ALI, MAY ALLAH BE PLEASED WITH HIM, TAKES OVER
As soon as ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was made caliph, he delivered a keynote address which conditions then desperately called for. ‘Ali started off by reminding Muslims of the Glorious Qur’an which Allah revealed to guide man to the right path. He next called on them to do good and forsake evil. He also told them to fulfill Allah’s Obligations and to preserve His sanctities, on top of which is the sanctity of a Muslim’s life. ‘Ali hence publicly declared his views regarding any act of aggression against a Muslim, be he a caliph or otherwise. In his address, he also highlighted points of strength in the Muslim nation and urged them to strive for the Sake of Almighty Allah, fear Him and abide by His Commands so as to win His handsome reward.
Revenge
Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, immediately fell to undertaking the responsibilities of his new post. At that point, he had to take care of two very urgent, not to mention thorny, issues. The first was punishing the assassins of his predecessor, ‘Uthmaan Ibn Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him, who were still freemen on the loose, and who were also confident that the new caliph would never even think of taking action against them, since they were the single major military power on the scene. However, almost every single person who did not take part in the revolt against ‘ Uthmaan demanded that the new caliph immediately adopt a firm stand against the sinful insurgents.
Talhah and Az-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with both of them, along with other Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, walked in on ‘ Ali and said: “We demand that vengeance be taken on the assassins. Those men took the liberty of shedding that man’s blood.” “Fellow brothers,” ‘Ali answered, “1 am well-aware of that. But how do I handle people who have control over us, whereas we have none over them? You saw how your servants revolted with them and your Bedouins declared loyalty to them. They can do with us whatever they please. Do you think we are in a position to do that which you ask for?” “No,” they returned. ‘Ali then rejoined, “I swear by Allah, I will not do but that which you agree to. Let us wait till people calm down, the fury in their hearts abates, and each retrieves his right. So leave me now, and see which way things will go then come back to me.”
It, therefore, becomes clear that ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was of the view that they should wait till he managed to have a firmer grip on matters, and be in full control of the situation. ‘Ali realized his power had to surpass that of the insurgents in order for vengeance to be taken properly. The elite of the Muslims had no choice but to agree and wait impatiently.
(Source: Biographies of the Rightly Guided Caliphs )
Comments
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.