Six-Member Council: Difference between revisions

'''The six-member council''' refers to the council ‘Ummar b. Khattab (passed away in 23 AH, 644 AD) assigned for selecting the next caliph, which led to ‘Uthman b. ‘Affan being elected as the caliph of Muslims. ‘Umar had obliged all the people to conform to the final agreement of the council and commanded to cut off any opponents’ head. Imam Ali (a) had anticipated the council would select ‘Uthman, since the appointed members all had the same bias.  

== The Story of the Council ==  

‘Ummar b. Khattab was injuredin Dhi al-hajjah 24th, 24 AH by someone by the name of Firuz or Abu Lu’lu’, the slave of Mughayrat b. Shu‘bah(he passed away three days after his injury). While he was in bed because of his injury, ‘Ummar b. Khattab began to think about his successor. He believed if Mu‘adh b. Jabal, Abu ‘UbaydahJarrah, and Salim MuliHadhifah had been alive, he would have handed the caliphate on to them. Yet none of the mentioned people were present at that time, therefore he devised a new plan for selecting the next caliph.

Prior to that time, specifically after prophet’s death, some of the prophet’s companions (ashab) gathered together in a place called saqifah and selected Abu Bakr as the caliph of Muslims, disregarding Ghadir event in which the prophet had introduced Imam Ali (a) to the Muslims as the caliph. The companions made people pledge allegiance (bay‘ah) to Abu Bakr through different ways. They reasoned that the selection of the caliph must be assigned to people. It is people who choose their Imam. However, Abu Bakr reversed his opinion at the end of his lifetime by selecting ‘Umar as his successor.

‘Ummar chose a new method, confessing that selecting Abu Bakr had not been Muslims’ option. He declared Muslims must participate in choosing their own caliph from now on. Consequently, he established a council comprising of six people who would select one of themselves as the caliph by consulting with each other. The followings are the members of the council: Ali b. AbiTalib (a), ‘Uthman b. ‘Affan, Talha b. ‘Ubiyd Allah, Zubayr b. ‘Awam, Sa‘d b. AbiWaqqas, and Abd al-Rahman b. Awaf.

Based on ‘Umar’s opinion, more number of votes for a person results in his caliphate. If there was a disagreement between the two groups of three on a candidate, the opinion of Abd al-Rahman group is preferred. ‘Umar also commanded to cut off the head of any member opposing the idea of the majority. If there was a dispute between the two groups, the group who were opposed to Abd al-Rahman’s vote must be castigated by cutting off their heads. Another command of his was to cut the head of all the members if they were unable to select the caliphate after three days. Fifty people from Ansar were responsible to monitor conformation to ‘Umar’s will.

It was predictable that ‘Uthman would be elected by the council. As Imam Ali (a) had anticipated, Sa‘d would not disagree with his cousin Abd al-Rahman. On the other hand, Abd al-Rahman, who was ‘Uthman’s brother-in-law would vote for him. Concerning these factors, if Talha and Zubayr were Imam Ali (a)’s advocates, it would be useless; since Abd al-Rahman was supporter of ‘Uthman.

Sa‘d stated he had the same vote with Abd al-Rahman, whatever he decides. Zubayr gave up nominating for caliphate in favor of Imam Ali (a). Abd al-Rahman announced he was not seeking caliphate. Talha, who was Abd al-Rahman’s cousin and Imam Ali (a)’s opponent, gave up nominating in favor of ‘Uthman. Therefore, the only candidates were Imam Ali (a) and ‘Uthman, meaning Abd al-Rahman’s vote became very important and notable.

=== Abd al-Rahman’s Decision ===

Abd al-Rahman b. Awaf consulted with people especially with the elite and rulers. Ultimately, he declared his decision. He asked Imam Ali (a) if he could act according to Qur‘an, prophet’s tradition (sunnat), and Abu Bakr’s and ‘Umar’s approach in caliphate. Imam Ali (a) responded: “I hope I will act according to Qur‘an and prophet’s tradition as much as my knowledge, my power, and my effort are” (means I will not go on the approach of previous caliphs). Then, Abd al-Rahman stated his conditions for ‘Uthman and he immediately accepted. As the result, Abd al-Rahman b. Awaf pledged allegiance to ‘Uthman.

Some references have stated that Imam Ali (a) believed Abd al-Rahman’s condition (acting as the previous caliphs) was a deception. He told Abd al-Rahman: “You selected ‘Uthman so that to regain caliphate. This is not the first time you get united against us (ahl al-bayt) and deprive us of our right. This has become a custom against us”