Fitna in the Quran — Two Meanings
Fitna as divine trial: “And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient.” (2:155) — Here fitna is the purifying fire of divine testing: the hardships of life that reveal the depth of one’s faith and forge genuine iman from superficial profession. The metaphor of fire testing metal is built into the root — just as fire reveals the purity of gold, tribulation reveals the depth of the believer.
Fitna as civil discord: “And fight them until there is no more fitna and religion is for Allah.” (2:193) — Here fitna is the sociopolitical chaos that prevents the free practice of religion: oppression, forced apostasy, persecution. The Prophet (SAW) said: “Seek refuge from the trials [fitan] — the apparent ones and the hidden ones.”
The relationship: Both meanings connect through the concept of imtihan (testing): whether Allah tests individuals through personal hardship or communities through civil division, the purpose is the same — to distinguish the genuine believer from the hypocrite, the steadfast from the wavering.
The First Fitna (36-40 AH / 656-661 CE)
The First Fitna is the most significant internal crisis in Islamic history and its consequences shaped the major divisions that persist to this day.
The Context: After the assassination of ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan (RA) by rebels in 35 AH / 656 CE, Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib became the fourth caliph. Almost immediately, a coalition led by Talha ibn ‘Ubaydullah, al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam, and ‘Aisha bint Abi Bakr demanded retribution for ‘Uthman’s death before acknowledging ‘Ali’s authority.
The Battle of the Camel (36 AH / 656 CE): ‘Ali’s forces defeated the coalition near Basra in a battle named for ‘Aisha’s camel — she had been watching from a howdah. Talha and Zubayr were killed; ‘Aisha was escorted respectfully back to Medina. ‘Ali is reported to have wept over the battlefield: “Would that I had died twenty years before this day.”
Siffin and the Arbitration: Mu’awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, governor of Syria and cousin of ‘Uthman, refused to acknowledge ‘Ali until ‘Uthman’s murderers were punished. The two armies met at Siffin (37 AH / 657 CE). When defeat seemed imminent for the Syrians, Mu’awiya’s forces raised copies of the Quran on spears — calling for arbitration. The arbitration at Adhruh ended inconclusively and led to the emergence of the Khawarij (those who “went out” — withdrew from ‘Ali’s army for accepting human arbitration in what they saw as a divine matter). In 40 AH / 661 CE, ‘Ali was assassinated by a Kharijite while leading the Fajr prayer in Kufa.
The Ismaili reading: The First Fitna represents the deviation from the Prophet’s designation (wasiyyat) of Imam ‘Ali as his successor at Ghadir Khumm. The Ismaili/Bohra tradition understands the fitna not as a mutual tragedy of good people disagreeing, but as the historical manifestation of the struggle between those who honored the divine covenant and those who broke it. See [[ali-ibn-abi-talib]] and [[wasiyyat]].
The Second Fitna (61-73 AH / 680-692 CE)
The Second Fitna began with the martyrdom of Imam al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali at Karbala (61 AH / 680 CE) and continued through the Umayyad reconsolidation of power, the rise and fall of the anti-Umayyad movements in the Hijaz and Iraq, culminating in ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan’s reassertion of Umayyad authority. See [[imam-husain-master-of-martyrs]].
Eschatological Fitnas — The Signs of the End Times
The Prophet (SAW) spoke extensively about the fitan (plural of fitna) of the End Times:
- “There will come a time when a man will wake up as a believer and go to sleep as a disbeliever, or go to sleep as a believer and wake up as a disbeliever — selling his religion for a small worldly gain.” (Muslim)
- The fitan are described as waves: each wave larger than the last
- The greatest fitna before the Hour: the Dajjal, who will claim divinity — see [[dajjal]]
Navigating Fitna — Prophetic Guidance
“Blessed is the one who is blind, deaf, and dumb in times of fitna.” (Abu Dawud — meaning: one who does not see evil, does not listen to false calls, and does not participate in discord)
The classical guidance for times of fitna:
- Hold to the Quran and the authentic Sunnah
- Seek the counsel of the ‘ulama with established knowledge
- Do not rush to take sides — the nature of fitna is that its truth is obscured
- Prioritize personal worship and community care over political engagement
- If in doubt, withdraw — the Prophet (SAW) said: “In the times of trials, be like a son of Adam [i.e., the one who refused to fight his brother even when attacked].”
See also: Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Wasiyyat, Imam Husain Master Of Martyrs, Signs Of Qiyamah, Dajjal, Bohra History, Umayyad Caliphate