The Cause of the Separation of the Shi ite Minority from the Sunni Majority The friends and followers of 'Ali believed that after the death of the Prophet, the caliphate and religious authority (marja'iyat-i ilmi) belonged to 'Ali. This belief came from their consideration of 'Ali's position and station in relation to the Prophet, his relation to the chosen among the companions, as well as his relation to Muslims in general. It was only the events that occurred during the few days of the Prophet's final illness that indicated that there was opposition to their view.
1 Contrary to their expectation, at the very moment when the Prophet died and his body lay still unburied while his household and a few companions were occupied with providing for his burial and ___________ 1 While suffering from the illness that led to his death, (Prophet) Muhammad organized an army under the command of Usamah ibn Zayd and insisted that everyone should participate in this war and go out of Medina. A number of people disobeyed the Prophet including Abu-Bakr and 'Umar and this disturbed the Prophet greatly. (Sharp Cairo, 1329 vol. 15, pp. 53.) At the moment of his death, the Holy Prophet said, "Prepare ink and paper so that I will have a letter written for you which will be a cause of guidance for you and prevent you from being misled." 'Umar, who prevented this action, said, "His illness has run out of bend and he is delirious!" (Tarikh Tabari, vol. II, pp. 436: Sahih) of Bukhari vol.
III and Sahih of Muslim Cairo, 1349 vol. V; al-Bidayah wa 'l-Nihayah, vol. V, pp. 227; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid vol. I, pp. 133.) A somewhat similar situation occurred again during the illness, which lad to the death of the first caliph. In his last testament, the first caliph chose 'Umar and even fainted while making the testament, but 'Umar said nothing and did not consider him to be delirious, although he had fainted while the testament was being written. The Prophet had been inerrant and fully conscious when he asked them to write down a letter of guidance. (Rawdat al-Sofa, Mir Khwand Lucknow, 1332, vol. II, pp. 260.) funeral service, the friends and followers of 'Ali received news of the activity of another group who had gone to the mosque where the community was gathered faced with this sudden loss of its leader. This group, which was later to form the majority, set forth in great haste to select a caliph for the Muslims with the aim of ensuring the welfare of the community and solving its immediate problems. They did this without consulting the Household of the Prophet, his relatives or many of his friends, who were busy with the funeral, and without providing them with the least information. Thus, 'Ali and his companions were presented with a fait accompli.
1 'All and his friends—such as 'Abbas, Zubayr, Salman, Abu Dharr, Miqdad and 'Ammar—after finishing with the burial of the body of the Prophet became aware of the proceedings by which the caliph had been selected. They protested against the act of choosing the caliph by consultation or election, and also against those who were responsible for carrying it out. They even presented their own proofs and arguments, but the answer they received was that the welfare of the Muslims was at stake and the solution lay in what had been done.
2 ____________ 1 Ibn Abi 'l Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. I, pp. 58 and pp. 123-135; Tarikh Ya'qubi vol. II, pp. 102; Tarikh Tabari vol. II, pp. 445-460. 2 Tarikh Ya'qubi, vol. 11, pp. 103-106; Tarikh Abi 'l-Fida', vol. I, pp. 156 and 166; Muruj al-Dhahab, vol. II, pp. 307 and 352; Ibn Abil-Hadid, vol. I, pp. 17 and 134. In answer to Ibn 'Abbas's protest, 'Umar said, 'I swear to God, 'Ali was the most deserving of all people to become caliph, but for three reasons we pushed him aside: (1) he was too young, (2) he was attached to the descendants of 'Abd al-Muttalib (3) people did not like to have prophecy and the caliphate assembled in one household." (Ibn Abi'l-Hadid, vol. 15, pp. 134.) 'Umar said to Ibn 'Abbas, "I swear to God that 'Ali deserved the caliphate, but the Quraysh would not have been able to bear his caliphate, for had he become caliph, he would have forced the people to accept the pure truth and follow the Right Path.
Under his caliphate, they would not have been able to transgress the boundaries of justice and thus would have sought to engage in war with. him." (Tarikh Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 137.) It was this protest and criticism which separated from the majority the minority that were following 'Ali and made his followers known to society as the "partisans" or "Shi ah" of 'Ali. The caliphate of the time was anxious to guard against this appellation being given to the Shis ite minority and thus to have Muslim society divided into sections comprised of a majority and a minority. The supporters of the caliph considered the caliphate to be a matter of the consensus of the community (ijma') and called those who objected the "opponents of allegiance.
" They claimed that the Shi ah stood, therefore, opposed to Muslim society. Sometimes the Shi'ah were given other pejorative and degrading names. 1 Shi'ism was condemned from the first moment because of the political situation of the time and thus it could not accomplish anything through mere political protest. 'Ali, in order to safeguard the well-being of Islam and of the Muslims, and also because of lack of sufficient political and military power, did not endeavor to begin an uprising against the existing political order, which would have been of a bloody nature.
Yet, those who protested against the established caliphate refused to surrender to the majority in certain questions of faith and continued to hold that the succession to the Prophet and religious authority belonged by right to 'Ali. 2 They believed ___________ 1 'Amr ibn Harith said to Said ibn Zayd, "Did anyone oppose paying allegiance to Abu-Bakr?" He answered, "No one was opposed to him except those who had become apostates or were about to become so." Tarikh Tabari, vol. II, pp. 447. 2 In the famous hadith of thaqalayn—the two things of value—the Prophet says, leave two things of value amidst you in trust which if you hold on, you will never go astray: the Qur'an and the members of my household; these will never be separated until the Day of Judgment." This hadith has been transmitted through more than a hundred channels by over thirty-five of the companions of the Holy Prophet. ('Abaqat, volume on hadith thaqalayn, Ghayat al-Maram, pp. 211.) The Prophet said, 'I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate. Therefore whosoever seeks knowledge should enter through its door.' (al-Bidäyah wa 'l-Nihayah, vol. VII, pp. 359.) that all spiritual and religious matters should be referred to him and invited people to become his followers.
1 The Two Problems of Succession and Authority in Religious Sciences In accordance with the Islamic teachings which form its basis, Shi'ism believed that the most important question facing Islamic society was the elucidation and clarification of Islamic teachings and the tenets of the religious sciences. 2 Only after such clarifications were made could the application of these teachings to the social order be considered. In other words, Shi'ism believed that, before all else, members of society should be able to gain a true vision of the world and of men based on the real nature of things. Only then could they know and perform their duties as human beings—in which lay their real welfare—even if the performance of these religious duties were to be against their desires. After carrying out this first step, a religious government should preserve and execute real Islamic order in society in such a way that man would worship none other than God, would possess personal and social freedom to the extent possible and would benefit from true personal and social justice.
These two ends could be accomplished only by a person who was inerrant and protected by God from having faults. Otherwise, people could become rulers or religious authorities who would not be free from the possibility of distortion of thought or the committing of treachery in the duties placed upon their shoulders. Were this to happen, the just and ____________ 1 Tarikh Ya'aqubi vol. II, pp. 105-150, where this is mentioned often. 2 The Book of God and the sayings of the Holy Prophet and his household are replete with encouragement and exhortation to acquire knowledge, to the extent that the Holy Prophet says, "To seek knowledge is incumbent upon every Muslim" Bihar al-Anwar of Majlisi, Tehran, 1301-15, vol. I, pp 55. freedom-giving rule of Islam could gradually be converted to dictatorial rule and a completely autocratic government. Moreover, the pure religious teachings could become, as can be seen in the case of certain other religions, the victims of change and distortion in the hands of selfish scholars given to the satisfaction of their carnal desires. As confirmed by the Holy Prophet, 'Ali followed perfectly and completely the Book of' God and the tradition of the Prophet in both words and deeds.
1 As Shi'ism sees it, if, as the majority say, only the Quraysh 2 opposed the rightful caliphate of 'Ali, then that majority should have answered the Quraysh by asserting what was right. They should have quelled all opposition to the right cause in the same way that they fought against the group who refused to pay the religious tax (zakat). The majority should not have remained indifferent to what was right for few of the opposition of the Quraysh. What prevented the Shi' ah from accepting the elective method of choosing the caliphate by the people was the fear of the unwholesome consequences that might result from it: fear of possible corruption in Islamic government and of the destruction of the solid basis for the sublime religious sciences. As it happened, later events in Islamic history confirmed this fear (or prediction), with the result that the Shiites became even firmer in their belief. During the earliest years, however, because of the small number of its followers, Shi'ism appeared outwardly to have been absorbed into the majority, although privately it continued to insist on acquiring the Islamic sciences from the Household of the Prophet and to invite people to its cause. At the same time, in order to preserve the power of Islam ____________
1 Al-Bidayah wa 'l Nihayah, vol. VII, pp. 360. 2 Editor's note: The Quraysh was the most aristocratic tribe in pre-Islamic Arabia from which rose the Holy Prophet himself. But the Quraysh, being the guardians of the Ka'bah, first opposed his prophecy and offend the greatest resistance against him. Only later did they surrender to the new religion in which they have always continued to hold a place of honor, especially the branch directly connected with the family of the Prophet. and safeguard its progress, Shi'ism did not display any open opposition to the men of Islamic society. Members of the Shi'ite community even fought hand in hand with the Sunni majority in holy wars (jihad and participated in public affairs. 'Ali himself guided the Sunni majority in the interest of the whole of Islam, whenever such action was necessary. 1 ____________ 1 Tarikh i Ya'qubi, pp, 111, 126 and 129. The Political Method of the Selection of the Caliph by Vote and Its Disagreement with the Shi' ite View Shi'ism believes that the Divine Law of Islam (Shari' ah), whose substance is found in the Book of God and in the tradition (Sunnah) 2 of the Holy Prophet, will remain valid to the Day of Judgment and can never, nor will ever, be altered. A government which is really Islamic cannot, under any pretext, refuse completely to carry out the Shari' ah's injuctions. 3 The only duty of an Islamic government is to make decisions by consultation within the limits set by the Shari' ah and in accordance with the demands of the moment. The vow of allegiance to Abu-Bakr at Saqifah, which was motivated at least in part by political considerations, and the __________
_ 2 Editor's note: The traditions of the Prophet as contained in his sayings are called hadith while his activities, deeds, words and all that made up the life which has become an example to all Muslims are called sunnah. 3 God says in His Word: 'For lo! It is an unassailable Scripture. Falsehood cannot come at it from before it or behind it,' (Qur'an, XLI, 41-42) And He says, 'The decision is for Allah only' (Qur'an, VI, 57, also XII, 40 and 67), meaning the only Shari'ah is the Shari'ah and laws of God which must reach man through prophecy. And He says, 'But he [Muhammad] is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets.' (Qur'an, XXXIII, 40) And He says, 'Whose judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed; such are the disbelievers (Qur'an, V, 44).' incident described in the hadith of 'ink and paper,' 1 which occurred during the last days of the illness of the Holy Prophet, reveal the fact that those who directed and backed the movement to choose the caliph through the process of election believed that the Book of God should be preserved in the form of a constitution. They emphasized the Holy Book and paid much less attention to the words of the Holy Prophet as an immutable source of the teachings of Islam. They seem to have accepted the modification of certain aspects of Islamic teachings concerning government to suit the conditions of the moment and for the sake of the general welfare.
This tendency to emphasise only certain principles of the Divine Law is confirmed by many sayings that were later transmitted concerning the companions of the Holy Prophet. For example, the companions were considered to be independent authorities in matters of the Divine Law (mujtahid) 2 being able to exercise independent judgment (ijtihad) in public affairs. It was also believed that if they succeeded in their task, they would be rewarded by God and if they failed, they would be forgiven by Him since they were among the companions. This view was widely held during the early years following the death of the Holy Prophet. Shi ism takes a stricter stand and believes that the actions of the companions, as of all other Muslims, should be judged strictly ____________ 1 Editor's note: According to Shiite sources, after the death of the Prophet, people gathered in the 'covered porch' (saqifah) of Banu-Sa'idah and swore allegiance to Abu-Bakr as caliph. As for the hadith of "ink and paper," it refers to the last moments of the life of the Prophet as _related above. 2 Editor's note:
The mujtahid is one who through mastery of the religious sciences and the possession of moral qualities has the right to practice ijtihad or the giving of fresh opinion on matters pertaining to the Shari'ah. The right of exercising one's independent judgment based on the principles of the Law, or ijtihad, has ceased in Sunni Islam since the 3rd/9th century whereas the "gate of ijtihad" has been always open in Shiite Islam. The leading authorities in the Law are called in Shi'ism mujtahids. according to the teachings of the Shari' ah. For example, there was the complicated incident involving the famous general Khalid ibn al-Walid in the house of one of the prominent Muslims of the day, Malik ibn Nuwayrah which led to the death of the latter. The tact that Khalid was not at all taken to task for this incident because of his being an outstanding military leader shows 1 in the eyes of Shi'ism an undue lenience toward some of the actions of the companions which were below the norm of perfect piety and righteousness set by the actions of the spiritual elite among the companions. Another practice of the early years which is criticized by Shi'ism is the cutting off of the Khums 2 from the members of the Household of the Prophet and from the Holy Prophet's relatives.
3 Likewise, because of the emphasis laid by Shi'ism on the sayings and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet, it is difficult for it to understand why the writing down of the text of hadith was completely banned and why, if a written hadith were found, it would be burned. 4 We know that this ban continued through ____________ 1 Tarikh Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 110; Tarikh Abi'l-Fida', vol. L pp. 158. 2 Editor's note: A religions tax paid to the family of the Prophet which was discontinued in Sunni Islam after his death but continues in Shi'ite Islam to this day. 3 Al-Durr al-Manthur, vol. III, pp. 186; Tarikh Ya'qubi, vol. III, pp. 48. Besides these, the necessity of the khums has been mentioned in the Holy Qur'an: "And know that wherever ye take of spoils of war, lo! a fifth (khums) thereof is for Allah, .and for the messenger and for kinsmen..." (Qur'an, VIII, 41). 4 During his caliphate, Abu-Bakr collected five hundred hadiths. 'A'ishah recounts: "One night, I saw my father disturbed until morning.
In the morning he told me, 'Bring the hadiths.' Then he set them all on fire." (Kanz al-'Ummal of 'Ala' al-Din Muttaqi, Hyderabad, 1364-75, vol. V, pp. 237.) 'Umar wrote to all cities stating that whosoever had a hadith should destroy it. (Kanz al-'Ummal, vol. V, pp. 237) Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr says: 'During the time of 'Umar hadiths increased. When they were brought to him, he ordered them to be burned." (Tabaqat of Ibn Sa'd. Beirut, 1376,,vol. V, pp. 140.) the caliphate of the khulafa' rashidun 1 into the Umayyad period 2 and did not cease until the period of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al- 'Aziz who ruled from AH 99/AD 717 to AH 101/AD 719. 3 During the period of the second caliph (13/634-25/644), there was a continuation of the policy of emphasizing certain aspects of the Shari' ah and of putting aside some of the practices which the Shi'ites believe the Holy Prophet taught and practised. Some practices were forbidden, some were omitted, and some were added.
For instance, the pilgrimage of tamattu (a kind of pilgrimage in which the 'umrah ceremony is utilized in place of the hajj ceremony) was banned by Umar during his caliphate, with the decree that transgressors would be stoned; this in spite of the fact that during his final pilgrimage, the Holy Prophet—upon whom be blessings and peace—instituted, as in Qur'an Sarah II, 196, a special form for the pilgrimage ceremonies that might be performed by pilgrims coming from far away. Also, during the lifetime of the Prophet of God, temporary marriage (mut'ah) was practiced, but Umar forbade it.
And even though during the life of the Holy Prophet it was the practice to recite in the call to prayers, "Hurry to the best act" (hayya 'alai khayr el-'amal), 'Umar ordered that it be omitted because he said it would prevent people from participating in holy war, jib (It is still recited in the Shi'ite call to prays, but not in the Sunni call.) There were also additions to the Shari' ah; during the time ____________ 1 Editor's note: The first four caliphs, Abu-Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman and 'Ali, were together called the Khulafa' Rashidun, the rightly guided caliphs, and their period of caliphate is sharply distinguished from that of the Umayyad, which followed because the rule of the first four caliphs was strongly religious in character while the Umayyad caliphate was colored by mundane and worldly considerations. 2 Tarikh Abu 'l-Fide', vol. 1, pp. 151, and others similar sources. 3 Editor's note: For the benefit of non-Muslim readers, all dates will be given in both AH (Islamic lunar calendar dating from the Hijrah) and the corresponding AD years (13/634-25/644);
when a reference is added to a century, we have given first the Islamic century and then the corresponding Christian century: (4th/10th century). of the Prophet, a divorce was valid only if the three declarations of divorce ("I divorce thee") were made on three different occasions, but Umar allowed the triple divorce declaration to be made at one time. Heavy penalties were imposed on those who broke certain of these new regulations, such as stoning in the case of mut ' ah marriage. It was also during the period of the rule of the second caliph that new social and economic forces led to the uneven distribution of the public treasury (bayt al-mal) among the people, 1 an act which was later the cause of bewildering class differences and frightful and bloody struggles among Muslims. At this time, Mu'awiyah was ruling in Damascus in the style of the Persian and Byzantine kings and was even given the title of the "Khosrow of the Arabs" (a Persian title of the highest imperial power), but no serious protest was made against him for his worldly type of rule.
2 The second caliph wag killed by a Persian slave in 25/644. In accordance with the majority vote of a six-man council, which had assembled by order of the second caliph before his death, the third caliph was chosen. The third caliph did not prevent his Umayyad relatives from becoming dominant over the people during his caliphate and appointed some of them as rulers in the Hijaz, Iraq, Egypt and other Muslim lands. 3 These relatives began to be lax in applying moral principles in government. Some of them openly committed injustice and tyranny, sin and iniquity, and broke certain of the tenets of firmly established Islamic laws. Before long, streams of protest began to flow toward the capital. But the caliph, who was under the influence of his ___________ 1 Tarikh Ya'qiibi, vol. II, pp. 131; Tdrikh Abil-Fide', vol. I, pp. 160. 2 Usd al-Ghabah of Ibn Athir, Cairo, 1280, vol. IV, pp.
386;al-Isabah of Ibn Hajar ‘Asqalani, Cairo, 1323, vol. III. 3 Tarikh Ya'qubi, vol II, pp. 150; Abu 'l-Fidã ', vol. I, pp. 168; Tarikh Tahari, vol. III, pp. 377, etc. relative—particularly Marwan ibn Hakam— 1 did not act promptly or decisively to remove the causes against which the people were protesting. Sometimes it even happened that those who protested were punished and driven away. An incident that happened in Egypt illustrates the nature of the rule of the third caliph. A group of Muslims in Egypt rebelled against Uthman. Uthmän sensed the danger and asked 'Ali for help, expressing his feeling of contrition. 'Ali told the Egyptians, "You have revolted in order to bring justice and truth to life. Uthmän has repented saying, 'I shall change my ways and in three days will fulfill your wishes. I shall expel the oppressive rulers from their posts." 'Ali then wrote an agreement with them on behalf of 'Uthman and they started home. On the way, they saw the slave of Uthman riding on his camel in the direction of Egypt. They became suspicious of him and searched him. on him they found a letter for the governor of Egypt containing the following words: "In the name of God. When 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Addis comes to you beat him with a hundred lashes, shave his head and beard and condemn him to long imprisonment. Do the same in the case of 'Amr ibn al-Hamq, Sawdah ibn Hamran, and 'Urwah ibn Niba'.
" The Egyptians took the letter and returned with eager to Uthman, saying, "You have betrayed us!" Uthman denied the letter. They said, "Your slave was the carrier of the letter." He answered, "He has committed this act without my permission." They said, "He rode upon your camel." He answered, "They have stolen my camel." They said, "The letter is in the handwriting of your secretary." He replied, "This has been done without my permission and knowledge." They said, "In any case you are not competent to be caliph and must resign, for if this has been done with your permission you are a traitor and if such important matters take place without your permission and knowledge then your incapability and incompetence is proven. In any case, either resign or dismiss the oppressive agents from office immediately." 'Uthman answered, "If I wish to act ____________ 1 Tärikh Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 150; Tarikh Tabari, vol. III, p 397. according to your will, then it is you who are the rulers. Then, what is my function?" They stood up and left the gathering in anger. 1 During his caliphate, 'Uthmän allowed the government of Damascus, at the head of which stood Mu'awiyah, to be strengthened more than ever before.
In reality, the center of gravity of the caliphate as far as political power was concerned was shifting to Damascus; and the organization in Medina, the capital of the Islamic world, was politically no more than a form without the necessary power and substance to support it. 2 Finally, in the year 35/656, the people rebelled and after a few days of siege and fighting, the third caliph was killed. The first caliph was selected through the vote of the majority of the companions, the second caliph by the will and testament of the first, and the third by a six-man council whose members and rules of procedure were organized and determined by the second caliph. Altogether, the policy of these three caliphs, who were in power for twenty five years, was to execute and apply Islamic laws and principles in society in accordance with ijtihad and what appeared as most wise at the time to the caliphs themselves. As for the Islamic sciences, the policy of these caliphs was to have the Holy Qur'an read and understood without being concerned with commentaries upon it or allowing it to become the subject of discussion.
The hadith of the Prophet was recited and was transmitted orally without being written down. Writing was limited to the text of the Holy Qur'an and was forbidden in the case of hadith. 3 After the battle of Yamamah, which ended in 12/633, many of those who had been reciters of the Holy Qur'an and who knew it by heart were killed. As a result, Umar ibn al-Al-Khattab ____________ 1 Tarikh Tabari, vol. III, pp. 402-409; Tärikh Ya'qubi, vol. V, pp. 150-151. 2 Tarikh Tabari, vol. III, p, 377. 3 Sahih of Bukhari, vol. VI, pp. 98; Tarikh Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 113. proposed to the first caliph to have the verses of the Holy Qur'an collected in written form, saying that if another war were to occur and the rest of those who knew the Qur'an by heart were to be killed, the knowledge of the text of the Holy Book would disappear among men. Therefore, it was necessary to assemble the Qur'anic verses in written form.
1 From the Shi'ite point of view, it appears strange that this decision was made concerning the Qur'an and yet despite the fact that the prophetic hadith, which is the complement of the Qur'an, was faced with the same danger and was not free from corruption in transmission, addition, diminution, forgery and forgetfulness, the same attention was not paid to it. On the contrary, as already mentioned, writing it down was forbidden and all of the written versions of it that were found were burned, as if to emphasize that only the text of the Holy Book should exist in written form. As for the other Islamic sciences, during this period little effort was made to propagate them, the energies of the community being spent mostly in establishing the new socio-political order.
Despite all the praise and consecration which are found in the Qur'an concerning knowledge ('Ilm) 2 and the emphasis placed upon its cultivation, the avid cultivation of the religious sciences was postponed to a later period of Islamic history. Most men were occupied with the remarkable and continuous victories of the Islamic armies, and were carried away by the flood of immeasurable booty, which came from all directions inward the Arabian Peninsula. With this new wealth and the 1 Tarikh Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 111; Tarikh Tabari, vol. III, pp. 129-132. 2 Editor's note:
The word Win means science in its most universal sense, like the Latin scientia, and applies to the religious as well as intellectual, rational and philosophical forms of knowledge. Generally, it is distinguished from ma'rifah or irfan which is Divine knowledge and may be compared to the Latin sapientia. Certain Muslim masters, however, consider Win in its highest sense to stand above irfan since it is a Divine Quality, one of God's Names using al-'Alien, He Who knows. worldliness which came along with it, few were willing to devote themselves to the cultivation of the sciences of the Household of the Prophet, at whose head stood 'Ali, whom the Holy Prophet had introduced to the people as the one most versed in the Islamic sciences.
At the same time, the inner meaning and purpose of the teachings of the Holy Qur'an were neglected by most of those who were affected by this change. It is strange that, even in the matter of collecting the verses of the Holy Qur'an, 'Ali was not consulted and his name was not mentioned among those who participated in this task, although it was known by everyone that he had collected the text of the Holy Qur'an after the death of the Prophet. 1 It has been recounted in many traditions that after receiving allegiance from the community, Abu-Bakr sent someone to 'Ali and asked for his allegiance. 'Ali said, "I have promised not to leave my house except for the daily prayers until I compile the Qur' an.
" And it has been mentioned that 'Ali gave his allegiance to Abu-Bakr after six months. This itself is proof that 'Ali had finished compiling the Qur'an. Likewise, it has been recounted that after compiling the Qur'an, he placed the pages of the Holy Book on a camel and showed it to the people. It is also recounted that the battle of Yamamah after which the Qur'an was compiled occurred during the second year of the caliphate of Abu-Bakr. These facts have been mentioned in most works on history and hadith which deal with the account of the compilation of the Holy Qur'an. These and similar events made the followers of 'Ali firmer in their belief and more conscious of the course that lay before them. They increased their activity from day to day and 'Ali himself, who was cut off from the possibility of educating and training the people in general, concentrated on privately training an elite.
___________ 1 Tärikh Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 113; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid, vol. I, pp. 9. During this twenty-five year period, 'Ali lost through death three of his few dearest friends and associates, who were also among the companions of the Prophet: Salman Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, and Miqdad. They had been constant in their friendship with him in all circumstances. It was also during this same period that some of the other companions of the Holy Prophet and a large number of their followers in the Hijaz, the Yemen, Iraq and other lands, joined the followers of 'Ali. As a result, after the death of the third caliph, the people turned to 'Ali from all sides, swore allegiance to him and chose him as caliph.