ABSTRACT
The debate over freewill and predestination represents one of the earliest theological schisms in Islamic history. It began in the Umayyad period (661-750), though its roots actually go back to the troubled second half of the caliphate of Uthma¯n ibn Affa¯n, whose assassination in 656 led to the first intra-Muslim civil war, which included the Battle of the Camel in 656 and the Battle of S. iffı¯n in 657. During his reign, Uthma¯n made a number of appointments of governors and officials that were seen by his opponents as favoring the members of his extended family – the Umayyad clan of Quraysh – and their supporters. Uthma¯n was thus accused of making wrong decisions, and dissatisfaction with his rule increased. The rebels besieged his house, and because he refused to honor their demands, they killed him. From that point onward, there was no caliph in Islam whose authority and legitimacy went unchallenged by some Muslim groups. Uthma¯n’s successor, Alı¯, could not establish his legitimacy either, and following the
Battle of S. iffı¯n in 657, a group of his supporters, who came to be known as al-Khawa¯rij (“the Dissenters”), denounced him because he agreed to make peace with his opponent Mu a¯wiya. In their view, Alı¯ had violated God’s commandments and committed a grave sin, and they assassinated him in 661.
