Ali's loss Egypt

Muhammad b Abu Bakr

On the deposition of Dais bin Sad, Ali appointed Muhammad b Abu Bakr as the governor of Egypt. Muhammad b Abu Bakr was the son of Abu Bakr and his wife Asma married Ali and her son Muhammad was brought up by Ali. Muhammad b Abu Bakr was passionately devoted to Ali. In the revolt against Othman he had sided with the rebels of Egypt. He had entered the room of Othman and held his beard. Othman upbraided him saying, "If your father had been alive, you would not have done like this." At this reproach Muhammad b Abu Bakr withdrew. He was not present when Othman was assassinated.

Muhammad b Abu Bakr was young and handsome. At the time of his appointment as a governor of Egypt, he was twenty-two years of age. Muhammad b Abu Bakr was popular with the young men of Egypt who had rebelled against the authority of Othman and were involved in his murder. All such person called around Muhammad b Abu Bakr, and he conferred high favors on them. In Egypt there were two parties. One party was pro-Othman. They held that Othman was innocent and those who had killed him were guilty of a crime. This party was led by Muawiyah b Hudaij as Sakuni, and Musalama b Mukhallad. They had their concentration in Kharbata in South Egypt. Qais b Sa'ad did not force these people to take the oath of allegiance to Ali. He made a treaty of neutrality with them "hereunder they undertook that if they were not pressed to take the oath of allegiance to Ali, they would remain at peace and would not create any difficulty for the state and would remain loyal to it. It was in pursuance of this treaty that when Muawiyah the Amir of Syria asked them to join him in raising the demand for vengeance for the blood of Othman, they refused to join him. In view of this treaty of neutrality, peace reigned in Egypt during the governorship of Qais b Sa'ad. Muhammad b Abu Bakr had the rashness of youth about him. He came to be surrounded by young men who had rebelled against Othman. Muhammad b Abu Bakr and the people around him considered that they were strong enough to overawe the pro-Othman party, and force them to take the oath of allegiance to Ali. Muhammad b Abu Bakr as Governor commanded these men that they should take the oath of allegiance to Ali within one month. The leaders of the pro-Othman party waited on Muhammed b Abu Bakr and said that his command was in violation of the treaty that they had executed with his predecessor. They advised him to maintain status quo for otherwise the peace of the province would he disturbed. Muhammad b Abu Bakr did not pay treed to their request, and ordered the invasion of Kharbata. In this action the forces of Muhammad b Abu Bakr were defeated, and the pro-Othman party broke into open revolt which disturbed the peace of the province.

Malik Ashtar

When news about disturbances in Egypt reached Ali, he summoned Malik Ashtar to Kufa for consultation. Malik Ashtar was the Commander in Chief of the forces of Ali at the Battle of Siffin. After the Battle of Siffin he was appointed as the Governor of Mesopotamia and was stationed at Nisibin. Ali had his consultation with Qais b Sa'ad about the affairs of Egypt. Ali realized that he had made a mistake in deposing Qais b Sa'ad from the governorship of Egypt. He, however, could not spare Qais to be reposted as governor of Egypt for he wanted him to remain at Kufa by his side as his adviser. He therefore desired Ashtar to accept the offer of governorship of Egypt and restore order. Malik Ashtar was a good military general, and he already commanded influence with the people of Egypt. When Muawiyah came to know of the appointment of Malik Ashtar as a governor of Egypt he felt much concerned. Malik Ashtar was a strong man, and Muawiyah feared that Malik Ashtar would be able to suppress the disturbance in Egypt with a strong hand, and thus frustrate his (Muawiyah's) efforts to wrest Egypt from the control of Ali. Muawiyah accordingly hatched a conspiracy to kill Malik Ashtar before he could reach Egypt. He took into confidence the chief of Qalzaum, a town on the border of Syria and Egypt, and heavily bribed him to kill Malik Ashtar when he arrived there on the way to Egypt. When Malik Ashtar arrived at Qalzaum, the chief of the town waited on him, and provided for his stay in the city for the night. He was well looked after and served with sumptuous meals. Thereafter he was served with a cup of honey, which was poisoned. Malik Ashtar died within a few hours.

When the news of the death of Malik Ashtar reached Damascus, Muawiyah was overjoyed. He announced the news to the people from the pulpit in the main mosque of Damascus. He said that had Ali two arms. One of his arms was 'Amar b Yasir which had been cut in the Battle of Siffin, and with the death of Malik Ashtar his second arm had also been cut off. When Ali came to know to the death of Malik Ashtar he was overwhelmed with grief. The death of his right hand, Malik Ashtar, was a grievous blow for Ali. Ali now seemed to be fighting a losing battle. He was fast losing friends and the number of his enemies was fast multiplying.

When Ali had appointed Malik Ashtar as the governor of Egypt, Muhammad b Abu Bakr felt dissatisfied at his deposition. Ali wrote a letter to Muhammad b Abu Bakr to say that he had passed the order in his interest, for he intended to appoint him as a governor of some other peaceful province where things would be easier for him. With the death of Malik Ashtar, Muhammad b Abu Bakr had to continue in office and bear the brunt of the rebellion of the pro-Othman group from within, and the attack of Muawiyah from without.

The fall of Egypt

As long as the umpires had not given their decision at Dumatul Jandal, and a true obtained between Ali and Muawiyah did not interfere directly in the affairs of Egypt. He, however, indirectly helped the pro-Othman group in Egypt led by Muawiyah b Hudaij to maintain their stand against the government of Muhammad b Abu Bakr. At Dumatul Jandal, Abu Musa Ashari declared the deposition of Ali and Amr b Al A'as declared for the sovereignty of Muawiyah. This decision, however, reached and howsoever perverse turned the tables on Ali. The implication of the decision was that, henceforward, Muawiyah was the legitimate ruler of the Muslim state, and Ali was the status of a usurper or a rebel against the legitimate authority, in accordance to propaganda of Muawiyah and 'Amr b Al-A'as, Muawiyah had promised the governship of Egypt to Muawiyah. After 'Amr b Al-A'as had, by a clever trick, conferred the sovereignty on Muawiyah, Muawiyah commissioned 'Amr b Al-A'as to conquer Egypt. When 'Amr departed at the head of on army on the expedition of Egypt Muawiyah said to him, "Amr you were the first conqueror of Egypt, go and reconquer Egypt. "The plan of the pro-Othman party was that while Muawiyah would attack Muhammad b Abu Bakr in Egypt itself, 'Amr should lead the attack from across the borders.

When Ali had originally planned an expedition to Syria, Muhammad b Abu Bakr had a sizable force at his disposal and he could deal with an internal rebellion. When after the Battle of Nahrawan, Ali had to abandon his expedition to Syria, Muawiyah increased his pressure against Egypt. Under the change circumstances many warriors of the forces of Muhammad b Abu Bakr abandoned his cause and either joined the pro-Othman party or preferred to be neutral and keep aloof from the struggle. Muhammad b Abu Bakr was left with a small force of four thousand person only when Muawiyah and 'Amr b Al-A'as launched their offensive. Muhammad b Abu Bakr requested Ali to send him help. Accounts in this respect vary. According to one account Ali because of the non-cooperation of the people of Kufa could not send help but it was insignificant. According to yet another account whatever reinforcement was sent arrived in Egypt, after all was over and Egypt had been captured in the name of Muawiyah. The force which Muhammad b Abu Bakr fought desperately and heroically, but they were cut to pieces by the superior forces of the enemy. After Bashr b Kinana had been killed, and further resistance became impossible, Muhammad b Abu Bakr escaped from the battlefield, and sought refuge in the ruins outside the city of Fustat. Muawiyah secured the countryside and Muhammad b Abu Bakr was taken captive and brought to Fustat. Abdul Rahman b Abu Bakr waited on 'Amr b Al-A'as and pleaded for the life of Muhammad b Abu Bakr 'Amr b Al-A'as send word to Muawiyah that the prisoner should be sent to him. Muawiyah b Hudaij said that he taken to arms in vengeance for the blood of Othman, and he could not show any mercy to the person who was guilty of the murder of Othman. Muhammad b Abu Bakr asked for water from his captors. He was told that he had refused water to Othman, thus no water could be allowed to him. Muhammad b Abu Bakr was mercilessly slain. His corpse was the wrapped in the skin of an ass and burnt.

Helplessness of Ali

When Ali came to know of the end of Muhammad b Abu Bakr and the fall of Egypt, his grief knew no bounds. In a latter addressed to his cousin Abdullah b Abbas, Ali mourned the death of Muhammad b Abu Bakr in heart rending terms. The loss of Egypt was a grievous blow to the prestige of Ali. Addressing the people from the pulpit in the main mosque of Kufa Ali said: "O ye people! In the hour of need you have forsaken me. Falsehood has overcome the truth, and also no one is forthcoming to take up cudgels on behalf of the truth. I have lost Egypt. I have lost a loyal son. Who will avenge his death? Is no spark of faith left in you to fight for cause? What has happened to your oath of allegiance to me when you are not listening to me? Why have you become so deaf and dumb?" Day after day, Ali ascended the pulpit, and poured out quotations from the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet, enjoining upon the Muslims their obligation to undertake Jihad. These harangues and exhortations had no effect on the people. Somehow they felt that the star of Ali was waning, and they were in no mood to worship the sun that was about to set. The state of the helplessness of Ali is described by Dr. Ata Mohyuddin in the following words in his book Ali the Superman: "Ali now lost heart completely, despair overwhelmed him, crippling his energies and paralyzing all initiative. He completely lost faith in human nature, and withdrew to a life of retirement. He no longer had any control over the army or over the people and presented the spectacle of a beaten man."