contents · mansoor ahmed shah editorial board basit ahmad ... and the false belief of astrology...

MANAGEMENT BOARDMr Munir-ud-din Shams (Chairman)

Mr Mansoor Shah (Secretary)Mr Naseer Ahmad QamarMr Mubarak Ahmad ZafarMr Mirza Fakhar AhmadMr. Abdul Baqi Arshad

CHIEF EDITOR AND MANAGERMansoor Ahmed Shah

EDITORIAL BOARDBasit Ahmad

Bockarie Tommy KallonFareed AhmadFazal Ahmad.Fauzia BajwaMansoor Saqi

Mahmood HanifMansoora Hyder-Hanif

Navida ShahidSarah Waseem

Saleem Ahmad MalikTanveer Khokhar

SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORSAmatul Hadi Ahmad

Farina Qureshi

PROOFREADERSAbdul Ghany Jahangeer Khan

Shaukia Mir

DESIGN AND LAYOUTTanveer Khokhar

PUBLISHERAl Shirkatul Islamiyyah

DISTRIBUTIONMuhammad Hanif

All correspondence should be forwarded to the editor at:The Review of Religions

The London Mosque16 Gressenhall RoadLondon, SW18 5QL

United Kingdom

Email: [email protected]

© Islamic Publications, 2007ISSN No: 0034-6721

Views expressed in this publication are notnecessarily the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya

Muslim Community

December 2007, Vol.102, No.12CONTENTS

ESSENCE OF ISLAM – Part 25 Revelation and Psychic PhenomenaFive different forms of True spiritual revelation and the false belief of astrology and others

who claim they can predict the futureHadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as)....................... 2

KHILAFAT CENTENARY SPECIAL EDITION NO.3

HADHRAT ‘UTHMAN(RA)

Account of how Hadhrat ‘Uthman(ra) became a beacon of light for the early Muslims. The article covers his achievements in the officialcompilation of the Qur’an, and the apparentgrowing discontent against his judgement that led to his unfortunate murder.Amir Safir – UK .................................................. 12

HADHRAT ‘ALI(RA)

The close bond between Hadhrat ‘Ali(ra) and theHoly Prophet(saw) and how this contributed to hisunique knowledge of the Qur’an and Hadith. Alsoan analysis of the role of Hadhrat ‘Ali(ra) under thefirst three Khulafa and his achievements as thefourth Khalifah.Fazal Ahmad – UK.............................................. 42

Cover Photo:Old map of Middle Eastmap from 1716 showing part ofthe Middle East including Persiaand Mesopotamia (now Iran andIraq). Photo, copyright, BigStockPhotos.com

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Some people put forward theobjection that there are manygroups like astrologers, sooth-sayers, physicians, and palmists,who claim to reveal the unseen.Sometimes they foretell things,some of which come to pass, andthat more recently, some peoplehave been able to reveal hiddenmatters through mesmerism. Thenhow could the revealing of theunseen be conclusive proof of theDivine origin of revelation?

The answer is that all these groupsspeak from conjecture, guesswork,and indeed from superstition; theypossess no certain knowledge nor

do they claim to have certainknowledge. Their so-called pro-phecies are based upon signs anddoubtful indications which haveno relationship with certainty andwhich are not above suspicion anderror. Very often, their predictionsare proved baseless and false, onaccount of which those predictionslack all honour and acceptance andhelpfulness and success. Thosewho indulge in those predictionsare generally poverty-stricken andunfortunate, are held in no honour,and are cowardly, mean,unsuccessful and without anymerit. They cannot convert theunseen to come into accord with

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This series sets out, in the words of the Promised Messiah(as), Hadhrat Mirza GhulamAhmad, a summary of his exposition of four outstanding topics: ISLAM; ALLAH,THE EXALTED; THE HOLY PROPHET(saw) and THE HOLY QUR’AN. Theoriginal compilation, in Urdu, from which these extracts have been translated intoEnglish, was collated with great care and diligence by Syed Daud Ahmad Sahib, Allahhave mercy on him and reward him graciously for his great labour of love. Amin. TheEnglish rendering is by the late Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan, may Allah be pleasedwith him, and is quoted from The Essence of Islam, Volume 1. All referencesthroughout, unless otherwise specifically mentioned, are from the Holy Qur’an.

ESSENCE OF ISLAM: Part 25 – Revelation amd Psychic Phenomena

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their predictions and in their owncircumstances they exhibit thesigns of Divine wrath and theypossess no blessing or honour orhelp from the Divine. But theProphets and Auliya’ do notmerely disclose the unseen like theastrologers, but with the Grace andMercy of God, which alwaysaccompany them, they make suchprophecies in which the lights ofacceptance and honour shine likethe sun and which consist of thegood news of honour and Divinehelp, and not that of misfortuneand adversity.

Consider the prophecies of theHoly Qur’an and you will find thatthey are not like the predictions ofthe astrologers or others but arefull of majesty and glory. All thoseprophecies are characterised bydeclaring the honour of therecipients and the disgrace of theirenemies, their glory and thehumiliation of their enemies, theirsuccess and the failure of theirenemies, their victory and thedefeat of their enemies, and theirprosperity and the ruin of theirenemies. Can any astrologer orsoothsayer or mesmeriser put forthsuch prophecies? Certainly not.

Always to proclaim one’s owngood, and the decline of theopponent and to refute whateverthe opponent says and to promisethe fulfilment of that which is inone’s favour, can only be from

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ESSENCE OF ISLAM – PART 25, REVELATION AND PSYCHIC PHENOMENA

The Review of Religions – December 2007KHILAFAT: Special Edition 3

The founder of the AhmadiyyaMuslim community was Hadhrat

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as).The founder of the AhmadiyyaMuslim community was HadhratMirza Ghulam Ahmad(as). In 1891,he claimed, on the basis of Divinerevelation, that he was the PromisedMessiah and Mahdi whose adventhad been foretold by Muhammad,the Holy Prophet of Islam (peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him)and by the scriptures of other faiths. The founder’s claim constitutes thebasis of the beliefs of the AhmadiyyaMuslim community.

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God and cannot be the doing ofman. [Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, RuhaniKhaza’in, vol. 1, pp. 232-242,footnote 11]

Man’s Knowledge of theUniverse is Defective Though man has been tryingstrenuously for thousands of yearsto discover God’s powers throughnatural sciences and mathematics,yet his knowledge is so defectivethat he can only be described ashopeless and unsuccessful in hissearch. Hundreds of hiddenmysteries are disclosed to those towhom visions and revelation arevouchsafed and they are bornewitness to by thousands of therighteous; but the philosopherscontinue to deny them. Thephilosophers base all thinking andreflection on the brain, but thosewho have experience of visionshave discovered through theirspiritual experiences that thefountainhead of reason and under-standing is the heart. For thirty-five years, I have observed thatrevelation which is the source ofspiritual understanding and of theknowledge of the unseen descendsupon the heart. Very often a voice

strikes the heart with force, as abucket is thrown with force into awell full of water, and that waterof the heart surges up like a closedblossom and arriving near thebrain blooms like a flower andgives birth to words which areWords of the Divine. Thesespiritual experiences establish thatthe brain is not concerned withknowledge and true under-standing. It is true that if the brainis healthy and suffers from nodefect, it is benefited by the secretknowledge possessed by the heart,and as the brain is the centre of thenervous system, it is like amachine which can pump up waterfrom the well. The heart is the wellthat is the fountainhead of hiddenknowledge. This is a secret thathas been discovered by men oftruth through true visions and Imyself have experience of it. [Chashma-e-Ma’rifat, RuhaniKhaza’in, vol. 23, pp. 282-283]

I have been honoured with Divineconverse for nearly eleven yearsand I know well that revelationdescends from heaven. If one wereto illustrate revelation by referenceto some worldly object, one couldperhaps compare it with the

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telegraph which itself disclosesevery change that occurs in it. Myexperience is that at the time ofdescent of revelation, which isvouchsafed to me as the revelationof the Auliya’, I feel that I amunder the control of an externalforce that is very effective.Sometimes this control is so strongand envelops me so forcefully inits light that I find myself drawn toit compulsively and no faculty ofmine can stand up to it. In thiscondition, I hear clear and brightwords. I sometimes see angels andobserve the power and awe oftruth. The words that are conveyedto me often comprehend mattersthat are unseen and there is suchextraordinary control and seizure,which is proof of the existence ofGod Almighty. To deny this wouldamount to murdering a self-evident truth. [Barakat-ud-Du’a, RuhaniKhaza’in, vol. 6, p. 26]

I call God to witness that it is thetruth that revelation falls upon theheart from heaven as rays of thesun fall upon a wall. It is my dailyexperience that when the Word ofGod is about to descend on methen in the first stage I feel a sort

of helplessness and experience achange and, though my senses arein a manner working, I find that apowerful force has taken mywhole being in its grip and I feelthat all the arteries of my being arein the control of that force and allthat is mine is no longer mine butbelongs to it. When I am in thatcondition first of all God Almightypresents those of my thoughts tome on which He intends to cast aray of His words. Those thoughtscome before me one after the otherin a strange guise, and it sohappens that when a thoughtpasses through my mind – forinstance, whether a certain personwill recover from his illness or not– then suddenly a Divine phrasefalls like a ray and often with itsfalling the whole of my body isshaken. Then this is succeeded byanother thought and as soon as itappears a piece of revelation fallsupon it like an archer shooting anarrow on every quarry that appearsbefore him. Just at that time, it isfelt that this chain of thoughts isgenerated by our natural capacityand that the words that fall upon itdescend from above.

Although poets and thinkers, etc.,

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also receive suggestions onreflection, there is no relationshipbetween revelation and suchsuggestion, for that suggestion is aconsequence of thinking andreflection and is received withinthe limits of humanness in the fullpossession of one’s senses. Butrevelation is received when therecipient comes under the fullcontrol of God Almighty with allhis being, and his own senses andreflection do not intervene in anyway. It appears as if one’s tongueis not one’s own and is being usedby some other strong power. Thisshould make clear the distinctionbetween natural capacity and thatwhich descends from heaven. [Barakat-ud-Du’a, RuhaniKhaza’in, vol.6, pp. 22-23,footnote]

How Revelation is Received The slight slumber that overtakesone at the time when the Word ofGod descends upon the heart iscompletely outside materialcauses and all physical causes aresuspended at the time. When arighteous person, who has a truerelationship of love and fidelitywith God Almighty, submits asupplication to God in the upsurge

of that relationship, he is suddenlyovertaken by a slight slumberwhile he is still occupied with hissupplication and he seems to wakeup and finds the answer to hissupplication, couched in eloquentwords, being conveyed to himbehind the veil of that slumber.Those words possess a majestyand a quality of delight, andDivine Power is felt shiningthrough them. They penetrate theheart like an iron nail and oftencontain knowledge of hiddenmatters. It often happens thatwhen that righteous person seeksto submit something more withregard to his first supplication, orsubmits a fresh supplication, he isagain overtaken by a slumberwhich disappears within less thana second and from it emerge HolyWords, as the kernel emerges fromthe shell, which are delicious andfull of majesty. In this manner,God, Who is Gracious andMerciful and full of kindness,responds to every question anddoes not manifest any contempt ordisgust. If a supplication is madesixty or seventy or a hundredtimes, a response is received in thesame manner. That is to say, that atthe time of each supplication a

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slight slumber overtakes therecipient of revelation. On occa-sion, this faintness or slumber isheavy as if the person had falleninto a swoon. Such revelation isvouchsafed on very importantmatters and is the highest type ofrevelation.

The slumber that overtakes arecipient of revelation at the timeof his supplication and prayerbehind the veil of which Divinerevelation is received, is aboveany physical causes. Whatever thephysicists regard as the law ofnature concerning dreams breaksdown in this instance. There arehundreds of spiritual matters thatrefute the thinking ofphilosophers. Very often a personsees in a vision objects that arethousands of miles away andappear as if they were close to theeye, and often a person can meetand converse in complete wake-fulness with the souls of those whohave passed away. [Chashma-e-Ma’rifat, RuhaniKhaza’in, vol.23, pp. 111-112]

Various Forms of Revelation First Form: Out of several formsof revelation, which God has

disclosed to me, is that when GodAlmighty desires to disclose somehidden matter to His servant, Hecauses to flow from his tonguesome phrases in a slight slumber,sometimes gently and sometimesharshly. Those phrases that flowharshly from the tongue fall uponthe tongue as hardly as hail fallssuddenly upon a hard piece ofground, or as the hooves of a fastrunning steed strike the earth.Such a revelation arrives withspeed and is so awe-inspiring thatthe whole body is affected therebyand the tongue runs with it so fastand in such a majestic voice that itis as if it is not one’s own tongue.The slight slumber disappearsaltogether when the revelation iscompleted and during the time thatit is received one lies motionlesslike a corpse. Such revelation isreceived when God Almighty outof His Wisdom decides not toaccept a supplication or decides topostpone its acceptance or wishesto convey something that wouldlie heavy on the recipient, forinstance, when a person seeks toacquire something quickly andsuch acquisition is not in accordwith the Divine Will or has to bepostponed. I have been the

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recipient of such revelations onoccasion, which it would take toolong to describe in detail, but I willset down one instance.

About three years ago, I prayedthat people might be disposed tohelp in the publication of thisbook whereupon I received thistype of revelation in hard words:

‘Not yet.’

When I received this revelation Iinformed a number of Hindus andMuslims of it, who are still aliveand they also witnessed thereafterthe lack of attention of people tothis book.

As regards the other type ofrevelation, in which phrases flowfrom the tongue with gentleness,it would be enough to state thatwhen some time had passed afterthe revelation just mentioned, andI was beset with difficulties, thenone day I received a revelationfrom the Gracious Lord:

Take hold of the branch of thepalm-tree and shake it; it willshed fresh ripe dates uponthee.

From this I understood that thiswas an indication that I shouldinvite people’s help and that therewas a promise that through sucheffort I would be able to collectenough money to defray theexpenses of the publication of thatpart of the book. I informedseveral Hindus and Muslims ofthis revelation also and I alsoinformed Hafiz Hidayat ‘AliKhan, Extra AssistantCommissioner, who had arrivedin Qadian the same day or thefollowing day. I also informedMaulawi Muhammad Hussain ofBatala. In short, after the receiptof this revelation, according to theDivine Command, I made someeffort towards inviting assistanceand thereafter I received fromLahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi,Malirkotla and a few other places,enough assistance to meet theexpenses of the publication of thatpart. All praise is due to Allah forthis. [Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, RuhaniKhaza’in, vol.1, pp. 248·251 sub-footnote 1]

The second form of revelation,which on account of its manywonders I call perfect revelation,

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is that when God Almightydesires to inform a servant of ahidden matter after hissupplication or on His own, Heimposes a faintness upon him,whereby he becomes completelyfree from his self and sinks in thatfaintness like a person who divesin deep water and disappears in it;then when he emerges from thisdive he feels a sort of echo insidehimself, and when that echoceases he feels from insidehimself words that are appropriateand fine and delicious. Thisdiving in the faintness is awonderful experience, whichcannot be adequately described inwords. In this condition, a wholeocean of understanding is openedfor a person. When repeatedly hehas this experience of diving thatis imposed upon him by GodAlmighty and he receives aresponse to every supplication infine and delicious words, and ineach instance God discloses tohim verities which it is beyondhuman power to disclose, hethereby achieves the fullness ofunderstanding and cognition.Man’s supplication and God’sresponse to it through themanifestation of His Godhead is

an experience as if the supplicantbeholds God in this very worldand immediately both worldsappear equal to him. When at thetime of need a servant makesrepeated supplications to his Lordand receives a response, as onehuman being receives fromanother, and that response iscouched in fine eloquent words,sometimes in a language of whichhe is completely ignorant, andcomprises hidden matters whichare beyond the power of creatures,and sometimes conveys the goodnews of great bounties or of highranks or of nearness to God, andsometimes comprehends prophe-cies with regard to worldlyblessings, then by the hearing ofthese fine and eloquent phraseswhich are far above human power,he acquires a degree ofunderstanding which is appre-ciated only by him upon whomthis bounty is bestowed. In truth,such a one recognises God as onerecognises a firm and old friend.Such revelation often relates togrand affairs. It sometimescontains words the meanings ofwhich have to be sought for in adictionary. Sometimes I havereceived such a revelation in an

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alien language like English [this isa translation of a text in Urdu:Editor] or some other with whichI am totally unacquainted. (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, RuhaniKhaza’in, vol.1, pp. 260-264 sub-footnote 1)

The third form of revelation iscommunicated to one’s heart in agentle manner. A phrase passesthrough the heart, which does notcomprehend all the wonders inperfection that are a characteristicof the revelation that we have justdescribed. It is not necessarilypreceded by any faintness orslumber. It can be received incomplete wakefulness. It is felt asif someone has breathed thosewords into the heart or has thrownthem at the heart. One might bepartially awake or might becompletely awake and onesuddenly feels that new wordshave entered one’s breast.Sometimes, immediately onentering the heart, the wordsmanifest their forceful light andone becomes aware that thesewords are being conveyed by God.The revelation conveys comfort,satisfaction and contentment to theheart as the air that one breathes

conveys comfort to the heart andlimbs. A disturbed mind feels itsjoy and coolness. This is a mysteryof which the common people areunaware but men of understandingwho have been bestowedexperience of Divine mysteries bythe Bountiful Lord understand itwell. I have experienced suchrevelation on many occasions.

The fourth form of revelation isthat some matter is disclosed byGod Almighty in a true dream, oran angel assuming human shapediscloses a hidden matter, or awriting appears on a piece of paperor on a stone, etc., which discloseshidden mysteries, or other similarexperiences. [Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, RuhaniKhaza’in, vol.1, pp. 273-274 sub-footnote 1]

The fifth form of revelation is thatwhich has nothing to do withman’s heart. One hears a voicefrom outside as if someone werespeaking from behind a curtain,but the voice is very delicious andcheerful and is conveyed withsome speed and the heart derivespleasure from it. One’s mind isdeep in thought and suddenly this

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voice is heard and one is surprisedfrom where it has proceeded andwho is addressing one. One looksfor someone from whom the voicecould have proceeded and thenone realises that it has come froman angel. It generally conveyssome good news when one isanxious and sorrowful or isgripped by fear on hearing somebad news that turns out to havebeen false. Unlike the secondform, such revelation is not theconsequence of repeated suppli-cations. An angel speaks suddenlywhen God Almighty so desires,contrary to the second type ofrevelation when a response isreceived from God Almighty torepeated supplications; a hundredsupplications receive a hundredreplies from the AbsoluteBenefactor as has been my ownexperience. [Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, RuhaniKhaza’in, vol.1, pp. 287-288 sub-footnote I]

I have several times seen Jesus(as)

in a vision and have also met someof the Prophets in completewakefulness. I have also seen andconversed many times with ourlord and master Muhammad, the

chosen one(saw) in complete wake-fulness, which was entirely freefrom slumber or absent-mindedness. I have also met otherdeceased people at their graves oron other occasions and have talkedto them in complete wakefulness. Itherefore know well that such ameeting with deceased people incomplete wakefulness, and talkingto them and shaking hands withthem, is quite possible. There is nodifference whatsoever betweenthis wakefulness and normalwakefulness. One feels that one isin this world with the same earsand eyes and tongue and yet onefeels as if one were in anotherworld. People of the world are notaware of such wakefulness forthey are heedless. Thiswakefulness is bestowed fromheaven. It is bestowed upon thosewho are granted new senses. Thisis true and is a fact. [Masih Hindustan Mein, RuhaniKhaza’in, Vol.15, pp. 36-37]

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IntroductionHadhrat ‘Uthman Ghani ibnAffan(ra) was the third Khalifah(Successor) after the demise of theHoly Prophet Muhammad(saw). Aman of matchless modesty, he wasborn into the powerful Umayyadfamily of Makkah, and became anextremely wealthy merchantbefore his conversion to Islam.After the demise of ‘Umar(ra),‘Uthman(ra) was chosen by acounsel to succeed ‘Umar(ra).

His main achievement wascentralising the institution ofKhilafat, its related administrativeset-up, and most importantly,compiling an official version ofthe Holy Qur’an. His tenure,however, was also marked as atime of great civil wars and unrestamong Muslims. His assassinationat the hands of a rebellious groupsignified the start of the firstfitnah, a series of civil wars thatthreatened to tear the unity of thefollowers of Muhammad(saw) apart.

BackgroundHis full name was ‘Uthman binAffan bin Abu Al-’As binUmayyah bin ‘Abd Shams bin‘Abd Munaf bin Qusai bin Kilabbin Murrah bin Ka’b bin Lu’ayybin Ghalib. He was a close relativeof Prophet Muhammad(saw), as hismaternal grandmother was the realsister of the Prophet’s paternalgrandfather, ‘Abdul-Muttalib. Itwas through this link that‘Uthman(ra) and the Prophet(saw)

were related as cousins.

‘Uthman(ra) was of middle height,fair complexion, had a full beardand curly-hair, was large-limbed,and had the most beautiful teeth.His most distinguishing physicalfeature was his exceptionallyhandsome face. It is not unusualfor people to be described asbeautiful or as possessingattractive facial features. Hadhrat‘Uthman(ra), however, wasunmatched. It seems that whoever

Hadhrat ‘Uthman Al-Ghani Ibn ‘Affan(ra)

The Great Lover of AllahBy Amer Safir – London, UK

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13The Review of Religions – December 2007KHILAFAT: Special Edition 3

HADHRAT ‘UTHMAN AL-GHANI IBN ‘AFFAN(RA)

gazed upon his face unanimouslyagreed that they had never seenanyone more handsome than him.‘‘Abdullah ibn Hazm al-Mazini isreported to have said:

‘I saw ‘Uthman ibn Affan andI have never seen a man or awoman with a more beautifulface than him.’1

It was solely a grace from Allahthat he was granted with suchexcellent physical attributes. Thisalone, however, is not the onlygrace with which he was blessed.When one ponders on ‘Uthman’slife, it is clear that he wasrewarded with numerous,remarkable and unique blessings,showing that he was a particularlybeloved servant of Allah. Oneother such bounty was his greatresemblance in terms of physicalappearance to the HolyProphet(saw). Hadhrat ‘A’isha(ra)

said to ‘Uthman’s wife, UmmKulthum(ra), who was also thedaughter of the Prophet(saw):

‘Your husband, of all men, isthe one who resembles yourgrandfather Ibrahim and yourfather Muhammad.’2

In another saying, Abu Hurairah(ra)

relates that the Holy Prophet(saw)

said:

‘‘Uthman, of my companions,most resembles me incharacter.’3

The Holy Prophet(saw) held‘Uthman(ra) in the highest esteemand gave two of his daughters inmarriage to him. ‘Uthman(ra) firstmarried Ruqayyah(ra) before theProphethood of Muhammad(saw),but she died during the Battle ofBadr. It was a phenomenal honourfor ‘Uthman(ra) to have married thedaughter of the greatest of allProphets(saw). This honour wasdoubled, because whenRuqayyah(ra) passed away, theProphet(saw) gave his seconddaughter, Umm Kulthum(ra), to‘Uthman(ra). This occurred soonafter the Battle of Uhud tookplace. The Prophet(saw) said:

‘Get ‘Uthman married. Even ifI had a third [daughter] I wouldhave got him married, and I didnot get him married exceptthrough revelation fromAllah.’4

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It is evident from these words thatthe Prophet(saw) had his daughtersmarried to ‘Uthman(ra) solely for thereason that he had been instructed‘through revelation from Allah’.‘Ali(ra) once heard the Prophet(saw)

say to ‘Uthman(ra):

‘Even if I had forty daughters Iwould marry them to you, oneafter another, until none of themremained.’5

Having had the unique privilege ofmarrying two of the daughters ofthe Prophet(saw), ‘Uthman(ra) wasknown as ‘Dhun-Nurayn’, thepossessor of two lights. It was animmense honour for ‘Uthman(ra),one that is unprecedented inhistory, and one that could onlyoccur through Allah’s grace and toone that was exceptionally near toAllah. As ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umarrelates:

‘My maternal uncle Hussain al-Jufi said, “Do you realise why‘Uthman was called thePossessor of Two Lights?” Isaid, “No.” He said, “No-oneother than ‘Uthman” has everbeen united to two daughters ofa prophet since Allah created

Adam (nor will anyone be) untilthe Hour arises ’.6

‘Uthman(ra) and his first wifeRuqayyah(ra) were a very congenialcouple, and it is apparent that theProphet(saw) himself thought so too.Usamah ibn Zaid relates:

‘The Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant himpeace, sent me to ‘Uthman’shouse with a dish in which wasmeat. I went in, and there wasRuqayyah, may Allah bepleased with her, seated. Ibegan to look at the face firstof Ruqayyah and then of‘Uthman, again and again.When I returned, theMessenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace,questioned me and asked me,“Did you go in to them?” Isaid. “Yes.” He said, “Haveyou seen a couple morebeautiful than them?” I said,“No, Messenger of Allah.”’7

Like Abu Bakr(ra) and Umar(ra),‘Uthman(ra) was also a merchant bytrade. He was extremely wealthy, amillionaire by today’s standards,and was considered to be one of

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the richest men in all of Makkah.He never, however, displayed anyboastfulness or pride, and neverdid he take wine in the age ofignorance before the laws of Islamhad been introduced. He belongedto one of the most powerfulfamilies of Makkah, the well-known and influential Umayyadclan, a fact that later would provecrucial to the plight of theMuslims during the Treaty ofHudaibiyyah.

Early days as a MuslimHe was the fourth convert to Islamafter Abu Bakr(ra), Khadijah(ra) andZaid(ra), and was about thirty-fiveyears of age when he convertedthrough Abu Bakr(ra). Despitebeing very wealthy, he wasamongst the most generous of thecompanions of the Prophet(saw).From the day he entered Islam hewould set a slave free everyFriday.8

During the early years of theProphet’s ministry, persecutionagainst the Muslims in Makkahwas at its most intense. It wascommon for Muslims to enduretorture and merciless beatings atthe hands of the non-believers.

‘Uthman(ra) was a member of apowerful clan, and had beenbrought up in relative luxury andease. Yet he bore the full brunt ofthe hardships faced by theMuslims. He was tied up by hisuncle, Hakam bin Abi’l-‘Aas, andreceived a harsh beating.‘Uthman(ra) displayed the utmostcomposure and faced thispersecution without any hint ofdisapproval.9 Muhammad ibnIbrahim ibn al-Harith at-Taymirelates:

‘When ‘Uthman bin Affanbecame a Muslim, his paternaluncle, Al-Hakam ibn Abi’l-‘Aas ibn Umayyah took holdof him, bound him with rope,and said, “Do you wish toleave the religion of yourfathers for an innovated deen?By Allah, I will not leave youuntil you give up that whichyou are involved in.” ‘Uthmansaid, “By Allah, I will not giveit up nor abandon it.” WhenAl-Hakam saw his firmness inhis deen he left him.’10

When the oppression reached anintolerable level, the Prophet(saw)

gathered his followers, and told

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them of a land to the West wherethey could practice their faithwithout fear of retribution under ajust ruler. A group of Muslim men,women and children thus migratedto Abyssinia. Amongst this smallparty of emigrants was‘Uthman(ra). He took part in twomigrations, first to Abyssinia11,and later to Madinah. Anas relates:

‘The first one to emigrate withhis family to the Abyssinianswas ‘Uthman ibn Affan. TheProphet, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, said,“May Allah accompany thetwo of them. ‘Uthman is thefirst to emigrate with hisfamily for the sake of Allah,since Lut (Prophet Lot)”’.12

When the Makkans discoveredthat a band of Muslim refugeeshad fled their hometown, theyhatched a plan to force their return.After failing to convince the Kingof Abyssinia to hand them over,the Makkans began a rumour inAbyssinia that all of Makkah wasunder the fold of Islam. Theincident of the so-called SatanicVerses about which orientalistshave made much hue and cry is

also reported to have occured atthis time. Some Muslims thenreturned to Makkah only to findthat the story had been false.13

‘Uthman(ra) was also amongst thisparty.

In keeping with the prevalent Arabtradition, a returning emigrant hadto seek protection from a chief orhigh ranking resident. As the son ofa prominent Makkan chief,‘Uthman(ra) was given protection byWalid bin Mughirah, a friend of hisfather, and was thus able to live inpeace. When he saw the plight ofthe other Muslims in Makkah whocontinued to endure severepersecution, he became verydisheartened.14 How could he havesuch protection whilst his fellowMuslims continued to suffer fromcruelty? He went to Walid binMughirah and renounced hisprotection and this was accordinglyannounced in Makkah.

An instance occurred soon afterwhere the chiefs of Makkah wereseated in a gathering, listening toLabid, the poet-laureate of Arabia.Poets were held in high esteem bythe Arabs and wielded consid-erable influence. They were seen

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as leaders of the people and thepoet-laureate therefore held anespecially lofty status. Labid reada line which interpreted as, allgraces are limited. Such was thestrength of faith of ‘Uthman(ra) thathe bravely contradicted Labid andsaid:

‘The graces of Paradise will beeverlasting.’15

In his position as poet-laureate,Labid was not used to beingcontradicted. What made it aneven more bold act on the part of‘Uthman(ra) was the fact that theChiefs of the Makkans were alsopresent. Labid became infuriatedand said:

‘Quraish, your guests were notinsulted like this before.Whence has this fashionbegun?’

To alleviate Labid’s temper, a manfrom the gathering arose and said:

‘Go on and take no notice ofthis fool.’

‘Uthman(ra), however, remainedsteadfast to his statement, and

argued that he had said nothingwrong whatsoever. The man whohad stood up could take thisdisrespect to Labid no longer. Hepounced on ‘Uthman(ra), deliveringhim a strong blow, knocking oneof his eyes out.

Walid, whose protection‘Uthman(ra) had denounced, wasalso present amongst thegathering. He was close to‘Uthman's father and could notbear to see his deceased friend'sson being treated with suchbrutality. According to Arabcustom, it was wrong for him tohelp someone who was notofficially under his protection. Hewas therefore unable to help‘Uthman(ra).16 In exasperation heturned to ‘Uthman(ra) and said:

‘Son of my friend, you wouldhave saved your eye, had younot renounced my protection.You have to thank yourself forit.’

‘Uthman’s reply shows theunrelenting fervour he had forAllah and His messenger:

‘I have longed for this. I

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lament not over the loss of oneeye, because the other waits forthe same fate. Rememberwhile the Prophet suffers, wewant no peace.’17

‘Uthman(ra) has often been accusedby non-Muslims, and even bysome Muslims, of weak character.Those who accuse allege that,especially when he became aKhalifah, he did not always standup for what was right, and inferthat he was often too weak toconfront falsehood. Nothing couldbe further from the truth.

His daring reply to Labiddemonstrates the unquestionablestrength of his faith and character,and the unflinching love he had forthe Holy Prophet(saw). ‘Uthman(ra)

cared not that the most importantpeople of Makkah were sittingbefore him, and neither did he lettraditions stand in his way whenspeaking out and defending thetruth. The strength of his love forAllah was so powerful and intensethat it was impossible for him tolet anyone, whatever their status orposition, infer that they weresuperior to Allah.

The strength of ‘Uthman’s faithcan be gauged in light of thefollowing saying of the HolyProphet(saw) where he explains howa Muslim should react havingobserved wrongdoing takingplace:

‘He who amongst you seessomething abominable shouldmodify it with the help of hishand; and if he has not strengthenough to do that, then heshould do it with his tongue;and if he has not strengthenough to do even that, then heshould (at least abhor it) fromhis heart; and that is the least offaith.’18

The Prophet(saw) has advisedMuslims on three courses of actionthat can be used to stop evil;physical intervention, vocaldisapproval, and rejection in theheart. The latter action accordingto the Prophet(saw) displays theweakest kind of faith, whilst thefirst choice demonstrates thestrongest conviction for Islam. Inlight of this quote, ‘Uthman(ra)

demonstrated that he was of thelatter category – he possessed thestrongest faith. He bravely stood


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up to contradict the mostimportant and feared people inMakkah, and in the process defiedall protocols and precedent. Whenhe was rebuked by the angry poetlaureate and a member of thecrowd, he remained steadfast andcontinued to vociferously defendthe honour of the Prophet(saw) andAllah. He not only offered hisvocal disapproval; when heprotested, he was attacked and losthis eye. In this way he alsophysically stood up against thefalsehood of the Makkans. Surelythis was not the action of a weakman, rather of a person of nobleand fearless disposition.

Character‘Uthman’s generosity and hisaltruistic nature in giving alms andhelping the needy is an examplefor all to aspire to follow. Despitebeing one of the richest men inMakkah, he was also one of themost generous. When a famineoccurred in Madinah, ‘Uthman(ra)

rose to the fore and gave food tothe needy. In another instance, thepeople of Madinah were sufferingdue to a shortage of water. AJewish person owned a well,which he would only sell at a very

high price. ‘Uthman(ra) purchasedthe well for thirty-five thousanddirhams and gave it to theMuslims of Madinah for theiruse.19

Once a famine broke out duringthe Khilafat of Abu Bakr(ra). Thepeople were suffering greatly dueto the shortage of food. Newsreached the people that ‘Uthman(ra)

had entered Madinah with a hugesupply of grain. The starvingpeople of the city all rushed tohim, pleading that he sell the grainat an affordable price.20 ‘Uthman(ra)

said:

‘Bear witness that I have givenaway all the food grains to thepoor and needy of Al-Madinah.’21

Whenever the Prophet(saw) calledfor Muslims to give alms for anypurpose, ‘Uthman(ra) would alwaysgive bountifully. Because of thisextraordinary generosity, theProphet(saw) often praised‘Uthman(ra) highly. ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Khabbab narrates:

‘I witnessed the Prophet, mayAllah bless him and grant him


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peace, urging [people to]support the Army of Difficulty,and then ‘Uthman ibn Affansaid: “Messenger of Allah, Iwill be responsible for onehundred camels with theirsaddle blankets and theirsaddles, in the way of Allah.”Then he further urged peopleto support the army and‘Uthman said, “Messenger ofAllah, I will be responsible fortwo hundred camels with theirsaddle blankets and theirsaddles, in the way of Allah.”Then he further urged peopleto support the army and‘Uthman said, “Messenger ofAllah, I will be responsible forthree hundred camels withtheir saddle blankets and theirsaddles, in the way of Allah.”Then the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and granthim peace, came down (fromthe minbar) saying, “There willbe nothing at all against‘Uthman whatever he doesafter this.”22

His generosity for the poor wassuch that he earned the title Ghani(meaning rich), which people dulyincorporated into his name.

One of ‘Uthman’s mostoutstanding characteristics was hisexemplary modesty. This wasparticularly exceptional in thecontext of his background. Hebelonged to one of the mostpowerful families in Makkah. Hisinfluential family ties coupledwith his immense wealth meantthat ‘Uthman(ra) possessed aconsiderable social status. A lesserperson in the same position, or onewith less faith, could quite easilyhave shown arrogance in so manydifferent ways. ‘Uthman(ra),however, displayed in his personaa matchless modesty. Aninteresting example in relation to‘Uthman's modesty is related byAl-Hasan, who said:

‘If he were in the middle of thehouse and the door werelocked, then he would take offhis clothes in order to pourwater over himself. Modestywould prevent him fromraising [straightening] hisbackbone.’23

Often people who areexceptionally handsome orbeautiful often display pride inbeing more attractive than others.


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Similarly, people with exceptionalwealth, or who hold specialpositions of office, are alsocommonly known to show an airof superiority over others. Thiscan be discerned by the boastfulmanner in which they walk, talk,and interact with other people.‘Uthman(ra), was probably therichest man in Makkah, the mosthandsome person in all of Arabia,and belonged to one the mostpowerful and feared families, thegreat Umayyad clan. Not only washe humble, but, ‘Uthman(ra)

displayed such modesty in hischaracter that it was, in fact,unparalleled. His unrivalledmodesty was most surely a resultof his unflinching faith in Allah,and to his complete submission tohis master the Holy Prophet(saw).Aisha(ra) relates that the Prophet(saw)

gathered his clothes around himwhen ‘Uthman(ra) appeared andsaid:

‘Should I not feel shy of a manof whom the angels are shy?’24

In another saying, Ibn Umarrelated that the Prophet(saw) said:

‘The angels are shy of

‘Uthman, just as they are shyof Allah and His Messenger.’25

Role under the Prophet(saw)

He was one of the closestcompanions to the HolyProphet(saw) and amongst the mostrespected and learned. Hememorised the entire Holy Qur’anand narrated one hundred andforty six Hadith from theMessenger of Allah. ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Hatib said:

‘I saw none of the companionsof the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and granthim peace, who, when henarrated a hadith, narrated itmore completely and moreexcellently than ‘Uthman ibnAffan, unless it was a man whowas in awe of hadith.’26

He was also the mostknowledgeable in regards to therights of Hajj [pilgrimage], andafter him was Umar(ra). He wasordained by the Prophet(saw) as oneof the ten companions promisedthe glad tidings of heaven whilstyet still alive. The HolyProphet(saw) appointed ‘Uthman(ra)

as his deputy in charge of Madinah


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during military campaigns to Dhatar Riqa’ and Ghatafan.

It has been related that ‘Uthman’sfirst wife, Ruqayyah(ra) fell ill andpassed away during the Battle ofBadr. Under the instruction of theProphet(saw), ‘Uthman(ra) stayedbehind on account of his wife'sillness, and thus was unable totake part in the Battle. TheProphet(saw), however, counted‘Uthman(ra) amongst the people ofBadr and even distributed a shareof the spoils as a reward to him,saying:

‘Uthman should be includedamong the Companions ofBadr.’27

Treaty of HudaibiyyahIn February 628, the Prophet(saw)

headed for Makkah from Madinahwith one thousand five hundredcompanions. He had beeninstructed by God to enter thevicinity of the Ka’abah andperform ‘Umrah (lesserpilgrimage). The Muslims had notreturned to Makkah since theProphet’s migration to Madinah.‘Uthman(ra) played a veryimportant role in events

surrounding the Muslims return toMakkah.

The Prophet(saw) with hiscompanions reached Makkah andcamped nearby at Hudaibiyyah.He would not enter to perform thecircuit of the Ka’abahh without thepermission of the Makkans firstand thus decided to make contactwith them. Various chiefs andprominent Makkans came to theProphet(saw) to parley with him.None, however, would grant hisrequest to perform the circuit andleave immediately after.28

The Prophet(saw) decided that awise person from amongst theMuslims should be sent to theQuraish of Makkah, who could putforward the Muslim’s viewpoint.First Kharash bin Umayyah ofKhuzaa’ was sent. When heentered Makkah he was attackedand threatened with death.Thereafter the Prophet(saw) thoughtof sending someone with influenceamongst the Makkan chiefs andtheir tribes. Umar(ra) was firstsuggested, however, he excusedhimself on the grounds that theQuraish bore great animositytowards him, and neither did he


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have influential relatives whocould protect him.29 TheProphet(saw) decided finally to send‘Uthman(ra) as an envoy on behalfof the Muslims, as he belonged toone of the most powerful familiesin the city.

‘Uthman(ra) agreed to the task, andwas provided with a writtenstatement from the HolyProphet(saw). Addressed to theleaders of the Quraish, thestatement explained the purpose oftheir visit to perform Umra, andthat having completed this andoffering their sacrifices theywould return peacefully toMadinah. The Prophet(saw) alsoinstructed ‘Uthman(ra) to contactthe poor Muslims of Makkah, toreaffirm that if they continued intheir steadfastness God wouldopen a way for them.30

‘Uthman(ra) had many influentialrelatives in Makkah. When heentered the city they came out andsurrounded him, placing himunder their protection. When hewent to Abu Sufyan and to otherchiefs of the city he told them:

‘We come to visit the Holy

House, and to honour it, and toperform worship there. Wehave brought sacrificialanimals with us and afterslaying them we shall depart inpeace.31

He showed them the writtenstatement produced by the HolyProphet(saw) to try and persuadethem that their only intention wasto perform the Umra in peace. Thechiefs examined the writtenconfirmation with avid interest.‘Uthman’s talks with the chiefsunceremoniously continued as hesought to convince them to heed totheir requests. The chiefs told‘Uthman(ra) that he would beallowed to perform the circuit ofthe Ka’abahh if he wished to, butthey remained adamantly resolvedthat the Muslims should not bepermitted to enter Makkah underany circumstance that year.‘Uthman(ra) declined their offer,refusing to forsake the Prophet(saw)

for his own desires; he rejectedpermission to perform the circuitunless it was in the company of hisMaster.32 Failing to persuade theMakkan chiefs, he thus madepreparations to return to theProphet(saw) and the Muslim camp.


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At this time a segment of theQuraish withheld ‘Uthman(ra) inMakkah thinking that by detaininghim they could negotiate betterterms. Because he had notreturned in due time to the Muslimcamp, a rumour was spread that‘Uthman(ra) had been murdered.33

The false rumour was heard by theProphet(saw) who gathered hiscompanions and said:

‘The life of an envoy is heldsacred among all nations. Ihave heard that the Makkanshave murdered ‘Uthman. Ifthis is true, we have to enterMakkah, whatever theconsequences.’

Standing under the shade of anAcacia tree with the Muslims allaround him, he demanded an oathfrom the faithful that they wouldfight for ‘Uthman’s freedom to thedeath:

‘Those who promise solemnlythat if they have to go further,they will not turn back save asvictors, should come forwardand take the oath on myhand.’34

The Holy Prophet(saw) had barelycompleted his pledge when all theone and a half thousandcompanions clamoured over oneanother to reach for the Prophet’shand to take the oath.35 When allthe Muslims present had finishedthe pledge placing their palms onthe hand of the Prophet(saw), hehimself placed his right hand overhis left, and said:

‘This is the hand of ‘Uthman;for if he had been here, hewould not have lagged behindanyone in making the holybargain, but he is at the timeoccupied with the work of Godand His messenger.’36

This oath is known as the Pledge ofthe Tree and holds a special placein the history of Islam. As HadhratMirza Bashiruddin MahmudAhmad(ra) relates:

‘Everyone of those who tookthe oath remained proud of it tothe end of his days. Of thefifteen hundred present on theoccasion, not one held back.They all promised that if theMuslim envoy had beenmurdered, they would not go


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back. Either they would takeMakkah before dusk, or theywould all die fighting.’37

It is also mentioned in the HolyQur’an in the following verse:

Surely, Allah was well-pleasedwith the believers when theywere swearing allegiance tothee under the Tree, and Heknew what was in their hearts,and He sent down tranquillityon them, and He rewardedthem with a victory near athand. (Ch.48:V.19)

Before the pledge had beencompleted, ‘Uthman(ra) returned tothe camp. He informed the HolyProphet(saw) that the Makkanswould not permit the Muslims toperform Umra until next year.Subsequently an agreement wasreached in a settlement known asthe ‘Treaty of Hudaibiyyah’.

The role ‘Uthman(ra) played in thesubsequent history of Islam andunder both Abu Bakr(ra) and‘Umar(ra) has been featured in TheReview of Religions (November2007).

Khilafat Election‘Uthman(ra) was elected as the thirdKhalifah of Islam by a panelcomposed of senior companionswho pledged allegiance to himthree days after Hadhrat Umar(ra)

was buried in Madinah. ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf(ra), one of the sixmembers of the Khilafatcommittee, decided to consultother members of the group instrict confidence to advise himabout the right choice for theKhalifat. Speaking to ‘Uthman(ra)

in private he said: ‘If I don’t pledgeallegiance to you who would youpoint out to me?’ He replied: ‘Ali.’

He then asked the same to ‘Ali(ra),‘If I don’t pledge allegiance to youwho would you point out to me?’He said: ‘‘Uthman.’

When he asked another member ofthe committee, Zubayr, ‘Whomwould you point out to me?’ Hewas told, ‘Ali or ‘Uthman.’

He then asked another member,Sa’ad, ‘Whom would you indicateto me? Because, as for me and you,we do not want it.’ Sa’ad said,‘Uthman.’38


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In this manner ‘Abd ar-Rahmansought counsel from variouspeople and he is reported to havesaid that amongst the people ofsound judgement, no-one saw anyequal to ‘Uthman(ra).

Thus professing his faith in‘Uthman’s Khilafat he took‘Uthman’s hand and said, ‘Wepledge allegiance to youaccording to the Sunna of Allah,the Sunnah of His Messenger andthe Sunnah of the two khalifasafter him.’39 ‘Uthman(ra) was thuschosen as the third Khalifah ofIslam.

AchievementsHis Khilafat is divided into twoperiods, between the first half,where there were significantdevelopments and achievements,in contrast to the second half ofhis tenure, characterised byviolence and unrest and hisattempts to quell it. For the firstsix years of his Khalifat, theMuslim Ummah communityenjoyed relative prosperity. Az-Zuhri said:

‘‘Uthman ruled as khalifah fortwelve years. For six years he

ruled without peoplecriticising him at all.’40

Those first six years, as SheikhMubarak Ahmad states, were a‘period of peace, progress andprosperity.’41 The Muslim armyconquered many new territories.The Muslims were increasing inascendancy, there was unity, andtheir success meant the Muslimswere in a confident mood.

Militarily, the first of the majorvictories was the conquest ofAlexandria, where the Muslimarmy from Cairo defeatedHeraclius’ son, Constantine.Thereafter, came success inCyprus. ‘Uthman(ra) gavepermission to ‘‘Abdullah bin Sa’dto lead the Muslim army to Libyain North Africa. In Armenia, theMuslims managed to conquermost of this area all the way up toparts of Iran, Afghanistan, andSind in the subcontinent ofIndia.42

According to Abu ‘Ubaid, AbuBakr(ra), ‘Umar(ra), Uthman(ra) and‘Ali(ra) had committed the HolyQur’an to memory. Probably‘Uthman’s biggest achievement


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was his initiative to preserve theHoly Qur’an in book form, aproject assigned to him by AbuBakrra). ‘Uthman(ra) decided thatall variations should be forbiddenand a single method ofenunciating words should bedictated. One of the allegationsmade even today is that theQur’an standardised by Hadhrat‘Uthman(ra) was different from theone revealed to the Prophet(saw).The opponents argue that becauseUthmanra) made changes to thetext of the Qur’an, the accuracy ofthe sacred text as a whole isbrought into disrepute.43 It isimportant to provide somebackground to the reasons why‘Uthman(ra) chose to promulgate asingle standard copy of the HolyQur’an, because it is that veryversion of the Qur’an that is usedby millions of Muslims today.

At the time of his Khilafat, thevarious tribes of Arabiapronounced words of the Qur’anin their own distinctive style, andconsequently non-believersassumed that the differences inpronunciation meant that therewere variations in the text of theQur’an. In fact, the variations

arose out of differing tribaldialects.44 Amongst the manytribes of Arabia, people wouldpronounce certain wordsaccording to their own tribalpractices e.g. ‘q’ in Najaf and ispronounced as ‘j’ in Egypt to thisday. These differences did notaffect the meaning of the wordsbeing recited in any way.45 Whenthese tribes accepted Islam theArabs became united under onesocial structure, thus abandoningtheir former tribal practices.Arabic became the commonlanguage, and as literacy began tosignificantly improve, Arabs wereable to easily learn the correctpronunciation of Arabic words.46

‘Uthman(ra) wisely decided that thethought it wise to forbid allvariations even of enunciation ofvowel points. He decided on asingle method of pronunciation ofQur’anic words.47 He sent sevencopies of the standardised versionof the texts which had beencollected in the time of AbuBakrra). to all parts of the Muslimworld. Copies were dispatchedover time until almost everyMuslim who could read had in hispossession a copy of the


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standardised version of the sacredtext.48

Disturbances, Violence and CivilUnrest‘Uthman’s Khalifat suffered fromcivil unrest that began to spreadacross the Muslim world. Many ofthe disturbances arose out ofdisagreement with the decisionsmade by the Khalifah, whilst thespread of malicious and falserumours also played a significantrole in the events that would shapemuch of ‘Uthman’s reign. Many ofthe rumours originated from newconverts who lacked under-standing of Islam, and weresusceptible to false propagandaand the malicious designs ofhypocrites. The violence andunrest divided the Muslims andlead to a number of terrible events;a dark period in the history ofIslam.

Probably the first signs ofdiscontent came around the year25AH. After the successfulconquest of Armenia, ‘Uthman(ra)

reinstalled Sa’d bin Abu Waqqas(ra)

as governor of Kufah. WhenSa’d(ra) ran into difficulties,‘Uthman(ra) replaced him with

Walid bin Uqbah. Walid was aclose relative of ‘Uthman’s, andaccording to the eminent historianAs-Suyuti:

‘…that was the first thing forwhich he was disliked; becausehe appointed his relatives toposts of authority.’49

Subsequent to Walid’sappointment, people beganspreading rumours to defame himas related by As-Suyuti:

‘It has been told as a tale thatal-Walid led them in prayer forthe dawn prayer with fourraka'at when he was drunk, andthat then he turned to them andsaid, “Shall I do more (raka'at)for you?”’50

The rumour had spread that thegovernor was a drunkard. The casewas brought before the caliph.When he entered the city andshook hands with Walid, peoplewere upset. ‘Uthman(ra) wasreluctant to hand out any punish-ment because no eye witnessescould confirm the alleged crime.‘Uthman’s hesitancy was inter-preted as a sign of weakness whilst


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others assumed that the Caliphwas showing leniency to his ownkin. Finally an eyewitness cameforth and said that he had seenWalid vomit wine. However, thisparticular instance is debated byeminent historians such as Tabari,who relate that the eye witnesswas unreliable.51 Nevertheless‘Uthman(ra) decided, afterconsultation that Walid would bewhipped and removed from hispost.

In Egypt, ‘Uthman’s decision toappoint another family member ina prestigious post provoked asimilar reaction. Abdullah binSa’d(ra), foster brother to‘Uthman(ra), was sent to Egypt asgovernor and to take care of thepublic treasury. Althoughrenowned for his bravery, someEgyptians were shocked at hisappointment over ‘Amr bin al-’Aas(ra), who was kept as only amilitary officer.52 ‘Amr(ra) had farmore experience, and was popularamongst the Egyptians. TheEgyptians were outraged that theCaliph had dismissed ‘Amr(ra) andhanded control over Egypt insteadto ‘Abdullah(ra). In addition, whenAmr(ra) was removed, and news

reached the Caesar ofConstantinople, he beganpreparing a formidable armyheaded by an experienced generalto invade Muslim-occupiedAlexandria. The result of theseevents incensed the Muslims sogreatly that it led to a revoltagainst the new governor.53

‘Amr(ra) was subsequently sentback to govern Egypt. He defeatedthe advancing Romans, causingthem to retreat. The situation wasquelled thereafter and relativenormality ensued in Alexandriaand Egypt, although ‘Amr(ra) wasonce again replaced by‘Abdullah(ra) as governor.Muhammad bin Abu Hudhaifahand Muhammad bin Abu Bakrbegan to openly show theiropposition to the Khalifah, suchwas their outrage. They wereincensed that ‘Uthman(ra) hadchosen ‘Abudullah even thoughthe Prophet(saw) had once showndispleasure at him.54

The victories of the army were notwithout consequence. The strainsof army life led to discontent andunrest amongst the soldiers. Theywere covering huge distances,


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fighting in summer and winter,and spending a long time awayfrom their families. In addition,‘Uthman’s policy of not permittingCommanders and rich Makkans topossess private land in Iraq andother areas led to furtherdiscontent.55

In similar fashion. unrest began tospread at his choice of governors,and other decisions. Around 33AHin Kufah, decisions taken by thenewly appointed governor, Sa’eedbin Al-’Aas(ra), led to widespreadcivil unrest. When Sa’eed(ra) triedto suppress the uprising, rebelsbeat him unconscious. As a result,he imposed strict counter-measures to try and quell thedisobedience.56 The changes onlymade the situation worse as peoplereacted angrily. Opposition againstthe governor became oppositionagainst the Khalifah. People tookto the streets; however, eventuallythe situation was resolved when‘Uthman(ra) sent the rebels to thegovernor of Hims, who was ableto pacify the protestors. They werethen allowed to return to Kufah.57

It is difficult, writing more than1400 years after an event, to

determine the motives andintentions of the people involvedin the unrest. At times, it seemedlike segments of the Muslimswere looking for any opportunityto criticise the Khalifah, withoutgood reason. For example, theMuslims of Madinah wereoutraged that ‘Uthman(ra) hadgiven many of the important postsin the city to members of his ownUmayyad family. They chose toignore the possibility that he mayhave appointed these people onmerit, rather than due to personalaffinity. Karen Armstrongsupports this view and argues thatpride and arrogance caused theseMuslims to object to ‘Uthman(ra).She says:

‘They accused him ofnepotism, even though manyof the Umayyad officials weremen of great ability. ‘Uthmanhad, for example, appointedMu’awiyah, the son ofMuhammad’s old enemy, AbuSufyan, governor of Syria. Hewas a good Muslim, and askilled administrator, knownfor his steadiness of characterand his measured assessmentof circumstances. But it


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seemed wrong to the Muslimsof Madinah, who still boastedof being the ansar (helpers) ofthe Prophet, that they shouldbe passed over in favour ofAbu Sufyan’s offspring.’58

Abdullah bin Saba The main protagonist of the civilunrest and opposition to theKhalifah was a Jewish convert,‘Abdullah bin Saba. He beganhatching plans against theKhilafat, and his plot spread topockets across the Muslim world,resulting ultimately in themartyrdom of ‘Uthman(ra). SheikhMubarak Ahmad provides abackground on ‘Abdullah:

‘He proclaimed himself adevoted admirer and a zealouschampion of the house of theHoly Prophet(saw). In this wayhe started a campaign againstOthman. The chief source ofhis recruits were the newlyconverted Muslims who knewbut little about the funda-mentals of Islam. To mouldthem to his own views, heused artful means. He was apast master in the art ofinnovations.’59

According to Akbar ShahNajeebabadi:

‘‘Abdullah bin Saba wasantagonistic to Islam on onehand and was hostile to‘Uthman ibn Affan(ra) on theother. He was, therefore,restless to take his revenge onthe Khalifah.’60

After a fruitless period inMadinah, ‘Abdullah moved toBasra and convinced manyinnocent Muslims that theKhalifah should be removed andreplaced by ‘Ali(ra). To justify hisclaim he said that the Prophet(saw)

had chosen ‘Ali(ra) as executor ofhis will. He gained support fromnew converts from Iraq and Iran,but his propaganda was thwartedby the governor of Basra, and hewas expelled to Kufah. He leftbehind secret instructions for hisfollowers. In Kufah he foundother people mischievouslyplotting against the Khilafat andtherefore, he needed noencouragement to continue.61

He established himself as a piousperson and soon gained respectand status. But here too the

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governor, Saeed bin Al-’Aas(ra),began to suspect his designs and‘Abdullah was again forced toleave for Syria. Once again he lefta significant group of followersdetermined to help him. Afterfailing to make headway in Syria,he moved to Egypt, this timetreading carefully so as to notraise suspicions; Abdullah stillmanaged to gain followers easily.The Egyptians were dissatisfiedwith the appointment of Abdullahbin Sa’d(ra) as governor. Moreover,the governor himself was toodistracted to notice his mischief.62

Abdullah began a letter campaignto Basrah, Kufah, Damascus,Egypt and Madinah detailingcomplaints against variousgovernors. He described thegovernors as harsh and unfair intheir rulings. The letters alsoaccused the Khalifah of favouringhis own family, and blamed himfor an inability to dismiss despoticMuslim rulers. His maliciouscampaign was gathering strengthamong the new converts and wasspreading across the Muslimworld.

When ‘Uthman(ra) came to know

of these happenings, he sent‘Ammar bin Yasir(ra) to Egypt andMuhammad bin Masalamah(ra) toKufah to investigate and reportback. ‘Ammar(ra), was preventedfrom returning to Madinah, andwas told not to follow what theysaw as the deplorable ways of‘Uthman(ra).63 From Kufah,Muhammad bin Masalamah(ra)

reported that people were openlyplotting against the Khilafat andwere restless. Sa’eed(ra), the gov-ernor, decided to depart forMadinah to personally relate thesituation in his city. He was astrict governor, and when he leftKufah, the rebellious elementscame out into the open, publiclyvoicing criticism.64

Emergency Conference‘Uthman(ra) gave urgent orders forall governors to meet him for aconference in Madinah to discussthe growing discord in the MuslimUmmah. Mu’awiyah(ra) fromSyria, ‘Abdullah(ra) from Egypt,Sa’eed(ra) from Kufah,‘Abdullah(ra) from Basra, as wellas governors from smallerprovinces and also seniorMuslims were all called forurgent consultations.65

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‘Uthman(ra) rejected suggestions touse brute force. Mu’awiyah(ra)

recommended that the capital andseat of Khilafat be moved fromMadinah to Damascus.‘Uthman(ra) declined this offer; hecould never leave the home of theProphet(saw). Mu’awiyah(ra) thensuggested that a part of the Syrianarmy be posted in Madinah for thesafety of the Khalifah.‘Uthman(ra), however, everconcerned for his people, declinedthis proposal on the grounds that alarge army could causedisturbance to the residents ofMadinah.66

At the same time, the rebelsdecided to make for Madinah toput forward their grievances.When they arrived, ‘Uthman(ra)

sent two senior Companions tomeet the rebels and enquire abouttheir grievances. They reportedthat the rebels would settle fornothing less than the abdication of‘Uthman(ra), and were prepared tokill him. ‘Uthman(ra) sought advicefrom the leaders of the Quraishand the Ansaar. They alsosuggested the use of force.‘Uthman(ra) would not kill withoutjustification, and therefore refused

their proposal. Instead he sent forthe leaders of the rebel party todiscuss their grievances directly.The fact, however, is that therebels had no intention oflistening to his perfect and logicalanswers – They had evilintentions.

Six allegations were raised against‘Uthman(ra). He answered them sobeautifully and with suchoverpowering logic, that no honestperson could be left with anydoubt about his integrity and rightto be the Khalifah of the Muslims.The dialogue between the rebelsand ‘Uthman(ra) speaks for itself.

The first man stood up and raisedthe objection: “You unlawfullygave away wealth and property toyour relatives; for instance, youonce gave the entire booty to‘Abdullah bin Sa’ad.” ‘Uthman(ra)

replied: “I have given him one-fifth from the one-fifth of thebooty. And we have suchexamples during the Khilafat ofAbu Bakr(ra) and Umar(ra).”

A second man stood and said:“You have conferred power andrule on your relatives; for instance,

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you have appointed Mu’awiyahbin Abi Sufyan governor of Syria.You made ‘Abdullah bin ‘’Amirgovernor of Basra by deposingAbu Musa Ash’ari; you installedWalid bin Uqbah and then Saeedbin Al-As governors of Kufah byremoving Mughirah bin Shu’bah.”‘Uthman(ra) replied: “Thosegovernors are not my relatives butthey have the ability to manage theaffairs well. However, if they donot deserve the post, I am alwaysready to change them for others.Thus, I have already put AbuMusa Ash’ari as the governor ofKufah by removing Saeed bin Al-As.”

In another report ‘Uthman(ra) said:“Did not the Holy Prophet(saw) givepreference to the Quraish over therest of the Arabs? And fromamong the Quraish, did he notgive preference to BaniHashim?”67

A third man now stood, objecting:“You have appointed undeservingand inexperienced persons asgovernors; for instance, ‘Abdullahbin ‘’Amir is a young man and, heshould not have been given such ahigh post.” ‘Uthman(ra), replied,

“‘Abdullah bin ‘Amir isdistinguished in prudence, abilityand religiosity; being young is nota shortcoming.”

Another man raised and rose yetanother objection with theKhalifah: “You love familymembers most, and you give themheavy gifts.” ‘Uthman(ra) replied:“Love of the family members isnot a sin. And I give them gifts ofmy own possessions and not fromthe public treasury. How can I givethem anything from the publictreasury when I myself do not takea single dirham from there? I am atliberty to give away anything toanybody from my personalproperty.”

Another person arose to the fore toobject to ‘Uthman(ra): “You haveused your position for yourself andreserved grazing grounds for yourcamels.” ‘Uthman(ra) responded:“When I took charge of theKhalifat, nobody in Al-Madinahhad camels more than me. But,today I possess only two camelsand that only for the purpose ofHajj, and I do not allow them to goto any meadow. However, there isa reserved grazing ground for the

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state camels and I cannot beblamed for this because this hascome to me from the past.”

Another objected: “Why did youoffer the complete prayer in Minawhile it should have been a Qasr(shortened one)?” ‘Uthman(ra),replied: “Since my familymembers were then residing inMakkah, it was not valid for me toperform the Qasr prayer.”68

The governors left Madinah. Therebels made their final move. Inthe guise of pilgrims, theyconvened in their thousands inMadinah pretending to performHajj, and there they decided tostrike the Khalifah.

Forged letterWhen the rebels arrived inMadinah, ‘Uthman(ra) sent ‘Ali(ra) tointercede on his behalf. They told‘Ali(ra) that they wanted certainhigh-ranked officials removed.‘Uthman(ra) duly replaced thegovernor of Egypt. Seeminglysatisfied that their demands hadbeen met, the rebels departed fromMadinah. After a few days, therebels returned. They were ferventand cordoned off the house of

‘Uthman(ra). ‘Ali(ra) enquired as towhy they had returned when theirdemands had been met.

The rebels said that they hadcaptured a slave, sent by‘Uthman(ra), with a letterinstructing ‘Abdullah bin Sa’adthat a number of the party that hadjust departed should be killed. Theletter also said that appointment ofthe new governor should beterminated. ‘Ali(ra) told them: “ByAllah this is an act of conspiracyand you are ill-mentioned.” Theyresponded: “Whatever be the case,we have decided to kill theKhalifah.”69 ‘Ali(ra) told them thatthis story was false. He pointedout that the rebels had come inthree different parties, from threeroutes. How could they all haveseen the same slave? Despite thetruth, they were intent on mischief.

The Darkest Days In the Historyof IslamThe Khalifah wrote letters tovarious people in Muslims lands tocome to his aid. Parties rushedfrom Egypt, Syria, Kufah andBasra to help the Khalifah butnone could reach in time to savethe life of ‘Uthman(ra). The rebels

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laid siege to his house for fortydays and even cut-off the watersupply.70

Amongst the people who tried tointercede on behalf of the Khalifahwas ‘Abdullah Bin Salam(ra), aneminent Jewish convert andCompanion of the Prophet(saw) whohad the distinction of beingmentioned in the Qur’an(Ch.13:V.44).71 He offered toguard ‘Uthman(ra) but was asked tospeak to the rebel ringleaders totry and remove their grievancesand stop their evil actions. Riskinghis safety, he approached theringleaders. The rebels, cowardsand hypocrites that they were,refused any of his approaches.

‘Uthman(ra) appointed Abu Ayyubal-Ansari(ra) to lead prayers whilehe was unable to reach theMosque. After a few days, thechief of the rebels, al-Ghafiqi binHarb al-‘Akki, began leading theprayers himself. ‘Ali(ra) sent hissons Hasan(ra) and Hussain(ra) tostand guard at the door of‘Uthman(ra) to lock themselves inand stop the rioters from entering‘Uthman’s house with their lives.The rebels would think twice

before attacking ‘Ali’s sons, andthereby risking the wrath of thepowerful Banu Hashim tribe.

When the rioters confronted‘Uthman(ra) with the forged letter,he rejected any involvement inwriting it, or having anyknowledge of it. They said even ifhe was telling the truth, he was atfault for being weak in managingthe Muslim lands and lettingsomeone write a letter in his name.‘Uthman(ra) repeatedly attemptedto pacify the rebels and explainedto them their errors in judgment.At one time he went to the roof,and told the rebels of theirresponsibilities in Islam and of hisown eminent position. Someseemed to forgive him, but theringleaders intervened to maintainthe rebellion.

It is important to note that‘Uthman’s martyrdom had beenprophesied by the HolyProphet(saw) who once mentioned afitnah, or trial, and referring to‘Uthman(ra) said: “This one will bekilled wrongfully in it.”

Zaid ibn Thabit heard theProphet(saw) say: ‘Uthman passed

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by me while one of the angels waswith me, and he said, “A martyrwhose people will kill him. Weare shy of him.’”

In another case, Aisha(ra) reportsthat the Prophet(saw) said:“‘Uthman, perhaps Allah willrobe you in a garment, so if thehypocrites wish to strip it off you,do not take it off until you meetme.”

Hence, when he was asked toabdicate the Khilafat, ‘Uthman(ra)

replied: “I cannot put off thegarment that Allah has caused meto put on.”72

The rebels were now becomingrestless and concerned that helpwas soon arriving: so they decidedto act quickly. Although ‘Ali’sson's were guarding ‘Uthman(ra)

from inside, the rebels broke infrom the rear. What happenednext was the darkest chapter in thehistory of Islam. No Muslim canread an account of what followswithout welling up with emotion.On entering, Muhammad bin AbuBakr, son of Abu Bakr(ra), got holdof ‘Uthman’s beard. ‘Uthman(ra)

asked him:

“What would your father havethought of you if he had beenalive today, to behold whatyou are doing?”73

He was taken aback by thethought of this, and withdrew.However two men standingbehind struck the Khalifah.‘Uthman’s wife, Naela, put herhand in front of her husband toprotect him and lost three of herfingers. ‘Uthman’s blood dripped;his blood fell on the pages of theHoly Qur’an that he was readingat the time smearing the Verse thathe was reciting;

And if they believe as you havebelieved, then are they surelyguided; but if they turn back,then they are only creating aschism, and Allah will surelysuffice thee against them, forHe is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.(Ch.2: V.138)

The Khalifah, ‘Uthman ibnAffan(ra), had been martyred in thecruellest of ways.

He was laid to rest next to theHoly Prophet(saw), Abu Bakr(ra) and

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Umar(ra) in Madinah, thus fulfilingthe dream seen by Aisha of threemoons having descended in herchambers.

ConclusionsThe repercussions of ‘Uthman’smartyrdom are amply explainedby Sheikh Mubarak Ahmad:

‘Othman’s death is one of thesaddest chapters in the historyof Islam. This tragedy, withoutany doubt, shook thefoundations of Islam andshattered the bonds of Muslimharmony and accord forever.Subsequent history has borneout that the prediction, whichhe made a little before hisdeath, has been literallyfulfilled. He had said, “ByGod, if you kill me today, theMuslims will never unite inprayers till the end of days.”The Muslims have thereforeremained divided into sectsand factions…’74

Although ‘Uthman’s life is oftenseen by non-Muslim writers in thelight of his martyrdom alone, it isimpossible to overlook theincredible progress and

achievements that occurred in histime. He was one of the mostgenerous companions of theProphet(saw), so much so that, aspreviously mentioned, he earnedthe title Ghani. He was extremelytolerant, as was shown by hisrepeated willingness to engage indialogue with the rebels ratherthan resort to force. ManyMuslims drank alcohol prior toaccepting Islam but he neverdrank in his life. He wouldperform Hajj every year, andwithout fail fed pilgrims there,arranging meals for them at hisown expense.

The Prophet(saw) held him inincredibly high esteem, giving twoof his daughters in marriage tohim, and also prayed regularly forhim:

“O Allah, I am pleased with‘Uthman; You also be pleasedwith him. O Allah, I ampleased with ‘Uthman; Youalso be pleased with him. OAllah, I am pleased with‘Uthman; You also be pleasedwith him.”75

It has been mentioned that

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‘Uthman(ra) would free a slaveevery Friday. Incredibly, hecontinued this amiable act whenhe was besieged by the rebels, andhis water was cut off. Despitebeing the most handsome and verywealthy, he lived humbly andsimply, wearing ordinary clothes,and eating simple food. Hegenerously provided for hisguests. The same spirit drove himto expand the Prophet’s Mosque inMadinah at his own expense. Hewas also responsible forstandardising the Qur’an into oneversion, which billions of Muslimsbenefit from today.

During his Khilafat, the number ofattendees at Friday Prayers rose tosuch an extent that some could noteven hear the Adhan. ‘Uthman(ra)

decided to add a second Adhanbefore Jumu’ah, a practice whichcontinues today. The Khutbah(sermon) was placed at ‘Eidprayers for the first time.

He was accused of being weak, yethis actions speak of a fearless man.When he became a Muslim, hesacrificed his lofty social status,and faced the full brunt ofpersecution, remaining steadfast.

He stood up to the most powerfulmen in Makkah and subsequently,as we have seen, lost his eye. Hewas not weak, but rather a man ofreason. A weak man would haveabdicated the Khilafat, or at leastwilted under the shadow of death.However, he was not afraid ofbeing slain. ‘Uthman(ra) showedthat he had total trust in Allah, andcomplete submission to the HolyProphet(saw). He, therefore, com-pletely refused to take off thegarments of Khilafat.

Although ‘Uthman’s life isblessed, it is also one of tragedy.Here was a man graced with suchfavours from Allah that it seemedas if there was nothing Allah hadnot bestowed upon him with. Amulti-millionaire, handsome,powerful, loved dearly by theProphet(saw), son-in law twice tohim, yet, this most humble, pious,revered, and knowledgeable man,was opposed as Khalifah likenever before. People openlyquestioned him, taunted him, andrefused to accept him. However,the rebels were nothing but utterhypocrites. They refused to listento reason. Their arroganceprevented them from hearing the

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truth. They believed falseallegations against ‘Uthman(ra),and despite his eloquent rebuttalsof their accusations, they could notabsorb what was right. The biggestlosers were the Muslims them-selves, because the unity of Islamwas broken and threatened neverto mend.

REFERENCES1. Suyuti, p.160.

2. Ibid, p.161.

3. Ibid, p.164.

4. Ibid, p.164.

5. Ibid, p.164.

6. Ibid, p.159

7. Ibid, p.161.

8. History of Islam, p.380.

9. Ibid, p.380.

10. Suyuti, p.161.

11. Life of Muhammad.

12. Suyuti, p.161.

13. Life of Muhammad.

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid.

16. Ibid.

17. Ibid.

18. Sahih Muslim, hadith 79 narrated byAbu Sa’eed al Khudri.


20. Ibid, p.424.

21. Ibid, p.424.

22. Suyuti, p.162.

23. Ibid, p.164.

24. Ibid, p.162.

25. Suyuti, p.164.

26. Suyuti, p.164.

27. History of Islam, p.380

28. Life of Muhammad, p.109.

29. Zafrulla Khan, Chapter 12.

30. Ibid, Chapter 12.




34. Ibid, p.108.

35. Ibid, p.109.

36. Zafrulla Khan, Chapter 12.


38. Suyuti, p.165.

39. Ibid, p.165.

40. Ibid, p.166.

41. Intrigues against Khilafat, p.24.

42. Karen Armstrong, p.28.

43. Introduction to the Study of the HolyQur’an.

44. Ibid.

45. Ibid.

46. Ibid.

47. Ibid.

48. Ibid.

49. Suyuti, p.166.

50. Ibid, p.166.

51. History of Islam, p.392-405.

52. Ibid, p.392-405.

53. Ibid, p.392-405.

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54. Ibid, p.392-405.

55. Ibid, p.392-405.

56. Ibid, p.392-405.

57. Ibid, p.392-405.

58. Introduction to the Study of the HolyQur’an.



61. Ibid, p.392-405.

62. Ibid, p.392-405.

63. Ibid, p.392-405.

64. Ibid, p.392-405.

65. Ibid, p.404.


67. Ibid, p.29.

68. History of Islam, p.409-410.

69. Ibid, p.392-405.

70. Ibid, p.405.




74. Ibid, p.38.


BIBLIOGRAPHY1. The History of Islam, Vol I, Akbar

Shah Najeebabadi, Darrussalam, NY,2000

2. The History of the Khalifahs who tookthe right path, Imam Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti. 2006. Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd.London.

3. Muhammad; Seal of the Prophets,

Muhammad Zafrulla Khan.Routledge & Keagan Paul. London

4. Introduction to the Study of the HolyQur’an, Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad. 1989 IslamInternational Publications. Islamabad(England).

5. Islam, A Short History, KarenArmstrong, Phoenix Press, London.

6. Life of Muhammad, MirzaBashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, IslamInternational Publications Ltd,Tilford, UK, 1990.

7. The Armies of the Caliphs : Militaryand Society In the Early Islamic State,Hugh Kennedy, Routledge, London,2001.

8. The Cambridge History of Islam, VolI, The Central Islam Lands, edited byP.M Holt, Cambridge UniversityPress, 1970.

9. Early Islam, Collected Articles, W.Montgomery Watt, EdinburghUniversity Press, 1990.

10. The Holy Qur’an; With EnglishTranslation and Commentary. 1988.Islam International Publications. U.K.

41



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IntroductionHadhrat ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib(ra)

Karram Allahu Wajhahu (allahbless his countenance withrespect) is revered by millions ofShi’a Muslims around the world,and considered second inimportance by them after the HolyProphet Muhammad(saw). He wasone of the earliest and mostsignificant Muslims and becamethe 4th Khalifah (Successor) ofIslam. He was respected as anauthority on the Holy Qur’an andalso on Islamic legal matters.

In this article, we will explore hislife and role in Islam, his closerelationship with the HolyProphet(saw), and also the eventsthat lead to the Sunni and Shi’asplit in Islam. Care has to be takento paint a balanced picture ratherthan blind adherence to the‘accepted’ history of either side.

Background‘Ali ibn Abi Talib(ra) was born inthe year 599 in Makkah, Arabia, to

Abu Talib and Fatimah bint Asad.It was Abu Talib, the leader of theBanu Hashim branch of the tribeof Quraish and uncle of theProphet(saw), who had taken in theyoung Muhammad(saw) many yearsearlier when he was orphaned as achild and lost his grandfatherShaibah ibn Hashim (‘AbdulMuttalib).

Prophet Muhammad(saw) grew upand then left the home of AbuTalib to be a trader and was latermarried to Khadijah(ra) for whomhe worked. It was three years afterMuhammad’s(saw) marriage that hiscousin ‘Ali(ra) was born, when theProphet(saw) was thirty.

Relationship with theProphet(saw)

Whilst still a young boy, theProphet(saw) decided to take ‘’Ali(ra)

under his wing and act as hisguardian as he had seen his unclestruggling to provide for all of hischildren when he himself hadgrown up in the household. He had

Hadhrat ‘Ali(ra)

By Fazal Ahmad – UK

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a great influence on young ‘’Ali(ra).When the Prophet(saw) had beencontemplating God in the cave ofHira near Makkah, it was ‘Ali(ra)

who would take food to him up inthe cave. Following a series ofother revelations, the HolyProphet(saw) had received a Divinerevelation:

And warn thy nearest kinsmen.(Ch:26: V.215)

Holy Prophet(saw) stood on MountSafa and called every Quraishtribe by name and warned them ofthe divine punishment that waitedthem if they did not give up theirevil ways (Bukhari). The HolyProphet(saw) approached his ownfamily and clan and said:

‘O sons of ‘Abd al-Muttalib, Iknow of no Arab who hascome to his people with anobler message than mine. Ibring you the best of this worldand the next. God hascommanded me to call youunto Him. Which of you, then,will help me in this, and be mybrother, my executor and mysuccessor among you?’

‘Ali(ra) was just ten years of ageand was intrigued watching hiscousin and his aunt Khadijahprostrated and uttering praises totheir deity ‘Allah’. On questioningthe Prophet(saw), the reply was:

“We were worshipping Allah,the One. I advise you to do thesame. Never bend your headbefore Laat, ‘Uzzah or anyother idol.”

Laat, Uzzah and others were themain deities of the local Nabateantribes and the Makkans, and theiridols filled the Ka’abah at thattime.

‘Ali(ra) was impressed by theanswers to his questions andimmediately professed Islam andbecame the first free maleMuslim. He answered the call ofthe Messenger saying:

“My eyes are sore and my legsare thin, but I’ll stand by you,O Messenger of Allah!”

Thereafter ‘Ali’s relationshipgrew stronger as he learned moreabout the faith and saw first-handthe direct relationship that the

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Prophet(saw) had with God. Hisfather Abu Talib died before heaccepted Islam, but had providedfull protection to his nephew fromthe Makkans and had tried totemper the reaction of the Makkanleaders who felt that his newmessage was driving a wedgebetween the young and theirparents, and between slaves andtheir masters.

In the year 622, when the Muslimswere forced to flee from Makkahto Madinah in order to escapepersecution, there were concernsthat the Makkans might try toattack and kill the Prophet(saw)

whilst he was still in his home.‘Ali(ra) was asked to sleep in theProphet’s bed and to be his decoyuntil the Prophet(saw) was safelyaway from the city, which he did.‘Ali(ra) risked his life but survived.Some accounts even describe howthe plotters of the Quraish hadsurrounded the house and enteredin order to kill the person theythought was the Prophet(saw).When they lifted the blanket, theywere shocked to see young ‘Ali(ra)

lying there. In all of that time,they had not noticed that theProphet(saw) had escaped from the

house at midnight under Divineprotection. According to thoseaccounts, the youths then beat andarrested young ‘Ali(ra) but laterreleased him. Some had suggestedthat he should pay with his life,but his calm attitude led to hisrelease.

He also bravely stayed three dayslonger in order to return propertythat had been entrusted with theProphet(saw) for safe-keeping backto their owners. At that time,although most Makkans had notaccepted Islam, they still regardedthe Prophet(saw) as the mosttrustworthy person in the tribe andwould entrust their precious itemswith him. ‘Ali(ra) was given thetask of returning all items beforethe Muslims migrated to Yathrib(Madinah). All this time, ‘Ali(ra)

faced the danger of attack, butbravely carried out his dutiesbefore himself emigrating toMadinah. This selfless sense ofduty and bravery would be hishallmark as he matured.

During the ten years that thecommunity lived in exile inMadinah, ‘Ali(ra) was tasked totake part in expeditions, defensive

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HADHRAT ‘ALI(RA)

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wars and as a messenger. It was atthe Battle of Badr in 624 that hefirst displayed his tenacity whilstfacing the worst possiblepersecution. The Makkans came toanihilate the Muslims, ‘Ali(ra)

demonstrated great courage on thebattlefield and is recorded by IbnHisham and Al Maghazi as killingat least 20 of the pagan attackers.He even defeated their champion,al-Waleed ibn ‘Utbah. At the startof the engagement, the Makkanswould often demand that theirchampions take on the championof the Muslims, and normally itwas ‘Ali(ra) who bravely stepped upto take on the challenge on behalfof his community.

However, it was not just hisbravery that became evident. Hewas also very calm and purposefulin his endeavours. His approachwas not an overly aggressive one,but rather based on his duty forIslam, and he would not allow hisemotions to rule over hisbehaviour.

There is one notable event whenHadhrat ‘Ali(ra) overpowered oneof the opponents in individualcombat. Just as he was about to

deliver the fatal blow, hisopponent, spat on the face ofHadhrat ‘Ali(ra) in desperation. Tothe amazement of the onlookers,‘Ali(ra) let him go. When askedwhy he had freed his opponent,‘Ali(ra) explained that if he hadkilled the foe after he had spat onhis face, his motive may havebecome revenge rather than thedefence of Islam. So not only didhe display the utmost bravery, healso modelled himself on thehighest moral character even in thebattlefield during the mostextreme of emotions. Thisdemonstrated the control that hehad on his emotions, and also hispure motives.

At later battles such as Uhud, heagain demonstrated the samecourage, and was recognised byhis special shaped sword, knownas Zulfiqar, which had a doublepoint and was slightly curved inshape. According to al-Tabari, itwas ‘Ali(ra) who carried thestandard for the Muslim army andalso struck down the standard-bearers of the pagans. It was at thatbattle that the enemy had dug a pitand covered it with twigs andgrass. The Prophet(saw) had fallen

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into the pit and was helped out by‘Ali(ra) and Abu Bakr(ra). Later,‘Ali(ra) and his wife Fatimahcleaned and dressed the wounds ofthe Prophet(saw).

In times of peace, ‘Ali(ra)

undertook labour work for thesake of Islam while the Muslimstried to establish themselves in thenew city of Madinah. He wasearning a living by drawing out

water from wells to irrigate thefarms around Madinah.

‘Ali(ra) had the great honour ofbecoming the son-in-law of theProphet(saw) when he married hisyoungest daughter Fatimah in 625,just a year after the Battle of Badrin which he had shown suchbravery. The Prophet(saw) showedgreat affection for his new son-in-law and anointed both ‘Ali(ra) and

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Fatimah on the day of the marriagein a way that he had not done forany other marriage. At the time,the Muslims were very simple andhad very few possessions,especially as they had fledMakkah and left most of theirbelongings there. ‘Ali(ra) offeredhis armour as dowry for hismarriage to Fatimah, whichreflected his circumstances at thattime. At the same time, theProphet(saw) gave his daughter asimple mattress, a water bag, a cot,two grinding stones and twoearthenware pitchers. Thisillustrates the modesty prevalentamongst those early Muslims.

Hadhrat ‘Ali(ra) and Fatimah(ra) hadthree sons, Hasan, Husain andMuhsin, the latter dying ininfancy. They also had a daughternamed Zainab. The marriage hadfurther strengthened the bondsbetween ‘Ali(ra) and theProphet(saw). Sahl ibn Sa’d records:

‘The name that ‘Ali(ra) lovedthe most was Abu Turab(‘Dusty One’ or literally‘Father of Dust’), and herejoiced in being called by it.No one named him Abu Turab

except the Prophet(saw).because one day, when he wasangry with Fatimah, he wentout and laid down against thewall of the mosque, and thenthe Prophet(saw) came and hisback was covered in dust. TheProphet(saw) began to rub thedust from his back saying, “Sitdown Abu Turab”.’

This is an illustration of thefondness that the Holy Prophet(saw)

had for ‘Ali(ra).

Likewise it is related that the HolyProphet(saw) was seated next to‘Ali(ra) eating some dates. TheHoly Prophet(saw) put the pips infront of him while ‘Ali(ra) out ofmischief placed his pips in front ofthe Holy Prophet(saw). To theremark that he had had a lot, thequick-witted Holy Prophet(saw)

remarked that some consume theirfruit with the pip.

Finally, when the Muslimsmarched back to Makkah in 630 toestablish freedom of worship atthe Ka’abah, ‘Ali(ra) led onedivision of the army to peacefullytake the city, and then wasinstrumental in destroying many

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of the old stone idols within theKa’abah precincts. Themagnanimity of the Muslimstowards their old foes, who hadchased them into exile and hadstill attacked them in Madinah somany times, is one of the greatepisodes of history. TheProphet(saw) forgave the Makkans.

In 631, ‘Ali(ra) was given thehonour of leading a mission toYemen to proclaim the newreligion to those people, and thisturned out to be the last missionaryexpedition sent in the lifetime ofthe Holy Prophet(saw). God gracedhis visit in mid-winter andalthough the Yemeni tribes hadbeen hostile at first, very soon theentire tribes of Madhhaj andHamadan accepted the new faith.This followed a previous attemptby Khalid bin Waleed a couple ofyears earlier, but Khalid was not aseloquent in his description ofIslam or his knowledge of theQur’an and had not beensuccessful, whereas ‘Ali(ra) wasable to win over the tribesmen.

Having played a prominent role,‘Ali(ra) was as shocked as all of theMuslims when in 632, the Holy

Prophet(saw) passed away. Being aclose family member, he had beenat the Holy Prophet’s bedside inthe last few days and he along withhis uncle Abbas were part of thegroup that washed the HolyProphet’s body before burial . Healso helped to place the coffin intothe grave.

As agreed, a group of seniorMuslims voted on the issue of thesuccessor, and the vote went toAbu Bakr(ra) who was greatlyrespected. It is at this point that theShi’as deviate from the Sunnis, inthat they believe that ‘Ali(ra) wasthe rightful Khalifa and wasunhappy with the positions of thefirst three Khulafa Abu Bakr(ra),‘Umar(ra) and ‘Uthman(ra). SomeShi’as go as far as to curse theprevious Khulafa for denying‘Ali(ra) his titles at ‘tabarra’sessions. To get a betterunderstanding, we should investi-gate his behaviour and role underthe other Khulafa based on factsand evidence instead of specu-lating on what he may havethought, or concocting ideas thathe ‘pretended’ to accept the otherKhalifahs.

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Reports about ‘Ali’s acceptanceand oath of allegiance to the firstKhalifa range from an immediateacceptance to a delay of a fewdays. It is more in keeping with hischaracter to consider that heimmediately accepted the vote andshowed his loyalty towards thenew Khalifa, as he was very keenthat Muslims must remain united.At one end of the spectrum, theShi’a claim that he remained aloofas he thought that he had therightful claim to Khilafah.However, even in their source‘Minar ul Huda’ edited by Sheikh‘Ali al-Bahraani, ‘Ali(ra) is quotedas saying:

“I kept myself in thebackground until I realisedthat certain groups hadrenounced Islam and wereinviting people to join them inorder to annihilate Islam.... Itherefore went to Abu Bakrand swore allegiance to himand always remained shoulderto shoulder with him infighting the troubles whichvery soon finished.”

The scholar Ibn-Jareer al-Tabari(838 - 923) records the incident

through the witness of Habeeb ibnThaabit in his Tarikh ur-Rasul walMulk as follows:

‘Ali was sitting in his housewhen a man came and toldhim that Abu Bakr was sittingin the mosque accepting oathsof allegiance from Muslimsgathered there. On hearingthis, ‘Ali at once left his houseand did not even wait to dresshimself properly. He was thenwearing only a long shirt. Heshowed this much hastebecause he did not like to lagbehind in this matter. So hecame and took the oath ofallegiance and seated himselfnear Abu Bakr.’(al-Tabari, History of theProphets and Kings, Vol.2)

Certainly ‘Ali(ra) himself had noillusions. When questioned later,as reported by Ibn-i-‘Asakar, hereplied that the Holy Prophet(saw)

had not died suddenly, but overthe course of a long illness. In thattime, he had never indicated that‘Ali(ra) was the rightful Khalifa tofollow him. In fact, during thosedays, he had instructed that AbuBakr(ra) lead the prayers. Surely

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this was the best indication of thestatus of the Companions at thetime.

It is also related that Abu Bakr(ra)

denied Fatimah(ra) the right to anestate on the basis that the HolyProphet’s(saw) estate, belonged tothe treasury. Again, this narrationis dismissed but ‘Ali’s(ra)

subsequent denial at a meetingwith Abu Bakr(ra) showing thatAli(ra) remained totally loyal toAbu Bakr(ra).

Role under the other Khulafa‘Ali(ra) was a devoted Muslim whohad strong opinions, but stillserved the other Khulafa with fullloyalty. At the time of AbuBakr(ra), ‘Ali(ra) was still young andinexperienced in leadership so hewould have learned a lot aboutgovernance by watching how thefirst Khalifa quelled anxieties andpotential factions after the deathof the Prophet(saw) through hismoderate and balancedunderstanding of Islam. Heobeyed all the commands of AbuBakr(ra) and became a trustedfriend and ally.

Those first few months were

traumatic as the Muslims settledunder new leadership, and thetrauma was heightened forHadhrat ‘Ali(ra) when just a fewmonths into the new Khilafat, helost his beloved wife Fatimah.

After Abu Bakr(ra) passed away,Hadhrat ‘Umar(ra) was elected asthe second Khalifa and once again,‘Ali(ra) was to serve in a prominentrole. He was made a senior judgeby Hadhrat Umar(ra) on account ofhis profound knowledge of Islamicjurisprudence and comprehensiveknowledge of the Holy Qur’an.Umar(ra) would often pass over themore difficult cases to ‘Ali(ra) as heknew he could trust his judgement.

On one occasion, when HadhratUmar(ra) was visiting Jerusalemafter the Muslims had beenvictorious in taking it peacefully,he left ‘Ali(ra) in charge ofMadinah, at that point the capitalof the Islamic Empire. Again thisshows the degree of trust andregard that the Khalifa had for‘Ali(ra).

Of course, ‘Ali(ra) did not alwayssee eye to eye with the Khulafa.There were times when he

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disagreed, such as on the subjectof the distribution of wealth thatcame back as spoils fromdefensive conflicts. While Umar(ra)

decided to retain a portion forunforeseen circumstances, ‘Ali(ra)

wished that all of the money bedistributed, as they should relyentirely upon God in times ofdifficulty. He may also have beengaining favour from the military ashe had the same dispute with‘Uthman(ra) later as KarenArmstrong writes:

‘Increasingly, the malcontentslooked to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib,the Prophet’s cousin, who, itseems, had opposed thepolicies of both ‘Umar and‘Uthman, standing for‘soldiers’ rights’ against thepower of the central authority.’(Islam – A Short History, p.28)

He may have disagreed on someissues, but he also acted as atrusted counsel for the Khulafa. Attimes of disorder, ‘Uthman(ra)

would send ‘Ali(ra) to investigateand report back e.g. when a partyfrom Egypt had claimed that aharsh instruction had been sent tothe Governor of Egypt in al-Fustat

(modern Cairo). However, thiswas a concocted letter, and ‘Ali(ra)

helped to unearth the plot.

Even when ‘Uthman(ra) wasattacked at home, the front of thehouse was being guarded byHasan and Husain, the two sons ofHadhrat ‘Ali(ra); but unfortunatelythe rebels managed to set fire tothe front creating a diversion andattacked from the back of thehouse.

Khilafat of ‘Ali(ra)

When the third Khalifa ‘Uthman(ra)

was assassinated, ‘Ali(ra) waselected as the fourth Khalifa ofIslam at a time of plots and unrest.‘Uthman(ra) had also been a son-in-law of the Prophet(saw) and was anupright leader, so ‘Ali(ra) wouldhave been shocked by his untimelydeath.

‘Ali(ra) was not keen to acceptKhilafat, but the people ofMadinah were in panic because,over two thousand rebels who hadkilled ‘Uthman(ra) were nowcreating disorder in the city. TheMuslims gathered in the Prophet’sMosque in Madinah and as theclamour grew from the Ansar and

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Muhajirun of Madinah, theypersuaded Hadhrat ‘Ali(ra) toaccept Khilafat to try to restoreorder. They all pledged allegianceto him that day. Some of theUmayyad family did not pledgeallegiance, and fled to Syria withthe blood-stained shirt of the lateKhalifa.

In his first address, ‘Ali(ra) wasforceful and told the congregation:

“The area around the Ka’abahis sacred. Allah commands theMuslims to live as brothers. AMuslim is he who does nothurt anyone with his word ordeed. Fear Allah in yourdealings with other men. Onthe Day of Judgement, you willhave to answer for yourdealings, even with animals.Obey Allah, the Almighty. Donot cast aside Hiscommandments.”

‘Ali(ra) knew that difficult times layahead. The forces of suspicion andlawlessness had been unleashed. Itwould require tireless work,patience and much tact to restorelaw and order. ‘Ali(ra) hoped toaccomplish the task with the co-

operation of the people and histrusted advisors.

Soon after his first address, adeputation including Talha andZubair asked the Khalifa toenforce Shariah Law and to punishthe murderers of ‘Uthman(ra).Emotions were still running high,but ‘Ali(ra) replied:

“I will not let ‘Uthman’s deathgo unavenged, but you mustwait. Conditions are notnormal yet. The rioters are stillpowerful in Madinah. We arein their grip. My own positionis shaky, so please wait. Assoon as conditions allow, I willdo my duty.”

The answer clearly did not satisfyall of the companions, but ‘Ali(ra)

began by changing the leadershipto reflect his own trustedassociates. Among the regionalgovernors, several were replacedby close aides such as SalmanFarsi and Malik al-Ashtar. Noteveryone agreed with the changes.He was also advised to make sometactical decisions to keep variousparties happy, as Ibn Khaldundescribes:

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‘At the beginning of his (termof) office, ‘Ali himself wasadvised by al-Maghirah toleave az-Zubair, Mu’awiyah,and Talha in their positions,until the people had agreed torender the oath of allegiance tohim and the whole thing wasconsolidated. After that, hemight do what he wanted. Thatwas good power politics. ‘Ali,however, refused. He wantedto avoid deceit, because deceitis forbidden by Islam.’(Ibn Khaldun, p.165)

The whole situation following thedeath of ‘Uthman(ra) still troubledhim deeply. ‘Ali(ra) honestlybelieved that the troubles faced bythe third Khalifa were due to themen around him of the BanuUmayya family who had takenadvantage of his age andforbearance to gain political powerwhich they later misused. This iswhy he had replaced so many ofthem from office in the outlyingterritories.

‘Ali(ra) had gained a reputation forinspiring others through his lettersand sermons. He used his deepwell of knowledge gained from so

many years of close proximity tothe Prophet(saw) to extol virtuessuch as justice and compassionwhen dealing with non-Muslimswho were now coming underMuslim rule and care.

Battle of the CamelSoon, ‘Ali(ra) faced a rebellion bythose same companions Talha andZubair in which the Prophet’s wife‘A’ishah(ra) also took part inDecember 656. The reason wastheir frustration at ‘Ali’s failing topunish the rebels who had killedHadhrat ‘Uthman(ra). ‘Ali(ra) toohad wanted justice and to dealwith them, but he wanted torestore order first and then deliverjustice, rather than further fan theflames of ill-feeling. However, noteveryone had the patience for hispragmatic approach.

‘A’ishah(ra) had been on Hajj whenthe late Khalifah had been killed.She was appalled and addressed apublic gathering in Makkah togather support to avenge thekilling. She took an army ofhundreds of men to Basrah to gainfurther support and en route itbecame three thousand men.Basrah was divided in opinion, but

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after taking the city, the leadersrooted out suspects from theuprising against ‘Uthman(ra).Hundreds of men were interro-gated, and some were found guiltyand killed. Basrah was in the gripof a reign of terror. Now‘A’ishah(ra) sought support fromthe rest of the Muslim world topunish the suspects, and the unrestgrew.

‘Ali(ra) was forced to take his owntroops to Basrah to tackle theunrest joined by 9,000 men fromKufa. On reaching Basrah, ‘Ali(ra)

sent a peace delegation to‘A’ishah(ra) with the message:

“The demand for revenge isvery just, but how can you layhands on the mischief-mongerswithout first making the handsof the Khalifa strong? ... If youreally want to end trouble,gather under the banner of theKhalifa. Do not plunge peopleinto civil war.”

Both sides seemed destined onpeace, but a party led by ‘Abdullahbin Saba realised that they wouldbe found out for the insurgenceagainst ‘Uthman(ra) and so, at night

their party manufactured a conflictbetween the two camps andrelayed messages to both sides thatthe other party had betrayed them.Full-scale fighting ensued and to‘Ali’s horror, 10,000 men died infighting amongst Muslims. At theend, he was victorious, but hisheart bled for the needless loss.

Although ‘Ali(ra) defeated thisrebellion in what became knownas the Battle of the Camel atBasrah, the unrest continued.‘A’ishah(ra) was sent back toMadinah but without sanctions.Despite the hostility of Talha andZubair, when ‘Ali(ra) learned thatthey had been killed, he wept forthem, and explained that the battlewas the result ofmisunderstandings. However, theyboth held a high status amongstthe Muslims at the time of theProphet(saw), and ‘Ali(ra) had heardthe Holy Prophet(saw) once say:

‘Every Prophet had a discipleand az-Zubair is my disciple.’

Any thought that ‘Ali(ra) glorifiedin combat is totally false. He wasforced into these situations due totroublemakers that were infil-

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trating Islam and did not have puremotives.

Any attempts to link ‘Ali(ra) to theplot that led to the murder of‘Uthman(ra) are also totally false. Inhis first sermon as recorded by al-Tabari, he condemned the murderand called the antagonists the‘instruments of Satan’. He hadreminded his congregation of thegrave nature of the crime ofshedding the blood of a fellowMuslim. It was from this stancethat he wanted to first get calm andunity back amongst the Muslims.

Dispute with Mu’awiyahMu’awiyah, the Governor ofSyria, and ‘Ali(ra) had struggled inthe prolonged Battle of Siffin in657 when Mu’awiyah had tried towrestle the Khilafat away from‘Ali(ra). Eventually, they decidedupon arbitration, which was notsettled conclusively at Adhruh. Agroup of 4,000 from ‘Ali’s armyleft him and became a threat intheir own right, later known as theKharijites. They sacked Ctesiphon(modern Mada’in) but were laterdefeated by those still loyal to‘Ali(ra) at the Battle of Nahrawandin 658.

Despite the worsening politicalproblems as the Islamic Empiregrew, Hadhrat ‘Ali(ra) kept his faithin God, and would be found indeep prayer. He was not onlyregular in his obligatory prayers,but was also regular in observingadditional (Nawafil) prayers, oftenabsorbed in worship throughoutthe night. It was his prayers thatprotected him and the earlyMuslims from potentially muchworse situations plotted againstthem.

Someone asked ‘Ali(ra):

‘Why do the people disagreeconcerning you, and why didthey not disagree concerningAbu Bakr(ra) and Umar(ra)?’

He replied:

‘Because Abu Bakr(ra) andUmar(ra) were in charge of menlike me, and I today am incharge of men like you.’

He had a keen sense of justice, andwas often quoted advisingfollowers to treat others the waythat they wished to be treatedthemselves. It was in this spirit

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that he was trying to achievestability and balance across theMuslim world before improvingthe spiritual state of his followers.

The harsh treatment meted out tothe Kharijites at Nahrawand losthim favour in some quarters. TheKharijites sought what theyconsidered to be true Muslimleadership in accordance with theHoly Qur’an, and no compromisewith those seeking politicaladvantage. This view started togain some support, although theirinterpretation of motives was asprone to error as the supposederrors themselves.

After the Battle of the Camel,Hadhrat ‘Ali(ra) spent some time inBasra on the southern coast ofmodern Iraq, and there heappointed his cousin ‘Abdullah,the son of ‘Abbas, as the governorof the area. ‘Ali(ra) then enteredKufa in January, a relatively newgarrison town in Iraq establishedjust twenty years earlier. Hetransferred the capital fromMadinah to Kufa in modern Iraqwhile Damascus, the other seat ofpower, was now under the controlof Mu’awiyah. This was a signi-

ficant moment as from that timeonwards, Madinah never againbecame the seat of authority andpower for Islam.

‘Ali(ra) was a decent and uprightman, but he was now struggling tocome to terms with the politicalmanoeuvres going on all aroundhim.

Achievements‘Ali(ra) was respected and wasknown for his qualities whichincluded piety, great knowledgeand courage. During the lifetimeof the Prophet(saw), he hadmemorised the Qur’an and recitedit to him; and in later life, hebecame an authority on thescriptures.

‘Ali(ra) did not just memorise theverses of the Qur’an; he also knewthe context of each verse: when theverse was revealed, where and inwhat circumstances. Having beensuch a close companion of theHoly Prophet(saw) for thirty years,he was also an authority on thesayings and traditions of theProphet(saw) and had memorisedhundreds of traditions. He wouldoften narrate these traditions, and

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was also very proficient atdelivering speeches referring toboth the Qur’an and the Hadith.

Having such an in-depthknowledge of the Qur’an, it isnatural that he was considered anauthority on Islamic legal matters.‘A’ishah(ra) is quoted as saying:

‘As for him [‘Ali], he is themost knowledgeable of thosewho remain in the Sunnah.’

Similarly, Abu Hurairah quotesHadhrat ‘Umar(ra) as saying:

‘Ali is the best of us in judicialdecision’.

‘Ali(ra) was a simple man like all ofthe Khulafah. He had endureddifficult times as a Muslim andpreferred simplicity. He woresimple clothes and ate simplefood. He was always concernedabout the welfare of others. Heoften went without food, and evenwhen he became a Khalifah, hecontinued to live a simple lifestyleand remained focused on hisservice of the community. Somereports cite that his mealsconsisted of a cup of milk, a piece

of bread and some vegetables.

He lived in a simple house just likethe other Muslims around himwithout any extravagance.

There is an account of when heand his wife Fatimah were eatingsome dry bread, and a beggarapproached their door and askedfor food. They gave him the breadand remained hungry for the restof the day. He imparted those samevalues to his sons as he said:

‘Keep company with goodpeople and keep away frombad people. The worst foodyou take is the one you earn ina forbidden way. Be kind toanyone who might be harsh toyou, for after a while he wouldbecome kind to you’.

It is very easy to view the life ofthe Khulafah as a series ofstruggles and battles, but therewould not have been a core ofwell-trained, motivated anddedicated Muslims had it not beenfor their efforts. It was their valuesof love, compassion, fair treatmentand desire for knowledge thatwould be later reflected in the

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great periods of Islam such as Al-Andalus in Spain and BaitulHikmah in Baghdad.

‘Ali’s deathDespite his best attempts to createcalm among the Muslims, thegrowing divisions led to inevitabletensions. ‘Ali(ra) was killed in theyear 661 in the city of Kufa at theage of 62. He had been attacked byone of the remaining Kharijitevigilantes by the name of ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muljam during themonth of Ramadhan whilstleading Fajr prayers. ‘Ali(ra)

managed to survive for a couple ofdays during which he conveyedhis wishes to his son Hasan whomhe addressed as follows:

‘Love Allah and obey Him andlive for the service of thepeople in the way of Allah.And do not forget to set apartthe best of your time forcommunion with Allah,although every moment ofyours is for Him, provided it isspent sincerely in the serviceof your people.’

Amazingly, he even instructed hissons not to molest his killer, and

asked them to offer him food andprovide for his shelter. Such mercyfor his killer shows the extent ofhis character. He is quoted assaying:

‘Treat the man kindly and givehim food and water. If I die, hislife is left to justice, and heshall be slain for the deed hehas done; but do not mutilatehim, for that was forbidden bythe Prophet(saw).’

After ‘Ali(ra) passed away, it isthought that he was buried inprivate and secret to prevent hisgrave from being desecrated by hisenemies. There was doubt abouthis gravesite until a later KhalifahHarun al-Rashid (786 - 809), wastold that the site was on raisedground at a site in Najaf. At hisorders, a great mosque and shrinewas built around the tomb. Thereare several accounts of how theKhalifah learned of the site of thetomb including one that the sixthShi’a Imam, Ja’far al-Sadiq toldhim so based on informationpassed down amongst the Shi’aleadership. A small minority ofShi’as still believe that the actualtomb is at the Rawze-e-Sharif

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(also known as the Blue Mosque)in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif inAfghanistan.

‘Ali’s Legacy‘Ali had become respected as anauthority on Islam, and acollection of his speeches andletters was preserved under thetitle Nahjul Balaghah (The Peakof Eloquence).

His family also went on to honourhis wishes and to serve thecommunity. His sons Hasan andHusain both played a key role. It isthought that Hasan declined taking

on the Khilafat in order to preventfurther schisms among theMuslims, and this enabledMu’awiyah to take on the Khilafatand establish what became knownas the Umayyad Arab dynasty.This seizure of power cut-off theKhulafa Rashidun from thesubsequent rulers of the MuslimEmpire, continuing in name onlythrough various dynasties till theOttoman Empire formallyterminated the last remnant ofKhilafat.

However, for the Shi’as, ‘Ali(ra)

had been the first Imam, and

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therefore his sons took on themantle, Hasan being the secondImam and Husain the third. Thedescendants of ‘Ali(ra) throughHasan and Husain were the onlybloodline of the Prophet(saw)

through his daughter Fatimah andare still honoured to this day withthe title ‘Syed’ (or ‘Sayyid’).

Examples of the bloodline includethe Sharifs and Idrisids ofMorocco, Banu Salih of Ghanadescended through grandsons ofHassan, and the Suleymanids ofYemen descended through a son ofHasan.

The issue that worried ‘Ali(ra) themost was the unity of theMuslims. He struggledcontinuously to bring all of theparties together despite calls fromall sides to take decisive action.His belief in the need for unity andorder compelled him to try to steera more moderate course, and evenat the worst times when he facedarmies of Muslims, his intentionwas dialogue and arbitration.However, the motives of thetrouble-makers had nothing to dowith the faith, and eventually,‘Ali(ra) lost the battle.

A more lasting legacy of Hadhrat‘Ali(ra) was his profound first-handrecollection of the actions andsayings of the Holy Prophet(saw).He related 586 hadith, which werethen transmitted by many otherssuch as his sons Hasan andHusain, and then Abu Musa, AbuImamah and Abu Hurairahamongst others.

The Shi’a SplitIslam soon split into manyfactions, the two most notablebeing the Sunnis and Shi’as. Thequestion to ask is whether this wasthe intention of Hadhrat ‘Ali(ra) orof ‘A’ishah(ra). Certainly the earlyMuslims, having faced suchsevere persecution at the hands ofthe Makkans would have wantedunity and compassion, not divisionand infighting.

So what were the main events andtriggers for the split?

Under the surface, there had beena growing undercurrent ofdiscontent against the politi-cisation of Arab Islam in whichnew adherents from nearby Persiawere told that they needed an Arabpatron in order to be considered a

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Muslim. Some of the Arabs weretrying to use their sharednationality with the Prophet(saw) asa means of gaining political andmonetary power.

The Persians wished to return tothe theological roots of Islamwhich they felt could only berecovered through the directfamily of the Prophet(saw), nowrepresented in the families of thesons of ‘Ali(ra). So the killing ofHadhrat ‘Ali(ra) and the passing ofpower back to a political Arab wasseen as a disaster, and whenHusain and his followers weremassacred cruelly at Kerbala a fewyears later in 680, thiscompounded the feeling of tragedyand disaster for the Shi’as. It isthese incidents that Shi’as stillcommemorate to this day in thefestival on the tenth of Muharamby inflicting wounds onthemselves in an effort toparticpate to an extent in themartyrdom of Imam Husain. Claytablets from this area are used toplace on prayer mats by someShi’as for prostration.

It is interesting that as-Suyutiquotes Hadhrat ‘Ali(ra) as saying:

‘The Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and his familyand grant them peace, calledme and said, “‘Ali, there is inyou a resemblance to Isa(as);the Jews hated him so muchthat they slandered his mother,and the Christians loved himso much that they gave him adegree which was not his.’

The Holy Prophet(saw) may haveknown that ‘Ali(ra) would suffer atthe hands of the factions duringhis Khilafat, but also that latergenerations might overly veneratehim just like the Christians e.g.invoking his name for help (Ya‘Ali Madad).

ConclusionsHadhrat ‘Ali(ra), of all of the earlyKhulafa, had a direct and personalrelationship with the HolyProphet(saw) and was one of theearliest Muslims to pledge hisallegiance to the new faith. Hewas a man of principles and had astrong sense of justice and fair-play especially as Islam came toinfluence other nations beyondArabia. His knowledge of theHoly Qur’an was supreme as hehad memorised it in his younger

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years, and validated hisunderstanding through recitationin front of the Holy Prophet(saw).

Although undoubtedly very brave,‘Ali(ra) was unable to control thepolitical machinations happeningall around him, and this ultimatelyled to his downfall, and the end ofan era of Rightly-Guided Khulafa.Much has been made of his ownspecial status and indeed a largenumber of Muslims (Shi’as)fervently believe that it was hisrightful destiny to alone be theKhalifa of the Prophet(saw).

Would if Hadhrat ‘Ali(ra) haverecognised many of the claimsmade in his name today whichappear to drive a wedge betweenhim and the other Khulafa? Wouldhe instead have described hisloyalty to each of the Khulafa, andhow he reluctantly took office andtried so hard to unite the MuslimUmmah?

Perhaps we can leave the last wordto the famous historian of the 18thCentury, Edward Gibbon, whowrote:

‘The first of the true believers

might aspire to march beforethem in this world and thenext; and if some were of agraver and more rigid cast, thezeal and virtue of ‘Ali werenever outstripped by anyrecent proselyte. He united thequalifications of a poet, asoldier and a saint: his wisdomstill breathes in a collection ofmoral and religious sayings;and every antagonist, in thecombats of the tongue or of thesword, was subdued by hiseloquence and valour.’

REFERENCES1. The Concise Encyclopaedia of

Islam, Cyril Glasse, HarperSan Francisco, 1999.

2. Life of Muhammad, MirzaBashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad,Islam InternationalPublications Ltd, Tilford, UK,1990.

3. Islam - a short history, KarenArmstrong, Phoenix Press,London 2001.

4. The Preaching of Islam, T. W.Arnold, Aryan Books

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International, New Delhi,1998.

5. Al-Quds, Mohammed AbdulHameed Al-Khateeb, Ta-HaPublishers, London 1998.

6. Intrigues against Khilafat-i-Rashida and their Impact,Maulana Sheikh MubarakAhmad, Ascot Press, London.

7. Khulafa-e-Rashideen, MajeedA Mian, Review of Religions,Vol.92, No.3, March 1997.

8. The Book of Character –writings on character andvirtue from Islamic and othersources, Camille Helminski,The Book Foundation, Bristol2004.

9. The History of the Khalifaswho took the right way,Jalaladdin as-Suyuti, Ta-HaPublishers, London 2006.

10. Nubuwwat & Khilafat –Prophethood and itssuccessorship, IslamInternational Publications Ltd,Tilford, UK, 2006.

11. The Excellent Exemplar:

Muhammad the Messenger ofAllah, Muhammad ZafrullaKhan, The Chaucer Press,UK, 1962.

12. ‘Ali Bin Abi Talib - the fourthCaliph of Islam, Abdul BasitAhmad, DarussalamPublishers, London, UK,2001.

13. The Muqaddimah – anintroduction to History, IbnKhaldun, Princeton UniversityPress, New Jersey, USA,2005.

14. The Decline and Fall of theRoman Empire, EdwardGibbon, Volume 5, p.381,London, 1858.

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