Page 32 - The Revolution of Imam Hussein

The Revolution of Imam Hussein

contested the caliphate, denied al-Imam Ali Imamate

and claimed it for himself without any proof. Neither the
immigrants (al-Muhajirun) nor the helpers (al-Ansar) had
sworn allegiance to Mu‘awiya (8). Both condemned the
Umayyads for appropriating the public treasury (Bait-al-
Mal) (9).
Al-Imam Ali (as) made his just policy clear from the very
beginning. He stated that even if the wealth was his own
he would have distributed it equally amongst Muslims.
Much more so he would distribute it equally since it

belonged to God (10).
In political terms the conflict between al-Imam Ali (as)
and Mu‘awiya was essentially between two currents. Al-
Imam Ali (as) represented the Islamic current which was
moving against the worldly current of tribal trends which
had reappeared during the caliphate of ‘Uthman, and was
exploited by Mu‘awiya and eventually led to the latter’s

rule. It was therefore no surprise that Mu‘awiya became
ruler due to the circumstances which developed from the
changes that affected the wider Muslim community and
the reappearance of the tribal trends. However, following
his appointment as ruler, Mu‘awiya did not take any
practical steps to punish the killers of the caliph ‘Uthman
(11).
After al-Imam Ali’s martyrdom (40A.H/661), Muslims in
Medina paid their oath of allegiance to his son al-Imam

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