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Old 17-06-2019   #6
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He who does not have wisdom will be ruined by the a smallest thing (Mistake).
`Ammar said, “You are the mother, whether you accept or you do not!” Umm al-Mu’minin’s denial cannot be accepted right from the point of view of the Qur'anic Commandment! From the Nass Qur’an, the prophet’s wives are the mothers of Muslims, she was the mother of the Muslims, which neither the Muslims deny nor there is any way of denying it! The apparent reason for her denial is that when `Ammar took part in the battle against her, he had forfeited his right to be her son! But the battle was not between the mother and her sons. But it is not binding on the Muslims to obey the Prophet’s wives as they would their own natural mothers. They are the mothers of the Muslims because after the Prophet’s demise they were forbidden from entering into matrimony with others on account of being the Mothers of the Muslims. Such relationship was Haram for Muslims as with their own mothers. Therefore, when the verse of Hijab was revealed, some Muslims uttered that they might marry the widows of the Prophet (a.s) after his demise. Then to admonish them the following verse was revealed:

وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَلَا أَنْ تَنْكِحُوا أَزْوَاجَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ أَبَدًا.

“And it does not behoove you that you should give trouble to the Messenger of Allah, nor that you should marry his wives after him ever. (33/53)”

This banning of matrimony with the Prophet’s widows, are different from the duties of the children towards their natural mothers, and of the mothers towards their children. For example, the children are bound to provide sustenance to their own mothers. But in the case of the mothers of the believers, such binding is not there. Nor were the mothers of the believers permitted to discard the Hijab in front of their sons—the believers. Only in the matter of the forbiddance of marriage that they were given the status of the Mother of the Believers. While it is binding on Muslims to obey their mothers, the obedience has to be subject to the commands being within the norms of Shari`ah. The Prophet (a.s) has said:


[1] Al-Kāmil fit-Tārīkh, Vol 3, Page 130

“Obedience cannot be in acts of sin and is required only in virtuous deeds.”[1]

Perhaps Umm al-Mu’minin had realized this. That her act was aggressive and the journey to al-Basrah was for an illegitimate purpose. Therefore, during her journey she was not offering qasr (shortened form) prayers. Another interpretation is that this was her attitude only during the trip to al-Basrah, and considering the trip as a journey of illegitimacy, she was offering the full mandatory prayers instead of the curtailed qasr prayers mandated during the journeys. The mandate for qasr is only in lawful circumstances. Therefore, Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani has made the following observation:

“`A’ishah was traveling with the intention of battling with `Ali (a.s) to al-Basrah and was offering all the mandated genuflections of prayers and in her opinion qasr Prayer was mandated only during journey of obedience (to Allah).”[2]

Anyway, Umm al-Mu’minin was still in the battlefield when Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) came near the saddle and tapped at its canopy with his stick. He said, “O Humayra’! Did not the Prophet (a.s) order you to follow the dictum of “Once you establish dominance, treat the dominated well!”

He ordered Muhammad ibn Abi-Bakr to erect a tent over the camel’s fallen saddle and guard it that none came near it. With the dusk, he sent her to the widow of `Abdullah ibn Khalaf, Safiyyah bint al-Harith. He ordered the carcass of the camel to be burnt. And spread its ashes to the wind. Then he said, “Allah’s curse on this animal.” He said that it was very similar to the calf, which was worshipped by Banū-Isra’il. He then recited the following verse from the Qur’an:


وَانظُرْ إِلَى إِلَهِكَ الَّذِي ظَلَلْتَ عَلَيْهِ عَاكِفًا لَنُحَرِّقَنَّهُ ثُمَّ لَنَنسِفَنَّهُ فِي الْيَمِّ نَسْفًا.

“And look at your god to whose worship you kept (so long); we will certainly burn it, then we will certainly scatter it a (wide) scattering in the sea. (20/97)”

After the end of the battle, the Imam (a.s) announced to his men that they should not chase any person fleeing. They should not harm any injured person. They should not enter homes of people to loot. Those who surrender arms, give them amnesty and protection. Those who lock themselves in their


[1] Al-Mishkāt, Page 319
[2] Fath al-Bārī, Vol 2, Page 406

homes, leave them in peace. Whatever arms and other materials they found in the battlefield was theirs. He said that on the women and the slave girls they did not have any right. On this, some objections were raised. They said how is it possible that shedding their blood was legitimate and making them slaves is not allowed. Perhaps this opinion was expressed because in the earlier period that was the practice when battles were fought with the infidels and their survivors from the battles, including women and children, were made slaves. The Imam (a.s) said that his decision is the same as that of the Prophet (a.s) after the conquest of Makkah. He said, “if you are insistent, tell me who will take charge of his mother, `A’ishah?” Hearing this silence fell on all the protesters and they realized that their demand was not just. They said, “O Amir al-Mu’minin! The decision made by you is absolutely correct.”

The Imam (a.s) stayed for three days in the field of Jamal. After the burial of the martyrs he entered the city of al-Basrah and went straight to the Masjid. After the prayer, he stood with his back against the wall on the right side. He chided the people of al-Basrah against their waywardness and said:

“You were the troops of a woman and the obedient servants of a camel! When it yelled you went saying, ‘At your service’, when it was hurt you ran away! You are people with low morals, deniers of promises and your faith is something to show off and something else in your hearts! Even the water in your land is polluted! Those who stand to pray amidst you are entangled in sin. One who left you has the Blessings of Allah.”[1]

After the Sermon, the Imam (a.s) took bay`ah from the people of al-Basrah and warned them against creating mischief. Then he came out, and with Abul-Aswad al-Du’ali and others, went to the bayt al-mall and after spot inspection ordered all the funds there to be distributed to those who participated in the battle. He ordered that every trooper must get 500 dirhams each. When the distribution was done, not a single dirham went less than the sanctioned amount for any person, nor any balance left after the entire amount was distributed! Habbah al-`Urfi says that Amir al-Mu’minin too took his share equal to that of others. After the distribution was over one person came and said that he intended to take part in the battle, but could not present himself on time and that he must get a share in the funds distributed. The Imam (a.s) gave him his share of 500 dirhams and remained empty handed!


[1] Nahj al-Balāghah

`A’ishah was still in al-Basrah. The Imam (a.s) sent Ibn `Abbas to her with the message that she must prepare for going to al-Madinah. She was told that neither she had any work in al-Basrah, nor her remaining away from al-Madinah for long was desirable. Ibn `Abbas says that he went with the Imam’s message and sought her permission to enter, but she refused him entry. He was forced to enter without permission and sat down on a rag. Umm al-Mu’minin saw him from behind the curtain and said, “O Ibn `Abbas! You have not cared for the manners prescribed by the Shari`ah and entered without my permission and came into my house and you are sitting on the rag too without my permission. Ibn `Abbas said, “we have better understanding of the norms of Shari`ah! If you have learnt these norms, it is from us. This is not your house that we have to get your permission to enter here. Your house is there, where the Prophet (a.s) had left you behind! When you are at that house, we shall not enter without your permission! I had to come here anyway to convey to you the command of Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s). He asks you to move away to al-Madinah soon. She said, “Amir al-Mu'minin was `Umar ibn al-Khattab.” He said, “I meant `Ali ibn Abi-Talib when I said Amir al-Mu’minin!” She said, “I do not accept him as the Amir al-Mu’minin.” Ibn `Abbas said, “What happens if you accept him as Amir al-Mu’minin or not. Since when you have been given the authority that if you accept one as Amir al-Mu’minin, he is, or otherwise, not! “At this Umm al-Mu’minin started crying and said, “I myself want to go away from this city soon.”

“For the reason that I dislike the place where you people live.”[1]

Ibn `Abbas said, “This is the height of not recognizing others rights. Is it the return for the fact that we have made you Umm al-Mu’minin and your father was called the siddiq. She said, “Do you want to claim superiority over me through the Prophet (a.s)?” he said, “You are only one of the nine wives of the Prophet (a.s).But because of this your slightest word is accepted as a command. We are the flesh and blood of the Prophet (a.s) and it is the same blood that is running in our veins. If you had this privilege, would you not have claimed superiority over us?” Umm al-Mu’minin kept quiet at this because she had no reply to give. Ibn `Abbas repeated the conversation to the Imam (a.s). He was very happy to hear this and recited the following Verse:

ذُرِّيَّةً بَعْضُهَا مِنْ بَعْضٍ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ.


[1] Al-`Iqd al-Farīd, Vol 3, Page 107

“Offspring one of the other; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing. (3/34)”

When Umm al-Mu’minin agreed to travel, Amir al-Mu’minin made arrangements for her travel and the expenses for the way He asked Muhammad ibn Abi-Bakr to accompany her and sent her safely on the way to al-Madinah. This journey commenced on 1 Rajab 36 H, The day was Sunday.

Amir al-Mu’minin, from the beginning to the end of this battle, set a great example searching for peace against all odds. Although he had to fight a bloody battle to curb the big mischief, he did not commence the hostilities until the enemy attacked first. Although they had, before the Imam (a.s) arrived at al-Basrah, inflicted great atrocities on the people and killed hundred of the friends of the Ahl al-Bayt. They attacked the governor of al-Basrah, `Uthman ibn Hunayf, surreptitiously in the night breaking the commitment they had made with him. They captured the bayt al-mall and bayt al-rizq and carried out almost a general massacre of the Muslims. Although the justification for severe action was already created by these heinous acts, the Imam (a.s) tried his best to affect an amicable and peaceful solution. Therefore, he talked at length with Talhah and al-Zubayr. He sent a copy of the Holy Qur’an with Muslim al-Mujashi`i to ask them to follow the injunctions of the Book. When all these efforts were ineffective, and his efforts for peace were termed as his weakness, he was left with no other alternative than fighting it out. When the hostilities started, he organized his ranks in such a manner that victory was guaranteed.


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- Imam Ali Bin Husain




 
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