Ali's Caliphate was already in trouble.
The Umayyah clan was suspicious of him. Muawiyyah refused to acknowledge his leadership. There were gangs of bandits were roaming through Medina. And many companions refused to support him.
And to make things worse, Aisha, the Prophet's widow, was stirring things up in Mecca.
Aisha was outraged that Uthman's killers were still on the loose in Medina. She decided to take matters into her own hands. She rallied the people of Mecca and organized a group to find those responsible for killing Uthman.
These two figures, Ali and Aisha, are the most divisive figures in Islam. Sunni and Shiite both love and respect Ali, but the Shiites hold him to a much higher degree than Sunnis.
Aisha is a different story altogether. Sunni Muslims adore Aisha, but Shiites hate her. They accuse her of rebelling against Ali and attempting to overthrow him.
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- Transcript for this episode
- This week's book recommendation
- Nasheed of the Week video
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