Islamiyat · May / June 2024 · Paper 21 · Question 4

Write about the Battle of the Camel, fought in the caliphate of ‘Ali. Mark according to the marking grid for AO1 – Knowledge on page 4. Answers may include some of the following ideas, but all valid material must be credited.

Key details might include:

This battle was fought in 656.Talha and Zubayr who were amongst the first to pledge loyalty to ‘Ali demanded justice from ‘Ali for the blood of ‘Uthman and were joined by ‘Aisha.

Together they raised an army of 900 men and marched towards Basra. ‘Ali feared for the unity of the Muslims and decided to go meet them. He left Madina with a force of 700 men and headed for the camp site halfway between the two garrison cities.

Negotiations took place between the two sides and were successful but in the night mischief makers from both sides urged the soldiers to fight and war began.

The battle: They woke before dawn, about 2500 in number, and each group attacked the closest people to them resulting in both

parties fighting to protect their group. Each faction woke up and took arms not realising the deception of the extremists. The army of ‘Ali thought the army of ‘Aisha had attacked and vice versa and by midday a heated battle ensued. The leaders of both groups tried to stop the fighting but were unable to do so. Talha and Zubayr were both martyred. Talha was killed from behind by Marwan ibn Hakam with an arrow and Zubayr was killed after he left the battlefield.

‘Aisha was advised to mount a camel and enter the battlefield in hopes that with her presence the fighting would subside. This however had the opposite effect as fighters from her camp were motivated upon seeing her. The fighters of Basra gathered around her sacrificing their lives trying to protect her. ‘Ali gave the order for the camel to be brought down to stop further loss of life and to end the battle. As the camel fell Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr who was fighting on ‘Ali’s side rushed to help his sister and was asked by ‘Ali to escort ‘Aisha back to Madina.

The Battle of Camel was won by ‘Ali.

Explain the impact of the Battle of the Camel on Ali’s caliphate? Mark according to the marking grid for AO2 – Understanding on page 5. Answers may include some of the following ideas, but all valid material must be credited.

The impact of this battle on Ali’s caliphate was that it broke the unity of the umma as it was the first civil war of Islam, hence was a huge blow to the brotherhood and camaraderie established by the Prophet (pbuh).

This battle also resulted in Ali’s authority being challenged and politically raised a lot of issues for him, one of them was he had to move the capital of the caliphate from Madina to Kufa where he had strong support.

It could be said that the battle destabilised an already volatile situation and resulted in political uncertainty and chaos.