But Umar presumed that they would...

But Umar presumed that they would, and on grounds of this presumption, restricted their freedom of movement. Ali did not detain Talha and Zubayr in Medina on grounds of his presumption that they nursed treason in their hearts against the state, which both of them did. A few months later, Ayesha, Talha and Zubayr, rose in rebellion against Ali, and marched on Basra. But Ali still did not use any “strong-arm” methods to bring them into line.

He had to take up their challenge but he preferred to do so without using his powers of state. In the first place, Ali did not conscript anyone. He went into the Great Mosque of Medina, and told the Muslims about the insurrection of Ayesha, Talha and Zubayr. He appealed to them to support him in maintaining peace in Dar-ul-Islam, and in protecting the integrity of the state. He also reminded them that they had given him their pledge to obey him in peace and in war. But there was no answer.

He renewed his appeal on the second day and the third and the fourth. After many days, only seven hundred men responded to Ali's appeal, and it was with this tiny force that he left Medina. At no time did he try to dragoon anyone into his army. All those men who fought on his side were volunteers. In the second place, Ali gave amnesty to the citizens of Basra though they had merited the penalty for treason. He, in fact, did not even make them prisoners when they were defeated in battle.

He thus allowed his friends as well as his foes to enjoy the blessing of freedom. Ali's refusal to arrest those men in Medina who did not give him their pledge of loyalty, his permission to Talha and to Zubayr to leave Medina, and his amnesty to the rebels of Basra, are an eloquent testimony to his resolve to uphold the ideals of freedom and liberty.

Ali proved that in the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, freedom and liberty were not some remote and shadowy ideals to be cherished by the Muslims but were their right, and that they were not to live like prisoners in any sense of the term. Curtailed freedom is incompatible with the privilege of citizenship of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever was admitted to the Kingdom of Heaven was emancipated; he became free and remained free.

When Ali took charge of the government, the Muslim umma was in a state of anomie. Its ruling classes had reached a state of undreamed-of affluence, and the ultimate arrogance of power.