Day 7

The lesson

1. In the council of six he refused a condition to follow the conduct of the first two caliphs, saying he would act by the Book of God and the conduct of the Prophet to the extent of his knowledge and capacity (al-Kamil of Ibn al-Athir). In Dhu l-Hijja 35 AH (656 CE), at the insistence of the people, he accepted the caliphate, asking that the allegiance be given openly in the mosque (Tarikh al-Tabari); in his first sermon he ordered the return of wealth taken unjustly and an equal share of the treasury for all.
2. He fought three wars forced upon him: al-Jamal near Basra in 36 AH against those who broke their allegiance, after which he pardoned the people of Basra and sent Aisha back to Medina with honour (Tarikh al-Tabari; Sharh Nahj al-Balagha of Ibn Abi l-Hadid); Siffin against Mu'awiya, where Qur'ans were raised on spears on the advice of Amr ibn al-As and his own men forced the arbitration on him (Waq'at Siffin of Nasr ibn Muzahim); and al-Nahrawan against the Kharijites, who began the fighting.
3. At Siffin, when his men took back the Euphrates that Mu'awiya's army had closed to them, he refused to deny them water: Never will we do that. Allow them to use a part of the Euphrates (Sharh Nahj al-Balagha of Ibn Abi l-Hadid). Ibn Abi l-Hadid also records that Mu'awiya himself rebuked a man who called Ali miserly: if Ali had one storehouse of gold and one of straw, he would give away the gold first.

Questions

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