Kinds of Enmity

The enmity towards Imam 'Ali (A.S.), whatever were the reasons behind it, manifested itself in different ways. The injustice done to him, whether during the 25-year rule of the three caliphs or whether in his own brief four-and-a-half year period of caliphate, was of the same magnitude. However, this enmity took different forms and could be broadly divided as follows:

Suppression of Social Rights

In the time of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) whatever attempts that were made to vilify Imam 'Ali (A.S.) were discouraged by the Prophet and rarely burst out into open enmity. It was after the passing away of the Prophet that the usurpation of his rights began. The Imam says in this regard:
"By Allah I have been continually deprived of my right from the day the Prophet (S.A.W.) passed away till today.50
This violation and usurpation of his rights and authority was the result of the dangerous mixing of truth with falsehood to the extent that it was difficult to ascertain what was right and what was wrong. When the Prophet was alive, truth was evident and could not be tampered with by anybody. But after his passing away, falsehood by donning the robe of truth raised its head in the society to spread hypocrisy and pretensions all around. Truth was thus sacrificed on the altar of these evils. The Imam says in this regard:
The basis of the occurrence of evils is those desires, which are acted upon, and the orders that are innovated. They are against the Book of Allah. People cooperate with each other concerning them even though it is against the Religion of Allah. If wrong had been pure and unmixed with right it would have not be hidden from those who are in search of truth. And if right had been pure without admixture of wrong those who bear hatred towards it would have been silenced. What is, however, done is that something is taken from here and something from there and the two are mixed. At this stage Satan overpowers his friends, and only those for whom virtue has been apportioned by Allah from before, achieve salvation.51
Satan thus stepped into the Muslim society and Imam 'Ali (A.S.), whose rights were usurped, confined himself to his home. This behaviour with the Prophet's heir was not a spontaneous and sudden occurrence but was the outcome of a long-hatched plan. The first caliph was well aware that Imam 'Ali's (A.S.) position in relation to the caliphate was like that of the axis to the hand mill, but he chose to deprive him. On several occasions Abu Bakr acknowledged that Imam 'Ali (A.S.) was the right person for the caliphate but he passed it on to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, who in turn resorted to a deceit to make 'Uthman his successor. "52
The opposition and enmity towards Imam 'Ali (A.S.)was intended to belittle and undermine him as is evident by his inclusion against his wish in the 6-man shura (consultative council) that was set up by 'Umar on his deathbed to determine the next caliph. The Imam refers to this injustice with a heavy heart in the sermon, which is known as Shishiqiyyah:
But good heavens! What I had to do with this shura". Where was any doubt about me with regard to the first of them that I was now considered akin to these ones. But (with reluctance) I remained low when they were low and flew high when they flew high.."53
After 'Uthman when the Imam had to accept the caliphate because of the people's demand54 and the chaotic conditions that the three previous rulers had created in the Muslim society, the enemies came out into open opposition to him. A party of them: broke the pledge they had sworn to him, while a second group started throwing obstacles in his way and another resorted to various other ways to undermine his rule.

B. Vilification

Another form of enmity, which the vile enemies of the Imam practiced, was character assassination of the person who embodied; the ultimate truth after the Prophet. As part of their vain attempts to' distort his image they resorted to lies and allegations, which could be summed up as follows:

Attributing Lies

Enmity, it is said, often blinds the vision. Since the clouded minds of the enemies were unable to comprehend the wisdom and high eloquence of the words of Imam 'Ali (A.S.), they accused him of - God forbid- telling lies. The Imam says in this regard:
I have come to know that you say Ali speaks lie. Allah may ruin you. Against whom do I speak lie? Whether against Allah? But I am the first to believe in him. Whether against His Prophet (S.A.W.)? But I am the first to testify him (his Prophethood). Certainly not. By Allah it was a way of expression which you failed to appreciate and you were not capable of (comprehending) it. Woe to you.56
This shows the great intellectual gap between the Imam and his enemies. This uncouth and uncultured lot could not or did not want to understand that whatever the man whose veracity the holy Qur'an vouches was saying, were the words of God Almighty and the Prophet.

Fear and Inefficiency

Another accusation labelled against him was fear and weak leadership. Fear was something unknown to the Imam who at every crucial turn, since the beginning of the Prophet's mission, had shown his courage and leadership prowess. It was these qualities which made him not to start any battle or a bout of single combat against any adversary till the argument was complete. In order to avert bloodshed and to keep the door of guidance open he would listen to what the opposing side had to say. These were the qualities of a wise and astute leader. Yet these ignorant elements whose hands were always on the hilt of their swords were accusing him of fear," because he preferred to engage in dialogue before taking any action. These reluctant converts from idolatry were claiming that his leadership was weak and that he was afraid of death. Imam 'Ali (A.S.) replied to them in the following words:
"Well, as for your idea whether this (delay) is due to my unwillingness for death, then by Allah I do not care whether I proceed towards death or death advances towards me.59
In reply to those who alleged that his behaviour was suspicious against the Syrians, he said:
As for your impression that it may be due to my misgivings about the people of Syria, well, by Allah, I did not put off war even for a day except in the hope that some group may find guidance through me and see my light with their weak eyes. This is dearer to me than to kill them in the state of their misguidance although they would be bearing their own sins."60
On other occasions the enemies - some of whom were in the midst of his own forces - said that although he was brave he was a weak commander and does not know the technique of war. Imam 'Ali has given them a fitting reply by exposing their own cowardice and fickleness and recounting his prowess in leading armies into the battlefield:
Jihad is one of the doors of paradise, which Allah has opened for His chosen servants. It is the dress of piety and the protective armour of Allah and His trustworthy shield. Whoever abandons it Allah covers him with the dress of disgrace and the clothes of distress...Beware! I called you to fight these people night and day, secretly and openly, and exhorted you to attack them before they attacked you, because by Allah, no people have been attacked in the hearths of their homes but they suffered disgrace; but you put it off to others and forsook it till destruction befell you and your cities were occupied...You have become the target at which arrows are shot...You are being attacked but you do not attack. Allah is being disobeyed and you remain agreeable to it. When I ask you to move against them in summer you say 'it is hot weather spare us till the heat subsides'. When I order you to march in winter you say 'it is severely cold gives us some time till cold clears from us'. These are just excuses...You shattered my counsel by disobeying me and leaving me so much so that the Quraysh started saying that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib is brave but does not know (the tactics) of war. Allah blesses them. Is anyone of them braver in war and older in it than I am. I rose for it (battle) although yet within twenties, and here I am, having crossed sixty, but one who is not obeyed can have no opinion.61

Murder of 'Uthman

'Uthman who took over as the third caliph because of the choice of his kinsmen in the shura, proved a total failure. His inefficient advisors brought about the insurrection against him that ended in his killing. They could have helped him avert the crisis but they did not - as is the case of Mu'awiyah.62 It was Imam 'Ali (A.S.) who tried to mediate between 'Uthman and the insurrectionaries for the sake of protecting the Muslim dignity in the hope of resolving the crisis by pacifying the angry people and soothing the wounds of those who had suffered gross injustice at the hands of the caliph and his advisors. 63 And when the furious people were about to sweep away 'Uthman and his house it was the Imam who risked his life in refraining them. 64
But when 'Uthman finally paid for his policies with his life and when the people pressed the Imam to become the caliph, opportunists on the pretext of avenging the third caliph's blood, tried to blame Imam 'Ali (A.S.) for the assassination in spite of the fact they were well aware of the identity of the killers and the motives behind 'Uthman's death."65 This wild and mischievous allegation against the Imam, misled many unsuspecting people and created a crisis.

Greed for Power

As part of their mudslinging campaign another baseless accusation buried against Imam 'Ali (A.S.) by his enemies was the greed for power despite the obvious fact that he never fits the description of a person thirsty for power. Power-mongers – whether in history or in our own times - are so obsessed with authority and the means to acquire it that they try to justify whatever methods
that are used to reach their goals.
But Imam 'Ali (A.S.) offers the finest example of a person who did not pursue power even when he knew it to be his right (and was offered support to make a bid for it after the event of Saqifah Bani Sa'dah) 66. He had taken up the reins of caliphate because of the acute necessity of the times and his own responsibility in this regard in view of his primordial position in Islam. If circumstances had not warranted it, he would never have agreed to become the caliph. This sense of responsibility of the Imam was misinterpreted by persons who were greedy for power themselves, as power mongering. In his own words it is clear how he viewed his commitment to the commandments of God and what he felt about merely clinging to power and leadership:
By Allah, I shall not be like the badger, which feigns sleep on continuous (sound of) stone-throwing till he who is in search of it finds it or he who is on the lockout for it overpowers it. Rather I shall ever strike the deviators from truth with the help of those who advance towards it, and the sinners and doubters with the help of those who listen to me and obey, till my day (of death) comes. By Allah I have been continually deprived of my right from the day the Prophet (S.A.W.) passed away till today."67
Unlike any politician he spelt out his policies in clear terms no matter what the outcome. As a matter of fact the real power- mongers were those companions of the Prophet who had prospered during 'Uthman's rule and who thought that Imam 'Ali (A.S.) might continue the same policy of showing favours to them at the expense of the masses. But when they realised that he was committed to the letter and spirit of justice and truth, and on no account would yield to their demands, they turned into his enemies and labelled the wild accusation that he was thirsty for power. The Imam says about these persons:
They are hankering after this world out of jealousy against him on whom Allah has bestowed it (authority). So they intend reverting the matters on their back, while on us it is obligatory, for your sake, to abide by the Qur'an and the conduct of the Prophet of Allah (S.A.W.), to stand by his rights and revival of his Sunnah."68
Elsewhere he says:
"By Allah I had no liking for the caliphate nor any interest in government, but you yourself invited me to it and prepared me for it. When the caliphate came to me I kept the Book of Allah in my view and all that Allah had put therein for us, and all that according to which He has commanded us to take decisions; and I followed it, and also acted on whatever the Prophet (S.A.W.) had laid down as Sunnah.69

Wars and Battles

The most conspicuous enmity towards Imam 'Ali (A.S.) were the wars and battles imposed on him during his caliphate. We will briefly mention the three-armed uprisings against his rule.

Battle of Jamal

His caliphate had not yet taken roots when the fraudulent and the malicious in their greed for worldly power gauged up together to break the pledge of allegiance they had sworn to him. They incited a group of Muslims to fight him in the armed encounter known as the Battle of Jamal (Arabic for 'camel' since 'Ayishah, one of the wives of the Prophet, mounted a red-haired camel and led the conspirators). Imam 'Ali (A.S.) was not surprised at the behaviour of the two chief conspirators Talhah and Zubayr, and addressed them as follows:
"I always apprehended from you consequences of treachery and I had seen you through in the garb of the deceitful. The curtain of religion had kept me hidden from you but the truth of my intention disclosed you to me."70
The flames of war, although they devoured the conspirators who had ignited them, were not something pleasant for the Imam who had tried his best to dissuade them from such an action. The Imam's army won the battle, but Jamal like all other civil strife, caused cracks to appear in the system of caliphate and emboldened Mu'awiyah to show his insolence towards Imam 'Ali (A.S.) in a more elaborate manner.

War of Siffin

Mu'awiyah, who had put roots in Syria because of his long rule over that province since his appointment as governor by 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and the subsequent confirmation in that position during the 12-year rule of his kinsman 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, was not pleased with anything short of caliphate. The killing of 'Uthman and the sedition of 'Ayishah, Talhah and Zubayr, gave him the desired pretext, and by raising the deceptive slogan of 'vengeance for the blood of 'Uthman', he dared to confront Imam 'Ali (A.S.) in battle - after refusing to comply by the new caliph's order of his dismissal from the post of governor. The War of Siffin with all its ; ups and downs dragged on for several months before ending with a deceptive act by Mu'awiyah's forces who raised copies of the holy Qur'an on spear points to avoid certain defeat. The forced arbitration which took place as a result did not end favourably for Imam 'Ali (A.S.) -because of the duplicity of some of his followers'. The consequences of Siffin made a group of nitwits – who had at first fell to Mu'awiyah's ruse of arbitration - to desert the rightful Imam and accuse him of deviation from faith. Imagine, to what extent enmity with the First Muslim had blinded those who had no clear idea of Islam but still called themselves Muslims!

Battle of Nahrawan

Imam 'Ali (A.S.) addressing these deviated elements who became popularly known as Khawarij (renegades) because of leaving the ranks of the Commander of the Faithful, says:
I had advised you against this arbitration but you rejected my advice like adversaries and opponents till I turned my ideas in the direction of your wishes. You are a group whose heads are devoid of wit and intelligence. Allah's woe be upon you. I had not put you in any calamity nor wished you harm.72
Ignorance and blind prejudice had however, clouded the brains of the Khawarij. So little was their acquaintance with Islam and so intensely did their hearts burn in the enmity of the Imam that they failed to heed the voice of reason and chose to fight. Imam 'Ali (A.S.) warned them of the consequences of battle'" and the linage they were unwittingly doing to Islam. After victory in the Battle of Nahrawan he still pitied these hapless elements that were immersed in manifest error, and told his followers:
"Do not kill the Khawarij after me, because one who seeks right but does not find it is not like the one who seeks wrong and finds it (Mu'awiyah and his men).'74
This was in brief the trend of enmity with Imam 'Ali (A.S.) and the sinister motives behind them, which manifested on various occasions and in different forms for reasons that totally lack justification.
Notes:
1. Umayyah is said to have been a slave of 'Abd Shams rather than his son. 'Allamah Majlisi has related in Bihar al-Anwar (vol. 8, 383) from Imad al-Din Tabari's Kamil Baha'i that Umayyah was a Byzantine slave of 'Abd Shams and when the latter found him intelligent he freed him and treated him as an adopted child. As was the custom among the pre-Islamic Arabs Umayyah became known as the son of 'Abd Shams similar to the case of Zayd bin Muhammad (S.A.W.), until God revealed the ayah that the Prophet was not the father of any male Arab (33:40).
2. Tarikh-i Ya'qubi, vol. 2, p. 13.
3. Sunan al-Nasa 'i, vol. 4, p. 3.
4. Al-Siyar -wa al-Maghaz'i, p. 210.
5. 'Abd al-Razzaq al-Musawi al-Muqarram. Maqtal al-
Husayn, p. 357, Dar al-Kitab al-Islami, Bayrut; Tadhkirah al-
Khawass, Sibt ibn Jawzi, p. 235, Mu'assasah Ahl al-Bayt, Bayrut.
6. Jami ' al-Bayan, vol. 4, p. 240.
7. Ibn Abi al-Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, Vol. 3, p. 107.
8. Tashayyu ' dar Masir-i Tarikh, part I.
9. Nahj al-Balaghah, Letter no. 17.
10. Imam 'Ali has used the word lathiq which means "one who is attributed to other than one's father". Apart from what I have cited in note no.1, two other instances of doubtful parentage can be pointed out in Mu'awiyah's lineage. The first concerns Harb who was said to be a slave of Umayyah. The Sunni scholar Ibn Abi al-Hadid in his Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, has quoted from Abi al- Faraj Isfahani's (himself of Umayyad descent) book al-Aghani that Mu'awiyah enquired from the Arab genealogist Di'bil whether he had seen Abd al-Mutallib and he replied in the affirmative. He enquired about his personality and was told that 'Abd al-Mutallib was noble, handsome and a man of broad forehead with his face bearing the brightness of Prophethood. Then he enquired whether he had seen Umayyah and how was his appearance? Di'bil replied that when he saw him he was weak-bodied, bent in stature and blind in the eyes. He was always led by his slave. Mu'awiyah said it was Umayyah's son Harb, to which Di'bil retorted: You say so, but the Quraysh only know that he (Harb) was his slave.
The second doubt concerns Mu'awiyah himself, who to quote Ibn Abi al-Hadid, was the son of Hind, a woman notorious for her loose and immoral life. The Sunni scholar Zamakhshari in Rabi ' al- Abrar does not believe that Mu'awiyah was the son of Abi Sufyan and has attributed his parentage to four persons. God knows best.
11. Al-Bada' wa al-Tarikh, vol. 2, p. 145.
12. Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 131.
13. Ibid, Sermon 37.
14. Ahmad bin Hanbal, Musnad.
15. Hijrat, the Holy Qur'an, al-Baqarah 2:207.
16. Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 104.
17. The Battle of Uhud.
18. The Prophet took the infant 'Ali (a) into his arms when his mother stepped out of the Ka 'bah after his birth.
19. He performed the last rites of the Prophet.
20. Hakim Nayshaburi, Mustadrak-al-Sahihayn, vol. 2, p. 241.
21. Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 3.
22. Ibid.. Sermon 3.
23. Ibid., Sermon 3.
24. Ibid., Sermon 92.
25. Ibid, Sermon 3.
26. Ibid., Letter 64.
27. Ibid., Letter 28.
28. Ibid., Sermon 146.
29. Ibid., Sermon 32.
30. Ibid., Sermon 224.
31 .Ibid., Sermon 175.
32. Al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far, Tarikh al-Muluk wa al-Rusul, vol.
2, p. 580.
33. Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 27.
34. Ibid., Sermon 224.
35. Ibid., Sermon 15.
36. Ibid., Maxim no. 236.
37. Ibid., Maxim no. 77.
38. Najh al-Balaghah, for instance the epistle to Malik al-Ashtar on his appointment as governor o Egypt.
39. Ibid., Letter no. 5, to the governor of Azerbaijan, Ash'ath
bin Qays.
40. Ibid., Maxim no. 289.
41.lbid., Sermon 192.
42. Ibid., Letter no. 10.
43. Many a roughneck infidel of Arabia including the kinsmen of Mu'awiyah fell to his flashing twin-bladed sword (Dhu'l-Fiqar). But the Imam's sword was not naked aggression against anyone who came against him. He did not kill those who sought clemency and repented of their error, neither did he pursue the fugitive, nor those who resorted to indecent acts during combat. An example in this regard is the case of 'Amr ibn 'Abdawad who spat at him after being felled to the ground during the Battle of Khandaq. Imam 'Ali (A.S.) instantly withdrew and allowed his fallen opponent to get to his feet since he did not want his personal feelings to interfere with the course of selfless jihad in the way of Allah. When 'Amr refused to yield and renewed the combat the Imam made short work of him this time in equal combat. Another instance which stands out most vividly is the disrobing of 'Amr ibn 'As during Siffin out of fear of imminent death. The Imam turned his face away and allowed his shameless antagonist to flee the battlefield.
Another noteworthy point of Imam Ali's bravery is his conversation with his general Malik al-Ashtar when the latter after the Battle of Laylah al-Harir during the Siffin War felt proud that he had equalled the Imam's art of swordsmanship. Malik was reminded that he had killed whoever came in his way while the sword of the Imam had spared the life of those in whose seed true believers were to be born even seventy generations later.
44. Nahj al-Balaghah, Maxim no. 147.
45. Ibid.
46. Ibid., Sermon 189.
47. Ibid., Sermon 185.
48. Ibid., Sermon 200.
49. Ibid., Sermon 169.
50. Sermon 6.
51.Sermon50.
52. Sermon 3.
53. Ibid.
54. Ibid.
55. Sermon 137.
56. Sermon 71.
57. A man fearful of battle would not have won single-handed such crucial encounters in the early days of Islam as the Battles of Badr, Khandaq, Khaybar, Hunayn, etc. And he showed his valour in this combats after the antagonists had spurned his invitation to accept Islam.
58. If Imam 'Ali (A.S.) was scared of death as his opponents
alleged, he would not have risked his life to sleep on the Prophet's bed on the night of Hijrah when would-be assassins had surrounded the abode of divine revelation. Neither would he have stood steadfast beside the Prophet during the Battle of Uhud when most of the companions of the Prophet (including those who became caliphs afterwards) fled the battlefield for their dear lives the moment a detachment of infidel forces under the command of Khalid ibn Walid launched a surprise attack on the Muslims.
59. Sermon 55.
60. Ibid.
61. Sermon 27.
62. Letter no. 28 (In answer to Mu'awiyah's accusation Imam
'Ali (A.S.) says: "Then you have recalled my position vis-à-vis 'Uthman and in this matter an answer is due to you because of your kinship with him. So (now tell me) who of us was more inimical towards 'Uthman and who did more to bring about his killing? Who offered him his support but he made him sit down and stopped him (from helping) or who was that whom he called for help but he turned his face from him and drew his death near him till his fate overtook him...")
63. Sermon 164.
64. Sermon 3.
65. Letter no. 10 (The Imam refuting Mu'awiyah's baseless accusation says: "...You think you have come out seeking to avenge 'Uthman's blood. Certainly you know how 'Uthman's blood was shed. If you want to really avenge it, avenge it there...") 66. Sermon 5, (When Abi Sufyan, hearing that Abi Bakr was chosen caliph, approached Imam 'Ali (A.S.) and offered the military services of his clan in order to make a bid for his usurped right, he was told: "Steer clear through the waves of mischief by boats of deliverance, turn away from the path of dissension...It (the aspiration for the caliphate) is like turbid water or like a morsel that would suffocate the person who swallows it..-If I speak out they would call me greedy towards power but if I keep quiet they would say I was afraid of death...By Allah the son of Abi Talib is more familiar with death than an infant with the breast of its mother. I have hidden knowledge, if I disclose it you will start trembling like ropes in deep wells) can such a person be power-thirsty?
67. Sermon 6.
68. Sermon 169.
69. Sermon 205.
70. Sermon 4.
71. Sermon 122.
72. Sermon 36.
73. Ibid.
74. Sermon 61.
75. It speaks of the radiant nature of Imam 'Ali (A.S.) that he continues to shine as a beacon of guidance for humanity despite the fact that his wretched enemies, particularly Mu'awiyah and the Umayyads, had spared no effort to taint his personality. For decades after his martyrdom the Umayyads ordered the cursing of the Imam from pulpits throughout the Muslim lands, persecuted his followers and massacred his descendants, but it is the Prophet's cousin who continues to rule hearts while eternal shame is the lot of his opponents.

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