UTHMAAN ELECTED CALIPH
According to At-Tabari who narrates on the authority of ‘ Umar Ibn Maymoon Al-Awdi, that the council of consultants (nominated by ‘Umar) at last decided to make ‘Uthmaan, may Allah be pleased with him, the caliph for the following reasons: When ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab was stabbed, he was asked: “O! Commander of the Faithful, if you were to nominate your successor, who would you choose?” ‘ Umar answered: “Who would I choose? Had Abu ‘ Ubaydah Ibn Al-Jarraah been alive, I would have made him the caliph. If my Lord asked me why I did, I’d say: I heard Your Messenger say: “He is the commander of this nation”. Had Salim, Abu Hudhayfah’s servant been alive, I would have made him the caliph. If my Lord ask me why I did, I’d say I heard Your Messenger say: “Verily Salim has great love for Allah.” A man then said to ‘Umar: ” I can tell you who to choose. ‘Abdullaah Ibn ‘Umar.” ‘Umar angrily returned: “May Allah punish you! I swear that you have not suggested him seeking merely Allah’s satisfaction. We have no interest in being in charge of your affairs. I was never happy to shoulder this responsibility. That is why I would never have any of my family undertake it. It is enough to have only one of this household held accountable for Muhammad’s nation. I have done my utmost, and deprived my family (from all luxury). Should I manage to escape Allah’s punishment, I would be pleased.”
When people said: “O! Commander of the Faithful, just name someone.” ‘Umar said: “1 do not want to shoulder your responsibility in this world and the Hereafter. But you should listen to this Eminent group whom the Messenger of Allah described as being among the dwellers of Paradise: ‘ Ali, ‘Uthmaan, the two sons of ‘Abdu-Manaaf, ‘Abdur-Rahmaan and Sa’d, the two uncles of Allah’s Messenger, Az-Zubayr Ibn AI-‘Awaam, the Prophet’s supporter and cousin, and good-natured Talhah Ihn ‘Ubaydellaah. Appoint any of them. If he appoints any of you as a governor, this person should perform his duty and you should all assist him. If the caliph entrusts anyone with anything, this person must discharge truthfully what is entrusted to him.” The men then went out.
After ‘Umar was buried, the council of consultant (i.e. Ash-Shura) gathered. They were five and their meeting was attended by ‘Abdullaah Ibn ‘Umar whereas Talhah was absent. Lengthy discussions and deliberations took place. At-Tabari points that for nights, the house of Abdur-Rahmaan was the meeting spot for many Companions, prominent figures and dignitaries, the majority of whom opted for ‘ Uthmaan.
Three days after ‘Umar’s death, ‘ Abdur- Rahmaan stood up in the Mosque addressing a large crowd saying: “O people, everyone would like to go home to their provinces knowing who the new caliph would he.” Sa’ecd Ihn Zayd, who was one of the ten men whom the Prophet foretold would be among the dwellers of Paradise, said: “We see you as best suited for the post.” ‘Abdur-Rahmaan said: “Give me a different opinion.”
Then ‘Umar Ibn Yasir said: “If you do not want Muslims to fight each other, you should nominate ‘ Ali.” Al- Miqdad Ibn Al-Aswad rejoined: Umar is right. Should you
select ‘Ali, we will all be pleased and will support him.” But ‘Abdullaah Ibn Abu Sarh said: “If you don’t want to upset the Qurayshites, you should name ‘Uthmaan.” ‘Abdullaah Ibn Abi Rabee’ah supported the suggestion and said: “Should you appoint ‘Uthmaan as the new caliph, we will all listen to his commands and abide by his rulings.” Then ‘Amaarsaidto ‘Abdullaah Ihn Abu Sarh: “When did you start giving Muslims’ advice.” Later, Banu Hashim and Banu Umayah took part in the discussion. ‘Amaar said: ” Allah has honored us with His Messenger (i.e. Muhammad), and by revealing Islam unto us.
Why cannot the new caliph be one of your Prophet’s kinsmen?” Thereupon, confusion and chaos spread among the people, so Sad Ibn Abi Waqqaas said: “O! ‘ Abdur-Rahmaan, get this affair over with before the situation gets out of control. ‘ Abdur- Rahmaan then said: “I have observed this issue and sought people’s advice. O people, do not create enmity among yourselves.”
Next, ‘ Abdur-Rahmaan called ‘ Ali and said to him: “Do you pledge to stiek to the Glorious Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger and the laid-down principles of the two caliphs who followed him?” ‘Ali replied: “I hope to act according to my best knowledge and capacity!” After that ‘Abdur-Rahmaan called ‘Uthmaan and asked him the same question he asked ‘Ali. ‘ Uthmaan answered: “Ido.” ‘Abdur- Rahmaan then gave him his pledge of allegiance. At that point, ‘Ali said to ‘Abdu-Rahmaan: “You are biased to him for the sake of worldly goals.” ‘Abdur-Rahmaan replied: “Do not misunderstand the situation. 1 have consulted people and they have all chosen ‘Uthmaan.” He then added: “I swear by Allah, I have tried my utmost for the Muslims’ best!”
On that day, Talhah arrived from his trip. When people asked to give the pledge of allegiance to ‘ Uthmaan, he asked if everybody was pleased with the choice. They answered in the affirmative. He then headed for ‘Uthmaan who, in turn, assured him that he is entitled to his own opinion. Talhah ultimately pledged loyalty to him refusing to go against what Muslims have unanimously agreed on.
Hence, it becomes obvious that ‘ Uthmaan made his way to the caliphate through consultations and deliberations (i.e. Shura) patiently undertaken by ‘ Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn ‘ Awf. It should crystal-dear to everyone that ‘ Abdur-Rahmaan spared no effort in seeking Muslims’ true opinion so as to ensure that the ultimate choice would he a genuine interpretation of what the masses really wanted. This is proved by the fact chat ‘Uthmaan was nominated as caliph by ‘Ali, Sa’d and Az- Zubayr, whereas ‘ Uthmaan was the only one who nominated ‘Ali. It is thus true that the decision to nominate ‘ Uthmaan to be in charge of Muslims’ affairs voiced the desire of the majority of Muslims. In this case, no one can say. Exactly the number of this majority in favour of ‘ Uthmaan.
Consequently, we are not in support of the view that ‘ Ali would have been made caliph if he had said “yes” when ‘ Abdur-Rahmaan asked him saying: “Do you pledge to stick to the Glorious Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger and the laid-down principles of the two caliphs who followed him?” Nor was ‘Uthmaan made caliph simply because he answered the same question with “yes”. This view does not go in line with the principle of Shura , based on which ‘ Uthmaan came to office for the following reasons:
It was ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, who named the six men whom he felt he could trust with the future of the Muslim state if any of them was to assume the leadership of the nation. ‘ Umar placed his trust in those men in particular since the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, foretold that they would be among the dwellers of Paradise in the Hereafter. Added to that were their impeccable morals and laudable efforts which the Companions and Muslims in general were all well-aware of.
In addition, when ‘ Umar nominated those six men, he was positive of their advantages as well as their ability to shoulder that tremendous responsibility. There was also no shred of doubt in his mind concerning the unblemished faith, their righteous deeds and their sticking to the Glorious Qur’an and the Tradition of the Prophet.’Umar also knew that they were all pleased with the policies of the two righteous caliphs, Abu Bakr and ‘ Umar, in running the affairs of the Muslim nation. This being the case, ‘Umar did not command his successor to abide by the conduct of his two predecessors. Since following the policies of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar was not compulsory, it would be wrong to assume that ‘ Ali was not made a caliph because he announced that he would act according to his best knowledge and capacity.
Further, let us suppose, for argument’s sake, that ‘Uthmaan gave ‘ Abdur-Rahmaan the same answer ‘ Ali did, which was undoubtedly a good and decent answer, what might have happened? Would ‘ Abdur-Rahmaan have rejected both of them and turned to Sa’d and Az-Zubayr? The answer is no, because people’s choice was confined to ‘ Uthmaan and ‘ Ali only.
lastly, if the question ‘ Abdur-Rahmaan posed to both ‘ Uthmaan and ‘Ali to which the two of them gave two different answers constituted the basic criterion in deciding who was to succeed ‘ Umar, there was no point then in all the consultations and efforts that lasted for three whole nights in order to select the new caliph? So, if this issue was based on the conversation between the two candidates and ‘ Abdur-Rahmaan, he could have asked them immediately after ‘Umar was buried and announced the name of the new caliph right away sparing himself and Muslims the trouble of consultations and deliberations.
Further, ‘Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn ‘Awf could not have expected a different answer from that ‘ Ali gave simply because Abu Bakr and ‘Umar ruled the Muslim slate according to their best knowledge and capacity; i.e. they both relied on their personal opinion as to questions not tackled in the Glorious Qur’an and the Prophetic Tradition. For this reason, ‘ Ali has every right, it is incumbent on him, to lean on his personal judgment too, being an equal to both Abu Bakr and ‘ Umar in status. Likewise, it would be unfair to accuse ‘ Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn ‘ Awf of rejecting personal opinion or preventing the caliph from making use of his knowledge that is based on the Glorious Qur’an and the Prophetic Tradition.
Therefore, the selection of the third righteous caliph was based on a wide-scale open referendum painstakingly conducted by Ibn ‘ Awf to ensure that the result would represent what the masses of Muslims wanted. Given such a detailed account, the issue of how ‘Umar was selected as Muslims’ new caliph becomes crystal clear.
(Source: Biographies of the rightly guided Caliphs )
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