The consequences of the first rally in the history of Islam
The reign of the righteous Caliph Uthman ibn Affan was famous for many virtues. The Caliph serves as an excellent example for us of the desire to elevate Islam and support the community. During his reign, a single official written code of the Koran was compiled, the Prophet’s ﷺ Mosque in the radiant Medina was expanded, Muslims managed to spread the religion over a large territory, they reached Africa and Andalusia (Spain), etc.
A hadith transmitted by at-Tirmidhi reports that when the Prophet ﷺ was preparing an army for a campaign against Tabuk, Uthman brought him a thousand dinars (gold coins). The Messenger of God ﷺ, while counting these dinars, said twice “No matter what Uthman does after this day, nothing will harm him!”
However, despite all this, during the era of Uthman bin Affan, unrest and turmoil broke out within the state. The instigators of unrest took advantage of the gentleness of character, sensitivity and modesty of the caliph. The most serious was the rebellion that took place in early May 656.
The Prophet ﷺ warned of this. In a hadith transmitted by at-Tirmidhi from Ibn Umar, it is said that the Messenger of God ﷺ once mentioned turmoil, then, pointing to Uthman, said, “In it (in turmoil) he (Uthman) will be unjustly killed.”
The Caliph also conveyed the words of the Messenger of God ﷺ: “O Uthman, perhaps Allah will put a shirt on you (give you the reins of the Caliphate), and if the hypocrites want to take it off you, then do not take it off under any circumstances until you meet me.”
Low people and enemies of Islam began to weave intrigues against the Caliph. Among them was Abdullah bin Saba (aka Ibn al-Sawda), a Jew from Yemen who pretended to accept Islam during the reign of Uthman.
With the appearance of the first signs of unrest at the end of the reign of Uthman, the name of Abdullah became known. He traveled around different regions where Muslims lived, and in each province he spread false rumors about Uthman’s injustice towards the inhabitants of another province, as a result of which people began to think that they lived better than the inhabitants of other provinces. In addition, he convinced everyone that Ali had more rights to be a caliph than Uthman. He told the hadiths of the Prophet ﷺ, in which Ali was praised.
He arrived in Medina and, posing as a true Muslim, studied the situation and state of Muslim society. From there he went to Basra, Kufa and then to Sham. Everywhere he criticised the governors of the provinces appointed by the caliph and spread rumors that Uthman was not worthy of being a caliph. This was the cause of the first unrest in the history of Islam. The more actively he pursued his dirty policy, the more complaints came from people about their rulers. This unrest was also facilitated by the spies of the Byzantine and Persian officials, whom the Muslims deprived of power and wealth.
In Sham, no one listened to Abdullah bin Saba and he was expelled. Then he went to Egypt. There, showing false love, devotion to Ali bin Abu Talib and members of the family of the Messenger of God ﷺ, he began to incite people to start a revolution against the Caliph. He told people, “Isn’t Muhammad more worthy for Allah than Isa?... In that case, Muhammad truly deserves to return to the people more than Isa. And Muhammad can return in the person of his uncle’s son, Ali, who is the closest person to him.” (Ibn Kathir)
Then he sent his confidants to different provinces of the Muslim state with messages to everyone who was already dissatisfied with the Caliph’s policy. The future rebels, gathering in their provinces, began to talk about the shortcomings of the rulers. Thus, the troublemaker was able to unite everyone who was dissatisfied with the Caliph, set them up and raise them against him.
Ibn al-Sawda was able to deceive the people of Egypt with his flattery after his words were rejected in Yemen and Sham and found no support there. The people deceived by his speech went with him to Medina to rebel against Uthman bin Affan. As a result, the Commander of the Faithful was killed, despite being a man about whose virtue the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whatever Uthman does after this day, nothing will harm him!”
To be continued…
