ভূমিকা

(Qur’an, Sura al-Hujurat, 49:9) The Commander of the Faithful (‘a) rose during his caliphate to defend the sanctity of the Shari’a and to attract the nation's attention to wake up from its slumber of ignorance. It was mandatory on people to obey him because he was the rightful Imam obedience to whom was mandatory. The majority of the Muslims recognized and swore the oath of allegiance to the Commander of the Faithful, Imam ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib (‘a).

They decided that fighting those who rebelled against him was the right thing to do as testified by their statements which are recorded in their books, statements which serve as testimonials to their call, a call supported by reason and documented facts. [Imam] Abu Hanifa, for example, says, “Whenever [Imam] ‘Ali fought anyone, right was on his side. Had ‘Ali (‘a) not fought them, nobody among the Muslims would have learned how to deal with them!

There is no doubt, moreover, that ‘Ali (‘a) fought Talhah [Ibn ‘Abdullah] and al-Zubayr [Ibn al-’Awwam] after the latter had sworn the oath of allegiance then reneged therefrom. And during the Battle of the Camel, ‘Ali (‘a) dealt with them with equity, the most learned man among the Muslims that he was, so it became a Sunnah to fight the people who promote oppression.”[^1] His student, Muhammad Ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani (who died in 187 A.H/803 A.D.), followed in his footsteps.