The Arbitration

Meeting of the Umpires

In pursuance of the arbitration agreement executed between Ali and Muawiyah at Siffin the two umpires Abu Musa Ashari, and 'Amr b Al'Aas met at Dumatul Jandal midway between Kufa and Damascus in January 658 C E. Each side sent a retinue of four hundred persons to witness the proceedings. The retinue from Kufa was led by Abdullah bin Abbas and Shuraih b Mani. The empires invited some notable companions from Makkah and Madina who were known for their neutrality in the dispute between Ali and Muawiyah to come to Dumatul Jandal, Those who responded to the invitation included Abdullah b Umar; Abdullah b Zubair; Mughira b Shuba; and Abdur Rahman b Harith. Sa'ad b Abi Waqas was prevailed upon by his son to go to Dumatul Jandal, but he declined to do so, saying that he was not interested in the affair.

Arbitration Proceedings

According to the accounts that have come down to us, it appears that on the appointed day the two umpires met in camera. 'Amr b Al 'Aas asked Abu Musa Ashari whether he held Othman to be innocent and his murder to be a crime. Abu Musa answered these questions in affirmative. 'Amr b Al 'Aas next asked the question whether in the circumstances the claim of Muawiyah for "Qasas" for the blood of Othman was justified. Abu Musa said that according to the injunction of the Holy Quran such claim could be made. 'Amr b Al 'Aas thereafter said that he objected to the Caliphate of Ali, because he was involved in the murder of Othman. Abu Musa said that this accusation was not correct, and no proof could be given to establish his involvement in the murder of Othman. 'Amr b Al 'Acts said that Ali had been asked to hand over the murderers of Othman to the heirs of Othman for taking "Qasas", but he had not done so. That implied his indirect if not direct involvement in the murder of Othman. Abu Musa said that the proper course for Muawiyah was to owe allegiance to Ali, and then lodge a claim for "Qasas" before him. 'Amr b Al 'Aas said that as the murderers of Othman were allied with Ali, the heirs of Othman could have no confidence in him in doing justice with regard to the claim for "Qasas". 'Amr b Al 'Aas suggested that in the circumstances proper course was that Muawiyah should be made the Caliph. Abu Musa said that in the matter of the Caliphate, Muawiyah could not claim precedence over Ali. Ali was one of the earliest converts to Islam. He was closely related to the Holy Prophet. He was the most learned man of the age. His services to Islam were well known. 'Amr b Al 'Aas said that though Ali was superior to others in the matters of learning and piety, Muawiyah excelled others in matters of politics and statecraft. 'Amr b Al 'Acts argued that the Caliph was to be the Head of the State, and was primarily concerned with affairs of the world, and in this respect Muawiyah would be a better choice. Abu Musa said that in an Islamic state the interests of the world could not be given preference over the interests of Islam and, as such Muawiyah could not be preferred to Ali in the matter of the Caliphate.

'Amr b Al 'Aas suggested that if with regard to the basic issue about the "Qasas" for the blood of Othman, Ali could not be trusted because of his direct or indirect involvement in the murder of Othman, and Muawiyah was not to be preferred to Ali in the matter of the Caliphate then the obvious course was that they should consider the names of some neutral persons for the office of the Caliphate. To this course Abu Musa agreed, Abu Musa recalled the days of the glory of the Muslims during the Caliphate of Umar. He wished to have a caliph of the caliber of Umar. That made the two umpires consider the name of Abdullah b Umar, who was present at Dumatul Jandal, was contacted, and he refused to be a candidate for the office of the Caliph, Sa'ad be Abi Waqas was a suitable candidate, but he was not willing to be considered. The claims of Abdullah b Zubair were considered, but those were not accepted on the ground that as he had participated in the Battle of the camel be could not be considered to be neutral in the matter Some other names were considered, but their claims were turned down on one ground or the other.

That led to a state of deadlock and the two umpires could not reach a decision. But some decision had necessarily to be taken. Thereupon 'Amr b Al 'Aas said, "If Ali is not acceptable to us and Muawiyah is not acceptable to you, and we have not been able to arrive at an agreement about any neutral person, then what should be the way out in your considered opinion."

Abu Musa said, "In my opinion the best course would be that we would depose both Ali and Muawiyah, and ask the community to decide the matter for themselves." Amr b Al 'Aas said, "Alright, you make this announcement."

Announcement

Thereafter Abu Musa Ashari took the stage to announce the decision. Abdullah b Abbas asked Abu Musa not to be the first in making the announcement. He advised him that he should let 'Amr b Al Aas speak first. Abu Musa did not pay any heed to the advice of Abdullah b Abbas, and announced the decision that both he and 'Amr b Al 'Aas had agreed that Ali as well as Muawiyah should be deposed and it should be for the community to elect whomsoever they lined as the Caliph. He observed that in accordance with this decision he deposed his candidate Ali. Thereafter Amr b Al Aas took the stage. He said that according to the terms of the arbitration agreement the umpires had to decide as to whom out of Ali and Muawiyah the sovereignty was to belong. He observed that as the umpire representing Ali had deposed him, Muawiyah was the only candidate left in the field and as such the sovereignty belonged to him.

There is some controversy as to what actually transpired between the umpires. According to the accounts that have come down to us, it is said that both the umpires had agreed between themselves that both Ali and Muawiyah should be deposed, and that 'Amr b Al Aas went back on the agreement, and betrayed Abu Musa Ashari. This does not appear to be a correct account of what actually happened. If both the umpires had originally agreed to the deposition of both Ali and Muawiyah, and 'Amr b Al 'Acts went back on such agreement, Abu Musa could have taken the stage and said that as 'Amr had violated his agreement with him his decision was of no effect. What appears to have happened is that when Abu Musa suggested that the matter should be referred to the community for the fresh election of the Caliph, 'Amr merely asked him to make an announcement to that effect. Abu Musa was not shrewd enough to realize the implication of such announcement. It is well known that when Abu Musa was the Governor of Kufa he had advised the people of Kufa to remain neutral in the dispute between Ali and Ayes in spite of the fact that he had taken the oath of allegiance to Ali, and was legally as well as morally bound to obey the command of Ali. Ali had to depose him. Ali had to accept nomination as an umpire under pressure. Although Ali did not have full confidence in Abu Musa, he still hoped that as Abu Musa was otherwise a pious Muslim he would act in a fair and impartial way according to the injunctions of Islam. Abu Musa was in fact so much obsessed with the idea of neutrality that he suggested the stepping aside of both Ali and Muawiyah and the election of the Caliph by the community afresh. Such suggestion was not within the four corners of the agreement according to which the umpires had to decide as to whom out of Ali and Muawiyah sovereignty was to belong. The accounts that come down to us provide that as soon Abu Musa made this suggestion, Amr b Al Aas jumped up and asked Abu Musa to announce that decision. Abu Musa considered that in asking him to make his announcement, Amr had agreed with him. Actually 'Amr had not made any agreement. He was shrewd enough to realize the implications of the suggestion of Abu Musa and wanted him to announce his suggestion. To be fair 'Amr did not violate any agreement with Abu Musa; he merely took advantage of the weakness in the stand of the umpire of Ali. The life story of Ali is a painful story of betrayals. To other betrayals one more betrayal was added as a consequence of the arbitration proceedings.

Ali's letter to Abu Musa

After the arbitration proceedings, Abu Musa did not have the courage to face Ali. He slipped away to Makkah and from there wrote a letter to Ali offering some sort of apology. Ali replied to this letter as follows: "Verily, many persons will be deprived of their rewards in the next world. They fall an easy prey to the temptations of the world, I am in a queer fix as regards the problem of the caliphate. A man stiff necked in his concede is at loggerheads with me. Surely, there is no one more anxious than me to keep the solidarity of the Muslims, because I strongly hope that God would reward me for these selfless services of mine in the cause of the unity of the Muslims. Abu Musa, you turned against the Right, and deserted me. Surely there is none more unfortunate than you, because you were deprived of your wisdom, and the faculty to act in the right way."