The Battles of the Camel and Siffin and the events leading up to them are probably the most controversial in Islamic history. Not only did the Muslims fight one another for the very first time, but these battles were led by some of the Prophet’s greatest Companions. The umma was divided for the very first time and the repercussions of what happened back then are still felt today. The case for the authenticity of the covenants and the use of non-Muslim sources to shed more light on early Islam has demonstrated that written documents and treatises were of utmost importance to the early Muslim community.
This study will attempt to collect all the letters and treatises that exist within the Muslim sources to better understand the events that led to the assassination of ‘Uthman, the Battles of the Camel and Siffin, and the reunification of the Pax-Islamica. Some of the questions that this research will attempt to answer are:
- What were the political motivations of those who opposed ‘Uthman?
- How was that opposition seen in terms of good governance?
- Were the non-Muslim communities involved in the civil wars?
- Were the covenants still upheld despite the disintegration of the Pax-Islamica?
With regards to the methodology, the study will analyze important texts such as the letter of ‘Uthman that was read by Ibn ‘Abbas during the Hajj season of the year 35 AH, the different recensions of the letter of Na’ila to Mu‘awiya; the correspondences between ‘Ali and Mu‘awiya; and the textual variants of the Siffin Arbitration Agreement.
This study will not be limited to sources which are confined to mainstream historians such as Tabari and Ibn Muzahim. Other works have been recorded which are of less historical significance such as al-‘Iqd al-Farid, Kitab al-Aghani and Kitab al-Gharat. An examination of Ibadi, Zaydi and Imami sources will also be undertaken.
We will equally examine non-Muslim sources and what they had to say on the issue such as Sebeos, John Bar Penkaye, and Christian Chronicles such as the Maronite Chronicle and Dionysius.
The expected outcome of the study will be to collect all of the scattered correspondences and all of the non-Muslim sources to see what they have to say about this tumultuous period of Islamic history. The study will be the first of its kind to examine all of the different sources, regardless of origin and political affiliations, and to provide a comprehensive historical narrative for such complex religio-political events.