First Fitna: Islamic Civil War

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Main body
Conclusion
References

Introduction

The First Fitna, or the First Islamic Civil War, is considered to be the first civil war in the Islamic Caliphate. The war began in 656 CE and ended in 661 CE which can be evaluated as rather a long period. There were many reasons for the beginning of this war; however, the major reason was the death of the Caliph Uthman. His assassination by the Egyptian rebels was seen as an act of utter disrespect to Mohamed as Uthman was one of his closest companions. For this reason, Uthman‘s death was to be revenged. However, the next ruler, Ali, failed to punish the guilty ones properly and showed his weakness. This caused the anger of Uthman’s supporters and became a ground for a Civil War. The First Fitna had many important consequences for the development of the relationships between the Muslims belonging to Sunni and Shi’i. Unfortunately, these relationships were much worsened during the period of the First Islamic Civil war. Evaluating the situation, it appears that the First Islamic Civil war led to the split in the Muslim religion caused by the effects of the Arbitration Agreement developed after the battle of Siffin.

Main body

The events of the beginning of the war

First of all, speaking about the First Fitna, the events leading to its begging are to be addressed. Among a variety of reasons for the beginning of the First Islamic Civil War, the major reason is seen in the death of the great Caliph Uthman. Uthman was captured by the rebels, and assassinated in 656 CE. According to Hickman (2011, par. 1), “following the murder of Uthman ibn Affan, the caliphate of the Muslim Empire passed to the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, Ali ibn Abi Talib”. However, the new ruler, Ali, had several opponents, and the most influential of them was Muawiyah I, the governor of Syria (Bonner, 2006). Muawiyah I was Uthman’s devotee. He saw a weak person in Ali and feared that he would not be able to revenge Uthman’s death (Hawting, 2000). Ali understood that the conflict with Muawiyah I was an inevitable danger, and wanted to maintain peaceful relationships with him by all means. For this reason, he sent his messengers to Muawiyah I with the proposition of peace. Muawiyah I received these prepositions on condition that Ali would punish all the guilty ones in Uthman’s death. However, the conditions were not submitted by Ali which resulted at the beginning of the civil war between the two governors.

Battles in

As a result, the two battles in Bassorah and Siffin led to the later arbitration between Muawiyah I and Ali took place. The battle of Bassorah occurred in 656 CE between the army of Ali and the army of Aisha, a widow of Muhammad who wanted revenge for Uthman’s death. Aisha as Muhammad’s widow and the mother of faith was desperate about Uthman’s death because he was one of the closest associates of her husband. The battle of Bassorah became a date of the beginning of the First Civil War in the Islamic Caliphate (Ruthven 2000). This battle is marked as a notorious battle in Islamic history as it became the first battle when Muslims fought Muslims. In total, the combat lasted for 110 days and took away the lives of more than 10 000 people from both armies. During the battle of Bassorah, Aisha’s army was defeated by Ali’s warriors. However, he showed mercy to the woman and offered her the help of her brother, one of Ali’s generals, in escorting her to the home city. After this battle, Aisha never interfered in the political life of the country.

The battle of Siffin also resulted in Ali’s inability to punish the rebels who murdered Uthman. In this battle, Ali’s army fought with Muawiyah’s I army. Initially, the forces of the Syrian governor met Ali’s army to combine their efforts in punishing Uthman’s assassins. However, as the situation developed it became evident that Ali appeared to be unable to revenge Uthman’s death. Uthman was Muawiyah’s cousin and kinsman. For this reason, the revenge for his life meant a lot for the Syrian ruler. Being utterly displeased with Ali’s actions, Muawiyah’s I ordered his army to attack Ali’s forces. The battle took place in 657 CE and lasted for three months. The main military actions took place on the banks of the Euphrates. According to Hickman (2011, par.8), “the three days of fighting had cost Muawiyah’s army approximately 45,000 casualties to 25,000 for Ali ibn Abi Talib. On the battlefield, the arbitrators decided that both leaders were equals and the two sides withdrew to Damascus and Kufa”. This battle became one of the biggest problems between the Sunni and Shi’i Muslims as they had a very different vision of its events, and that became a source of one of the biggest misunderstandings between the two denominations. After this battle, Ali became the first Imam to the Shi’i, and Muawiyah I became the first ruler of Caliph in the Ummayyad dynasty (Hawting, 2000). According to Hagler (2011), the battle of Siffin became the major historical event for the Islamic political and religious life for the centuries ahead as this war resulted in signing the agreement which statements are important for the Muslims even nowadays after more than sixteen centuries since the events of those days. “Ṣiffīn is an event with a highly-charged potential to explore the critical dilemmas facing both the early and later Islamic communities” (Hagler, 2011, p. 18).

Arbitration

The battle of Siffin had a very significant place in Islamic history as it led to the Arbitration agreement between the armies of Ali and Muawiyah I. All the decrees stated in the Siffin Arbitration agreement were crucial for the future of the Islamic religion. This agreement became the major reason for the breakdown in the relationships between the Sunni and Shi’i. Actually, after the events of Siffin, there appeared such terms as the Sunni and Shi’i. Before this event, Islam was considered to be a united religion without any sects, denominations, and separations. Although the agreement had a lot of successions for both parties, there still occurred several serious misunderstandings between them. All the events of those days show that the leaders of the two sides put a lot of effort into restarting peace in their lands and doing so in a respectful way to their brothers; however, it appeared that those efforts were not always effective.

As it became evident for the military leaders of the two armies that the only good solution in this conflict would become the signing of the arbitration agreement, the arbitrates from the two parties in the conflict were chosen and sent to the place of negotiations. According to Hagler (2011, p. 38), “by far the most famous and complex episode of the story of Ṣiffīn is the call for arbitration by Muawiyah ‘s camp and Alī‘s acquiescence”. The situation in the battle appeared to be very complicated for the Syrian leader. For this reason, he decided to start negotiations with his opponents appealing to the religious points in this conflict. Hagler explains the situation in the following way:

Seeing that the fighting favors Alī, Muawiyah‘s shrewd general Amr ibn al-Āṣ comes up with a plan either to provide the Syrians with respite, capitalize on the existing divisions within the Iraqi camp, or, ideally, both; by raising copies of the Quran upon their lances, the Syrians appealed to the religious instincts of Alī‘s men and provided an alternative means of ending the conflict to those soldiers who were appalled that the struggle over Uthmān‘s blood had engendered a the necessity for Muslims to fight other Muslims (2011, p.38,39).

After the beginning of a negotiation, the next significant problem became resonant. The parties were to decide about the conditions of signing the agreement which appeared to be rather complicated. Ali was in a prevailing position as his forces were stronger; however, Muawiyah I resorted to the use of better tactics which helped him to obtain better conditions for himself. Due to such a situation, Ali’s supporters saw weakness in his character which became the beginning of his fall. Concerning this important point, Hagler states:

The outcome of the arbitration was a crushing blow to Alī‘s prestige and a significant enhancement of Muāwiya‘s. With the latter‘s political star in ascendance, the general acceptance of his imamate when a Khārijī assassinates Alī is essentially an accomplished fact. The subsequent course of events discussed above, provide ample testimony to the battle‘s critical position in Islamic history (2011, p.41).

Overall, the signing of the Siffin Arbitration agreement can be seen as a critical point in the history of the Islamic Caliphate and the Muslim faith.

The battle of Nahrawan

After the battle of Siffin, the First Fitna did not end even though an important Arbitration agreement was signed by the two parties. The last of the major battles during the First Fitna took place in Nahrawan in July 657 CE. The situation leading to these military actions appears to be very controversial. Still, the historians agree that the battle became a result of a misunderstanding between the supporters of Ali and Muāwiya. Muāwiya’s followers decided that they were fooled by the followers of Ali during composing of the Arbitration Agreement. They also saw great sin in Ali’s actions as they believed that the conditions of the Arbitration Agreement were Ali’s betrayal for Islam. For this reason, they captured some of Ali’s subjects and committed acts of utter violence towards them and their family members. To respond to such cruel actions, Ali had to mobilize his military forces for the battle in Nahrawan. The Kharijites or Muāwiya’s supporters became the first to attack Ali’s forces as they were confident in their righteousness in God’s face and believed that he would strive for them. However, their forces were weak, and they lost the battle. Ali showed his mercy to these people again, and let them escape from the site of the battle. That was the end of the battle in Nahrawan.

After the battle of Nahrawan, Ali decided to go to Syria. He along with his army was inspired by their victories and wanted to unite the state ‘calming down’ rebellious Syria. Initially, this plan worked and the army moved closer to Syria rather fast, but then the warriors asked Ali for a stop to repair their arms and have some rest. As a result, they never mobilized again. The battle in Nahrawan became the last military action during the First Fitna. Later, Ali came back to his home city to continue strengthening the country. Yet, his authority was lost among the people of the country on the reason of his mildness and weaknesses. Very soon rebels made a plan of murdering him. In 661 CE, Ali was assassinated while giving prayers to God in the mosque of Kufa. This became the last major event during the First Fitna.

The split between the Sunni and Shi’i split during the rule of Ali

Evaluating the events of the First Civil War in the Islamic Caliphate, it should be stated that the devotees of different branches of Muslim religion see themselves in a very different light. During Ali’s reining and the days of the First Fitna, the major event in the religious life of the Islamic Caliphate occurred. This event is the split between Muslims for the Sunni and Shi’i. The followers of Ali became the Shi’I whereas Muāwiya supporters became the Sunni. This split became the reason for numerous conflicts between the Muslims which occur even nowadays. The latest examples from varied Muslim countries such as Syria, Bahrain, Qatar prove this sad tendency. For example, in Bahrain, the population is made up of the Sunni and the Shi’I almost equally. The conflicts between the representatives of these two denominations were caused by their religious beliefs dating back to the days of Ali and the Arbitration Agreement.

Speaking about the vision of the above-mentioned contradiction by the two parties in the argument, it should be stated that they both are sure in their rightfulness, and in the truths that they believe. First of all, discussing the Shi’I’s position, it appears that they consider the Sunni’s believes to be rather far from the teachings of Muhammad written in the Quran. They state the Sunni Muslims are subjected to the traditions of earthly men along with their teachings and ideas. To prove this, they mention that the Sunni establish their religious roots in the other Holy books along with Quran whereas Shi’I believes that Quran should be the only source of their faith, and the other books cannot be considered Holy and inspired by God as they were not given through Muhammad, the only mediator between God and Muslim people. On the reason of such religious contradictions, frequent conflicts take place between the two representatives of the two denominations. This tendency was also seen during the military actions of the First Fitna as both sides of the conflict stated that their opponents betrayed their faith (Hibri, 2002). One more serious problem during the First Fitna could be seen in the aggressiveness of the Sunni as they were striving to protect their religious and political interests resorting to the use of aggression and violence. The Shi’I Muslims believe that such evil things as aggression and violence were not approved by Muhammad. The Sunni also states that the Shi’I became betrayers of their faith. They explain that the Shi’I fail to show their love to God and their religious zeal.

Conclusion

Concluding on all the above-discussed information, it should be stated that the events of the First Fitna had great meaning for the history of the Islamic Caliphate. After the key battle in Siffin, with the adoption of the Arbitration Agreement, the Muslim religion was divided into two parts: the Shi’I and Sunni. The followers of Ali became the Shi’I whereas Muāwiya supporters became the Sunni. Both these denominations have their vision of All the decrees stated in the Siffin Arbitration agreement. This agreement became the major reason for the breakdown in the relationships between the Sunni and Shi’I. Actually, after the events of Siffin, there appeared such terms as the Sunni and Shi’I. Before this event, Islam was considered to be a united religion without any sects, denominations, and separations. Nowadays, the Shi’I and Sunni are still divided by the decrees of the Siffin Arbitration Agreement and see the betrayal of their religious beliefs in the actions of their opponents. This split became the reason for numerous conflicts between the Muslims which occur even nowadays. The latest examples from varied Muslim countries such as Syria, Bahrain, Qatar prove this sad tendency. For example, in Bahrain, the conflict between the Sunni and the Shi’I was extremely severe in 2010. This conflict between the representatives of the two denominations was caused by their religious beliefs dating back to the days of Ali and the Arbitration Agreement.

References

Bonner, M. (2006). Jihad in Islamic History: Doctrines and Practice. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Web.

Hagler, A. (2011). The Echoes of Fitna: Developing Historiographical Interpretations of the Battle of Siffin. Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations, Paper 397, 1-396.

Hawting, G. R. (2000). The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750. London: Routledge. Web.

Hibri, T. (2002). The Redemption of Umayyad Memory by the Abbasids. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 61(4), 241-265.

Hickman, K. (2011). Muslim Empire: Battle of Siffin. Web.

Ruthven, M. (2000). Islam in the World (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Web.

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