ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books An Introduction To the Political Upheaval At Medina A. Direct Evidence i) As soon as the Islamic movement entered its first stage of expansion, meeting and defeat- ing the rival forces in the open field, it became clear to all thinking persons that an Islamic State was in the making.

This idea grew in strength with time, and took possession of the mind of ambitious spirits; ii) The utterances of the Prophet and his conduct combined with the outstanding person- ality of `Ali and his services in the cause of Islam particularly his feats in the field of battle had not left any doubt that he had been marked out by the Prophet as his successor in the spiritual and temporal office.

There was another party which, as `Umar ibn al-Khattab rightly said 6 was bitterly opposed to this combination of nubuwwah (prophecy) and khilafah in one family, as they were averse to the rise, over other tribes, of one family, which looked to them un-precendented and intolerable. This combined with the ambitious rivalry and jealousy of some and the personal hatred against `Ali of others whose.

relatives he had killed in the battles of Islam and who did not like his extreme zeal in the cause of Islam gave rise to a very noisy and powerful party against the house of the Prophet as represented by `Ali.

There was a third party of rich and i nfluential people who expected, as their birth right, a preferential treatment at the hands of the Caliph, and who rightly surmised that `Ali was not the proper person in this respect, as he would never sacrifice his principles of justice and equity for their sake, in fact, for any one's sake. Naturally enough, this party wanted a pliant ruler who should pander to their wishes, and treat them as privileged people superior to the common run of men.

All these factors joined together to give birth to a very powerful faction against `Ali; they had their own designs on the throne. Though open opposition to the Prophet was impossible during his life, yet they were not entirely inactive even then. They tried secretly to secure adherents to their cause by taking advantage of every event that took place.