Abu Dharr
Now that we are somewhat familiar with the distant pockets of noncooperation or at least serious-minded criticism of ‘Uthman’s policies we should tackle the question: where exactly did the earnest and dangerous opposition to ‘Uthman originate. Did it originate in al-Madinah, the seat of Islamic power? Or did it originate in lands and regions at a distance from al-Madinah?
Another way of putting it: did the opposition begin among the Prophet’s true and tried companions the Muhajirin and Ansar and then from there it trekked all the way to the military frontlines of the Islamic commonwealth; or did this opposition to ‘Uthman begin in the ranks of the military who were stationed far afield from al-Madinah and then eventually made its way to al-Madinah—home of the Muhajirin and Ansar?
The answer to this question is somewhat hard to pin down. If the disapproval of ‘Uthman initially began in al-Madinah that would mean that the Muhajirin and Ansar were the forerunners who took issue with ‘Uthman—some more involved in the opposition than others. But, then, if the opposition started within the ranks of the military stationed at the frontiers, that would mean that it was the military that influenced the core Muhajirin and Ansar in al-Madinah—some of them reluctantly and others willingly.
There need not be a contradiction between a simultaneous development and progression of opposition both in al-Madinah and at the warfront regions. And if that is the case it appears that the boldness and then rebelliousness against ‘Uthman were to be expected due to the tribal disparities and social imbalances that began to displace the brotherhood, companionship and equality of the hitherto practical Prophetic and constitutional Qur’anic social order. Perceived discriminating gaps began to set into the governmental administration and there was a popular viewpoint that Islam in theory is no longer Islam in practice.
Complicating these civic mixed feelings was the fact that what was left of the Prophetic generation had to come to terms with and adjust to the ingressing effects and sways of Byzantine and Persian modernities. It was not within ‘Uthman’s ability or anyone else’s ability to turn this tide or to overpower these types of developments quickly.
Another way of looking at this is that when a limited power expands and becomes a limitless power, it is bound to encounter some type of opposition and that opposition, if not dealt with wisely, can turn (and will turn) violent. Muslim rulers and Muslim peoples are in the final analysis members of the human race and vulnerable to the ups and downs of human nature once the governmental disciplinary standards of Islam slip away and the administrative educative criteria of the Qur’an begin to fade.
It has been over 1400 years since that time period we are speaking about here and look around and discover, for yourself, how defying and demanding it is to correct the conduct of those in power and also to adjust the actions and activities of those who are in the opposition!
Now let us visit al-Madinah specifically and learn what the relationship between ‘Uthman, a Muhajir, and the rest of the Muhajirin and Ansar and see what was their attitude towards ‘Uthman.
First let us examine the relationship between ‘Uthman and the five others who were the first to endorse ‘Uthman as khalifah. These were the ones who constituted the nominating consultative council when ‘Umar was still alive. All of them were Islamic pioneers in their own right and all of them had a clean record of supporting the Prophet (ﷺ) and sacrificing for the cause of Allah (SWT).
All of them were well-liked and well-regarded by the Prophet (ﷺ) during his cherished life and he passed away appreciating their selfless contributions for the sake of Allah (SWT) and the Prophet (ﷺ) and all of them earned the Prophet’s good will and good wishes.
But then they did not all hail from the exact same pre-Islamic tribal status nor were they all equivalent blood relatives of the Prophet (ﷺ). Each one of them had his own fluctuating relationship with other members of society as well as his measure of prosperity and amount of possessions and wealth.
In no particular order let us begin with ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf who was related to the Prophet (ﷺ) through his mother Aminah bint Wahb. ‘Abd al-Rahman was a very rich merchant. He was a merchant before becoming a Muslim and a merchant after becoming a Muslim. He was known to be a bright “business man.” He knew how to make money and how to invest money successfully. He is known to have said: I see myself, every time I turn a stone I feel like I will find gold or silver beneath it. It is also reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said to him:
يا عبد الرحمن إنك من الأغنياء، ولن تدخل الجنة إلا زحفاً، فأقرض الله يطلق لك قدميك
O ‘Abd al-Rahman! You are certainly one of those who are wealthy but you will only enter paradise crawling; thus, give somebody an advance (early payment) for the sake of Allah so that He will untie your feet.
‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf was not known to be austere or ascetic; after all he was a Quraishi and carried himself as a Quraishi as a “member of the aristocrat” though polished by his Islamic properness and politeness.
He was known to have multiple wives from different tribes which would have put him in a favorable position had he chosen to be the leader of the Muslims as Arabia in general still had deep tribal significances and sensitivities.
‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf had the unambiguous distinction of bringing Quraish and the Ansar together because he was married into those two exclusive blocs. Still, he debarred himself from “running for the office” of Khalifah even when there were others in that council of six who favored him among them ‘Uthman himself. ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf purposely sought a neutral position that would help him reconcile the internal good-hearted competition within the council.
Imam ‘Ali as well as the other members consented to ‘Abd al-Rahman becoming the go-between and intermediary among the members of the council after ‘Abd al-Rahman affirmed to Imam ‘Ali that he would bind himself to al-haqq [the truth and the facts] without favoritism springing from blood relationships or clannish preferences.
What would summarize ‘Abd al-Rahman’s position concerning statesmanship is his declaration:
والله لأن تُؤخذ مدية (سكين) فتوضع في حلقي ثم يُنفذ بها، أحب إلي من أن أتولى هذا الأمر
“By Allah! It would be preferable for me to suffer from an arrow piercing my mouth and exiting through the other side (of my head) than to assume this responsibility [of being the leader of the Muslims].” The bona fides of ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf were recognized by all the members of that council.
Later, when ‘Uthman was assigned the Khilafah position because of ‘Abd al-Rahman’s due diligence, it was he who felt that he would have to “keep a close eye” on ‘Uthman.
During the first years of ‘Uthman’s rule, ‘Abd al-Rahman was not in opposition to him. On the contrary, he tried to help ‘Uthman and facilitate what had to be facilitated; but then when the Muslim general public began to raise their voice against ‘Uthman, ‘Abd al-Rahman began to take their anxieties and affairs into somber consideration. This eventually resulted in ‘Abd al-Rahman defying ‘Uthman in political and “religious” matters which finally caused him to stay away from ‘Uthman. He stopped visiting him and did not talk to him.
‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf took issue with ‘Uthman when the latter prayed four raka‘at knowing that the Prophet (ﷺ) and Abu Bakr and ‘Umar would pray two raka‘at when traveling. ‘Abd al-Rahman also was against ‘Uthman’s “liberal” allocation of money to his relatives.
And whatever issue you may disagree on among yourselves, [know that] its adjudication is to be conceded to Allah… [al-Shura, 10].
Al-Muhajirun Were Not Carbon Copies Of Each Other
Abu Dharr
Sa‘d fell ill in al-Madinah and the Prophet (ﷺ) paid him a visit and expressed a du‘a for his wellbeing and health. In the days and years after the Prophet (ﷺ) passed away, Sa‘d was to be found in and valiantly engaged in the frontlines of the battle of al-Qadisiyah. He is known as the hero of al-Qadisiyah and the vanquisher of Kisra (philosopher and king Khosrow, of Persia).
Sa‘d was one of the six who were nominated by ‘Umar to assume the position of Islamic leadership. It was ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf who disqualified Sa‘d in the same manner that ‘Abd al-Rahman disqualified himself from the highest office in the ummah.
And like ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf, Sa‘d had multiple wives from diverse tribes; from the tribe of Quraish he was married to one wife belonging to his family background.
There is information circulating in some history books that Sa‘d favored Imam ‘Ali as the leader of the Muslims. Maybe? It is also reported that ‘Umar advised that whoever is going to become the khalifah after him should task Sa‘d with an administrative/governmental position. Thus, when ‘Uthman became the khalifah he appointed Sa‘d as the governor of al-Kufah – a position he retained for over a year. After that ‘Uthman relieved him of his duties and replaced him with al-Walid ibn ‘Uqbah.
From all that we know, Sa‘d was loyal to ‘Uthman. It cannot be stated with certainty how Sa‘d felt towards ‘Uthman when the latter relieved him of his duties as governor of al-Kufah. Was he upset or composed?
When opposition to ‘Uthman picked up momentum, Sa‘d did not appear in the vehement protests but that is not to say that he may have expressed loyal opposition to ‘Uthman. When the opposition turned fierce, ferocious Sa‘d appeared to have been not taking sides.
We cannot say that he contributed to the polarization of opinions during ‘Uthman’s last days in office as khilafah or thereafter. Later on he was asked: why don’t you get regimentally involved [in this Islamic civil strife?] He answered: Unless you present me with a sword that tells me this is a war between committed muslims and committed kafirs I will not fight.
In all the battles and wars prior to that, Sa‘d did not hesitate to sacrifice life and limb for the cause of Allah (الله سُبْحَانَهُۥ وَتَعَالَىٰ). When he felt that internal civil conflict is a “grey area” he excluded himself from military duty.
When Sa‘d died he did not leave behind a fortune compared to some other companions.
Next we dwell on al-Zubair ibn al-‘Awwam. He was a close relative of the Prophet (ﷺ). He was the son of Safiyyah bint ‘Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet’s paternal aunt. Al-Zubair’s paternal aunt was the Prophet’s wife Khadijah, the matron of the committed Muslims.
That made al-Zubair the cousin of Fatimah—the Prophet’s daughter. Al-Zubair was also related to Abu Bakr as he married Abu Bakr’s daughter Asma’ (Dhat al-Nitaqain). This put al-Zubair at a cozy and comfortable relationship with the Prophet (ﷺ) as he was his brother-in-law.
Al-Zubair and the Prophet (ﷺ) married the daughters of Abu Bakr. The former married Asma’ while the Prophet was married to ‘A’ishah, Asma’s sister.
Since his childhood, al-Zubair was known to be strong, determined and courageous. He was also one of the early pioneering Muslims in Makkkah. He participated in the battle of Badr and all other battles and wars that the Prophet (ﷺ) attended. He was also one of two mounted soldiers at the battle of Badr.
After the Prophet (ﷺ) passed on, al-Zubair stayed in al-Madinah during the reign of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. He did not leave except with permission from ‘Umar or to go to Hajj. ‘Umar appointed him to the six-member council that was tasked with working out who the new leader of the ummah will be.
He did not show any obvious inclination towards the two main competitors ‘Uthman and Imam ‘Ali. Al-Zubair seemed to have had confidence in ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf and his reasoning and good sense. After ‘Uthman became the khalifah he showed some affection or leaning towards al-Zubair.
In his Tabaqat, the Seerah biographer Ibn Sa‘d says that ‘Uthman gave al-Zubair 600,000 [dinars or dirhams?]. As a result, al-Zubair began to seek out the best ventures or investments for which he was told it was property acquisition. So he purchased land in ‘Iraq and he purchased land in Egypt. Ibn Sa‘d also mentions that al-Zubair was averse to having people entrust him with their wealth.
With time, al-Zubair’s wealth ballooned into a fortune so much so that his name was worked into short well-known traditional sayings about wealth accumulation. His moneymaking and business related activities subjected him to the ebbs and flows of successful and unsuccessful undertakings. At one time he had accumulated considerable debt due to which he instructed his son at the time of the battle of al-Jamal to pay off his substantial debt. Al-Zubair’s son paid off his father’s debt which is reported to have been 2.5 million dirhams.
This writer is aware that some of the information about the affluent companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) does not circulate and the reason for that may be to try to avoid the impression that wealth is corruptive and thus the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) became dishonest or demoralized.
This fear of objective information coupled with a reactionary “flight of fancy” produces the sectarianism that we have been suffering from for a long time. Let us take control of our nerves and discipline ourselves to live with the actualities of our history…
There is enough information that tells us that al-Zubair’s wealth—after his debt was paid off and the rest inherited by his heirs—was between 35 million dirhams on the lower end and 52 million on the higher end… An in-between figure of 40 million dirhams is also mentioned.
This should come as no surprise if we realize that al-Zubair had extensive dealings in Egypt (Alexandria) and ‘Iraq (al-Basrah) as well as al-Kufah, in addition to eleven domiciles in al-Madinah, add to that the agricultural and other investment profits.
Knowing that, we can understand why al-Zubair initially was not one to express opposition to ‘Uthman’s “free market” policies. When ‘Uthman was under siege in his own house it was ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubair who was in charge of ‘Uthman’s residence security. ‘Uthman entrusted ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubair to pass on his will and testament specifying how ‘Uthman’s assets (estate) are to be distributed after death.
Be that is it was, al-Zubair remained peacefully disapproving of some of ‘Uthman’s administrative and political decisions along with other members of the Muhajireen and Ansar. We may sum it up by saying that al-Zubair was a “back seat” critic of not many of the decisions that were made in the office of the khalifah.
‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, and al-Zubair ibn al-‘Awwam are in spite of everything included in the ayah:
Certainly, they who are securely committed to Allah, and who have forsaken the state-of-affairs of evil [in Makkah] and are striving hard in Allah’s cause – these are the ones who may look forward to Allah’s grace; for Allah is much-forgiving, tremendously merciful [Surat al-Baqarah, verse 218].
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