They pointed to the conduct and the utterances of the...

They pointed to the conduct and the utterances of the Prophet which appeared to them as giving undue preference to `Ali, they criticised the conduct of the Prophet when he confided his secrets to `Ali at an exclusive meeting with him, 7 their mur- murings amounted almost to open revolt when the Prophet passed a general order requiring all the companions whose houses opened into the mosque, except `Ali to close their doors.

These were thus shut out of the mosque, and the exception was galling to them.8 The members of this clique took a great advantage of this event to spread disaffection among the companions and to secure adherents to their cause. They went to the extent of expressly disobeying the commands of the Prophet which seemed to them as creating opportunities for the smooth succession of `Ali. They did not hesitate to plan the death of the Prophet.

They could not con ceal their chagrin, and bitterly criticised his last speech at Ghadir Khumm holding up `Ali to the sight of a huge gathering as his successor. The Prophet himself was aware of the existence of this very powerful faction among his compan- ions. The Qur'anic verse hints at the existence of a party to whom the succession of `Ali was distasteful, and for that reason they were prepared to go to the extent of causing harm to the Prophet.

iii) The attempts of this party to foil the efforts of the Prophet that were intended to provide means for the peaceful succession of `Ali. Clear instances of these attempts are recorded in History. During his last illness, the Prophet thought that `Ali might succeed peace- fully if these ambitious members and leaders of this party were out of Medina at the time of his death.

He, therefore, ordered all his compan- ions except `Ali and Banu Hashim to go out and join the army under Usamah ibn Zayd that was to invade the Roman territory to avenge the defeat and death of Zayd, father of Usamah. It appears that this punitive expedition had been postponed for this occasion intentionally. The leaders of the opposite party were shrewd enough to realise the significance of this expedi- tion at this juncture, and refused to go.

The Prophet continued urging the need of immediate march, but they kept evading the orders.