Political Division after Prophet Muhammad in Yemen: the Conflict between ʿAlī and Muʿāwiya

Abstract

The Prophet secured political dominance throughout Arabia, before his death. Except for the Ridda events, Muslims remained united politically and religiously until the second era of Uthman’s (d. 35/656) reign. Political instability occurred during this time, as a new generation emerged about two decades following the Prophet’s death. These events that separated Muslims into political groups, ended with Uthman’s death. In the History of Islam, at this time, political atmosphere was called “fitnah”. Despite the fact that there are numerous speculations about that time in the sources, it is difficult to form a definitive judgment about the political obscurity. However, it is certain that Uthman’s murder laid the backround for division of the Muslims into political parties. In this political situation, where it is difficult to distinguish between political right and wrong,.ʿAlī (d. 40/661) became caliph. However, the first and most serious difficulty he faced was the punishment of those who murdered Uthman, who lost his life due to the lynching of the rebels. Utman's governor in Damascus, Muʿāwiya (d. 60/680), refused to pledge loyalty to ʿAlī because of this unsolved issue. The legitimacy crisis resulted in division of society into two groups. Yemen is one of the districts where the political separation is most evident. It was not possible for the Yemenis to maintain their neutrality in this political situation. As a result, the territory became one of the secondary areas of contention between ʿAlī and Muʿāwiya. ʿAlī inducted his uncle’s son, Ubaydullah b. Abbas, as governor of Yemen. However, Muʿāwiya sent his commander, Busr b. Abī Artāt, to take control of the area. This study is intended for discussing the ultimate consequences of ʿAlī and Muʿāwiya conflict in Yemen.