I have left 60...

I have left 60,000 old men weeping under Uthman's shirt, spread for them on thc pulpit of Damascus Mosque, with the fingers of his wife, Na'ilah, hung on it." Imam Ali (a.s.) said: "Do they want Uthman's blood from me [Do they accuse me of his murder]? Allah knows I am innocent of Uthman's blood..."(139) He then ordered the envoy to leave, secured in his passage. Afterwards, Imam Ali (a.s.) began gathering his army to counter plans laid by Mu'awiyah in al-Sham.

Background of Avenging Uthman: Before going any further, it is perhaps better to establish whether the parties in Al -Sham and Basrah were truthful in their demand of avenging thc third caliph. This question, which imposes itself on both the writer and the reader, can be answered by referring to the attitudes of those parties during the period of the revolt which led to the murder of Uthman. Mu'awiyah knew the details of what was happening against the caliph in Madinah.

The caliph, himself, was sieged by the people and asked for Mu'awiyah's help who actually did not help him, but sent an army instead, headed by Yazid bin Asad al- Qasri, whom he ordered: "When you reach Dhi Khushub--a region outside Madinah--stay there and do not leave it. Do not say that the present see what the absent cannot see. It is I who am present, and it is you who are absent."(140) Al-Qasri stayed where Mu'awiyah had told him.

When Uthman was killed, Mu'awiyah summoned the army back to al-Sham. This shows Mu'awiyah's attitude towards Uthman bin Affan during the latter's rule. So, his brandishing of the banner of avenging the murder of the caliph was but a means merely to stir up the sympathy of the people and to muster supporters.

His real motive lay in his disapproval of Imam Ali's (a.s.) reformative policy which injured the interests of the social elite in one way or the other, particularly the wealth, power and authority that Mu'awiyah had gained during the reign of Uthman and his own desire for the caliphate.

On the other hand, Imam Ali (a.s.) announced his attitude toward the caliph's murder, saying: "...By Allah, the murderers of Uthman would not have escaped if Allah had not willed it, as when He wills something, He will attain it."(141) His attitude further set out his position through a letter he sent to Mu'awiyah, in which he said: "...You have said so much about the murderers of Caliph Uthman. Join the people in what they did [allegiance].