THE FINAL PHASE OF ‘ ALI’S CALIPHATE
Though the caliphate of ‘Ali was soaked in problems and wars, the period following Al-Nahrawaan battle was without a doubt one of the worst and certainly most complicated ever. It became crystal clear that ‘Ali’s rule was drawing to an end. In the meantime, his opponent.
Mu’ awiyah, was making the best use of the fact that people of Syria were rallied round him and supported him wholeheartedly. Further, he was delighted to watch the gap grow wider between ‘Ali and his supporters. Mu’awiyah hence cashed in on the situation seizing many of the provinces that were subject to ‘Ali’s rule such as Egypt, Hijaz and Yemen. This, by necessity, dwarfed the power of the caliph compared to Mu’awiyah’s ever growing power and far- stretching hegemony.
The reason why tilings took that turn was because ‘ Ali never headed for Syria to deal with Mu’ awiyah. He was sadly let down by his men who were reluctant to go to war behind him and who even sneaked out of his camp in Kufah. ‘ Ali was therefore devastated at his soldiers’ attitude. Worse still, they simply watched Mu’awiyah launch attacks on the provinces that were subject to ‘ Ali’ s rule until he was only left with Iraq and Persia. ‘ Ali’s men never lifted a finger to defend their caliph. That way, it becomes obvious that ‘ Ali’s men were largely responsible for his failing to face Mu’awiyah. Conversely, Mu’awiyah’s men were all at his beck and call. ‘ Ali wished he would trade ten of his men for one of Mu’awiyah’s.
Just as ‘Ali was placed in a tight corner, so was Mu’awiyah. The Romans, seizing the opportunity of the civil strife among Muslims, attempted to assault the northern borders of the Muslim state in northern Syria. For a while, Mu’awiyah used to make peace with them in return for money. However, they were still a thorn in his side. It was in the year 40 AH that Mu’awiyah sent a message to ‘ Ali asking him to bring the warfare between the two of them to an end. He proposed that ‘ Ali should keep Iraq, while he should keep Syria, and that neither should launch attacks on the other. ‘ Ali accepted his proposal and they made peace.
(Source: Biographies of the Rightly Guided Caliphs )
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