
tics), who initially had forced Ali to accept Abu Musa Ashari's arbitration were left bemused when the arbitration resulted in the Abu Musa being tricked by Amr bin Aas and Amr propagated from the Arbitration pulpit his support to the Caliphate of Muawiya. The Kharijites (or Khwarij), having seen the arbitration not gone in their favour turned rebellious toward Ali and argued Ali's decision to give in to their own demand for arbitration. Their rebellion turned bloody when they started killing Ali's followers and when they killed the pregnant wife of one of Ali's supporters and tore the mother's womb to bring out and kill the unborn child. Not compromising on their open enmity, Ali had to fight with them in the
Battle of NahrawanThe Battle of Nahrawan was a battle between Ali ibn Abi Talib and the Kharijites.After the unsatisfactory conclusion to the Battle of Siffin, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib returned with his army back to Kufa on the 13th of Safar 37 A.H...
.
It must be noted that before the Battle of Nahrawan, Ali had prepared to attack Muawiya but after this battle Ali's men did not give him the support that he wanted to attack Mauwiya, so expedition to Syria was abandoned and Ali was left alone.
Loss of All Provinces Except Kufa
Muawiyah's army invaded and occupied cities, which Ali's governors couldn't prevent and people didn't support him to fight with them. Muawiyah overpowered Egypt, Yemen and other areas.
Last days of Ali
On the nineteenth of Ramadan, while Ali was praying in the mosque of Kufa, the Kharijite
Abd-al-Rahman ibn MuljamAbd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam al-Sarimi Arabic:عبدالرحمن بن ملجم السريمي was the Kharijite assassin of Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad.-The Plot of Ali's murder:...
assassinated him with a strike of his poison-coated sword. Ali, wounded by the poisonous sword, lived for two days and died on the 21st of Ramadan in the city of Kufa in 661 A.D.
Hasan caliphate
Upon the death of Ali ibn Abi Talib, Kufi Muslims pledged allegiance to his eldest son
HasanAl-Hasan ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib is an important figure in Islam, the son of Fatimah the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and of the fourth Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib. Hasan is a member of the Ahl al-Bayt and Ahl al-Kisa...
without dispute.