James Baquet

Had Muhammad ibn Abdullah remained only a caravan trader, there would have been little for his heirs to squabble over. But Muhammad’s power — ascribed to his communication with the archangel Gabriel, origin of the Muslim holy book, the Quran — was political as well as spiritual, and his legacy included not only a world religion, but an empire.

Thus, some two-and-a-half decades after his death, his followers were embroiled in a civil war, the First Fitna, which brought down the Rashidun Caliphs and ushered in the Umayyad Dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third Caliph (a political and religious successor to Muhammad), was assassinated in June 656; in the midst of the consequent strife, his successor Ali was also assassinated, and Ali’s successor turned over the reins of power to the Ummayads in 661.

In this turmoil, then, the Battle of the Camel took place in November 656. A coalition formed by Muhammad’s youngest widow Aisha and two of her husband’s followers — Talhah and Zubayr, both of whom had been among the first to convert to Islam — opposed Ali, the fourth Caliph.

The coalition had urged Ali to arrest the (perceived) killers of Uthman. When an agreement could not be reached, the forces were arrayed for battle.

At the last minute, though, accord was achieved: Aisha agreed to settle things, and Talhah and Zubayr left the field. But some of the troops — specifically, the killers of Uthman and a group known as the Qurra (later the Kharijites) — felt they would not be safe under the agreements reached. They instigated the battle, and each side thought the other had broken the truce.

In the midst of the chaos, Aisha was urged to mount a camel and call on the belligerents to stop fighting. She did so, but Ali’s men began targeting her with arrows. A dozen of her men were beheaded as they gathered around her, holding her camel’s reins. At last, Ali’s men attacked the camel from the rear and cut off its legs. Aisha fled on foot, but was captured and sent to Medina, retiring from politics.

Ali’s side won the Battle of the Camel, but lost the First Fitna when Ali was assassinated and power passed to the Umayyads.

Vocabulary:

Which words above mean:

1. quarrel, fight

2. woman after her husband’s death

3. passed control

4. started

5. people fighting

6. caused, led to

7. attributed, credited (with)

8. involved, entangled

9. group of merchants traveling across deserts

10. following (something)