The Battle of Jamal: A Shia Perspective by Prof. Liyakat Takim (Part 2 of 3)

CIMS Presentation on the Shia perspective by Prof. Liyakat Takim on the  Battle of Jamal. Professor Takim briefly recapped the historical narrative, outlined by Qari Zahiruddin, confirming that these details were largely agreed upon by both Shia and Sunni. He then went on to mention certain points raised by Shia scholars such as Lady Aisha’s attack on Basra, which resulted in many lives being lost, despite the killers of Uthman being in Medina and not in Basra. Furthermore, he mentioned the incident of the dogs barking at a place called Hawab, at which point  Lady Aisha wanted to turn back as she remembered the Prophet warning his wives of the barking dogs of Hawab. However, members from her army  came together and bore witness that the place they were at was not  Hawab, to which some Shia scholars point out that this was a mass false testimony if not the first one in Muslim history. The battle of Jamal was a dark time for the Muslim community and it is at this point in history according to Prof. Takim that a concretised notion of identity formed in the community where the label of either a follower of  Ali or a follower of Uthman came into existence. (Part 2 of 3)