Edict
of Uthmân
Every governor also received order
from the Caliph to this effect. Thus following the orders, all the governors
reached Makkah on the occasion of the Hajj. In accordance with the scheme of
Abdullah bin Saba, his followers set out from every province and center but
arrived in Al-Madinah instead of Makkah. On the occasion of Hajj, Uthmân bin
Affân announced among the governors his readiness to listen to complaints but
not a single person rose to lodge any complaint. Those present in the assembly
of the Caliph were bent on finding ways and means of eradicating the troubles.
But their discussions took a long time without any outcome. At this point
Uthmân bin Affân said addressing them: "Trouble is bound to appear in the
near future, but I don't like to be blamed for it, for whatever I have done, it
was solely for the welfare of the people." This utterance of the Caliph
silenced them all.
Uthmân came back to Al-Madinah after
performing the Hajj. He then assembled those from outside and invited Ali,
Talhah and Zubair also. Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) who had accompanied the Caliph from Makkah was also present.
First of all Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
got up and addressed the assembly saying: "All of you, being the
Companions of the Prophet, and men of sense and sound judgment, are the
guardians of the Ummah. It is you who elected your fellow Uthmân..." bin
Affân as the Caliph without any favor. As now he has grown old, many things are
heard from far and near. In case you have arrived at any decision regarding
this, speak your mind and I am ready to reply. However, if you have developed
greed for the caliphate, you will get nothing but taking a flight with your
backs turned." Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
got enraged at the last sentence and rebuked him and he sat down silently.
Following this, Uthmân bin Affân
rose to address and said: "Abu Bakr and Umar Faruq, after becoming Caliph,
practiced caution concerning their relatives with an eye on accountability,
although the Prophet took care of his relatives and extended help to them. My
relatives are poor and so I do the needful for them. I am ready to do away with
my practice if you prove it invalid and unlawful."
Objections:
Uthmân bin Affân had spoken this
much when a man got up and raised the objection: "You unlawfully gave away
wealth and property to your relatives; for instance, you once gave the entire
booty to Abdullah bin Saad." Uthmân replied: "I have given him
one-fifth from the one-fifth of the booty. And we have such examples during the
caliphates of Abu Bakr and Umar."
Another person said: "You have
conferred power and rules on your relatives; for instance, you have appointed
Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) bin Abu Sufyân
governor of the entire Syria. You made Abdullah bin Âmir governor of Basrah by
deposing Abu Musa Ash’ari (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ);
you installed Walid bin Uqbah and then Saeed bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) governors of Kufah by removing Mughirah bin
Shu'bah." Uthmân bin Affân replied, "Those governors are not my
relatives and they have ability to manage the affairs well. However, if they
don't deserve the post, I am always ready to change them for others. Thus I
have already put Abu Musa Ash’ari (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) as the governor of Kufah by removing Saeed bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)."
Then the third person objected:
"You have appointed undeserving and inexperienced persons as governors;
for instance, Abdullah bin Âmir is a young man and, he should not have been
given such a high post." Uthmân replied, "Abdullah bin Âmir is
distinguished in prudence, ability and religiosity; being young is not a
shortcoming."
Yet another person got up and said:
"You love family members most, and you give them heavy gifts." Uthmân
replied, "Love of the family members is not a sin. And I give them gifts
from my own possessions not from the public treasury. How can I give them
anything from the public treasury when I myself don't take a single dirham from
there? I am at liberty to give away anything to anybody from my personal
property."
One more person rose to say:
"You have used your position for your self and reserved grazing ground for
your camels." Uthmân replied, "When I took charge of the caliphate,
nobody in Al-Madinah had camels more than me. But, today I possess only two
camels and that only for the purpose of Hajj, and I don't allow them to go to
any meadow. However, there is a reserved grazing ground for the state camels
and I cannot be blamed for this because this has come to me from the
past."
One of them questioned: "Why
did you offer the complete prayer in Mina while it should have been a Qasr
(shortened one)?" Uthmân bin Affân replied: "Since my family members
were then residing in Makkah, it was valid for me not to perform a Qasr
(shortened) prayer."
In short, objections of this nature
were raised and Uthmân bin Affân answered them fully and thoroughly. At the end
of the assembly, the people left silently. Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) then said to Uthmân bin Affân, "You
are more polite to them than what is needed. This was not the way of Umar,
governors at a distance of hundreds of miles dreaded him more than the slaves
at his service. One should be treated politely so far as there is no danger of
any disturbance. Why don't you slay those about whom you know very well that
they are creating a rift and confusion among the Muslims?" Hearing this
Uthmân bin Affân kept silent.
Events
of 35 AH
The governors of various provinces
began to leave Al-Madinah. When Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), the governor of Syria decided to depart, he came to Uthmân
bin Affân and said, "I anticipate an attack on you and you may not be able
to resist it. It's better for you to accompany me to Syria, for the Syrians are
loyal and lend their full support to me." Uthmân bin Affân replied,
"On no account shall I abandon the proximity and neighborhood of the
Prophet." Having heard this Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) said, "Let me send you an army from Syria to guard you
against any eventuality." Uthmân said, "I am not in favor of putting
my neighbors into trouble." Hearing this Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) said, "You are bound to be
deceived." In reply to this Uthmân bin Affân said, "Allâh is enough
for me and what an Excellent Supporter He is." After which he remained
silent.
Mu'âwiyah then left the place and
came to Ali, Talhah and Zubair and after requesting them to provide protection
to Uthmân bin Affân, he set off for Syria.
No comments:
Post a Comment