Qais Bin Saad Ansari

Importance of Egypt

Among the provinces of the Muslim Commonwealth, Egypt was the most important province. In the revolt against Othman the Egyptian rebels had played the lea ding role. Ali was popular among the Egyptians, and the proposal to elect Ali as the Caliph was in the first instance sponsored by the Egyptians. When Muawiyah who led the opposition against Ali was strongly entrenched in Syria, it was vital for Ali that he should have a strong hold on Egypt. In this context the question of the appointment of a Governor for Egypt was a matter of utmost importance.

Qais bin Sa'ad

During the caliphate of Othman, Abdullah b Abi Sarah was the Governor of Egypt. When the opposition to Othman gathered strength, Abdullah b Abi Sarah was overthrown by Muhammad b Hudaifa. Muhammad b Hudaifa was a cousin of Othman. When Hudaifa died, Othman took over the responsibility for the upbringing of Muhammad, and treated him as a son when Muhammad grew up he fell out with Othman and escaped to Egypt where he incited the people to rebel against the authority of Othman. In the confusion following the assassination of Othman, Muhammad b Abi Hudaifa was enticed by Muawiyah to come to Arish on the borders of Palestine where he was murdered treacherously. Muawiyah's attempt to conquer Egypt, however, failed.

On becoming the Caliph, Ali appointed Qais b Sa'ad as the Governor of Egypt. He was a seasoned warrior and enjoyed great fame for his wisdom and diplomacy. He belonged to a distinguished Ansar family of Madina. He was proud of his lineage and was much devoted to Ali. Ali asked him to take with him some troops from Madina. Qais said that the Caliph needed the troops at Madina, and he would not like to weaken the defenses of Madina in any way. Qais left for Madina with a retinue consisting of seven persons only.

Affairs of Egypt

The affairs of Egypt were at that time in a state great disarray. By great skill and bravery, Qais succeeded in assuming the charge of the governorship of Egypt. He addressed the people in the mosque, and delivered to them Ali's message of goodwill. He took the oath of allegiance to Ali from the people. Saddled in power, Qais sent his agents to the various parts of Egypt to obtain the oath of allegiance of the people to Ali. Such oath was subscribed to by all the people with two exceptions. In Kharbata, the Banu Adlaj led by Yazid Harith did not take the oath of allegiance to Ali. The tribe led by the chief Muslama b Mukhalled were pro-Othman and their sympathies were with the Umayyads and Muawiyah. With great tact and diplomatic skill, Qais b Saad succeeded in making a treaty of neutrality with them. They undertook that if they were not pressed to take an oath of allegiance to Ali, they would not create any trouble for the government of Egypt or the caliphate of Ali. Qais considered that to neutralize these people, was in the best interests of the caliphate, and it was not expedient to press them to take the oath of allegiance to Ali.

Intrigues of Muawiyah

The plan of Muawiyah was that with Yazid b Harith, and Miasmal b Mukhalled he would create trouble for the government of Egypt. By making a treaty of neutrality with these people, Qais denied Muawiyah the possibility of having a foothold in Egypt. Thereupon he tried to cultivate Qais. Muawiyah asked Qais to join him, and in lieu thereof he promised him and his posterity the governorship of Egypt in perpetuity. Qais spurned this offer and declared that he was loyal to Ali and could not betray him at any cost. Muawiyah changed his tactics, and tried to make Qais believe that in supporting Ali he was supporting the murderers of Othman. Qais repudiated this view. He said that he was in Madina when Othman was assassinated and it was incorrect that Ali had supported the rebels or was involved in any way with the murder of Othman.

Having failed to win over Qais to his side, Muawiyah resorted to intrigue to create suspicion between Ali and Qais. Muawiyah whipped up propaganda to the effect that Qais was his ally, and would betray Ali at the proper time for such revolt. In proof of his claim for the friendship of Qais he asserted that Qais had not suppressed the party of the Egyptians who demanded vengeance for the blood of Othman and had not taken the oath of allegiance to Ali.

The agents of Muawiyah carried the propaganda to Kufa, and when Ali came to know of these persistent rumors he began to harbor doubts about the loyalty of Qais. Muhammad b Jafar and Muhammad b Abu Bakr the step sons of Ali pressed on Ali to put Qais to test. The two young men argued prima facie that there appeared to be truth in the rumors, for Qais had in fact not taken any action against the people who had not taken the oath of allegiance to Ali, but had on the other hand tried to conciliate them. In order to test the loyalty of Qais, Ali directed Qais to take into custody the chiefs of the tribes who had not taken the oath of allegiance to Ali and who stood for vengeance for the blood of Othman.

Qais wrote back to say that it would be inexpedient to arrest the chiefs of the people. They had entered into a treaty of neutrality with him, and they were abiding by the treaty. The treaty stipulated that as long as they were not pressed to take the oath of allegiance to Ali they would not raise the cry for the vengeance for the blood of Othman. He observed that he had established law and order in the province with some difficulty, and if the chiefs were arrested that would create unrest and law and order situation. The government of Egypt would in that case be accused of breach of faith and that would provide an opportunity to Muawiyah to interfere in the affairs of Egypt. He pointed out that being the man on the spot he knew what course of action was in the interests of the Caliphate. He pointed out that he had framed his policies in the best interests of the Caliphate and any change therein at that stage would adversely affect the interests of the Caliphate. He advised Ali to review his order and not to press for any action against the people who had not taken the oath of allegiance to Ali, but were otherwise not creating any trouble for the administration. Qais added that if Ali did not agree with him it was open to him to depose him and appoint another Governor.

Deposition of Qais

The arguments advanced by Qais did not carry weight with Ali that made Ali suspicious of the loyalty of Qais. The stand taken by Qais against the orders of Ali was interpreted by Ali to be an evidence of Qais's alignment with those who wanted to create trouble for Ali by raising the cry for vengeance for the blood of Othman. Ali deposed Qais. When Muawiyah came to know of these developments he felt happy that his plan to sow dissentions between Ali and Qais had succeeded. He invited Qais to come over to Syria after his deposition, and offered him a high office. Qais refused the offer. He held that though Ali had misunderstood him ant treated him unjustly yet this could not affect his loyalty to Ali. After deposition Qais returned to Madina. The deposition of Qais from the governorship of Egypt proved to be a great mistake. It set the stage for the occupation of Egypt by Muawiyah.

Qais and Ali

Muawiyah and his agents scored a victory where their intrigues succeeded and Qais was deposed. The next line of action on the part of Muawiyah was to win over Qais to his side. When Muawyiah failed in this object because of the unswerving loyalty of Qais to Ali, Muawyiah made further efforts to insure that Qais and Ali did not reconcile. The agents of Muawyiah in Madina tried to persuade Qais to abandon the cause of Ali, but when he refused to fall in line with them they began to taunt him for his loyalty to the man who did not appreciate his services and the way Ali had treated him. Exasperated by such taunts, Qais decided to visit Ali at Kufa, and demand a fair hearing from Ali. Ali received Qais with due courtesy. The two men had a heart to heart dialogue. As a result of these talks, Ali was convinced of the loyalty of Qais. Ali wanted Qais to remain by his side, and he appointed him as his Chief Adviser. The reaction of Muawyiah to the appointment of Qais as the Chief Adviser of Ali was expressed by him in a letter to his agent in Madina who had taunted Qais in the following words: "By taunting Qais and thereby forcing him to join Ali you have acted as a fool had you given a hundred thousand men to Ali, it would have been a lesser evil to me than to give the counsel of such a man as Qais to my enemy."