Talha bin Ubaidullah

Early life

Talha b Ubaidullah belonged to the Taym section of the Quraish. He was closely related to Abu Bakr. He became a Muslim at the young age of fifteen, and was among the early Muslim converts. He migrated to Madina in 622 C.E., along with the family of Abu Bakr.

He played an important part in the battle of Uhud. He received numerous wounds in his effort to save the Holy Prophet. He pulled the Holy Prophet from the ditch in which he had fallen. He was also very active in the battle of the Trench. He was one of the persons to whom Holy Prophet had given the tidings of paradise. He was one of the six members of the board which had been constituted by Umar to choose his successor.

Uthman and Talha

At the time of the death of Umar, Talha was out of Madina. When he returned to Madina, the oath of allegiance had been taken to Uthman. Talha felt annoyed that the new Caliph had been elected in his absence. He showed some hesitation in offering allegiance to Uthman, but Uthman placated him and he offered allegiance to Uthman. It is reported that Talha owed some money to Uthman, and Uthman gifted the money to him. According to some of the accounts that have come down to us, it appears that on another occasion Uthman made a liberal gift to Talha out of the Baitul Mall.

Full details of such gift are not available. Talha was a rich trader, and there could be no occasion for making a gift to him from the Baitul Mall Most probably the story of a gift to Talha out of the Baitul Mal is a fiction which has no foundation in fact. Talha may have obtained some loan from the Baitul Mal for business purposes and would have returned it.

Siege of Uthman and Talha

It appears that later some differences arose between Uthman and Talha. and Talha supported the rioters. It is reported that one day during the course of the siege, Uthman called out to the rioters and said, "Is Talha among you." Talha was present among the rioters but he did not respond to the call. When Uthman repeated the call for the third time, Talha responded to the call. Thereupon Othrnan said, "I did not expect that you would be among the rioters, and would not respond to my call." Uthman then asked Talha to recall that once when they were alone with the Holy Prophet, the Holy Prophet had said, "Uthman will be my companion in the paradise." Talha corroborated that what Uthman had said was correct. Thereupon he left the company of the rioters and went home.

Battle of the Camel

When after the assassination of Uthman, Ali became the Caliph Talha and Zubair took the allegiance to Ali, but soon they repudiated such allegiance and supported the demand for vengeance for the blood of Uthman. Talha, Zubair, and Ayesha occupied Basra and the battle of the Camel was fought between the supporters of Ali, and the supporters of Talha, Zubair, and Ayesha outside Basra. In this battle, Ali won and the cause of Talha and Zubair was lost. Talha escaped from the battlefield, but fell a victim to an arrow shot by Marwan b Hakam. If is reported on the authority of Alqama b Waqas that in Basra, Talha said that he was guilty of a lapse in the matter of his conduct towards Uthman, and he wanted to atone for such lapse by supporting the demand for the vengeance for the blood of Uthman.

Taha Hussain's view

From the accounts that have come down to us, the conduct of Talha appears to be inexplicable. Uthman made some gifts to Talha and Talha supported Uthman. Later Talha joined the rioters, and opposed Uthman. Taha Hussain has expressed the view that as long as Uthman met the demands of Talha, Talha supported him but when Uthman did not or could not meet the demands of Talha, Talha joined the opposition. Talha was an eminent companion of the Holy Prophet, whom the Holy Prophet had given the tidings of paradise. He was one of the six persons whom Umar regarded as his probable successors. We cannot therefore conceive that such an eminent person could be unscrupulous enough to change sides on account of personal motives. It is also inconceivable that such eminent persons like Talha and Zubair should first offer allegiance to Ali and then repudiate it and-resort to war. It appears that all the details relevant to the matter at issue are not available with us, and in the absence of such details it is difficult for us to pass any judgement about the conduct of Talha.