UTHMAAN’S TRIAL
Despite the fact that discussing the issue of internal strife that happened during and after the era of ‘Uthmaan fdls every Muslim and true believer, with disgust and utter resentment, we feel it necessary, in the course of shedding light on that early period of Islamic Call, to reveal facts about this strife that shook the entire Muslim community.
Though many have been written on this subject, they are wrapped up in contradiction that mar their authenticity. None theless, we will try to deal with all these materials with objectivity in order to know the real cause of this strife and its negative effects on the image of Islam and Muslims.
First of all, we must admit the fact that this strife did not materialize all of a sudden: it can’t be described as a fortuitous event, rather it was a product of different kinds of incidents and occasions accumulated and later became interwoven. The starting point is the insemination of certain ideas in minds, then they transformed into devilish schemes which posed as a time bomb whose explosion at a later stage wreaked havoc on the innocent lives.
It was very unfortunate of ‘ Uthmaan that his caliphate era witnessed the end of the glorious decade of Muslim Nation and the beginning of a new era in the history of Muslim community. This period, almost thirty years – starting from the Prophet’s Hijrah till the half of’Uthmaan’s caliphate’s ere – witnessed overwhelming change in the structure of the society; generation passed by to be replaced by a new generation lower than the previous one in terms of faith, in grasping the sense of Islamic creed, showing compliance with Islamic teachings and in performing all religions ordinances. But the most surprising point is that this decline coincided with glory and blessing galore pouring on Muslim Nation form here and there in addition to the spread of Islam across the globe, covering Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, the Levant, Egypt, the whole Africa, Persian land, Armenia and some Mediterranean Islands. How could such a powerful Muslim Nations, with all its vast lands and immense population (Arabs and non-Arabs) suffered such a setback which was nothing to be hair-raising in the previous two golden eras of Abu Bakr and ‘ Umar, who were characterized with resolution and decisiveness.
‘ Utlimaan Ibn ‘ Affaan, in his period, with due respect to his overrated virtues of piety and religiousness in addition to his great role in the course of spreading the message of Islam, had different approach to politics and administration. Most people believe that the way he handled many challenges that faced him led to escalation of problems and the aggravation of turmoils that shook the entire populace. In fact, what we can say here is that it was very unfortunate of ‘Uthmaan to find himself at the helm of the nation during that turbulent period in the history of Muslim Nation.
Main Causes
Part of what the people cite as the main causes of the strife was the easy-going attitude adopted by ‘ Uthmaan in his dealing with people. This gave some people of weak faith a golden chance to express sigh of relief after ‘Umar’s era, characterized by toughness, leaving no room for concession or dispensation.
For instance, in a stark contrast to what was used to in the time of Umar, many Companions, in the time of ‘Uthmaan, were given a chance to emigrate, to do whatever they liked, and were given an unrestricted right to own property. When some people complained against the policy of ” Umar (forbidding the erudite among Qurayshi Emigrants to move outside the capital unless by permission and with a definite period), he replied in defiance: “Let everyone know that my policy, in the course of governing Islamic Nation is to apply gradation system that resembles growth phases of camels: First stage, “Al-Thaniy” (in its third year), “Al-Jaz'” (before that stage), then “Al-Rubaa’i” (than develop four teeth), then “Al- Sudciys” (in its sixth year), then “Al-Baazil” (in its ninth year), this is the highest stage of development for camels nothing after that but decline in growth. Lo! Islam has been threatened! Lo! The Quraysh now show more interest in wealth than anything else. But for me, I will never allow that as long as I’m still ‘Alive.”
However, at the time of ‘ Uthmaan, he showed too much leniency that made people got enslaved by material allurement, and this led to having among Muslims some segments that have no relation to Islam whatsoever. This signaled the starting point of having seed of dissension sprout and the soil fertile for planting discord among Muslims.
In this regard At-Tabari says: “No sooner had ‘ ‘Umar passed away than Qurayshi Emigrants (some of them) began showing signs of relation, whereas during the time of ‘Umar, people were not allowed to leave Madeenah. He used to say: “What worries me most is dispersion of Muslims across the border”. Even in participating in battles, they would not venture without seeking the permission of ‘Umar (especially for the erudite among the Emigrants). He would say to anyone of them: “You are well aware of the virtuous nature of the Prophetic battles. Nowadays, in fighting in Allah’s Cause, you need to forsake worldly materials”. However, when ‘Uthmaan got at the helm of power, people forgot about all these noble teachings; hence problems ensued and ‘ Uthmaan’s era became more enjoyable to some people of hidden motives”.
Thus, notable Companions left Madeenah to regional towns and settled there to form money-oriented religious aristocracy, and most of these important figures gained fame and ground the moment they set their feet on the new soil. Thus, they gained supporters among people hunting for any chance to seize power or gave an influential image in the sight of the Caliph. Had ‘ Uthmaan followed the same pattern laid down by ‘ Umar, those people would not be able to poke their nose into the affairs of the Caliphate and pose a threat to the Caliph himself. This threat reached its peak when hundreds of delegates rushed to the capital shouting slogans for the Caliph, ‘Uthmaan, to be ousted and be replaced with other people who also had interest in the post. For instance, people of Basrah called for Az-Zubayr Ibn AI-‘Awwaam to be made Caliph, while people of Kufah called for Talhah Ibn ‘ Ubaydellaah … etc.
Part of what people took against ‘Uthmaan is his absolute and unchecked giving in to the persistent demand raised by people in several governorates for their Emirs to be removed without any tangible reason save their desire to quell flames of dissension. This exaggerated lenient approach led people to have no more respect for their leaders; this, of course, was an alarm bell for the danger lying on the horizon for the Caliph himself. Eventually they called upon him to step down. For instance, to show how much ‘ Uthmaan tried all that he could to please his opponents. He once said to the people of Kufah: “Now I have chosen for you as a ruler a person of your choice after dismissing Sa’eed (Sa’eed Ibn Al-‘Aas). By Allah I will do whatever I can to reform you, to the last drop of my patience”.
But despite this amicable gesture from the Caliph to rectify their erring or rather reshape their manners, these people persisted in their naughtiness and seemed hell-bent on making the situation worse for the Caliph.
Moreover, ‘ Uthmaan, given his old age, also gave in to the pressures levied on him by his family by appointing them into many key posts, especially by making them governors of many Islamic provinces like Egypt, Kufah, Al-Basrah in addition to the Levant which had been already occupied by Mu’awiyah, since the time of ‘ Umar. To compound matters, he did not introduce some sort of checks on them as was the situation in his predecessors’ era. They enjoyed so much privilege that some of them would deliberate important matters and issue decisions on them without even notifying the Caliph. To all this, ‘Uthmaan showed a strange acquiescent nature that exposed him to the danger of being challenged by the public, as clear in the following dialogue.
‘ Uthmaan said to ‘ Ali: “Why are you blaming me for appointing Ibn ‘Aamir, one of my relatives?
In reply to that, ‘Ali said: “Whomever ‘Umar appointed as governor in provinces would also be put under close check, if he found anyone of them erring, he would never leave him unpunished. You have never done such a thing, you are too lenient on your relatives.”
‘Uthmaan said, “They are also your relatives”.
Ali replied: I give them no privilege above being relatives”.
‘Uthmaan: “Have you forgotten that ‘Umar mad
Mu’awiyah was a governor in a province and never ousted him throughout his Caliphate’s era? So I did the same.”
Ali: “You are right but I’d like to remind you that Mu’awiyah always held ‘Umar in awe more than Umar’s lad, Yarfa’, did !”
‘Uthmaan, “Yes, I know that.”
‘Ali: “If you know that, why then give Mu’awiyah free rein to do whatever he likes, issuing decisions in your name and you acquiesce in that?’
In addition to all what he said as factors that led to the escalation of the strife, there are other reasons, such as:
A very controversial doctrine introduced by a virtuous Companion, Abu Pharr Al-Ghifaari, concerning the distribution of wealth, sparked off a frenzied debate between him and Mu’awiyah. While Abu Pharr adopted a socialist-like approach, claiming that the wealth should be equally distributed among all Muslims, for they owned this wealth, Mu’awiyah, the then governor of the Levant, opposed that view raising the slogan “Allah is the Owner of all things”!
To this Abu Pharr counter-argued: “This sounds as someone who wants to manipulate the whole thing! Who says that Allah is not the Owner of all things?! But what I’m saying is that the state’s wealth belongs to all Muslims and they should all have equal share or right to it.” That is why Abu Dharr never supported the idea of amassing wealth, rather he would go for the idea that having a daily sustenance would suffice a Muslim, nothing more save what one reserves to spend in Allah’s Cause. In supporting his argument, he used to cite the following verse:
’’And there are those who bury gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah: announce unto them a most grievous penalty.” (At-Tawbah: 34)’
Aiid lie used to call upon the well-off class of people: “Give a due consideration to the poor (by giving them charity)”.
It should not be any wonder that such an argument claimed many support among the poor class of the society, this made them too demanding and a pain in the neck of the rich who, having their backs to (he wall, had no choice than to complain to the Levant’s governor, Mu’awiyah, who sent Abu Pharr back to Madeenah. Upon reaching there and confronting the Caliph, he was asked by ‘Uthmaan: “What have you done to make Levantines complain a lot about you? Have you been too sharp-tongued?”
Abu Pharr replied: “Only what I said is that people should not be given free rein to amass wealth to the detriment of others, under the slogan of ‘ Allah is the Owner of all things”.
‘ Uthmaan thereupon said to Abu Pharr: “My main task in this post of caliphate is to observe the obligation enjoined on me by Almighty Allah and to see that people also performing their duties, but not to impose an ascetic style of life on people, only what I can do is to advice them to be moderate in spending.” Being dissatisfied with the answer, Abu Pharr sought the Caliph’s permission to leave Madeenah. Not only that he was granted this permission, he was also honored with a befitting entourage that consisted of more than twenty camels and two servants.
Thus, the noble Companion left the Sacred City of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and settled in a place called Ar-Rabadhah, one of the Madeenan suburbs, where he later died after two years, in the year 32 AH.
In citing this incident as one of the main factors that led to the escalation of the strife, we have two points supporting this fact: First of all, Though Abu Pharr voice his own opinion on the distribution of wealth and left, the man really left behind huge numbers of supporters (the poor class) who found it an opportunity to vex their angers against people who were given to opulence and amassing wealth to the detriment of the majority of the populace. Hence, this incident drove the whole atmosphere to the boiling point in the sense that several revolutions were staged against the province’s governors basked in cream of wealth, and this eventually led to a huge uprising against the Caliph himself who acquiesced in this extravagant habits. The second point is that this idea (fair distribution of wealth) was not a carbon copy of someone’s imagination or say that he was just reiterating an opinion already voiced by a Persian man, ‘ Abdullaah Ibn Saba’, rather, it was a refraction of rays of Islamic noble teachings laid down by the great tutor, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
So it should not be a wonder to hear a virtuous Companion like Abu Pharr Al-Ghifaari voicing a personal opinion that greatly moves along the line with the teachings of Islam and backing it with convincing proofs from the Glorious Qur’an !!
(Source: Biographies of the rightly guided Caliphs )
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