rightful heir to Ali and so to Muhammad. He had given
up the leadership of the empire, but the far more
important authority of spiritual power was indisputably
his. Hasan, they would say, had placed his faith not in
worldly power but in faith itself. Though there were also
those who would say that the money certainly helped.
There is no ɹrm record of how much he was given
from the Iraqi treasury. There never is in such
situations. Some say it was ɹve million silver dirhams,
enough for him to return to Medina a wealthy man. But
Hussein was to be proved right in warning his brother
against Muawiya. Hasan would not have long to enjoy
his newfound wealth.
Muawiya, now the undisputed ɹfth Caliph, entered
Kufa with all due pomp and circumstance. He gave the
Kufans three days to swear allegiance to him, and did
not need to spell out what would happen if they refused.
Swear they did on the ɹrst day, and with loud
enthusiasm.
If their hearts were not his, their self-interest
deɹnitely was. And if some would accuse them of being
ɹckle, others would say they were pragmatic. Here at
last was the “strongman” they had been yearning for.
For all Ali’s talk of unity, Muawiya was the one who
could actually achieve it—not by the power of faith and
principle, as Ali had hoped, but by far more down-to-