It is one of the sharper ironies of Islamic history that the clan which had led the resistance to the young religion went on to found its first dynasty. Umayyad influence swelled under the third caliph, but Mu’awiya was the one to formalize it as the foundation of a dynasty. […]
The first four leaders of the umma were collectively bestowed with the honorific “the rightly guided caliphs”. They were all close companions of the prophet, and their reign was succeeded by the beginnings of imperial rule. Taking the time to appreciate this disconnect is vital and we’ll spend this episode […]
Divisions within the community only grew as the struggle between its two main parties persisted, almost pushing the goal of reuniting the umma out of the realm of possibility. This episode charts the evolution of this civil war, the disintegration of the norms islam had recently instilled in the Arabs, […]
The unprecedented loss of Arab life at the battle of Siffin put an end to any illusions of the sanctity of muslim blood, an important pillar underpinning the umma’s unity. Arabs began withdrawing their support for the caliph in growing numbers, revealing the resurgence of the old political order of […]
Following the caliph’s victory over the Meccan faction at Basra, Ali bin Abi Talib turned his attention towards Syria. The Umayyad Mu’awiya bin Abu Sufyan had governed its lands for nearly two decades and insisted that he would not submit until his kin’s murderers and their unnamed instigators had been […]
As divisions widened within the umma, the battle of the camel marked the first time two muslim armies faced one another in combat. Chiefs of the various clans of Quraysh felt they had the most to lose from the leadership of the community falling into Hashemite hands, and they were […]
Legitimating succession within the caliphate was already hard enough, and the rebellion that led to Othman’s death only divided the fractured Umma further. It is in these unenviable conditions that the Hashemite Ali bin Abi Talib will prevail as the Umma’s fourth caliph, fulfilling the hopes of those who believed […]
Dismissing the grievances brought to him earlier in his reign made sure the discontent the caliph faced would only grow. The sources diverge widely when it comes to these contentious and deeply consequential events, but ultimately Othman had to face the wrath of men who held the caliph solely responsible […]
The quasi-political system devised by the Arabs to manage the community’s affairs was hastily put together and it mixed tribal norms and islamic ethics haphazardly. The pitfalls of the caliphate were numerous, and Omar’s many changes during his reign were aimed at addressing some of them. Othman’s reign was not […]
