Ali's Occupation of Basra

Burial of the dead

When after the battle, Ali inspected the battlefield, he found it piled up with dead bodies and littered with severed limbs. The plain outside Basra was virtually soaked with blood. Among the dead on both the sides there were many faces familiar to Ali, and he was much grieved over their death. These included some eminent companions. Ali felt that if as a result of the battle, men of such eminence were to die, he would not have resorted to war. It was a deplorable sight that Muslims had cut the throats of Muslims, and at this tragedy no body could grieve more than Ali. As long as the battle waged, there was enmity between the two sides. After the battle there was no enmity between the dead. Ali arranged for the funeral prayers, and the burial of the dead from both the sides. Many vultures invaded the battlefield, and carried away the limbs. A vulture carried a limb to Madina, and it was found to be a severed hand containing a ring bearing the name of Abdur Rahman b Atab, an eminent companion. Ali did not celebrate the victory as an occasion of joy. He ordered the observance of mourning for three days in the memory of the dead. These three days were spent in the burial of the dead.

Treatment of the people of Basra

Some of the followers of Ali demanded that, having been defeated, the survivors should be distributed as slaves among the soldiers of the victorious army. Ali turned down the demand saying that as the Caliph of the Muslims he could not allow the Muslims to be enslaved by Muslims in a country which was "Dar-ul Islam". The soldiers of the army of Ali desired that if they were not to be allowed to enslave the people of Basra, they should be allowed to plunder their property. Ali turned down this demand as well with great force. He held that whatever arms and equipment had been brought to the battlefield on the occasion of the battle could be treated as 'Ghanima' (war booty) and captured, but whatever lay in the homes of the people belonged to them, and he could not permit his men to deprive the people of Basra of their rightful belongings. Whatever booty was collected from the battlefield was distributed among the soldiers according to the Islamic law, and they were asked to abstain from seizing any property of the people of Basra by force.

Occupation of Basra

After the three days of mourning were over, Ali entered the city of Basra and occupied it. He declared amnesty for the people of Basra, and asked them to assemble in the principal mosque of the city. When all the people had assembled, Ali addressed them. He said that his heart bled at the tragedy that had overtaken the people of Basra, for this they were themselves to blame. They had taken the oath of allegiance to him, but later they were misguided to repudiate such oath without cause. He observed that particular sanctity was attached to such oath, and could not be repudiated. He narrated at length the circumstances under which Othman had been killed, and how he had been elected as the Caliph. He added that Talha and Zubair were the first to offer allegiance to him, and they were the first to repudiate it. Thereafter be explained at length how the demand for the vengeance for the blood of Othman was merely a pretext for gaining some ulterior end. As regards Ayesha he said he had the greatest respect and regard for her. There were some minor points of difference between him and her but there was hardly any justification for making such petty differences the ground for an armed conflict. It was nor worthy of a lady of her rank and status to take to arms when according to the injunctions of Islam, ladies were required to sit in their homes, and the Holy Prophet himself had warned his wives in that respect. He added that those who had led the revolt labor under some misunderstanding, and they were misguided in taking to arms. Because of such misguidance, the Muslim Ummah had suffered, and at this suffering and disaster none was more grieved than he. He said, at this moment Basra lies bleeding. My heart bleeds at the tragedy that has befallen your city." He observed that he had granted amnesty to the people of Basra, and was prepared to forgive and forget the past, provided the people of Basra assured him of their loyalty. The speech of Ali had its effect. The spokesmen of the people of Basra regretted all that had happened, and assured Ali of their loyalty. Thereafter all the people of Basra offered allegiance to Ali. 'Fatehah' was offered for the souls of the dead from both the sides. Someone asked him whether he regarded the people who had opposed him and had died, as martyrs. He said that he regarded all the Muslims to whatever side they belonged and had died as martyrs, for rightly or wrongly they were of the conviction that they were fighting for cause. Ali led the prayers, and after the prayers, mercy of Allah was craved for keeping the Muslims united. Ali made the necessary arrangements for the administration of Basra. He took hold of the Baitul Mal, and compensated the people who had lost their dear ones. He made arrangements for the treatment of the wounded. It was noticed that some people of Basra who were in the forefront in opposition to Ali had escaped to seek the protection of tribes in the desert. Ali issued a proclamation that they were free to come to their homes in Basra and no action would be taken for their sins of omission or commission in the past.

Ayesha

The strain of the battle, the humiliation of her defeat, the failure of her mission, and the death of her dear ones were too much for Ayesha to bear. Although a brave woman, she took to weeping day and night and fell sick. Ali visited her frequently and tried to calm her feelings. He made arrangements that she was properly looked after and was provided all facilities. Ashtar the leader of the regicides purchased the most valuable camel in Basra and sent it to Ayesha in lieu of the camel that had been killed in the battle. Ayesha refused to accept the gift, and cursed Ashtar as the evil genius who was responsible for the troubles of the Muslim Ummah. When Ayesha recovered from her illness she expressed the desire to be sent to Madina. Ali made elaborate arrangements for her journey. A group of women from Basra accompanied her to Madina. Muhammad b Abu Bakr, a step-brother of Ayesha, was commissioned by Ali to escort her to Madina. Ali himself traveled with her caravan for one stage beyond Basra, and there saw her off, requesting her to forgive and forget, for no one could say whether they were destined to meet again or not. Ayesha reciprocated the goodwill of Ali and the two parted as friends. Back in Madina, Ayesha led a retired life and did not thereafter take part in politics. She contented herself with narrating the traditions of the Holy Prophet and in this field of scholarship, she came to be recognized as an authority.

Consequences of Ali's victory in the battle of the Camel

Ali won the Battle of the Camel. As a result of this victory, Ali's caliphate came to be acknowledged by the entire Muslim world except Syria. From the victory of Basra the victory of Damascus could have been one step but that was not to be. Basra could not become a stepping stone to further conquests. In the long run, Ali's victory over Basra proved to be rave elusive than real. The carnage in Basra had been heavy. Almost every family to whichever side they belonged lost one or more dear ones. Though the people took the oath of allegiance to Ali but they did not feel happy. General discontentment continued to smolder in the hearts of the people. In normal circumstances, Ali's victory of Basra should have strengthened his position, and overawed those who were still opposed to him. Things however did not turn that way. If peace could have been made at Basra, and Talha and Zubair had acknowledged the caliphate of Ali, the position of Ali would have been strengthened. The death of Talha and Zubair, as subsequent events showed worked to the advantage of Muawiyah. If they had been alive, Muawiyah was bound to contend against three rivals, Ali, Talha and Zubair. After the Battle of Basra he had to contend against Ali alone, and this was something in his favor. Heretofore Muawiyah had contented himself with cold war. He had abstained from taking to arms for he was afraid that such rebellion against established authority was likely to be looked by the Muslims with disfavor. The Battle of Basra sanctioned the use of the sword as an arbiter in the matter of succession to the caliphate. It provided an argument to Muawiyah that if the people of Basra could fight against Ali, so could the people of Syria.

The victory of Basra instead of proving a source of strength for Ali, proved in the long run to be a source of weakness. Most of the people had joined Ali in the hope that as in other wars they would amass wealth by plundering the defeated people. When Ali forbade such plunder, that led to discontentment, and those who had participated in the battle came to feel that nothing was to be gained by fighting for Ali. That created difficulties for Ali in recruiting men to fight against Muawiyah.

The Battle of Basra was indeed precipitated by the regicides much against the wishes of Ali. The victory of Basra made the regicides more powerful. That led to very embarrassing results for Ali. In Basra, Ayesha had executed all the regicides of Basra. That provided an argument to Muawiyah and other enemies of Ali, that he was involved in the murder of Othman for he had taken no action against the regicides and was instead protecting them.

As the peace parleys at Basra before the outbreak of the battle showed, Ali did want to take action against the regicides of Kufa as Ayesha had taken action against the regicides of Basra. Subsequent developments however made things difficult for Ali. These people, rebellious by nature, became a source of great headache for Ali. When Ali appointed his cousin Abdullah b Abbas as the Governor of Basra, these men viewed the appointment critically and said, "If every Caliph is to appoint his relatives as the Governors, why did we kill the old man Othman?" As with the passage of time the crisis deepened, those people progressively gained in power and importance, and Ali in spite of all his valor, integrity, and other notable qualities became a virtual prisoner in the hands of those "rebels". The Battle of Basra has cast a fatal shadow across the history of Islam. It was the first civil war between the Muslims, and it set the unfortunate precedent for the Muslims to fight among themselves to seek some secular end. The Battle of the Camel served as a prelude to the massacre of Karbala a generation later. The argument of Yazid was that if Ali could take to the sword to assert his right to the caliphate, so could he when most of the people had in fact taken the oath of allegiance to him. If the people of Basra were rebels, and Ali was justified in military action against them, thus he was justified in taking action against Imam Husain who had rebelled against his authority.