Page:William Muir, Thomas Hunter Weir - The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline, and Fall (1915).djvu/330

 676] example of abdication, when Al-Ḥasan resigned his rights into the hands of Muʿāwiya, and left him sole Khalīfa, or Successor, of Moḥammad.

Whatever rights Medīna may originally have possessed, circumstances had now materially altered the means of exercising them. Abandoned as the seat of government, Medīna had practically lost the privilege of choosing a successor to the throne, or even of confirming the nomination made by others. Succession, as in the case of Al-Ḥasan, followed necessarily, and at once, upon the death of the reigning Caliph, and Medīna had now no choice but to acquiesce in what had already taken place elsewhere. The elective function was thus, from the course of events, transferred to the inhabitants of the seat of government, wheresoever that might be.

Again, the troubles which followed the election of ʿAlī might recur at any moment. Az-Zubeir and Ṭalḥa raised the standard of revolt on the plea of compulsion, while between ʿAlī and Muʿāwiya there followed a long and doubtful contest. These internecine struggles had imperilled the fortunes of Islām. Not only had the ranks of the Faithful been seriously thinned, but, from without, enemies might have taken dangerous advantage of the strife; as indeed would have been the case in the contest between ʿAlī and Muʿāwiya, had the latter not made a truce with the Byzantine Court while civil war impended. But if a similar opportunity again offered, the foes of Islām might not be so forbearing, and a fatal wound might be inflicted on an empire torn by intestine conflict.

Influenced by such considerations, and also no doubt by the desire of maintaining the Caliphate in his own line, Muʿāwiya entertained the project of declaring his son, Yezīd, to be his heir-apparent. By securing thus an oath of fealty throughout the Muslim world, he would anticipate and prevent the peril of a contested election. Ziyād was favourable to the scheme, but enjoined deliberation, and a cautious canvass throughout the provinces. He also counselled Yezīd, who was devoted to the chase and careless of public affairs, to amend his ways in preparation for the throne, and show before the people a character more fitted for the higher dignity in prospect. Al-Moghīra like-