By
Saeed Qureshi
The succession issue of Prophet
Muhammad(pbuh) after his demise in 632 A.D., is the most crucial and paramount irreconcilable
dispute in Islam. The Muslims were exposed to the dilemma as to who would
succeed Prophet Muhammad to lead the nascent Islamic fraternity or the nation. Primarily
it was a tussle or conflict between the two powerful tribes namely Ommyads and
Banu-Hashim. Their tribal rivalry was in fact a spillover from their mutual conflict
even before the advent of Islam and carried forward after the declaration of Prophet
Muhammad to be the appointed Prophet of God. The Ommyads was one of the most
prominent and powerful tribes in Mecca.
When Hazrat Muhammad
declared his being the divinely ordained Prophet, the Umayyads were the leading
among the other desert tribes to oppose this claim tooth and nail. The Umayyads
were led by Abu Sufiyan who was one of the most noted and prominent tribal chiefs.
His clan that he lorded over was not only materially well-off but was the
custodian of the most reverend and respected shrine of house of God in Mecca(Baitullah).
That house had the white
stone (later became black) that was believed to be brought on earth by Adam,
the first human being and the prophet sent by God to earth. Their rivalry was
so intense and vigorous that under the threat to his life and termination of
his divine mission, that Prophet Muhammad had to clandestinely migrate to the
city of Madian where the enjoyed enormous goodwill in absentia. He was accompanied
by his closest companion Hazrat Abu Bakr who later turned to be his father-in-law
and first successor of the Caliphate.
The city of Mecca was considered
as a sacred place for a variety of reasons. But the most compelling reason was
that it had idols that were worshipped by the people in the Arab peninsula. It
was also associated with prophet Abraham and his son Ismael and their stay and
emergence of water fountain by angel Gabriel. There were reported to be 360
idols ascribed with various powers. There used to be a yearly assemblage when
the people from adjoining cities and village would throng to Mecca and celebrate
a festival for several days.
But not only that Mecca city
was a spiritually rallying place for the Bedouins and city dwellers but it was
also a junction for the trade caravans and the travelers from the South to
North and vice versa. The Banu Ommyads being the controllers and administrators
of this most sacred stopover in the heart of desert would make all the
arrangements for the stay of the travelers and visitors that would include from
food, residence and other socio-cultural festivities. Thus, they would reap
huge financial benefits besides enjoying a cultural clout and ascendancy and prominence.
With the declaration of Prophet
Muhammad to believe in one God and abandon idolatry the rivalry turned into
enmity and thus the Prophet had to secretly leave Mecca for Medina where he had
quite a sizable number of the followers who were ready to host him and support
him both by way of spreading his faith which was named Islam and also to stand
by him.
The Prophet was quite
safe in Madina. Islam started spreading and the number of new Muslims increased
rapidly. Thereafter with a large army of volunteers and the fighters he marched
towards Mecca and conquered it. The Ommyads were dislodged, defeated and
subdued but they were not demoralized. They waited for an opportune time to
take the leadership of Muslims and to rule the lands conquered by the Islamic
army.
After Prophet Muhammad’s
demise, the rivalry for his succession became the main issue of contention
between the clans of Ummayd and Banu Hashim to which the Prophet belonged. The Prophet
had obliquely hinted many a time Ali’s brotherhood and closeness to him. Those utterances gave Hazrat Ali and his wife Fatima
(the daughter of prophet) the indication that Ali being Prophets’ cousin
brother and closer to him since childhood would be the Caliph after him.
It didn’t happen and the
three Caliphs who succeeded the Prophet one after other were all out of Prophets’
blood family. Ali assumed the Caliphate after the murder of the fourth Caliph
Usman who was the most prominent scion and leader of Banu Ummayd clan. The
second caliph was Hazrat Umar.
Ali was proclaimed the fourth
Caliph in 656 AD. But his nomination was challenged by Amir Muawiyya, the son
of Abu Sufiyan and the governor of Syria who also claimed to be the Caliph. Muawiyya
was appointed governor of Syria by Usman, the third caliph. Amir Muawiyya was
also a relative of caliph Usman and a prominent scion of the Ummayd clan. The conflict
between these two stalwarts of Islam namely Muawiyya and Ali entailed battles
for six years. Finally, it was decided to hold a kind of referendum of the
prominent members and notable Muslims, in a mosque, to vote for one or the
other claimant.
The verdict though
called a ruse and deception by the pro-Ali Muslims went in favor of Amir Muawiyya.
Thus, the conflict for imamate between the Umayyads and Banu Hashim further
intensified. Later Ali was also killed by an assassin in 661 AD. and this conflict for the Caliphate continued
that entailed the martyrdom of Hasan and Hussain, the two sons of Hazrat Ali.
In 750 A.D. the Abbasids
replaced Ommyads and ruled for about 110 years. They killed all the royal
members of the Ummayd family. But one of them a young boy Abdur Rehman managed
to escape and after great deal of hardships reached Morocco. In subsequent time, he established a
magnificent Ummayd empire in Spain that remained in place from 756 -1002 AD.
Later the Caliphate in
Kufa was snatched by Abbasid who inflicted heavy losses on the scions of Ummayd
family to the extent that even the last child of that family was killed. Only
one person was able to flee to where he founded a magnificent islamic empire
though under the nomenclature of Caliphate. The conflict between the pro ali
and Banu Hashim clan and that of Ummayd resulted into two bitterly rival Caliphates:
one in Hijaz and the other in Iraq, Syria and even Persia. The Abbasid
caliphate disintegrated in 861 AD. The Kharijites and Shias and Persians brought
the Abbasids in power.
Unfortunately, that religious
and power tussle continues to this day. Iran is the citadel of the followers of
the Shia’ism or the Banu Hashim. The other regimes in the middle east are partly
the Sunnis and partly run by the Shias. Apart from the regional conflict
between Iran(Shia) and Saudi Arabia(Sunni) this conflict is spread to other
countries such as Pakistan where their doctrinal rivalry continues and their mutual
hatred caused unabated clashes and casualties. As such the Islamic fraternity
is dived into two rival relgions that stand no hope to reconcile. There cannot
be a compromise and give and take in matter of faith between the Sunnis and
Shias for all time to come.
Ali the son of Abu Talib
(the Prophet’s uncle) and the son-in-law of Prophet who was also his cousin
brother had been, under the firm impression that since Prophet had been
throwing hints about his extraordinary kinship and closeness, he was the best
one and the most competent to don the noble mantle of Caliph after the demise
of the Prophet of Islam.
Hazrat Abu Bakar or the
first Caliph was not from the clan of Prophet Muhammad although he was very
pious and also having the exalted status of being Prophet’s father-in-law. Ali
was not pleased with the appointment of Abu Bakar. Thus, Ali remained indignant
with this decision and didn’t take the oath of fealty to the new Caliph for a
few months. He was again by-passed when Abu Bakar died and the second Caliph Hazrat
Umar was chosen. Upon Umar’s tragic death at the hands of an assassin, Usman
was chosen who was also from the Umayyad clan.
Finally, upon the death
of the third Caliph, Ali also became Caliph but it was too late and by that
time the Islamic fraternity living in Arab peninsula had been markedly divided
into two groups: one with the Hashemite tribe or the so called the blood family
of the Prophet comprising Prophet Muhammad, Ali the son-in-law and cousin brother
of Prophet Muhammad, Ali’s wife Fatima and daughter of the Prophet and two sons
Hasan and Hussein.
Politically and
regionally Saudi Arabia professes Sunni brand of Islam based upon the Wahabi
faith. On the contrary majority of Iranian population and the government follow
the Shia creed. For several centuries, Saudi Arabia has been and still is the
spiritual and religious center for the Sunnis while Iran is for the Shias. They
are regional foes politically and also by virtue of unbridgeable religious
discord.
The third Caliph Usman
had appointed many of his kinsmen and relatives to prominent positions
including the governors in various conquered territories. The proclaiming of
Ali as the fourth Caliph, brought one of Othman’s relative Muawiyya, the
governor of Syria in open revolt. The fighting between Muawiyya who also laid
claim to be the Caliphate continued for 6 six years. Finally, it was decided to
place this claim to an arbitration by a group of pious people to decide who
enjoys more support by the notable Muslims. Ali agreed. But it was a trick by Muawiyya
to deflate the heightening position of Ali as the probable Caliph.
By a ruse through a
preconceived arbitration in the Shirjeel mosque, the legality of Ali was
nullified against Muawiyya. Ali was deposed and Amir Muawiyya the governor of
Syria was proclaimed as the Caliph of the Muslims.
The contrived pro-Muawiyya
verdict was tremendously resented by the followers of Ali and supporters of the
Hashemite tribe. The supporters of Ali were named as Kharijites. So, while Ali
and his supporters didn’t accept that verdict, Muawiyya the governor of Syria
became the elected Caliph of the Muslims. As such there were two Caliphs
simultaneously of the Muslims.
The murder of Hazrat Ali
by a Kharijite in 661, led to the end of the period of the orthodoxy and a
peaceful transition of the successors of Prophet Muhammad. Thereafter the
eligibility on the basis of good conduct and Islamic fervor, was set aside in
nomination or the selection of the Islamic successor or the founder of Islam Prophet
Muhammad. Instead from Muawiyya onwards the system of hereditary succession was
established. As such Yazid the son of Muawiyya became the Caliph after his
father’s death.
After Ali’s death two
attempts were made by his two sons Hasan and Hussain to recapture the Caliphate
from Ommyads. First attempt was made by Hasan the elder son of Ali against
Muawiyya. Muawiyya routed the small contingent of Hasan and later through an
offer of solicitation sent Hasan back to Medina with the offer of big monetary
stipend where he led a life luxury until he died at the age of 41 because of
the poisoning.
The second attempt of
insurgency or rebellion was made by Ali’s second son Hussain who marched to
Kufa with his family members and a contingent of around 200 fighters or
supporters. At that time the Umayyads” Caliph was Yazid the son of Muawiyya. In
the field of Karbala near Kufa, Hussain and his male supporters were brutally massacred.
Thus, the Ummayd dynasty was firmed up and remained in power from 661-750 AD.
The Ommyads dynasty came
to its end when Abbasids under the banner of a scion of the Hashemite clan
Abul-al-Abbas captured the capitol Kufa in 749 AD. Abbasids took a barbaric
revenge from the Ommyads. Abu Abbas, the leader of the Shiites was proclaimed
the Caliph in 749 AD. The last ruler of the Ummayd dynasty Marwan 2nd was
beheaded in Egypt outside a church in Egypt. Kufa situated on the Persian
border became the center of power of the Shiites which it still is for these
centuries.
With the movement of the
Islamic capitol from Madina to Kufa, the influence of the Persians mostly fire
worshippers turned Muslims grew dominant. Although these Persians embraced
Islam but their ritualistic culture started influencing the Islamic polity.
However, the reign of Ommyads marked the end of the Arab dominated period.
Under the Abbasids, the image and contours of the Islamic Caliphate assumed an
international character rather than remaining confined to Arab nationalism.
However initially it was supported by Kharjis and Shias.
Saudi Arabia and most of
the Arabian states profess the Sunni brand of Islam. On the contrary Iran is
the spiritual center of the Shias around the world and looked upon as the
second spiritual and religious center after Saudi Arabia. The discord between
Shias and Sunnis is almost 1400 years old.
Besides the global friction between the Sunnis and Shias, the regional
rivalry between these two Islamic states has divided the Middle East into two
powerful rival colliding blocks within the fold of Islam.
The Shia and Sunnis
ratio in number is roughly counted to be ten per cent of the Shias and 90 per
cent of the Sunnis. The Shia’s main spiritual center is Iran. They follow the
Shia theology and discard a great portion of the Sunni Islamic teachings and
theology. Ali after his death in the mosque of Kufa was proclaimed as
incarnated manifestation of God and an embodiment of Mysticism and divinity.
Ali’s followers came to be known as the Shiites. The Shias still hold on to that
belief and Ali is believed by a section of Shias to be a kind of an incarnate God.
Shias believe that Ali is divine and his divinity is shared by his two sons.
The writer
is a senior journalist, former editor of Diplomatic Times and a former
diplomat.
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