congregational prayers (salah). Uthman’s generosity knew no bounds. Although there were other wealthy people around at the time, no one else was able to match Uthman when it came to spending for the cause of Islam.
During the Prophet’s lifetime, Uthman actively helped and supported him in every possible way. After the Prophet’s death, he rallied behind Caliph Abu Bakr and his successor, Caliph Umar, and acted in his capacity as a counsel and aide to both of them. Uthman became renowned for his invaluable services to Islam and was held in high estimation by all Muslims. Uthman’s all-round services to Islam did not end there. His unique personal qualities and tremendous contribution to the cause of Islam were also widely recognised by the companions of the Prophet. That is why an ailing Caliph Umar included him in his distinguished six-man panel to nominate his successor. When the panel’s decision went in favour of Uthman, he became the third Caliph in 644. Unlike Caliphs Abu Bakr and Ali, Uthman was very fortunate to have become Caliph at a time when the Islamic dominion was politically strong and economically prosperous. Under Caliph Umar’s outstanding leadership, the Islamic State became a great political, economic and military power of its time. The decision to nominate him as Umar’s successor ensured that continuity, and another smooth transition of leadership, was achieved.
Immediately after becoming Caliph, Uthman strengthened the administrative base of the vast Islamic dominion. During Umar’s Caliphate, the region comprising Syria, Palestine and Jordan was regarded as three separate provinces, but Caliph Uthman combined them to create one strong and united province, and confirmed Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan as governor of that large region. Likewise, Caliph Uthman abolished the two-tier administration developed by Caliph Umar in Egypt, and replaced it with one governor who was responsible for the governance of that strategically important province. Uthman took similar steps to improve and modernise the civil and administrative systems established by Caliph Umar in parts of Iraq and Iran. The administrative reforms carried out by Caliph Uthman sought to simplify and strengthen accountability, and remove unnecessary bureaucratic red tape. The measures taken by the Caliph helped clarify the roles and responsibilities of the provincial governors vis-à-vis the central Government. Such reforms would help to strengthen and consolidate Islamic rule as the Caliph’s empire began to expand.
While Caliph Uthman was busy reforming the political structure of the expanding Islamic State, the Muslim army continued its march, both in the East and the West, and conquered many new territories. In addition to gaining control of Cyprus, the Muslim army raided parts of Persia and Armenia. With every success came more and more responsibility for Caliph Uthman. While the Caliph was busy contemplating the future direction of the rapidly expanding Islamic State, the news that the Byzantine Emperor Constantine had sent a fleet of five hundred ships to invade Alexandria reached him. In response, he dispatched a Muslim fleet to meet the advancing Byzantines. One of Islamic history’s first major naval battles thus took place in 651. The Muslims successfully fought back the Byzantines, who fled to the island of Sicily. The Caliph’s political and military strategies worked exactly according to plan. However, Caliph Uthman’s greatest single contribution to Islam was his codification and standardisation of the Qur’an, based on the original copy (mushaf) prepared during the reign of Caliph Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. Thus, the copy of the Qur’an we have today is same as that original Uthmanic text. In fact, according to some scholars, two copies of the original Uthmanic texts are still extant to this day. One copy is kept in the Topkapi Museum in Turkey, while the other is preserved in Tashkent in Uzbekistan.
There is no doubt that the first half of Uthman’s Caliphate was immensely successful. This was partly because Caliph Umar had bequeathed to him a politically united and economically prosperous Islamic State, which Uthman strengthened further. But during the second half of his rule, the tide of history began to turn against him. As the Islamic dominion expanded rapidly, internal schism and social disorder started to rear their ugly heads in a number of provinces. A group of insurgents, led by Abdullah ibn Saba (a Yemenite Jewish convert to Islam), began to sow the seeds of political dissension and social disharmony among the Muslims by infiltrating Islamic groups. Ibn Saba and his followers initially targeted Kufah, Basrah, Syria and Egypt and turned those provinces into prominent centres of political insurgency. Under the pretense of being a pious Muslim, Ibn Saba enlisted the help of notable Muslim personalities, incited the locals to register complaints and also forged evidence against a number of prominent governors, accusing them of various alleged crimes, abuses, injustices and plundering of State resources. As a result, Ibn Saba and his co-conspirators managed to remove a number of leading provincial governors, such as Abu Musa al-Ash’ari and Walid ibn Uqbah from their posts. Since he and his followers’ ultimate objective was to undo the vast Islamic State from within, targeting provincial Muslim leaders (especially those who opposed their insurgency activities) became one of their favourite political strategies.
On one occasion, they accused Walid ibn Uqbah, the governor of Kufah, of drinking liquor and they forced witnesses to testify against him. This prompted Caliph Uthman to recall Walid to Madinah and punish him for his alleged misdemeanour. As soon as the Caliph carried out what Ibn Saba and his supporters demanded, they turned round and accused the Caliph of punishing innocent Muslims. In reality, Walid did not drink liquor and he was innocent of all the charges levelled against him. Likewise, when Abu Musa al-Ash’ari was replaced by Abdullah ibn Amir as governor of Basrah, Ibn Saba and his cohorts began to spread rumours that the Caliph had recalled Abu Musa and replaced him with Abdullah as governor because the latter was related to the Caliph. Seeking to pacify the hypocrites (munafiqun) was like fighting a losing battle. Indeed, they were bent on wreaking havoc within the Islamic State, but Caliph Uthman failed to understand the gravity of the situation and thus continued his dangerous policy of appeasement, which only served to encourage the enemies of the Islamic State. Being a gentle-natured and compassionate man, he devoted all his time, wealth and energy to the cause of Islam. But, unlike Caliph Umar, he was neither firm nor decisive in his dealings with the mischief-makers, who were bent on creating socio-political disorder within the Islamic State. Since Caliph Uthman had no intention of shedding Muslim blood, he hoped to win over the troublemakers through love and compassion. Although one cannot fail to admire his good intentions and sublime qualities, in the circumstances the strategy he pursued against a determined enemy, bent on destroying the Islamic State from within, was a wrong one.
As it transpired, the enemies of Islam took advantage of the Caliph’s ‘softly-softly’ approach and intensified their designs against the Islamic State. It was not long before they began to falsify and fabricate evidence against the Caliph himself. Though he cogently refuted all their allegations publicly, his detractors were not satisfied with his explanations. As tension between the Caliph and the insurgents mounted, some of the leading companions of the Prophet urged Uthman to take action against the insurgents; but he refused to do so, saying he would rather die than shed Muslim blood. Caliph Uthman was a man of principles, and he decided to stick to his principles come what might. The insurgents were not willing to relent either. As it happens, they were not interested in peace at all; their foremost objective was to oust the Caliph from power. Thus one of the first major crises in Islamic history was now looming on the horizon. Ibn Saba, the ringleader of the hypocrites, eventually descended upon Madinah and openly laid siege to the frail Caliph’s residence. They demanded that Uthman resign forthwith, otherwise they would kill him. Uthman replied, “I do not fear death, but I do not want to shed Muslim blood.” Again, a number of eminent companions of the Prophet urged him to take action against the insurgents. Yet again, he made it clear that he had no desire to shed Muslim blood. The insurgents then invaded his house and brutally murdered him while he was busy reciting the Qur’an. He was eighty years old.
Caliph Uthman’s death was a watershed in Islamic history. His assassination sent an almighty shiver down the Islamic spine, signalling the end of Islam’s political unity. The Muslim world became divided, never to unify again. Caliph Uthman chose to lay down his own life rather than spill Muslim blood. That is what he will be remembered for; he lived by his principles and he died for his faith. Refering to him, the Prophet Muhammad once said: ‘Every Prophet has a friend and my friend is Uthman.’
