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letter
6
To
Mu'awiya
The following
is a letter to Mu'awiya and in it Imam Ali (a) has used the sameprinciple that he applied on Talha and Zubayr. Imam Ali (a) in
this letter has raised all the points which were once quoted
against him. He says if an election on the basis of general
franchise is the criterion to decide such a caliphate, then
general election took place to elect him the Caliph and nobody can
deny this fact, and if limited franchise (Shura) was the criterion
then those who represented this group (Muhajirs and Ansars) were
amongst those who elected him and therefore even according to the
rules formulated by opponents of Imam Ali (a) his election was
lawful, regular and bonafide. Thus no Muslim has a right to speak
or act against him. Verily,
those who took the oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman
have sworn allegiance to me. Now those who were present at the
election have no right to go back against their oaths of
allegiance and those who were not present on the occasion have no
right to oppose me. Anن so far as Shura (limited franchise or
selection) was concerned it was supposed to be limited to Muhajirs
and Ansars and it was also supposed that whomsoever they selected,
became caliph as per approval and pleasure of Allah. If somebody
goes against such decision, then he should be persuaded to adopt
the course followed by others, and if he refuses to fall in line
with others, then war is the only course left open to be adopted
against him and as he has refused to follow the course followed by
the Muslims, Allah will let him wander in the wilderness of his
ignorance and schism.O
Mu'awiya! I am sure that if you give up self-aggrandizement and
self-interest, if you forsake the idea of being alive only to
personal profits and pleasures, if you cease to be actuated solely
by selfishness and if you ponder over the incident leading to the
murder of Uthman, you will realize that I cannot at all be held
responsible for the affair and I am the least concerned with the
episode. But it is a different thing that you create all these
false rumours and carry on this heinous propaganda to gain your
ulterior motives. Well you may do whatever you like.
