Back at the negotiating table, Mu’awiya sent Amr, the conqueror of Egypt, to represent him. Ali could have sent an equally astute general, his cousin al-Ashtar, but the fighting men insisted on Abu Musa, who had been Ali’s appointed governor to Kufa. Abu Musa had been a Companion of Muhammad, too, so he knew the Quran well. The problem with him was that he was a good man who told the truth and expected others to do the same.
They met halfway between the cities. The talks went on for two weeks, as such things did, and the whole process may have taken up to a year. But the outcome was pre-determined.
Abu Musa, as the older man, was honored by announcing the result first. In retrospect, he seems a Neville Chamberlain saying “Peace in our time!” He said that they had achieved a peaceful compromise based on the Quran. There would be a conclave, as there was after Umar’s death. This group of elders would choose a Caliph, between candidates Ali and Mu’awiya.
General Amr stood up next. “Yes, we have a peaceful agreement!” he said. “As Abu Musa just said, consider Ali deposed. I now confirm Mu’awiya as the true Caliph, the avenger of Uthman’s murder.” Mu’awiya’s supporters cheered.
The power structure in Damascus quickly swore allegiance to Mu’awiya as Caliph. Amr started for Egypt. Mu’awiya had promised him that if he played his part, “Caliph Mu’awiya” would appoint him governor of the territory he had conquered—and had twice been removed from. Amr wanted that more than anything, so he played his part. He had kept everything dark from Abu Musa until the right moment.
Ali sent his cousin al-Ashtar to govern Egypt, taking over for young Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, who was too inexperienced to deal with the new state of things. Al-Ashtar took a ship from Jeddah to Egypt. But Mu’awiya and Amr had done their work well. At the port where he landed, he was welcomed and offered a cool, sweet drink. He didn’t taste the poison until it was too late.
Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr was quickly finished off. In an early battle against Amr, he lost badly and his men deserted. After all, Amr had been their popular general. Young Muhammad hid in a ruin, was starved and dehydrated to weaken him, and then arrested. He was killed and his corpse sewn into a donkey’s skin, then burned by some accounts. His half-sister A’isha grieved his death bitterly and adopted his children.
- After the Prophet, by Lesley Hazelton.
- The Heirs of Muhammad, by Barnaby Rogerson
- The Prophet’s Heir, by Hassan Abbas