Uthman's Letter to the Pilgrims

Uthman and the Hajj

Uthman remained the Caliph for twelve years. During these twelve years, Uthman presided at the Hajj ceremonies personally for ten years. He could not perform the pilgrimage during the first year of his caliphate, as he was suffering from the oozing of blood from the nose. That year Abdur Rahman b Auf led the Muslims in Hajj on behalf of Uthman. Uthman could not perform the pilgrimage during the last year of his life, as he was besieged in his house by the rebels. On that occasion, Uthman appointed Abdullah b Abbas as the "Amir-ul-Hajj".

Uthman's letter to the pilgrims

Uthman addressed a letter to the pilgrims assembled at Makkah. This letter was entrusted to Abdullah b Abbas and he was required to read the letter at the gathering of the pilgrims at Makkah. This letter is contained in Zia Misri's book Uthman b Affan; and Taha Hussain s book Uthman. The letter reads:

"In the name of God, the most merciful, the most beneficent. From Amirul Mominin Uthman to all Muslims. Salutations.

After offering praise and glory to God, I wish you to turn to God Who had favored you, and chose Islam for you as your religion. Instead of waywardness, He gave you guidance. He released you from the bondage of Kufr. He armed you with guidance. He enlarged your sustenance. He made you victorious against your enemies. He showered His favors on you.

Allah says, "If you take the favors of God into account, you will find them too numerous to be counted. But man is rebellious and ungrateful by nature."

O believers have the fear of God in your hearts. Pray that when you die you die in Islam. Be united and hold fast to the cord of God";

Allah also says, "O believers, recall the favors of God. Keep in mind the covenant that you have made with Him of you obedience and faithfulness.,'

Allah says, "O ye believers, if any miscreant beings to you a news, fully verify it before accepting it as the truth."

Allah says that those who purchase this world are the losers and they will have nothing to their credit in the hereafter.

Fear Allah, and do not violate the pledges that you have taken.

Allah has enjoined you to obey Him, obey His Prophet and obey those in authority among you.

Those who believe and do good deeds, God has promised them the inheritance of the earth. Those who rebel against authority incur the wrath of God.

Allah said, "They who pledge allegiance to you pledge allegiance to Me. On them is My Hand."

In the light of these verses from the Holy Quran bear in mind that Allah is pleased with those who obey authority and who stand for unity and solidarity. Allah has condemned dissension and discord. He has brought home this point to us by narrating the stories of previous communities. Therefore act according to the injunctions of God, and be afraid of His punishment. If you ponder over history, it will be revealed to you that the previous communities were destroyed because they became victims of dissension. For the good of a people, there is no way other than this that they should have a head, in whose obedience they should be united. If you follow the way of discord and dissension, your community would disintegrate, and the enemy would come to dominate over you.

If all this comes to pass, then the religion of God would receive a set back, and the community would disintegrate into a number of sects. Allah told the Holy Prophet, "Have no concern with the people who have broken their unity and disintegrated into sects. Leave them to God. God will take them to task for their misdeeds "

I offer you the same advice as God has offered. I ask you to fear his punishment. Shuaib had told his people, "O people beware lest my opposition leads you to the same end as befell the communities of Noah, Hud, or Salih." Since some time past, some people from amongst us have tried to present themselves as the apostles of truth, who are not interested in the affairs of the world, and who have no axe to grind. But when they were presented with reality, some of them accepted the truth, but some o them disputed the truth. Some of them stood for falsehood, but they posed as if the truth lay with them. Such persons feel upset at my longevity. They covet power. They long for an immediate revolution. Such persons have written to you that they are waging the struggle against me to get their rights. I do not know of which rights I have divested them, which they now demand from me. They demanded that no one should be above the law. I told them that I fully agreed with them. I asked them to bring all cases to my notice and I assured them that the law would be enforced against all, high or low without any distinction. But they could bring no case to my notice where any person had defied the law and proper action had not been taken against him. They said that the injunctions of the Quran should be followed. I said that I wholeheartedly agreed with the demand but would not permit any innovation or deviation. The people demanded that the poor should get bread, the laborer should get his wages. I said that I was at one with them, and it is open to them to make their suggestions in the matter. They demanded that, in the matter of Sadaqa and Khums the right of early one should be protected. I said that I agreed with the demand and they were welcome to make their suggestions in that behalf. I saw the wives of the Holy Prophet, and agreed to act according to their advice. I have accepted all legitimate demands, but in spite of that I am being oppressed and harassed. I have been prevented from leading the prayers in the Prophet's mosque. The rioters have established their full control over Madina.

The rioters have put three alternatives before me. They demand Qasaas from me for all grievances that any person may have suffered because of any verdict passed by me as Caliph. Their other alternative is that I should abdicate so that they might choose another Caliph. The third alternative is that they should assemble the people who support them, and then repudiate the allegiance to my caliphate.

All these demands are preposterous. There have been rulers and Caliphs in history who had been vested with the authority to pass judgments. The judgments might be right or worn", but no body has the right to sit over such judgment and demand compensation. Such a demand is against all principles of jurisprudence. As regards the demand for abdication I hold myself responsible to God, and I cannot abandon my post at the behest of any one. The third alternative is ridiculous. No ruler in his senses would provide facilities to the rioters to rebel against him.

These people are apparently after my life, and their sole object appears to be to murder me. I have advised my supporters not to use any force. I do not want that the Muslim community should fall a victim to civil war. I will watch developments with due patience, and would await the decision of God. If I have to give my life in the way of Allah I would have no hesitation in making the sacrifice. I know that as Caliph I have done nothing wrong. Nevertheless I seek the forgiveness of Allah. May Allah forgive us all. May Allah have mercy on the Muslims.

Analysis of the letter

If this somewhat lengthy letter is studied analytically it will be seen that Uthman did not appeal to the Muslims to come to his aid. There is nothing in the letter to incite the Muslims to violence against the rioter. Uthman merely apprised the people of the situation. He was averse to civil war, and did not want any blood to be shed. He resigned himself to the will of God, and prepared himself to meet eventualities with a smiling face. It appears that the object of the letter was merely to exhort the Muslims to do their duty to Islam. The Muslims were required to fear God, to hold fast to the cord of Allah, to maintain unity in their ranks, to take lesson from history, to obey Allah, His Messenger and those in authority, and to suppress evils, discord and dissension. It appears that Uthman was concerned more with the welfare of the Islamic community than with his personal safety. The letter was read by Abdullah b Abbas at the time of the pilgrimage. It is not known what was the reaction of the people to the letter. It seems that as no attempt was made to rally any support for Uthman, the people dispersed after hearing the letter. By the time Abbas returned from the pilgrimage to Madina, all was over, and Uthman was dead.

Help from the Provinces

In his book Uthman, Taha Hussain has raised the issue why no help came from the provinces in time, when Uthman had made a formal appeal for help. Taha Hussain is inclined to the view that the people were tired of the long rule of Uthman, and they wanted a change. Taha Hussain has dropped hints that even Governors like Muawiyah who were devoted to Uthman deliberately delayed such help for political considerations.

Uthman's appeal for help

The letter which Uthman is reported to have sent to the provincial Governors for help, is to the following effect:

"All praise and glory is for Allah and His Prophet who showed us the right path. We were fortunate to be favored with Islam. Islam welded us into a single community. Islam gave us the message of unity. The Holy Prophet passed away after fulfilling his mission. After him his mission was carried by Abu Bakr and then by Umar. After Umar I was chosen as the Caliph. I never coveted the office, but when the people took the oath of allegiance to me, I felt myself under an obligation to administer the affairs of the State to the best of my ability. I performed the duties of my office conscientiously and during the earlier part of my rule, the people were satisfied. I allowed the people greater freedom, and more privileges. That was done in the best interests of the people. During my caliphate the people have become more prosperous. Instead of being grateful to me for my services to the cause of Islam, some people for some unknown reason have resorted to false propaganda and poisoned the atmosphere. I have made every possible effort to redress the legitimate grievances of the people. It is unfortunate that the malcontents do not come forward with any specific grievance. They make one demand today and make a contrary demand the following day without advancing any reason or argument. I have dealt with these people with due patience and forbearance, but their aim appears to be to subvert Islam by promoting disunity. I warn the Muslims in general against the activities of these persons who wish to weaken Islam as a social and political force. In this crisis in the affairs of the Muslims I seek the cooperation of all who are devoted to Islam. He who can side with us may do so."

Analytic study of the letter

If this letter is studied analytically, it will be seen that the letter is coached in general terms. There is nothing therein calling upon the supporters of Government to muster in strength and come to Madina for relief. In the accounts that have come down to us it appears that the Governors of Syria and Basra sent some relief forces, but that when they were a few stages from Madina they came to know that Uthman had been assassinated, and on coming to know of this tragedy they returned to their provinces. If these forces had come to fight for Uthman, there is no reason why they should have returned on coming to know of the tragedy. On the other hand such tragedy should have spurred them to violent action against the rioters. Apparently they had come in aid of maintaining law and order. When the Caliph had been killed it implied that thc law and order situation had become grave. In such context the responsibility of these forces was to rush to Madina to preserve law and order, and take the law breakers to task. The ttruth of the matter is that no force came from any of the provinces because Uthman wanted to avoid a civil war. It may be recalled that when Muawiyah had offered to send a contingent from Syria to act as a guard, Uthman had not accepted the offer, because he did not want any blood to be shed in the city of the Holy Prophet. It may also be recalled that when the slaves of Uthman volunteered to take up arms he restrained them from such action, and said, "He who does not take up arms is free". When Imam Hasan and some other persons sought the permission of Uthman to fight against the rebels, Uthman did not permit them to do so and asked them to retire to their houses. In this crisis, Uthman set the noble example of resignation to the will of God. He preferred to sacrifice his own life, rather than lead the people to civil war. The story that the provincial forces came late and returned when they came to know of the assassination of Uthman appears to have been invented by the party opposed to Uthman to create the impression that Uthman had become unpopular even in provinces where his relatives were the Governors. The memory of Uthman deserves to be cherished as a great soul who sacrificed his life in vindication of the principles for which he stood. May God have mercy on the soul of Uthman.