Ali as Caliph
Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, was the caliph between 656 and 661 CE, a trying period in Muslim history, coinciding with the first Muslim civil war. He reigned over the Rashidun empire which extended from Central Asia in the east to North Africa in the west. He became known as a both just and fair ruler. He died in 661. Election. In 656, as the public dissatisfaction with despotism and corruption came to a boiling point, Caliph Uthman was assassinated by the rebels in a raid on his residence in  Medina after a long siege. Prior to this escalation, Ali had acted as the mediator between the rebels and Uthman. According to Jafri, though he condemned Uthman's murder, Ali regarded the resistance movement as a front for the just demands of the poor and disenfranchised. Notably, Ali's son, Hasan, was injured by the enraged mobs while standing guard at Uthman's residence at the request of Ali. After the assassination of Uthman, the potential candidates for the caliphate were Ali and Talha, another senior companion of Muhammad. Uthman's tribesmen, the Umayyads, had fled Medina, and the rebels , prominent Muhajirun, and Ansar had gained control of the city. Talha enjoyed some support among the Egyptian rebels. Ali, however, was preferred by the rebels from Basra and Kufa, who had earlier heeded Ali's opposition to the use of violence, and most of the Ansar, and finally these groups got the upper hand. The caliphate was offered to Ali, who declined the position at first. Aslan attributes Ali's initial refusal to the polarizing impact of Uthman's murder on the community, while Durant writes that, "[Ali] shrank from drama in which religion had been displaced by politics, and  devotion by intrigue." According to Shaban, the tumultuous atmosphere after Uthman's murder eventually compelled Ali into accepting the caliphate to prevent further chaos. He received the first pledges of allegiance in the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. It appears that Ali personally did not force anyone for a pledge though the strong pro-Ali atmosphere of Medina might have exerted some pressure on his opponents. In particular, Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas, Abdullah ibn Umar and Usama ibn Zayd refused to acknowledge the authority of Ali. Talha and Zubayr, both companions of Muhammad with ambitions for the high office, likely  gave their pledges though they later broke their oaths, claiming that they had pledged their allegiance to Ali under public pressure. There is, however, less evidence for violence here than in Abu Bakr's election, according to Madelung. There is ample evidence that Ali saw the general pledge of allegiance as a pivotal component in the legitimacy of his caliphate and distinguished between his election and that of the first caliph, Abu Bakr. In the words of Ali and the second caliph, Umar, the caliphate of Abu Bakr was decided hastily by a small "shura" (council), whereas Ali emphasized the  general public's endorsement of his caliphate. Madelung maintains that, after Muhammad's death, Ali unequivocally viewed himself as the most qualified person to lead the Muslim community by virtue of his merits and his kinship with Muhammad. Mavani adds that Ali, in fact, considered himself as the designated successor of Muhammad through a divine decree at the Event of the Ghadir Khumm. However, Mavani also speculates that, had Muslims withheld their support, Ali would have not sought the title of Caliph by force. In line with Ali's claims, the succession of the previous prophets in the Quran is  a matter that is settled by divine selection rather than election, according to Madelung. In particular, God selects the successors of the past prophets from their own family, whether or not those successors become prophets themselves. Ruling style. Ali was a close relative of Muhammad with a widely reported knowledge of Islam's roots. During his caliphate, he evidently laid claim to a divine religious authority to interpret the Quran and Sunnah, in order to meet the needs of a rapidly-changing caliphate. This distinguished Ali from his predecessors who saw themselves merely as the administrators of the divine law . According to Madelung, the caliphate of Ali was characterized by his honesty, his unbending devotion to Islam, his equal treatment of all of his supporters, and his magnanimity towards his defeated enemies. Veccia Vaglieri notes that Ali fought against those whom he perceived as erring Muslims as a matter of duty, in order to uphold Islam. In victory, Ali would prevent the enslavement of women and children, against the common practice of the day. He showed his grief, wept for the dead, and even prayed over his enemies. Ali barred his troops from commencing hostilities in the Battle of the  Camel and the Battle of Nahrawan. Prior to the Battle of Siffin, when his forces gained the upper hand, Ali refused to retaliate after Syrians cut off their access to drinking water. Jones holds that the reign of Ali is remembered as a model for socio-political and religious righteousness that defied worldly corruption and social injustice. Early in his caliphate, Ali moved to dismiss most of Uthman's governors, whom he considered corrupt, and reversed Uthman's entitlements for the ruling elite. These actions, which earned Ali powerful enemies, have been criticized as politically naive. On the other hand , Tabatabai suggests that these actions reinforce that the rule of Ali was based more on righteousness than political opportunism, following the precedent of Muhammad's defiance of the powerful Quraysh in early Islam. Ali's instructions to the governor of Egypt have been viewed as a model of just Islamic governance, "where justice and mercy is shown to human beings irrespective of class, creed and color, where poverty is neither a stigma or disqualification and where justice is not tarred with nepotism, favoritism, provincialism or religious fanaticism." Ali also opposed a centralized control over provincial revenues, favoring an equal distribution  of the taxes and booty amongst Muslims, following the precedent of Muhammad. This practice, according to Poonawala, might be an indication of Ali's policy to give equal value to all Muslims who served Islam, a policy which later garnered him considerable support among the traditional tribal leaders. According to Shaban, Ali's policies earned him the strong support of the underprivileged groups, including the Ansar, who were subordinated after Muhammad by the Quraysh leadership, and the Qurra or Quranic reciters who sought pious Islamic leadership. One account holds that Ali rejected the request by his brother, Aqil, for public  funds. According to Heck, Ali also forbade Muslim fighters from looting and instead distributed the taxes as salaries among the warriors, in equal proportions. This might have been the first subject of the dispute between Ali and the rebel group that later constituted the Kharijites. Since the majority of Ali's subjects were nomads and peasants, he was concerned with agriculture. In particular, Ali instructed his top general, Malik al-Ashtar, to pay more attention to land development than short-term taxation. First Fitna. The first Muslim civil war, known also as the First Fitna, took place after the assassination  of Uthman and continued throughout the reign of Ali, in which he fought the rebel forces in three major battles. Battle of the Camel. Muhammad's widow, A'isha bint Abi Bakr, and two of Muhammad's prominent companions, namely, Talha ibn Ubayd Allah and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, opposed Ali's succession and gathered in Mecca, where they called for vengeance for Uthman's death and election of a new caliph through a council, presumably either Talha or Zubayr. The leading roles of A'isha and Talha against Uthman are well-cited. The rebels raised an army and invaded Basra, inflicting  heavy casualties and taking it from Ali's governor. They engaged Ali's forces outside of Basra in the Battle of the Camel, where the latter emerged victorious. Ali moved his capital to Kufa afterwards. Battle of Siffin. Early in his caliphate, Ali dismissed Muawiya, the incumbent governor of Syria, whom Ali considered corrupt. Muawiya refused to step down and instead informed Ali that he would recognize the caliphate of Ali in return for the governorship of Syria and Egypt for life. Ali rejected this proposal as a matter of principle. Muawiya, who was a relative of Uthman, then declared  war on Ali with the objectives of vengeance for Uthman's death, deposing Ali, and establishing a Syrian council to appoint the next caliph, presumably Muawiya. For his part, Ali argued that Muawiya was welcome to seek justice for Uthman under the rule of Ali and also challenged Muawiya to name any Syrian who would qualify for a council. Ali then called a council of Islamic ruling elite which urged him to fight Muawiya. The two armies met in 657 at Siffin, west of the Euphrates. After weeks of failed negotiations, the main battle began on 26 July. As the  balance moved in favor of Ali, Muawiya ordered some of the Syrian soldiers to raise copies of the Quran on their lances and call for arbitration by the Quran. Faced with strong peace sentiments in his army and threats of mutiny, Ali was compelled to accept the arbitration proposal, though he apparently saw through Muawiya's ruse. The majority in Ali's army now pressed for the reportedly neutral Abu Musa al-Ashari as their representative, despite Ali's objections about Abu Musa's political naivety and lukewarm support. Nevertheless, the arbitration agreement, dated 2 August 657, stipulated that Abu  Musa would represent Ali's army while Muawiya's top general, Amr ibn al-As, would represent Muawiya. After months of planning, the two arbitrators met and reached the verdict that Uthman had been killed wrongfully and that Muawiya had the right to seek revenge. This has been viewed as a political verdict, rather than a judicial one, and a blunder by Abu Musa. After the conclusion of the arbitration, Syrians pledged their allegiance to Muawiya as the next caliph, whereas Ali denounced the conduct of the two arbitrators as contrary to the Quran and began to organize a new  expedition to Syria. Battle of Nahrawan. With the news of their murders and violence against civilians, Ali had to postpone the campaign for Syria to subdue Kharijites, a faction that had separated from Ali when he agreed to arbitration at Siffin, a move considered by the group as against the Quran. Most of them had earlier forced Ali to accept the arbitration, but now exclaimed that the right to judgment belonged to God alone. These rebels gathered in Nahrawan, on the east bank of the Tigris, and, in view of their exodus, came to be known as the Kharijites, i.e. , those who secede. While Ali largely succeeded in disbanding the group, the remaining Kharijites attacked and were vanquished by the vastly superior army of Ali. Final years of Ali's caliphate. Following the Battle of Nahrawan, Ali's support weakened and he was compelled to abandon his second Syria campaign and return to Kufa. Egypt fell in 658 to Muawiya, who killed Ali's governor and installed Amr ibn al-As. Muawiya also began to dispatch military detachments to terrorize the civilian population, killing those who did not recognize Muawiya as caliph and looting their properties. Ali could not mount  a timely response to these assaults. Ali was also faced with armed uprisings by the remnants of the Kharijites, as well as opposition in eastern provinces. However, as the extent of the rampage by Muawiya's forces became known to the public, it appears that Ali finally found sufficient support for a renewed offensive against Muawiya, set to commence in late winter 661. These plans were abandoned after Ali's assassination. Assassination. In 661, on the nineteenth of Ramadan, while Ali was praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa, he was struck over the head with a poison-coated sword  by the Kharijite Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam. Ali died two days later from his wound. The sources seem to be unanimous that Ali forbade his family from excessive punishments for Ibn Muljam and from shedding the blood of others. In the meantime, Ibn Muljam was to be given good meals and a good bed. After Ali's death, his eldest son, Hasan, observed the "lex talionis" and Ibn Muljam was executed. Ali's grave was kept secret out of the fear that it might be desecrated by his enemies. His burial site was identified decades later, around which the  town of Najaf grew as a major site of pilgrimage for Muslims, especially Shias.