Assassination of Ali
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Ibn Muljim had entered Kufa with the intention of killing Ali, probably in revenge for the Kharijites' defeat in the
Background
Ali defeated the rebellion of Aisha, Talha, and Zubayr in the
Ali's premonition
Multiple early sources write that Ali knew about his fate long before the assassination either by his own premonition or through Muhammad, who had told Ali that his beard would be stained with the blood of his head. In particular, the Sunni historian Ibn Sa'd (d. 845) quotes the prophetic tradition, "the evilest man among the ancients was he who had killed the camel of the prophet Salih and among his contemporaries, he who would kill Ali." The night before the assassination, Ali foretold that his destiny was soon to be fulfilled. As he left the house in the morning, geese followed him, cackling, and Ali remarked that they were weeping for him.[24]
Assassination
Ali was assassinated by Ibn Muljim, a
Ibn Muljim entered Kufa with plans to assassinate Ali. There he found two local Kharijite accomplices, namely, Shabib ibn Bujra and Wardan ibn al-Mujalid.[25] One or both of them appear in the early sources in connection to the assassination and their fates are sometimes swapped.[24] According to al-Tabari, Ibn Muljim met in Kufa a group of the Taym al-Ribab tribe who were mourning their tribesmen killed at Nahrawan. Among them was a woman named Qatami, who impressed Ibn Muljim with her beauty. She agreed to his proposal of marriage with a wedding gift that included the murder of Ali. She then arranged for her tribesman, Wardan, to assist Ibn Muljim in his mission. For his part, Wardan enlisted the help of Shabib. The night before the assassination, the conspirators stationed themselves opposite the door from which Ali would enter the mosque.[24][29]
On 26 or 28 or 30 January 661 (17 or 19 or 21 Ramadan 40 AH), when Ali arrived at the mosque to lead the morning prayer, Ibn Muljim attacked and wounded Ali on the crown of his head with a poisoned sword either during the prayer,[30][31][32] or as he was entering the mosque.[25][29][24] Shabib's sword missed Ali and he fled and was lost among the crowd.[24][25] Being a Kharijite, he was later killed for terrorizing the civilians.[24] Wardan fled to his home where he was killed by a kinsman after confessing his involvement in the assassination.[33][24] Ibn Muljim was caught at the scene by the Hashimite al-Mughira ibn Nawfal ibn al-Harith,[34] or by Qutham ibn al-Abbas.[24] Ali died about two days later of his wounds at the age of sixty-two or sixty-three.[28] His death is annually commemorated by Shia Muslims on 21 Ramadan.[35][36]
Punishment of Ibn Muljim
Before his death, Ali had requested that Ibn Muljim should be executed in retaliation (
Role of Ibn Qays
Often connected to the assassination is al-Ash'ath ibn Qays, the influential chief of the Kinda tribe in Kufa.[26] As a strong advocate for peace with the Syrians, his loyalty to Ali is doubted in most accounts.[39] Mua'wiya indeed wrote to the Kufan elite after Nahrawan, offering them status and wealth in return for sabotage,[40][41][42] whereas Ali refused to grant them any financial favors as a matter of principle.[43][44][45] Various sources accuse Ibn Qays of threatening Ali with death, being aware of the assassination plot, or hosting and counselling Ibn Muljim in Kufa before the assassination.[26][24][46] An exception is one of the accounts given by the Sunni historian al-Mubarrad (d. 898), in which Ibn Qays warns the caliph about the assassination.[24] Hujr ibn Adi, an ardent supporter of Ali, is said to have accused Ibn Qays of complicity in the assassination,[24] while the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur (r. 754–775) blamed the assassination of Ali on (some of) his companions, over a century later.[26]
Burial and shrine
Ali's body was washed by his sons, Hasan,
Aftermath
During his rule, Ali found a loyal following who regarded him as the best of Muslims after Muhammad and the only one entitled to the caliphate. Nevertheless, this following remained a minority.[34][53] Instead, what united Kufans after Ali was their opposition to Syrian domination,[54] or the highhanded rule of his archenemy Mu'awiya.[34] After the assassination of Ali in January 661, his eldest son Hasan was thus elected caliph in Kufa.[55][1] Mu'awiya marched on Kufa soon after with a large army, while Hasan's army suffered desertions in large numbers, facilitated by the defection of military commanders and tribal chiefs bought by Mu'awiya.[56][57] After a failed attempt on his life, a wounded Hasan ceded the rule in August 661 to Mu'awiya, who founded the Umayyad Caliphate.[57]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ a b Glassé 2001, p. 423.
- ^ Madelung 1997, pp. 141, 142.
- ^ Jafri 1979, p. 63.
- ^ a b Momen 1985, p. 24.
- ^ Jafri 1979, p. 64.
- ^ Kennedy 2016, p. 65.
- ^ Shaban 1970, p. 72.
- ^ Donner 2010, p. 158.
- ^ Madelung 1997, pp. 107, 157.
- ^ Madelung 1997, pp. 204, 205.
- ^ Kennedy 2013, pp. 7–8.
- ^ Madelung 1997, pp. 172, 173, 238.
- ^ Anthony 2013, p. 31.
- ^ Madelung 1997, p. 241.
- ^ Madelung 1997, p. 243.
- ^ Wellhausen 1901, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Madelung 1997, p. 249.
- ^ Wellhausen 1901, p. 17.
- ^ a b Levi Della Vida 2012.
- ^ a b Donner 2010, p. 163.
- ^ a b Wellhausen 1901, pp. 17–8.
- ^ a b Kennedy 2013, p. 10.
- ^ Donner 2010, p. 166.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Veccia Vaglieri 2012b.
- ^ a b c d Madelung 1997, p. 308.
- ^ a b c d e f Bahramian 2015.
- ^ Wellhausen 1927, p. 103.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Veccia Vaglieri 2012a.
- ^ a b Cook 2007, p. 54.
- ^ Poonawala 1982.
- ^ Nasr & Afsaruddin 2021.
- ^ a b c Steigerwald 2004, p. 36.
- ^ Madelung 1997, pp. 308–9.
- ^ a b c d e Madelung 1997, p. 309.
- ^ Momen 1985, p. 239.
- ^ Melton 2011.
- ^ Ayoub 2014, p. 144.
- ^ Shah-Kazemi 2022, p. 98.
- ^ Madelung 1997, p. 233.
- ^ Kennedy 2016, p. 68.
- ^ Jafri 1979, p. 123.
- ^ Donner 2010, p. 164.
- ^ Ayoub 2014, p. 95.
- ^ McHugo 2018, p. 64.
- ^ Madelung 1997, p. 276.
- ^ Ayoub 2014, p. 143.
- ^ Momen 1985, p. 26.
- ^ Harold, Frank. "BALKH AND MAZAR-e-SHARIF". Retrieved 24 May 2016.
- ^ "An analysis on 'The Assault on Ali' painting". khabaronline (in Persian). Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ^ "'The Assault on Ali' painting gets featured in Sa'd Abad artifacts museum on the night of Qadr". Sa'd Abad Cultural-historical complex. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ^ "A painting on 'The Assault on Ali' is unveiled". International Quran News Agency. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ "The 'Assault on Ali' stageplay by Bahram Beizayi is on". www.islamicartz.com (in Persian). Archived from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ Jafri 1979, pp. 124–5.
- ^ Jafri 1979, p. 132.
- ^ Madelung 1997, p. 311.
- ^ Momen 1985, p. 27.
- ^ a b Madelung 2003.
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