ISLAMIAT LECTURE 9

RIGHTLY GUIDED CALIPHS (3)

3. Hazrat Usman:

v   Election:

-                   Hazrat Umar appointed a 6 member panel on his death bed to chose the chose the caliph from within itself in 3 days

-                   The first two days were unproductive, but on the 3rd day, final decision was made

-                   Hz. Ali voted for Hz. Usman

-                   Hz. Usman voted for Hz. Ali

-                   Hz. Talha was not present in Medina

-                   Hz. Abdur Rehman Bin Auf was not willing to become caliph so he played the role of the arbitrator

-                   Hz. Saad bin Abi Waqas voted for Hz. Usman

-                   Hz. Zubiar voted for both Hz. Usman and Ali

v   Compilation of Quran:

In the Caliphate of Hazrat Usman, Islam expanded rapidly and many new areas were gained as territories. These areas had different pronunciations and dialects. So much so that once, a commander of the Muslim army felt that one of his soldiers was pronouncing Quran in a different dialect, which may have altered the meaning. So he reported this to the caliph, who took serious action. He acquired the Mushaf-e-Hufsa and told Zaid Bin Sabit and 3 other men to make a new copy following the dialect of Quraish, since the Quran was revealed in that dialect. The Quran was read out loudly from the beginning to the end in the Prophet’s mosque from these copies, so that not a shadow of doubt remained in the mind of Muslims regarding the changes introduced. These copies were then dispatched to the capital of each province with instructions that future copies must be based on them. All other copies were then burnt. For this service, Hazrat Usman is often referred to as Jami-al-Quran.

v   Problems:

-                    Appointed family members as governors of Syria, Kufa and Iraq so he was accused of violating merit and encouraging favoritism

-                    Same accused him of being excessively lenient

-                    He had ordered the burning of the copies of Quran when the new copy had been made. This was seen by many as an attempt to destroy the word of Allah

-                    It was said that he distributed wealth amassed from campaigns amongst the governors and not the soldiers

-                    People accused him of reserving state pastures for his own use

v   Administration:

-                    Created new provinces from the newly conquered territories

-                    Held periodic conferences of district authorities to keep himself informed of the state affairs

-                    Used to hear public complaints after Friday prayer

-                    Allowed people to acquire agricultural land in their areas

-                    Made extensions to the Mosque of the Prophet

-                    Built new mosques

-                    Constructed inns, guest houses and water wells for travelers

-                    A dam was built to protect Medina from flooding

-                    Built a fleet of 500 ships

-                    Increased allowances by 25%

v   Death:

There had been much disquiet about his policies and ability to rule. There had been uprisings in Iraq, Kufa and Egypt. In 35 AH, troops from these provinces advanced to Medina to take their complaints directly to the caliph. The rebels from Egypt arrived first and besieged his home. They returned, however, when the caliph agreed to their demands. On their wau back, they had that they had been tricked so they came back and held a 2nd siege. This siege lasted for a few days during which some leading Muslims attempted to pacify the situation, but to no avail. Some Egyptians led by Muhammad entered his house and murdered him while he was reciting the Quran.