Title: The Clash Between Ali (ra) and Mu`aawiyah (ra) Question: In light of the Shari`ah , what is the position of Muawiyah (r) when he challenged Ali (r) for the Caliphate? Was Muawiyah (r) not in contradiction with the hadiths : If a Bay'a has been taken for two Khulafa , kill the latter of them. And: Whoever comes to you, when your affairs are united under one man, and he wishes to break your power or divide your community, then kill him. A reply to this question would be highly appreciated. Jazakallah . Wasalam Answer: The situation that materialized after the death of Uthman (ra) was the result of a difference of interpretation of the events following Uthman's (ra) death. `Ali (ra) and his group were of the opinion that because of the approval of the Muslims of Medinah, `Ali (ra), like his predecessors, should be considered the established Khalifah [1] of the Muslims. While, on the other hand, Mu`aawiyah (ra) and his group considered the events following the death of Uthman (ra) to point toward a compromise between `Ali and the mutineers against Uthman (ra). This, effectively, meant that Mu`aawiyah's (ra) group felt that `Ali was backed by the mutineers and, therefore, he did not deserve their allegiance. In other words, Mu`aawiyah (ra) and his group did not accept the establishment of `Ali's (ra) Khilaafah . Thus, irrespective of which of the two opinions was correct, the fact is that because Mu`aawiyah (ra) and his group did not accept the establishment of `Ali's (ra) Khilaafah , therefore, they did not consider their aggression against `Ali (ra) and his group to be against the tenets of the Shari`ah . October 21, 2000 [1] i.e. the head of the state.