THE AFTERMATH OF AL-JAMAL BATTLE
Despite the rough start that ‘Ali’s caliphate witnessed, things were soon to be back under control. He managed to hold sway over the whole of the Islamic state, with the exception of Syria, whose people chose to follow Mu’awiyah in his refusal to pledge allegiance to the caliph.
Apart from that, the Commander of the Faithful took three significant administrative decisions for purposes of organizing the internal affairs of the state and tightening his grip on it. Moreover, ‘ Ali was well aware that an encounter between him and his lurking opponent, Mu’awiyah, was inevitable. He therefore saw the need to prepare for it.
His first decision was to change the capital of the Islamic state. ‘ Ali realized that being the capital, Medinah was subject to unpredictable turbulences that were to violate its sanctity. Instead, he saw in Kufa prospects of a better capital for Muslims on account of a number of reasons. On one hand, most of ‘Ali’s supporters were in Iraq. On the other hand, Kufa was closer to Syria where he expected an impending collision to take place between him and the rebels who would not pledge loyalty to him.
Secondly, ‘Ali decided to appoint ‘Abdullaah Ibn ‘Abbas as governor of Basrah. He also appointed Ziyaad Ibn Abi Suyan, Mu’awiyah’s half brother, to be in charge of the Kharaj. This was certainly a wise step on the part of the new caliph. Basrah was a highly strategic city both from the political and military perspectives. It therefore called for a man of knowledge and perception such as ‘Abdullaah Ibn ‘Abbas to be at its helm. It was also a praiseworthy idea to appoint as his assistant Ziyaad Ibn Abi Suyan, one of the area’s matchless mentalities.
The Commander of the Faithful’s third decision had to do with Egypt. Since Egypt was conquered at the hands of ‘Amr Ibn Al-‘As, Muslim caliphs were fully aware of its vitally strategic importance. He appointed Qays Ibn Sa’d Ibn ‘Ubadah Al-Ansari, one of the wisest, most perceptive men, as its governor.
(Source: Biographies of the Rightly Guided Caliphs )
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