Chapter XXIX: Election of Othman

DZUL HIJJ, A.H. XXIII.--MOHARRAM, A.H. XXIX.
NOVEMBER, A.D. 644.

[Sidenote: The Electors.]

What arrangement Omar might have made for a successor, had his end come less suddenly upon him, it is perhaps unnecessary to inquire. But some more definite choice he would, in all probability, have signified. We know that the perils of disunion hung heavily on his mind. The unbridled arrogance of the numerous powerful tribes settled in Kûfa and Bussorah, flushed with the glory and the spoils of war, was already felt a danger; while family rivalries amongst the Coreish themselves were beginning to weaken their hold over the people which had hitherto been absolute. So much is plain, that (Abd al Rahmân perhaps excepted) Omar saw none amongst them endowed with sufficient power and influence, after his death, to hold the reins of government. There was none, at least, so prominent as to take the acknowledged lead. Again, the mode of nomination or election proper to Islam, was as yet all uncertain. Abu Bekr had on his death-bed named Omar his successor; but the higher precedent of Mahomet, who appointed no one to take his place, but simply named Abu Bekr, when he fell sick, to lead the prayers, was doubtful. Had Abu Obeida been yet alive, Omar declared that he would have chosen him; and the succession now offered to Abd al Rahmân was (as we have seen) declined. Weak and faint from the assassin’s dagger, the emergency came upon the dying Caliph altogether unprepared to meet it. So, relieving himself of the responsibility, he fell upon the expedient of nominating the six chiefest Companions, on one or other of whom he knew that the choice must needs fall, to be the Electors of a successor from amongst themselves. These were Abd al Rahmân, Othmân, Aly, Sád, Zobeir, and Talha. A seventh was added in the person of his son Abdallah, who, himself excluded from election,[432] was (in case the conclave were divided) to have the casting vote; and this his father desired him to give on whichever side Abd al Rahmân might be. Talha was absent, and did not return until the election had been made.

[Sidenote: Character of the Electors.]

Omar hoped, no doubt, that the Successor thus chosen would be strong in the support of his Electors. But he had not calculated on the frailty of human nature; and selfish ends proved more powerful than loyalty to Islam. Abd al Rahmân was the only real patriot amongst them. Talha, Zobeir, and Sád, not yet beyond the age of fifty, had none of them any special reason to aspire to the Caliphate. They were all warriors of renown. Zobeir was closely related to the Prophet. Sád was the nephew of Mahomet’s mother; but his recall from Kûfa (although Omar had declared it to involve no discredit) could not but in some measure tarnish the fame of the conqueror of Medâin. Aly, a few years younger, had by far the strongest claims of kinship (whatever these might be); for he was at once the son of Mahomet’s uncle, the widowed husband of Fâtima, and the father of the Prophet’s only surviving grandsons. He had hitherto, from his inactive temperament, remained passive at the Caliph’s court; but, possessed of a quick and high intelligence, he had ever held a distinguished place in the counsels of Omar. The time was now come, when, in the absence of any leading competitor, his claims could no longer fail to be recognised by those around him; or, without want of spirit, to be asserted by himself. Othmân was the only real rival. His years carried weight, for he was now close on seventy. Handsome and attractive in person and carriage, he gained the hand of Rockeya, the Prophet’s daughter. She died while the battle of Bedr was being fought. Shortly after, he married her sister Omm Kolthûm; and when she, too, died, Mahomet used to say he loved Othmân so dearly that, if another daughter had remained, he would have given her also to him. But with all this, his character had vital defects. Of a close and selfish disposition, his will was soft and yielding. And of all the competitors, Othmân probably had the least capacity for dominating the unruly elements of the Moslem empire.

[Sidenote: Electors’ conclave. Three days’ fruitless discussion.]

The Electors, when appointed by Omar, retired at once to an adjoining chamber, and forthwith fell into such loud and hot discussion, that Abdallah exclaimed, ‘Good heavens! all this tumult, and my father still alive!’ Omar, overhearing it, desired that they should wait till his decease, and then again assemble. So after his death and burial, Micdâd, a veteran citizen appointed by the deceased Caliph to the duty, gathered the Electors in the treasury chamber attached to Ayesha’s house, Abu Talha keeping watch at the door with a guard of fifty men.[433] Omar’s order was that the choice should not be delayed beyond the third day, so that his successor might be declared by the fourth at latest; and he signified the urgency of the business in the empire’s interest, by saying that if the minority then resisted, they should be beheaded on the spot. When the Electors came together, each pressed hotly the claim of his own party, and two days were wasted in unprofitable wrangling. Abd al Rahmân spent his nights in visiting the leading citizens, and the governors and chief men from the provinces (who, having come for the yearly pilgrimage, had not yet departed to their several posts) and in sounding their views. On the third day, Abu Talha warned the Electors that he would allow no further delay, and that the decision must be come to by the following morning. To bring the matter, therefore, to an issue, Abd al Rahmân offered to forego his own claim to the Caliphate, if only the rest would abide by his decision. They all agreed but Aly, who at first was silent. At last Aly said: ‘First give me thy word that thou wilt not regard kith nor kin, but the right alone and the people’s weal.’ ‘And I,’ rejoined Abd al Rahmân, ‘ask thee first to give me thy troth that thou wilt abide by my choice, and against all dissentients wilt support the same.’ Aly assented, and thus the matter rested in the hands of Abd al Rahmân.

[Sidenote: Abd al Rahmân acts as Umpire.]

That night Abd al Rahmân did not close his eyes. The contest was narrowed between the houses of Hâshim and Omeyya, in the persons of Aly and Othmân, and their influence with the electoral body was fairly equal.[434] Abd al Rahmân was closeted with each of the Electors alone in turn. Zobeir was in favour of Aly; how Sád voted is not certain. With Aly and Othmân, separately, Abd al Rahmân was long in secret conference. Each pressed his own claim; but each also admitted the claim of the other to be the next in weight to his own. The morning broke upon them thus engaged; and now the nomination must be made.

[Sidenote: Othmân elected Caliph.]

The Great Mosque overflowed with expectant worshippers, who crowded in unusual number to the morning service. Abd al Rahmân addressed them thus:--‘The people think that the governors, chiefs, and captains should, without further waiting, return to their respective posts. Wherefore advise me now in this matter.’ Ammâr, the late governor of Kûfa, said: ‘If it be thy desire that there be no division in the land, then salute Aly, Caliph!’ and Micdâd affirmed the same. ‘Nay,’ cried Abu Sarh, ‘if it be thy desire that there be no division, then salute Othmân!’ and Abu Rabia affirmed the same. Ammâr turned contemptuously on Abu Sarh; who, repaying scorn with scorn, said: ‘And pray, Ammâr, how long hast thou been counsellor to the Moslems? Let the Beni Hâshim and Omeyya speak for themselves.’ But Ammâr would not be silent, and, continuing to press the claims of Aly, asked why the government should pass away from the Prophet’s line. Whereupon one of the Beni Makhzûm (a Coreishite tribe) cried angrily: ‘Thou passest beyond thy bounds, O son of Sommeyya; who art thou, thus to counsel the Coreish?’[435] Sád, seeing that the strife was waxing warm, said to Abd al Rahmân: ‘Finish thy work at once, or the flames of discord will burst forth.’ ‘Silence, ye people!’ cried Abd al Rahmân--‘Be quiet, or ye will bring evil upon yourselves. The determination of this matter resteth with me.’ So saying, he called Aly to the front, and thus addressed him: ‘Dost thou bind thyself by the covenant of the Lord, to do all according to the Book of the Lord, the example of the Prophet, and the precedent of his Successors?’ ‘I hope,’ responded Aly, ‘that I should do so; I will act according to the best of my knowledge and ability.’ Then he put the same question to Othmân, who answered unconditionally,--‘Yea, I will.’ Whereupon, either dissatisfied with Aly’s hesitating answer, or having already decided in his mind against him, Abd al Rahmân raised his face toward heaven, and taking Othmân by the hand, prayed thus aloud:--‘O Lord, do thou hearken now and bear me witness. Verily the burden that is around my neck, the same I place around the neck of Othmân.’ So saying, he saluted him as Caliph, and all the people followed his example.

[Sidenote: Othmân’s inaugural address, 3d Moharram, A.H. XXIV. Nov. 7, A.D. 644.]

It was the first day of the new year, the twenty-fourth of the Hegira. After receiving the homage of the people, a process in which two or three days were occupied, Othmân ascended the pulpit, and made a brief and modest speech.[436] ‘The first attempt,’ he said, ‘was always difficult, for he was unused to speak in public. It would be his duty in the future to address them, and the Lord would teach him.’

[Sidenote: Aly swears allegiance.]

Though Aly, like the rest, took the oath of allegiance to Othmân, yet his party were much displeased, and he himself upbraided Abd al Rahmân bitterly with the desire to keep the supreme power out of the Prophet’s house and brotherhood. ‘Beware,’ said Abd al Rahmân, with a prophetic warning: ‘take heed lest, thus speaking, thou makest not a way against thyself, whereof thou shalt repent hereafter.’ And so Aly passed out with the words of Joseph on his lips; ‘Surely patience becometh me. The Lord is my helper against that which ye devise.’[437] Shortly after, Talha returned to Medîna. Othmân acquainted him with what had happened. As his vote would have ruled the majority, Othmân declared that if he dissented, he was prepared even then to resign the Caliphate. But on learning that all the people had agreed, Talha also swore allegiance.

[Sidenote: The choice unfortunate for Islam; but made in good faith.]

The choice of Abd al Rahmân laid the seeds of disaster for Islam at large, and for the Caliphate in particular. It led to dissensions which for years bathed the Moslem world in blood, threatened the very existence of the faith, and to this day divide believers in a hopeless and embittered schism. But Abd al Rahmân could hardly have anticipated the wanton, weak, and wavering policy of Othmân which slowly but surely brought such results about. There is no reason to think that, in discharging his functions as Umpire, he acted otherwise than loyally and for the best.[438]

An embarrassing incident followed immediately on the accession of Othmân. [Sidenote: Murder of Hormuzân, and affair of Omar’s son.]Some one told Obeidallah, son of the deceased Caliph, that Abu Lulû had been seen some days before in private converse with Hormuzân the Persian prince, and with a Christian slave belonging to Sád; and that when surprised the three separated, dropping a poniard such as that with which the assassin had wounded Omar. Rashly assuming a conspiracy, the infuriated son rushed with drawn sword to avenge his father’s death, and slew both the prince and the slave. Sád, incensed at the loss of his slave, seized Obeidallah, still reeking with his victims’ blood, and carried him, as the murderer of a believer (for Hormuzân had professed the Moslem faith) before the Caliph.

A council was called. There was not a tittle of evidence, or presumption even, against the prince. Aly delivered his opinion that, according to the law of God, Obeidallah must be put to death, as having slain a believer without due cause. Others were shocked at the proposal:--‘But yesterday,’ they said, ‘the Commander of the Faithful was slain, and to-day thou wilt put his son to death!’ Moved by the appeal, Othmân assumed the responsibility of naming a money compensation in lieu of blood, and this he paid himself. Some feeling was excited, and people said that the Caliph was already departing from the strict letter of the law. Ziâd ibn Lebîd, a poet of Medîna, satirised both the murderer and the Caliph who had let him off, in stinging verse. But he was silenced; the matter dropped, and there is no reason to think that in the end Othmân’s action was generally disapproved.[439]

[Sidenote: Othmân increases stipends.]

One of the first acts by which Othmân signalised his accession was to increase the stipends of the chief men all round, by the addition to each of one hundred dirhems. The act, no doubt, was popular, but it gave promise of extravagance in the new administration.