We have also concluded that the fracture of the unity Of the...

We have also concluded that the fracture of the unity Of the nation and the crises which took place in the first century of the Islamic era was a natural result of the refusal of the Muslims to follow the directive of the Messenger concerning the caliphate. Had ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib come to power after the death of the Holy Prophet the war of Basra the war of Siffin and the war of Al-Nahrawan could not have taken place.

The war of Al-Nahrawan was a product of the war of Siffin and the wars of Siffin and Basra were the products of the violent death of Uthman. Had ‘Ali been the First Caliph Uthman would not have become a caliph and would not have been killed. Had these three wars not taken place the Righteous Caliphate would not have ended so fast.

Should ‘Ali have been the First Caliph the Umayyads could not have mustered enough power to enable them to bring the Righteous Caliphate to an end and replace it with a despotic rule which was rotated among them for about ninety years. Nor could the Umayyads have been able to annihilate the members of the House of the Holy Prophet in the massacre of Karbala.

Furthermore the Righteous Caliphate could have continued for a long time until the principles of Islam became deeply rooted in the Muslims society. Had ‘Ali been the First Caliph after the Holy Prophet the Muslims would not have been divided into Sunnite and Shi’ites because Sunnism and Shi’asm are the products of the controversy of whether the Holy Prophet chose ‘Ali for the leadership or left the matter to the Muslims to choose for themselves.

With ‘Ali in power after the death of the Holy Prophet the Muslims would not have been divided over the caliphate because there is no Muslim School which claims that the Messenger appointed Abu Bakr or any companion other than ‘Ali lead the nation. However these conclusions which our research had led us to do not mean that we say that the Three Caliphs and the rest of the companions had deliberately violated the commandment of the Messenger of God after he declared ‘Ali's leadership.

Nay we ought to think that these people were too pious to deliberately oppose the commandment of God and His Messenger in matters which concern their religion. These righteous people thought that the leadership of the nation is of their worldly affairs. They thought that they had the right to choose for themselves a leader other than the one whom the Holy Prophet chose for conducting their worldly affairs.