None returning the next day...

None returning the next day, Ali became impatient and at length himself entering the town harangued the people to go forth with him to the Syrian expedition, but no response was forthcoming and nobody came forward. The Caliph was disappointed and at last the project for the expedition had to be abandoned, never to be resumed. The period of Ali's Caliphate was one of continued struggles. He was never left to live in peace.

The revolt of Ayesha, Talha and Zubeir; the rebellion and treacherous outrages of Moawiya and Amr b. Aas; the risings of the Kharijite fanatics; the lukewarmness and apathy of his own people; the unfaithfulness of his, cousin Abdallah b. Abbas, and last of all, the defection of his own brother LWl affected his spirits a…