al-Fitna wa Waqat al-Jamal
- Author died
- 200 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Nafais
al-Fitna wa Waqat al-Jamal (The Civil Strife and the Battle of the Camel) is an early historical work by the Kufan chronicler Sayf ibn Umar (d. 180 or 200 AH / 796 or 815 CE) that chronicles the events surrounding the first Islamic civil war, the assassination of Caliph Uthman ibn Affan, and the subsequent Battle of the Camel .
Title and Transmission
The book was documented by the bibliographer Ibn al-Nadim in his al-Fihrist under the title Kitab al-Jamal wa Masir Aisha wa Ali (The Book of the Camel and the March of Aisha and Ali), alongside Sayf's other major compilation, Kitab al-Futuh al-Kabir wa-l-Ridda . Although the original standalone codex was largely lost, extensive portions of the text survived through citations in later historical compendia, most notably al-Tabari's Tarikh al-Umam wa-l-Muluk (History of the Prophets and Kings) .
Al-Tabari primarily received Sayf's narratives through his teacher al-Sari ibn Yahya, who transmitted from Shu'ayb ibn Ibrahim al-Kufi, the principal transmitter of Sayf's books . Another transmission path documented in al-Tabari's history runs through Ubayd Allah ibn Sa'id al-Zuhri from his uncle Ya'qub ibn Ibrahim ibn Sa'd al-Zuhri, who also related reports from Sayf .
Scope and Contents
The work provides a detailed chronological narrative of the political unrest and military confrontations in the early caliphate, covering:
- The agitation against Uthman ibn Affan and his subsequent assassination in Medina in 35 AH .
- The allegiance pledged to Ali ibn Abi Talib and the departure of Talha ibn Ubayd Allah and al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam to Mecca after requesting permission for the lesser pilgrimage (umrah) .
- The journey of Aisha, Talha, and al-Zubayr from Mecca toward Basra, demanding retribution for Uthman's murder .
- The negotiations, troop movements, and fighting at the Battle of the Camel outside Basra in 36 AH (656 CE) .
- The aftermath of the battle, Ali's reconciliation with Aisha, and his outfitting of an escort of Basran women to accompany her safely back to Medina .
In his narrative method, Sayf frequently gathered several eyewitness accounts and related them under combined isnads, prominently citing authorities such as Muhammad and Talha . A distinct theme in Sayf's account is the attribution of the outbreak of warfare to the machinations of rebel factions (the Saba'iyya) associated with Abdullah ibn Saba, who allegedly sparked the fighting at night to thwart a peaceful accord between Ali and the opposing leaders .
Reception and Scholarly Assessment
Sayf's reports on the civil strife received mixed evaluations across Islamic scholarship. In hadith criticism (al-jarh wa-l-ta'dil), scholars such as Ibn Hibban, Abu Hatim al-Razi, al-Nasa'i, and al-Daraqutni classified Sayf as weak (da'if) or discarded (matruk), with some accusing him of fabricating traditions or harboring heretical tendencies . Conversely, biographical and historical authorities recognized his breadth in historical lore; al-Dhahabi described him as a knowledgeable chronicler, and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani summarized his status by noting that he was "weak in hadith, an authority in history" (da'if fi al-hadith, 'umda fi al-tarikh) while rejecting allegations of heresy against him .
Major later universal chronicles, such as Ibn al-Athir's al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh and Ibn Kathir's al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, relied heavily on Sayf's reconstructions of the Battle of the Camel via al-Tabari's transmission . Modern historical studies and orientalists, including Julius Wellhausen and Leone Caetani, examined Sayf's accounts for their narrative detail, noting his distinct focus on Iraqi and tribal perspectives as well as his role in shaping the historiographical memory of the early caliphate .
Answer updated