5. Caliphate to Death
Duringhiscaliphateofnearlyfouryearsandninemonths(35AHto 40
AH),‘Alī followed the way of the Prophet andgave his caliphate the
form of a spiritual movement and renewal, andbegan many different
typesofreforms.Heforcedtheresignationofalltheincompetentpolitic-
alelementswhohadahandindirectingaffairsandbeganamajortrans-
formation of a “revolutionary” nature. Naturally, these reforms were
againsttheinterestsofcertainpartiesthathadbecomeusedtothepriv-
ilegesduringthepreviouscaliphatesandsoughttheirownbenefit.Asa
result,agroupofthecompanions(foremostamongwhomwereTalhah
and Zubayr, who also gained the support of ‘Āishah, and especially
Mu’awiyah)madeapretextofthedeathofthethirdcaliphtoraisetheir
heads in opposition and began to revolt and rebel against ‘Alī.
Inorder to quellthe civil strife and sedition,‘Alī fought awar near
BasraagainstTalhahandZubayrinwhich ‘Āishah,“themotherof the
believers”wasalsoinvolved.Actuallythisbattleisknowninhistoryas
the “Battle of the Camel” after the camel on which ‘Āishah was riding.
Imam‘AlīfoughtanotherwaragainstMu’awiyahbinAbiSufyān on
the borderof Iraq andSyria whichlasted fora year anda halfandis
famous as the “Battle of Siffin.” He also fought against the
Khawārij[42]at Nahrawan, in a battle known as the “Battle of
Nahrawan.”
Therefore,mostofthedaysof‘Alī’scaliphatewerespentinovercom-
ing internal opposition. And soit is a sign of ‘Alī’s excellence that in
spiteof suchgreatproblems duringhis shortcaliphate,hehas leftbe-
hindavastandrichlegacyinformofsayings,letters,circularsandde-
cisions on the political system of Islam.
Finally,inthe morningofthe 19thof Ramadhaninthe year 40 A.H.,
whilepraying in the mosque of Kufa,he waswoundedby one of the
Khawārij and died as a martyr during the night of the 21st.