Table of Contents
DONORS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TABLE OF CONTENTS 15
PART I
THE IMAM ALl DURING THE ERA
OF THE PROPHETHOOD, 19
1. THE HOUSE OF THE PROPHET MOHAMMAD.
Is the Honor Due to the Relationship?,
The Record Attests to their Merit,
Why Were They so Meritorious?,
2. MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF MOHAMMAD,
Descriptive Hadiths,
The Specific Hadiths,
3. THE INDISPENSABLE PEOPLE,
Abu Talib,
Islam of Abu Talib,
Imam Ali,
4. THE FIRST MUSLIMS,
5. BROTHER AND MINISTER,
Gonflicting Hadiths,
The Offered Reward,
The Outcome of the Gonference of the
House of the Prophet,
6. THE REDEEMERS,
The Magnitude of the Mission,
7. ALI'S ROLE IN BUILDING
THE ISLAM STATE,
Thesis Versus Antithesis,
8. ATBADR,
9. AT OHOD,
Who Remained with the Prophet?,
10. THE MOAT,
Ali's Response,
The Magnitude of Ali's Contribution,
11. AT KHEIBAR,
The Prophet Besieged Kheibar,
Indispensable Man,
The Natural Ministry,
12. ANNOUNCED BROTHERHOOD,
The Significance of the Brotherhood,
The Son-in-Law of the Prophet,
13. ALl'S PLACE FROM THE
PROPHET IN THE QUR'AN,
Why Was Ali Included?,
14. THE MOULA OF THE MUSLIMS,
15. UNFULFILLED WILL OF THE PROPHET,
The Prophet Was Prevented from Writing a Will,
The Unusual Event Raises Many Questions,
What Did the Prophet Want to Write?,
How Gould He Defy the Prophet?,
Why Did the Prophet Not Insist on
Writing His Directive?,
How Could the Directive of the Messenger
he a Security to the Nation Against Straying?,
PART II
THE
IMAM DURING THE
ERA OF THE THREE CALIPHS,
16 ABU BAKR SUCCEEDS,
Legal and Historical Questions,
Did the Messenger of God Desire to
Appoint Abu Bakr as His Successor?,
Was the Election of Abu Bakr Legal?,
Quraish and the Caliphate,
17. ALI VIEWS THE SUCCESSION,
18. ABU BAKR NAMES A SUCCESSOR,
19. OMAR SUCCEEDS,
Dialogues About the Caliphate,
The Dimensions of Omar's Policy,
Prearranged the Future of the Muslims,
Subversive Elements in the Caliph's Regime,
20. THE ELECTORAL CONVENTION,
Observations,
Unwarranted Stipulation,
Ali's Unique Dedication,
Motives and Consequences,
21. Othman's Reign,
Early Opposition,
Implementation of the Omayad's Plan,
The Third Caliph and His Two Predecessors,
The Growth of Opposition,
Opposition Outside Medina,
Now People Remembered Ali,
The Caliph is Besieged,
Observation,
BIBLIOGRAPHY 292
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
INTRODUCTION
PART III
THE IMAM IN HIS OWN ERA
22. THE ELECTION OF THE IMAM ALI
An Early Opposition
Were Talhah and Al-Zubeir Forced to Elect the Imam?
23. THE BATTLE OF BASSRAH
The Imam's Journey
Abu Musa Al-Ashaari
The Imam's Effort for Peace
The Beginning of the Battle
The Responsibility of the Three Leaders
24. THE ALLEGED CONSPIRACY
Did Abdullah Ibn Saba Exist?
To Discredit Abu Tharr and Ammar
Is to Discredit the Prophet
The Source of the Legend
25. THE BATTLE OF SIFFEEN
Idealist Versus Opportunist
New Efforts for Peace
Martyrdom of Ammar Ibn Yasir
The Big Conspiracy
The Two Arbiters
26. AL-KHAWARIJ (THE SECEDERS)
Violent Extremism
Prophecies
27. MARTYRDOM
The Fulfilled Promise
28. THE IMAM'S POLICY
CONCERNING PUBLIC FUNDS
Was It Politically Sound?
29. WAS THE WAR OF SIFFEEN
INEVITABLE?
Mugheerah and Ibn Abbas
Was Omayad's Rule Inevitable?
30. DID THE IMAM EXERCISE
HIS RULE AS A PREACHER?
Why Did the Imam Bind Himself
With a Document Which Was
Forced Upon Him?
31. WHY DID THE REIGN OF THE IMAM
NOT LAST LONG?
Ali Did Not Have the Two Elements
The Growth of the Qureshite's Influence
and the Obscurity of the Imam
The Electoral Convention Put the
Caliphate in the Hands of the Omayads
New Competitors
Qureshites, Hostile or Deserter?
Conclusions
PART IV
THE CALIPHATE IN THE
ISLAMIC LAW
32. SHOULD THE FIRST CALIPHATE HAVE BEEN
ESTABLISHED BY INHERITANCE, POPULAR
ELECTION, OR BY THE PROPHET'S
SELECTION
The Nature of the Islamic Principle is
Consonant with Selection More than Election
The Dangers Which Were About to Face
the Nation
The Need for an Authority in Interpretation
of the Qur'an and Communication of
the Prophet's Instructions
33. HAD WHAT OUGHT TO BE DONE
BEEN DONE?
Ali Is the Gate of the City of Knowledge
35. THE HADITH OF THE ANALOGY "YOU
ARE
TO ME LIKE AARON TO MOSES"
36. THE HADITH OF PERFORMANCE
AND DELIVERY