ISLAM’S ROYAL FAMILY
by Silas
The Bible, Luke 21:8,9
8 He (Jesus) replied: "Watch out that you are
not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The
time is near.’ Do not follow them.
9 When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened.
These things must happen first, but the end will not come right
away." [1]
The Quran, Sura 49:9,10
9 And if two parties or groups among the believers fall to fighting, then make peace between them both, but if one of them rebels against the other, then fight you (all) against the one that which rebels till it complies with the Command of Allah; then if it complies, then make reconciliation between them justly, and be equitable. Verily! Allah loves those who are equitable.
10 The believers are nothing else than brothers (in Islamic religion). So make reconciliation between your brothers, and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy. [2]
AISHA AND ALI
Up to this point we’ve seen the evil seeds of greed, hatred, envy, and discord grow from deep within the hearts of several prominent Muslims. And that certainly was enough for any Satanic work to build upon. Up to this point its darkest fruit was the brutal murder of Uthman. But wait there’s more. This was only the first fruits of the real spirit of Islam. More fruit continued to ripen. The Satanic thirst for blood has just gotten wet; now it demanded to be sated. Those Satanic seeds of Islam that have been planted in the hearts and minds of so many a Muslim had still yet to reach full bloom and yield ripe fruit, but that time was now approaching fast…..
19The acts of the sinful nature are
obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of
rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness,
orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like
this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Sahih Bukhari 7.458:
Narrated
Abu Bakra:
….."Your blood, properties and honor are as
sacred to one another as this day of yours in this town of yours in this month
of yours. You will meet your Lord, and He will ask you about your deeds.
Beware! Do not go astray after me by cutting the necks of each other. It is
incumbent upon those who are present to convey this message to those who are
absent, for some of those to whom it is conveyed may comprehend it better than
some of those who have heard it directly." [3]…..
ALI — Muhammad’s son in law, married to Muhammad’s daughter Fatima. Ali was a brave and strong Muslim warrior who accomplished some important exploits in battle. Ali had two sons: Hassan and Hussain. Ali was destined to become the forth and final of the “rightly guided Caliphs”.
During Muhammad’s time, Ali had been one of Aisha’s accusers of adultery. Although she was found innocent she bore a grudge against him ever since.
AISHA — Muhammad’s bride of 9 years old. She was 18 when he died. She was Muhammad’s most desired and favored wife — he preferred her company, and her in bed, over all the others. As a result of Muhammad’s favor, she became his most prominent wife. Because she was one of Muhammad’s wives, she was known as “the Mother of Believers.” After Muhammad’s death, she was often sought out for advice and counsel on a variety of Islamic topics. She is recorded as having narrated thousands of Hadith. She died when she was around 68.
AL-ZUBAYR —An esteemed Muslim and one of Muhammad’s close friends, and a leader in the Islamic community.
TALHA — Another prominent Muslim, a close friend of Muhammad’s, and a leader in the Islamic community.
Three separate groups of Muslims (Egyptians, Basrans, Kufans), had marched on Uthman in Medina, with the end result of Uthman being murdered. Interestingly, each group supported a different “Companion” who they wanted to be the Caliph. The Egyptians wanted Ali, the Basrans wanted Talha, and the Kufans wanted Zubayr. Obviously they were not in agreement with each other.
Following Uthman’s murder, confusion began to spread in the Islamic community, and the search was on for a new leader. Eventually, in Medina, Ali was recognized as the Caliph.
Consequently, the previous antagonisms, insults, and discord, amongst the leading Muslims, (Muhammad’s family members and “Companions”), blended with their emotions of hate, bitterness, and vain-glory, to produce a wide array of moves, counter moves, and deceit, that proved ultimately to be more poisonous to the Islamic community than the murder of Uthman.
Note: there is a great deal of information recorded about this event. Indeed the Tabari’s History, Volume 16, is dedicated to primarily this event alone. The quantity of data is such that I cannot reproduce all of the details, differing accounts, and variations of the event here.
In Medina, Uthman had been murdered and after a very short period of time, Ali was made Caliph. As such, the various groups of Muslims began to pledge allegiance to Ali. But, as they were bringing various Muslims to pledge, suddenly things did not go so smoothly…..
From the History of Tabari, Volume 16, [4]
Then they brought Sa’d, and Ali said, “Give allegiance,” But he replied, “I won’t do so until the people have, but believe me, you’ve nothing to fear from me.” Ali said, “Let him go.” Then they brought Ibn Umar, and Ali said, “Give allegiance.” And he replied, I won’t do so until the people have.” “Bring me a guarantor,” Ali said to him. “I don’t see why I should,” replied Ibn Umar. “Let me cut his head off,” said al-Ashtar, to which Ali replied, “No leave him alone! I’ll be his guarantor. I knew it; you are as rude as a man as you were as a child.” (page 4).
Note: Ibn Umar was the second Caliph’s - Umar’s son.
The people gave allegiance to Ali, so he sent for al-Zubayr and Talhah. He then invited them to give allegiance, but Talhah delayed. Unsheathing his sword Malik al-Ashtar then said, “By Allah! You had better give allegiance, or else I will strike you through the forehead.” “There is no way out of this,” said Talhah and he gave allegiance, followed by al-Zubayr and everyone else…… A little later they explained, “We only did it out of fear for our lives, since we knew that he would never give us allegiance.” Four months after Uthman’s murder they went down to Mecca. (page 5).
Talhah said, “I gave allegiance with a
sword over my head.” …. The people gave
allegiance to Ali in Medina, but seven men were cautious and did not give
it. They were Sad Waqqas, Ibn Umar,
Suhayb, Zayd Thabit, Muhammad Maslamah, Salamah Waqsh, and Usamah Zayd. (page 9).
The point of the quotations above is to
show that within the hearts and minds of some of the oldest, most esteemed
Muslims, there was doubt about Ali.
Some refrained from giving him allegiance because they disliked him,
others because they distrusted him, others gave him allegiance because they
were compelled. Ali’s track record with
them caused them to be suspicious and doubt him for various reasons.
Although Ali had become Caliph, it did
not mean that he was home free. There
were systemic problems to deal with.
The marauding bands of Muslims that had worked together to unseat Uthman
was still the force in Medina. They too
were like sheep without a shepherd, and they too wanted the unrest to cease,
but on their own terms...
The Egyptians then said, “It’s up to
you, people of Medina. We’ve given you
two days and by Allah! if you don’t sort it out, tomorrow we’ll kill Ali, and
Talhah, and al-Zubayr and many other beside.”
The people then came to Ali and said, “We give you allegiance, for you
see what has happened to Islam and how much we have suffered at the hands of
relatives.” ["relatives" is a reference to Uthman’s
nepotism]. (page 13).
So, Ali became Caliph, and the various
Companions and citizens wanted justice done against Uthman’s murderers. However, those murderers were in power...
Then when Ali
had gone inside his house, Talhah and al-Zubayr along with a number of
Companions, came to him in a group and said: “Ali! We stipulated that Allah’s punishments should be applied. These people participated in the death of
this man have thereby forfeited their lives.”
“My friends,” he replied, “I am not unaware of what you know, but how
can I deal with people who rule us, not we them? Your own slaves have rebelled with them, and your Bedouin have
joined them. They live with you
imposing on you what they want. So can
you see a way of achieving any of what you want?” “No,” they said, “No indeed,” replied Ali. ... until the people calm down and return to
their senses and claims can be settled.
So stop complaining to me and see what will happen to you. Then return to me.” (page 18).
However, not all the Companions agreed
with Ali’s approach, and they were divided among themselves. Those that disagreed with Ali’s plan felt
that he was slack in punishing the murderers.
Whatever the situation, Ali was not in any rush to dispose justice for
Uthman’s murder.
As time went on, Ibn Abbas, (the same
one who vilified Ali when demanding Muhammad’s inheritance), visited Ali. Previously, Abbas had foreseen what this
would lead to and had counseled Ali to leave town before Uthman was
murdered. Ali had rejected his
advice...
Ibn Abbas said: “What you should have done
was to have left when the man was killed or even before that and gone to Mecca,
entered your house, and locked the door behind you. Then, if the Arabs should have
amassed and become stirred up after your withdrawal, they would only have had you
to turn to. But today there are among the
Umayyads [Uthman’s
clan], some who
approve the search for revenge for Uthman, saying that you had a share in the
affair. They will mislead the people
and make demands similar to what the Medinese have made. …
(page 21).
Another player in this play was Muawiyah. He was fairly aloof through the early stages
of this entire event. His support would
have weighed heavily one way or another, but he kept his cards close to his
vest, until he felt confident he could make a play and obtain power for
himself. Ibn Abbas makes some
foretelling comments to Ali about him as well...
“Because you know that Muawiyah and
his allies are men of the world,” replied Ibn Abbas, “and should you confirm
their posts they wouldn’t care who had the overall command. ... But Ali ignored his advice and said to Ibn Abbas, “Go
to Syria! I’ve appointed you its
governor.” “This isn’t the right
decision,” replied Ibn Abbas. “Muawiyah is a man of the Banu Umayyah.
He is the son of Uthman’s father’s brother and the governor of Syria. I won’t
be safe from his breaking my neck for Uthman. Or else the least he will
do is throw me in jail and pass sentence on me.” “Why?” Ali asked him. “Because
you and I are related,” he said, “and because everything imputed to you is
imputed to me also.” ...(page 22).
Ali started to panic, realizing that
many of the Companions, who disliked him, would hold him directly responsible
for Uthman’s murder. Now he sought to
lay blame on others to take the focus off himself.
“Ali then said, “I’m sure they’ll never
refrain from coming out and saying, “We seek repayment for Uthman’s
blood.” By Allah! We know that they [Talha and al-Zubayr] are the ones who killed Uthman.” (page 23).
And Ali instinctively knew that
Muawiyah would rebel against him, so, with regards for him, Ali said to Ibn
Abbas,
“By Allah! no. I will give him
[Muawiyah] nothing but the sword.”
(page 24).
The stage was slowly being set, all of
the key players have been introduced ... save one. Intrigue continued amongst Ali’s supporters. Some gave allegiance, some withdrew it. There were factions within factions. Meanwhile, the people’s demand for justice
grew louder. Someone had to pay for the
terrible crime perpetrated upon Islam’s Caliph. While he ruled, Uthman was very unpopular, but in death, people
screamed for his justice. These early
Muslims were ever so fickle.
Ali sought to establish his support
base knowing that soon he would be fighting a war with Muawiyah. But many of the people who he needed most
rose against him, ostensibly because they wanted justice for Uthman’s
murder. They saw Ali as one who either
had a hand in the murder, or, as one who refused to punish the murderers. Either way, many were now turning against
Ali. Though he still maintained a
strong support base it began to weaken because other prominent Muslims spoke
against Ali.
The chess pieces continued to be
positioned. Talha and al-Zubayr were allowed
to leave Medina and went their own way.
Instead of maintaining any semblance of loyalty towards Ali, they gathered their followers and turned against
him. Additionally, Muawiyah sent word
to Ali that he was rebelling against his rule.
At this time however, Ali only knew of
Muawiyah’s open rebellion against him, and thus began to gather his forces to
attack and dispose of Muawiyah.
Suddenly, bad news was again on his doorstep!...
As they were
thus engaged, news suddenly arrived that the Meccans were going in a completely
different direction. So Ali stood up
among them to address them on the subject and said... “Talhah and al-Zubayr and
the Mother of the Faithful [Aisha] have
certainly joined together in discontent with my rule and have called on the
people to set things right… (page 34).
Things had gone from bad to worse for Ali, and more bad news
followed! Ibn Umar, (Umar’s son), a
very popular and respected Muslim had also gone to join Muawiyah!
But, the topping on the cake was that
Aisha, the most beloved and respected female in Islam, had now moved against
Ali. Previously she had left Medina,
ostensibly to perform the pilgrimage, but in reality she knew bad things were
going to occur in Medina and she did not want to be around when the blood was
shed. Now, out of harms way for bearing
any blame, she spoke out against those that perpetrated the murder. She gave a passionate speech in Mecca,
heating the desert blood within the Muslim’s hearts. She cried for justice and vengeance. Implicitly, she implicated Ali in Uthman’s murder, and the people
knew that fighting for justice would be fighting against Ali.
Aisha had been no real lover of
Uthman. During Uthman’s reign, she also
spoke against him, in fact she was in favor of killing him...
Umm Kilab said to her [Aisha],
‘How is that? By Allah! You were the first to incline the blade
against Uthman and were saying “Kill Na’thal, for he had become a disbeliever.”
(pages 52, 53). [Na’thal was an insulting nickname for Uthman, it means
“hyena”].
So Aisha, a calculating opportunist,
used this opportunity to move against Ali.
She had always carried a grudge against Ali for his allegations of
adultery against her early in her marriage with Muhammad. As a result of Aisha’s provocations, the
strong tribal clan of the Umayyads of Mecca rose in her support against
Ali. Talha, Zubayr, and additional
clans followed suit. They realized that
they would need more military support if they were to succeed in defeating
Ali...
“Mother of the Faithful, leave Medina
alone. Those with us aren’t sufficient
for that mob there [in Medina]. Accompany us to Basrah. We will arrive at a city now lost to
us. They will produce their allegiance
to Ali as an argument against us, but you will mobilize them, just as you did
with the Meccans... (page 41).
“Let’s go to Ali and fight him,” they
said. “We don’t have the strength to
fight the people of Medina,” one of them replied. “Let us rather go and enter Basrah and Kufah. Talha has a following and popularity in
Kufah and Zubayr ahs popularity and support in Basrah.” (page 43).
Finally, the
stage was set, the players took their places on the chessboard of Islamic
history. Ali marched towards Basrah and
Aisha and her followers gathered their strength to meet him. Their armies now numbered in the thousands.
There are various accounts of how the
actual battle came about. Some detail
that Ali, Talha, and Zubayr met and decided to make peace, instead of fighting,
but subversive or disobedient elements within the armies started to fight
anyway. Other accounts have them
meeting and accusing each other of murdering Uthman and so on.
In any event, the battle started, and
it was fierce. Neither side yielded
much ground. Aisha went through her troops rallying them onward. Ali’s men fought like lions. The men on both sides were fierce, brave
warriors. They did not fear death that
day. Eventually, the battle focused on
Aisha. She was mounted in her howdah on
her camel, encouraging her troops during the fight. Ali’s men moved against her, and her men defended her. Slowly Ali’s men gained ground and killed
their opponents. Eventually, Aisha’s
howdah was riddled with arrows, had one penetrated, it could have killed “The
Mother of the Faithful.” Finally, they
hamstrung Aisha’s camel; her followers were defeated. During the course of the battle both Zubayr and Talha were
killed.
The various accounts of the casualty
count were very high…
Those killed at the Battle of the Camel
around the camel numbered 10,000, half from Ali’s followers, and half from
Aisha’s. …. It was said that in the first battle 5000 Basrans were killed and
a further 5000 in the second battle [there was a pause during the battle], totaling 10,000 Basran fatalities
and 5,000 Kufans. (page 164).
Broken and
defeated, Aisha yielded to Ali. He
treated her with respect and sent her back to Medina, essentially under house
arrest, and made provision for her needs.
Men that mocked her were punished.
Ali forgave her.
One interesting
anecdote came out of this affair. Ali
made Muhammad b. Abi Bakr his governor of Egypt (ref. pages 184, 187).
Muhammad b. Abi Bakr was one of Uthman’s murderers. It seems that not all those that committed
the murder were punished properly. Some
suspect Ali truly did have a hand in the matter. Obviously, Uthman’s murder was a pretext for carnal aggression of
one Muslim against another.
Now that the Battle of the Camel was
over, more bloodshed lay in store for Ali.
The worst was yet to come...
Jarir Abdallah
then came to Ali and told him what Muawiyah was doing and how the Syrians had
agreed with him to fight Ali. He told
him how they were weeping over Uthman and saying that Ali had killed him and
was sheltering Uthman’s killers, and how they would not stop until he had
killed them or they had killed him.
(page 197).
SUMMARY
Sahih
Bukhari 5.709
Narrated
Abu Bakra:
During
the days (of the battle) of Al-Jamal, Allah benefited me with a word I had
heard from Allah's Apostle after I had been about to join the Companions of
Al-Jamal (i.e. the camel) and fight along with them. When Allah's Apostle was
informed that the Persians had crowned the daughter of Khosrau as their ruler,
he said, "Such people as ruled by a lady will never be successful."
Uthman was murdered and various
prominent Muslims used that as a pretext for power grabs or personal
revenge. These prominent Muslims, i.e.
Islam’s Royal Family, lied to and about each other, denigrated each other,
betrayed each other, and finally killed each other. Ali’s forces proved to be the stronger and Ali was left as the
ruler in that region of the Islamic empire.
Two prominent Muslims died, Talha and Zubayr, these were some of the
oldest, and most beloved of Muhammad’s Companions. Like Uthman, they died by the hands of other Muslims. At least 10,000 and maybe up to 20,000 Muslims died that
day, following their vain leaders in supposedly doing Allah’s will.
DISCUSSION
It was a small thing for the Muslim
leaders to offer these human sacrifices to their lust of power and
revenge. The whole thing was never
about Uthman’s murder. All of these
players wanted power, all of them carried grudges for one reason or
another. They made and broke alliances
based upon their personal desires and situational ethics, not upon a code of
justice or righteousness.
Look at the fruit of Islam at this
point in time. Blood was flowing like a
river through a dry desert. The leaders
of the Islamic community, Muhammad’s closest friends and family, were the
perpetrators of this horror. Instead of
leading, guiding, and strengthening the flock of Muslims under their care, they
offered them as human sacrifices on the altars of their egos. The “Mother of Believers” was killing her
children.
This “Royal Family” broke Muhammad’s
commands and murdered each other! They
knew the Quran, they knew Muhammad.
Yet, the lusts deep within their soul, the destructive seeds of real
Islam, bore fruit, and thousands died.
The shepherds of the flock were now killing their sheep.
Don’t you think that somewhere,
somehow, these leading Muslims would have realized what they were doing and
actually stopped, long before it got out of hand? If Islam is truly from God, if it has any true spiritual value,
shouldn’t these Muslims who knew Muhammad and his Quran best, have done what
Muhammad actually taught and obeyed Allah and His Apostle? Instead, within one generation of Muhammad’s
death, his teachings were cast off, his limits broken, and thousands died. The Satanic appetite for blood, tasting the
lives of the many people Muhammad murdered, having a second course on the
thousands of non-Muslims killed by the later Islamic jihads, tasted a sweeter
blood — that of Uthman. Now it craved
more Islamic blood as well, and it dined heartily at the Battle of the
Camel. It was not finished yet, no not
by a long shot. Islam’s seeds were
planted deep within many a heart, and, a greater Satanic feast was soon to
follow.
1) The Bible, New International Version, pub. by Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan
2) The Nobel Quran, translated by Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, published by Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, PO Box 21441, Riyadh 11475, Saudi Arabia, 1994
3) Bukhari, Muhammad, “Sahih Bukhari”, Kitab Bhavan, New Delhi, India, 1987, translated by M. Khan
4) al-Tabari, "The History of al-Tabari", (Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'l-muluk), State University of New York Press 1993
Articles by Silas
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