THE SITUATION BETWEEN ‘ ALI AND MU’AWIYAH FLARES UP
Ali sent a messenger to Mu’awiyah asking him to pledge allegiance. Mu’awiyah, however, turned back the messenger with no answer. Later, during the month of Safar – i.e. two months after the assassination of ‘Uthmaan – Mu’awiyah sent a message to ‘Ali in which he wrote “From Mu’awiyah to ‘Ali”. This is a phrase that meant that Mu’awiyah did not recognize ‘Ali as a caliph, nor did he pledge allegiance to him. ‘ Ali asked the messenger about the truth of the matter. The messenger replied: “I left behind me people who would settle for nothing less than punishment ” The messenger also told Ali that fifty thousand sheikhs of Syria were bemoaning the death of ‘Uthmaan and were determined to fight until the assassins were handed over to them. ‘Ali replied, “O Allah! You know it well that I am free from any charge of ‘ Uthmaan*s assassination. I swear by Allah that the assassins have escaped. “
In his book, A l-Mi la l wan Nihal, Ibn Hazm points out that Mu’awiyah never doubted ‘Ali’s virtue or the fact that he did merit the caliphate. However, he was of the view that chastisement of the assassins should have taken precedence over the pledge of allegiance. He also saw that he had more right than anyone else to demand that vengeance be taken on them. Therefore, Mu’awiyah held punishing the perpetrators as a prerequisite to pledging allegiance to ‘Ali, although he was well aware of the fact that the caliph would not be able to do so at that point. The reason was because the perpetrators belonged to the tribes that basically constituted the majority of ‘Ali’s followers and soldiers. Mu’awiyah is even reported to have sent ‘ Ali a message in which he outspokenly accused him of granting refuge to ‘ Uthmaan’s assassins, being his escort, supporters and followers. It, therefore, becomes evident that Mu’awiyah’s obstinate demand can only mean one thing: that Mu’awiyah insisted on rejecting the pledge of allegiance that all Muslims, with the exception of Mu’awiyah and people of Syria, paid ‘ Ali.
It is only natural that the caliph would realize the necessity of having people of Syria join Muslims in pledging allegiance, even if that would require fighting them for it. After much mulling over and deliberation, that was precisely what ‘Ali, backed by most of his men, decided to do. He therefore prepared to head for Syria so as to fight those rebels and to preserve the unity of the nation. However, unexpected tidings from Makkah forced him to change his plans and postpone the march to Syria.
(Source: Biographies of the Rightly Guided Caliphs )
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