Murder of Uthman: Difference between revisions

According to Rasul Jafarian, Uthman's conduct in the first six years of his caliphate was restrained and aimed at consolidating his power. However, in the second six years of his caliphate, he began favoring the Umayyads and appointing them to important administrational and political roles. His unjust way of ruling raised objections among people and led to the siege of his house and his murder.  

[[Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani]], the renowned Sunni historian, described the murder of Uthman as the beginning of conflict and chaos in the Muslim world. It reignited the conflicts between the Umayyads and the Hashimites. The Umayyads declared themselves to be the heirs of Uthman and sought revenge on his murderers. They used Uthman's murder as a means to regain their superiority and influence among the Arabs.  

After the murder of Uthman, a new phase in Islamic history started. His murder led to a series of civil wars among Muslims. In the first of these battles, the [[Battle of Jamal]], prominent figures such as [[Talha]], [[al-Zubayr]], and [[A'isha]], encountered [[Imam Ali (a)]]. The second battle, the [[Battle of Siffin]] led to the formation of the [[Kharijites]] and to the third battle, the [[Battle of Nahrawan]].  

Far from being a sudden incident, the revolt against Uthman was caused by factors whose cumulative force finally reached a point of no return. These factors were mostly related to the caliph himself and his conduct.  

Some scholars have called Uthman's way of appointing his Umayyad relatives to important roles an attempt at the "Umayyadization" of the state. Some of the key positions Uthman gave to his relatives were as follows:  

| [[Al-Walid b. Uqba]] || Maternal brother || Governor of Kufa

| [[Abd Allah b. Amir]] || Cousin || Governor of Basra

| [[Abd Allah b. Abi Sarh]] || Foster brother|| Governor of Egypt

|[[Mu'awiya b. Abi Sufyan]] || An Umayyad || Governor of Syria

|[[Marwan b. al-Hakam]] || Cousin || Scribe

| [[Sa'id b. al-As]] || An Umayyad || Governor of Kufa

The fact that Uthman made his relatives in charge of the Muslim community's affairs and their misuse of their positions were among the main factors that led to protests. Some of these favored relatives did not have a good reputation either. For instance, Abd Allah b. Amir had once become an [[apostate]], al-Walid b. Amir was called a ''fasiq'' (wicked) in the [[Quran]], and Marwan b. al-Hakam was banished by the [[Prophet (s)]] from Medina together with his father.  

“The third came to power … and his paternal kin came to his help and plundered the public treasury like a camel which eats spring plants eagerly. Consequently, he was rooted out and his actions brought about his end.”

Unjust distribution of public treasuries was a major problem during Uthman's caliphate. He would bestow great amount of wealth from the pubic treasury on his relatives, which created wide-spread resentment among people. For instance, it is reported that he bestowed on Marwan b. al-Hakam the entire [[khums]] that he had received from Africa, and on another occasion he bestowed it upon [[Ibn Abi l-Sarh]]. He also gave huge amounts of wealth to [[al-Harith b. al-Hakam]], [[al-Hakam b. Abi l-As]], and [[Abd Allah b. Khalid]], among others.  

A few Sunni historians maintain that [[Abd Allah b. Saba']] had a major role in propagating against Uthman and encouraging the revolt against him. However, other [[Shiite]] and Sunni scholars have doubted the existence of such a person. Others also have stated that it is unlikely that the Muslim community was so weak that a new convert could have formed a revolt against the caliph.  

When [[Uthman]] deposed [[Amr b. al-As]] from the governorship of [[Egypt]] and appointed Abd Allah b. Abi l-Sarh to the position, about six-hundred Egyptians came to Medina to protest, which was the beginning of protests against the caliph.