The differences since the time of Abubakr continued to...

The differences since the time of Abubakr continued to increase till they culminated in the murder of Husain and made the breach final." Ali's Claim to the Caliphate Ali's claim to the Caliphate was not regarded by his friends and supporters as arising from political aspirations, but as derived from God. The Divine Spirit which dwells ________________________ 1 Kalimatul Haq page 904 of Hamid Bin Shabbir.

in every prophet and passes successively from one to another was transferred at Muhammad's death to Ali, and from Ali to his descendants who succeeded him in the Imamate. There is no doubt whatsoever that the Holy Prophet had on various occasions brought to the notice of his followers that Hazrat Ali was to be his immediate Successor.

The merits of Ali and the language of the Holy Prophet in his favour had roused the envy of his contemporaries which is summed up in the words of Ahmed-ibn-Hanbal : "There hath not come down to us regarding the merits of any of the companions of the Apostle of God what hath been transmitted concerning Ali. At times they are represented as so outstanding that it was for this reason that the Bani Umayyah were jealous of him and came to hate him.

That he did have the special confidence of Muhammad is acknowledged by all. His friends remembered that even his boyhood had been spent with the Prophet, whom he never deserted. He was one of the earliest believers, perhaps the first after the Prophet's wife, Khadijah.

They recalled that at the time of the expedition to Tabuk, when the Prophet had asked him to remain behind in Medina, he said to him, 'Is it not fitting that you should be in the same relation to me as Aaron was to Moses?" In the words of Gibbon "The birth, the alliance, the character of Ali, which exalted him above the rest of his countrymen, might justify his claim to the vacant throne of Arabia.

The son of Abu Talib was, in his own right, the chief of the family of Hashim, and the hereditary prince or guardian of the city and temple of Mecca. The light of prophecy was extinct, but the husband of Fatima might expect the inheritance and blessing of her father: the Arabs had sometimes been patient of a female reign; and the two grandsons of the Prophet had often been fondled in his lap and shown in his pulpit, as the hope of his age, and the chief of the youth of paradise.