The Martyrdom of the Third Caliph, Sayyiduna Uthman (RA)-Part One
The Martyrdom of the Third Caliph, Sayyiduna Uthman (RA)
Part One:
The Messenger ﷺ foretold many times that after me, disagreements will appear in this Ummah. These disagreements will even lead to killing and fighting. The Prophet ﷺ told us about the trials (Fitnah) that would come to his Ummah. He said: _“When those trials (Fitnah) happen, stay away from them and don’t get involved, so they don’t pull you in too.”_
Zurarah bin Amr Nakha‘i once had a dream. He saw fire coming out of the ground, and it stood between him and his son. He told his dream to the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ said:
اما النار فھی فتنۃ تکون بعدی قال ومال الفتنۃ یا رسولﷺ قال یقتل الناس امامھم ویشتجرون اشتجار اطباق الراس وخالف بین اصابعه دم المؤمن عند المؤمن احلی من الماء یحسب المسیئ انه محسن ان مت ادرکت ابنک و ان مات ابنک ادرکت قال فادع اللّٰہ ان لا تدرکنی فدعاله"
_“The fire means a trial that will happen after me.”_
He asked, _“What kind of trial, O Messenger of Allah?”_
The Prophet ﷺ said: _“People will kill their Imam. They will fall into fights and trials, tangled together like the bones of a head.”_ Then he put his fingers between each other and said, _“A believer’s blood will seem sweeter to a believer than water. A wrongdoer will think he’s doing good. If you die, that trial will reach your son. And if your son dies, that trial will reach you.”_
Zurarah said, _“Pray to Allah that I don’t live to see it.”_ So the Prophet ﷺ made du’a for him.
(Al-Isti‘ab, taken from: Izalat al-Khafa Vol.1 p.397)
Abdullah bin Hawalah Asadi says the Prophet ﷺ said:
من نجا من ثلاثہ فقد نجا قالوا ماذا یا رسول اللّٰہ صلی اللّٰہ علیہ وسلم قال موتی وقتل خلیفۃ مصطبر بالحق یعطیہ ومن الدجال"
Translation- “Whoever stays safe from three things has truly been saved.”_
They asked, _“What are they, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ?”_
He said: _“My death — that you don’t slip because of it. The killing of a Caliph who will be patient with the truth he’s given. And the Dajjal — that you stay away from his trial and don’t go near him.”_
(Mustadrak Hakim Vol.3 p.108, Tareekh Dimashq Vol.16 p.181)
Around 30 Hijri, Sayyiduna Uthman (RA) was sitting by a well in Madinah called Bi’r Arees. The Seal of Prophethood fell from his hand. The Prophet ﷺ used it to stamp his letters. After him, Abu Bakr (RA) and Umar (RA) also used it. When Uthman (RA) became Caliph, he used it too. It had “Muhammad Rasulullah” written on it.
(Sahih Muslim Vol.2 p.196)
Sayyiduna Uthman (RA) was very upset. He had all the water pulled out of the well, but the seal wasn’t found. After it was lost, Uthman (RA) and his Caliphate fell into hardship. It was a sign that trials would rise quickly now.
The trials the Prophet ﷺ predicted became clear in the last few years of Uthman’s (RA) Caliphate. Disagreements and unrest grew strong. The Imam the Prophet ﷺ said would be martyred in that unrest was Sayyiduna Uthman (RA). Uthman (RA) himself used to say, _“I am that wronged Imam.”_
He told Abdullah bin Mas‘ood (RA): The Prophet ﷺ said:
سیقتل امیر وینتزی منتز وانی انا المقتول ولیس عمر انما قتل عمر واحد وانہ یجتمع علی
Translation-“A leader will be killed, and an attacker will attack. That killed leader — it’s me. It’s not Umar. Umar was killed by one man. But the one who kills me will be a whole group.”
(Tareekh Dimashq Vol.16 p.182)
Hadhrat Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlavi (RA) writes:
The Prophet ﷺ said in many Hadith that reach the level of mass transmission — that Sayyiduna Uthman (RA) will be martyred. And near his martyrdom, a huge Fitnah will break out. It will change people’s ways and customs. Its harm will spread everywhere. The time before that trial, he described with many good qualities. The time after it, he mentioned with all kinds of evil. He explained this fitnah so clearly that no one could miss that it matched what actually happened. He said plainly that this fitnah would break the system of the specific Caliphate. The remaining blessings of the Prophet’s time would be hidden. He explained it so openly that the truth was uncovered, and hujjat ilahi was established by its fulfillment.
(Izalat al-Khafa Vol.1 p.379)
The reasons for this fitnah appeared one after another. On one side, the Islamic state was expanding. On the other side, Muslims were moving from poverty into comfort and wealth. Worldly ease and luxury were coming closer to them. The great Companions, one by one, were pitching their tents in Paradise. The new generation didn’t fully know what sacrifices and hard work their elders had done to serve Islam — how they ate dry leaves and still held up the flag of Allah’s religion.
Obviously, when wealth spreads, when doors of war booty and conquests keep opening, and when the taqwa of the earlier ones is no longer there, the effects will show. Sayyiduna Uthman (RA) wasn’t unaware of this. He knew people would get lost in these victories and forget their goal. So he would advise them.
Once he said: _“O people… Allah gave you this world so you could earn the Hereafter with it — not so you become its slaves. This world will end, but the Hereafter will last forever. Don’t get so lost in worldly desires and comforts that you forget your Hereafter.”_
During Umar’s (RA) Caliphate, Jews, Christians, and other nations were defeated. Muslims took their power. They were very angry about this, and their hearts were burning for revenge. After Umar (RA), rebellions broke out in some areas. But Uthman (RA) used wise planning to end those rebellions. He didn’t let them succeed.
On the surface, the unrest looked suppressed. But inside, it was working fast on its plan. Its first step was to spread dangerous propaganda against the Caliph of the Muslims and his governors. The goal was to turn people toward them and win their sympathy. Also, to build a wall of hatred between Uthman (RA) and Ali (RA) and those loyal to him. They would raise the slogan of “love for Ali” to get rid of the Caliph of the time. They wanted to tangle Muslims so much that their growing strength and conquests would stop for a while.
No doubt, a large number of people who called themselves Muslims joined this movement. But behind them were really Jews, Christians, and hypocrites.
Muhammad bin Jarir Tabari (310 AH) wrote:
Ibn Saba spread this idea: _“In the past, many prophets came. Every prophet had a wasee — (someone appointed as his successor.) The wasee successor)of the Prophet ﷺ is Ali bin Abi Talib. The Prophet ﷺ is the last of the prophets, and Ali is the last of the wasees.(successor)”_
He also said: _“Who is more unjust than the one who didn’t act on the Prophet’s ﷺ will, and seized the right of the Prophet’s wasee and took control of the Ummah?”_
Then he said: _“Uthman (RA) has taken the Caliphate unjustly, while the Prophet’s ﷺ wasee is present here. So oppose him, rise up to remove him. Start by criticizing your local governors. Show that you’re commanding good and forbidding evil. That way you’ll win the people over. Once they lean toward you, then call them to this work.”_
"ان سبب تالب الاھزاب علی عثمانؓ رجلا یقال له عبداللہ بن سبا کان یھودیا فاظھر الاسلام وصار الی مصر فاوحی الی طائفۃ من الناس کلاما اخترعه من عند نفسه مضمونه انہ یقول للرجل الیس قد ثبت ان عیسی بن مریم سیعود الی ھذہ الدنیا فیقول الرجل نعم فیقول لہ فرسول اللّٰہ افضل منہ فما تنکر ان یعود الی ھذہ الدنیا وھو اشرف من عیسیٰ ابن مریم ثم یقول وقد کان اوصی الی علی بن ابی طالب فمحمد خاتم الانبیاء و علی خاتم الاوصیاء ثم یقول فھو احق بالامرۃ من عثمانؓ و عثمانؓ معتمد فی ولایۃ ما لیس لہ فانکروا علیہ واظھروا الامر بالمعروف والنھی عن المنکر فافتتن بہ بشر کثیر من اھل مصر و کتبوا الی جماعات الی عوام اھل الکوفۃ و البصرۃ فتمالوا علی ذالک وتکاتبوا فیہ وتواعدوا ان یجتمعوا فی الانکار علی عثمانؓ وارسلوا الیہ من یناظرہ ویذکر لہ ما ینقمون علیہ من تولیتہ اقربائہ وذوی رحمہ و عزلہ کبائر الصحابۃ فدخل ھذا فی قلوب کثیر من الناس"
Translation: “The reason groups united against Uthman (RA) was a man called Abdullah bin Saba. He was a Jew. He pretended to be Muslim and went to Egypt. He secretly told a group of people things he made up himself. He would say to a man: ‘Isn’t it proven that Isa son of Maryam will return to this world?’ The man would say, ‘Yes.’ He’d say, ‘Then the Messenger of Allah is better than him, so why do you deny that he will return to this world when he is nobler than Isa son of Maryam?’ Then he’d say, ‘And he appointed Ali bin Abi Talib as his wasee. Muhammad is the last of the prophets and Ali is the last of the wasees.’ Then he’d say, ‘So he deserves leadership more than Uthman (RA). Uthman (RA) is overstepping in leadership, which he shouldn’t. So criticize him and openly command good and forbid evil.’ Many people in Egypt fell for his fitnah. They wrote to groups among the common people of Kufa and Basra. They sided with this and wrote to each other about it. They promised to gather to criticize Uthman (RA). They sent men to him to debate and tell him what they blamed him for — appointing his relatives and removing senior Companions. This entered the hearts of many people.”
It’s not just Sunni historians who say this. Shia historians also agree that it was this Abdullah bin Saba who started the talk against Uthman (RA).
عبداللہ ابن سباء مرد یہود بود در زمان عثمانؓ بن عفان مسلمانی گرفت۔۔۔۔۔ چوں مسلمان شد خلافتِ عثمانؓی در خاطر او پسند نے فتاد پس در مجالس و محافل اصحاب بہ نشستے وقبائح اعمال و مثالب عثمانؓ را ہرچے تواناتے باز گفتے۔۔۔۔۔ عبداللہ بمصر آمد۔۔۔۔۔۔ گفت ہاں اے مردم گر نشیندہ اید نصاریٰ گویند۔۔۔۔۔ چوں ایں سخن در خاطر پاجائے گیر ساخت گفت خداوند صد و بیست و چہار ہزار پیغمبر بدیں زمین فرد فرستاد ہر پیغمبرے را وزیرے و خلیفتے بود چگونہ می شود پیغمبرے از جہاں برود خاصہ وقتیکہ صاحب شریعت باشد ونائبے و خلیفتے بخلق نگمار دوکار امت کا مہمل بگزار ہمانا محمد را علی علیہ السلام وصی و خلیفہ بود۔۔۔۔ علی علیہ السلام خلیفہ محمد است وہ عثمانؓ ایں منصب را غصب کردہ و باخود بستہ عمر نیز بنا حق ایں کار بشوری افگند عبد الرحمن بن عوف بہوائے نفس دست بر دست عثمانؓ زود دست علی را کہ گرفتہ بود او بیعت کند رہا داد ۔۔۔۔۔۔۔ ہنوز آں نیر نیست کہ بتوانیم عثمانؓ را دفع داد واجب میکند کہ چندانکہ بتوانیم عمال عثمانؓ را کہ آتش جور و ستم را وامن ہمی زنند ضعیف داریم و قبائح اعمال ایشاں رابر عالمیاں روشن سازیم و دلہائے مردم را از عثمانؓ و عمال او بگر دانیم۔۔۔۔۔۔ و او را از خلیفتے خلع فرمانید
_Translatiin: Abdullah bin Saba was a Jewish man. He accepted Islam — hypocritically — during Uthman’s (RA) time… He didn’t like Uthman’s (RA) Caliphate. In gatherings with his friends he would mention every possible fault of Uthman(RA)… Then he came to Egypt… He said, “O people, have you not heard the Christians say…?” When this idea settled in their minds, he said, “The Lord sent 124,000 prophets to this earth. Every prophet had a minister and a successor. How can it be that a prophet leaves the world — especially one who brought a Shariah — without appointing a deputy and successor, leaving his Ummah abandoned? Surely Ali was Muhammad’s wasee and Caliph… Ali is Muhammad’s (SAW) Caliph, and Uthman (RA) seized this position by force. Umar(RA) also wrongly handed this matter to a council, and Abdur Rahman bin Awf, out of personal desire, gave his hand to Uthman (RA) and forced Ali (RA) to pledge allegiance too… Now Shariah makes it binding on us to not show favor to anyone in this matter. Though we don’t have the strength right now to remove Uthman (RA) by force from the Caliphate, we can at least weaken Uthman’s governors by defaming them as oppressors, spread their faults among people, and turn people’s hearts away from Uthman (RA) and his officials… So they wrote to many places and did propaganda against Ibn Sa’d bin Abi Sarh. They organized people against him so that a group would come to Madinah and remove Sayyiduna Uthman (RA) from the Caliphate.”_
Those Shias and writers who claim Abdullah bin Saba was just an imaginary, made-up person should look at the authentic books of Shia scholars.
To be continued…
Presented by:
Idarah Dar al-Tahqeeq wa Difa‘-e-Sahabah (RA)