Fathwa, - Menstruation Started Before She Prayed…

Question:
If a sister is expecting her period anytime... she is doing housework,
or helpingaround the house and time for Salah enters, but she is still
occupied in doing something as useless as watching TV or doing
something important as housework/helping parents etc. so she keeps the
niyah about making her salah before it is Qadah, but eventually when
she goes to make her salahshe finds that she has gotten her period.
Henceforth she cannot make that salah anymore...is this a sin upon
her?...because she could have done it but yet she was occupied... and
she did make the niyah to make the salah before it became Qadah... if
this is a sin depending on what she was doing please explain that as
well
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum
There is no sin upon this lady and she is not expected to make the
prayer up. This is because in menstruation we look to the end of
theprayer time. If she menstruated any time before the end of a
particular prayer time, even if only moments before the beginning of
the next prayer time, then she is not responsible for offering that
particular prayer. It would be just as if she was menstruating for
that entire prayer time. (Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, 1:292, 'Ilmiyya)
This is a great mercy from Allah Most High otherwise ladies in such
situations would have to hasten to pray as soon asa prayer time enters
which could clearly be awkward. Conversely thissame principle applies
when a lady's menstruation draws to a close. If the bleeding stops
before the end of aprayer time then one is responsible for offering
that prayer as long as it leaves one with enough time to perform the
ritual bath and to start the obligatory prayer. This means that one
mustbe careful to check before the end of a prayer time for the
cessation of bleeding if one is expecting the bleeding to end so that
one may hasten to pray before the end of a prayer time.
And Allah knows best.

The caliphate of ‘Uthmaan -II

The Conquest of Africa, 26 AH
'Abdullaah bin Sa'dsought permission from 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaanto
invadeAfrica. Africa was then considered a country that included the
area stretching betweenTripoliand Tangiers. Moreover, Africa was then
considered a conglomeration of the countries which make up the
northern partof the African continent --Tripoli,Algiers,Tunis,
andMorocco. 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaanallowedhim to do what he wanted. He
marched towards his destination at the head of an army of 10,000 men.
First, he subdued the chiefs of Barqah and they agreed to pay Jizyah.
The Muslim commander then advanced towardsTripolicapturing the
territories falling on the way. At this stage the Caliph dispatched
fresh reinforcements from Al-Madeenah to help 'Abdullaah's army.
When the detachment reached Barqah viaEgypt, 'Abdullaah bin Sa'd
welcomed it and they jointly proceeded towardsTripoli. The Romans
tried to put up resistance but were repulsed. After the fall
ofTripoli, the Muslim troops marched ahead. Gregory, the King of
Africa was the vassal of Caesar. When he came to know of the march of
the Muslim army, he mobilized one 120,000 men and came face to face
with the Muslim forces. 'Abdullaah bin Sa'd first invited Gregory to
accept Islam. When Gregory flatly refused, he asked him to pay the
Jizyah )head-tax imposed by Islam on the people of the Book(. When he
rejected that also, the Muslim army drew up ranks and a fierce battle
brokeout, which remained indecisive. Fresh Muslim reinforcements
joined the battle and the Muslim army called out Allaahu Akbar)Allaah
is the Greatest(.
When Gregory inquired about thecries raised by the Muslims, he was
told that a fresh detachmenthad arrived and joined the Muslim forces.
Both the armies fought enthusiastically but the battle remained
inconclusive. When night set in, consultations were held for adopting
a new strategy. 'Abdullaah bin Zubayrsuggested that half of the troops
should go to the battlefield and the rest remain inside the camp. When
the two armies, exhausted by the daylongfighting were to leave the
battlefield for camp, the fresh half of the Muslim army should attack
the retreating Romans. The counsel received general acceptance. This
strategy was putto practice on the third day of thebattle. When the
two armies separated in the afternoon, 'Abdullaah bin Zubayrrushed out
from the camp with the freshdetachment and charged the Romans. They
could not withstand the attack and fled to their camp, but could not
save themselves because the Muslim force surrounded the camp and the
Romans were either killed or captured. Gregory also fought against the
Muslims and was put to the sword by 'Abdullaah bin Zubayr.
The next day, the Muslim army moved ahead and reached Sabitalah, the
headquarters of)northern(Africawhich was also conquered in a couple of
days, and an immense amount of spoils fell into the hands of the
Muslims. The Muslims marched further and laid siege around the fort of
Jam, which was very strong and fortified. However, they could not
stand the Muslim onslaught and yielded on the condition of paying one
million as Jizyah. 'Abdullaah bin Zubayr set out to Al-Madeenah with
the glad tidings of the African conquest and one-fifth of the spoils.
'Abdullaah bin Sa'dreturned toEgyptfromAfricaafter an absence of one
year and three months.
Conquest ofCyprusandRhodes
'Abdullaah bin Sa'dcame back toEgyptfrom the other parts of
northernAfrica.Constantineagain rose to make military preparations for
a fresh battle. In 28 AH, he dispatched a part of his navy
towardsAfrica, which reached the African coast and demanded tribute
for Caesar.But the Africans flatly refused, because Caesar had lent no
help when they were under the Muslim attack and so they no longer held
him as their ruler. This refusal led to fighting between the Africans
and the Roman army, which resulted in the defeat of Africans. The
Romans then advanced towardsAlexandria. 'Abdullaah bin Naafi' was
ready to fight them. In the meantime Caesar himself set off to
conquerAlexandriaat the headof a fleet of 600 boats. The Roman forces
proceeded toAlexandriafrom both sides. A fierce fight took place,
which ended with the destruction of the Romans. They escaped toCyprus,
which they used as their naval headquarters and an arsenal for their
weapons.
During the last days of 'Umar's Caliphate, Mu'aawiyahhad sought
permission to invadeCyprusfrom the Syrian coast. However, 'Umarhad
hesitated in giving permission forsuch a campaign and the matter
remained undecided until he passed away. 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaanpermitted
the naval attack on condition that nobody was forced to take part in
the adventure. Inspired by the effortsof Mu'aawiyah, a party agreed to
invadeCyprus. The party includedAbu Tharr Al-Ghifaari, Abud-Dardaa',
Shaddaad bin 'Aws, 'Ubaadah bin As-Saamit andhis wife Umm Haraam bint
Milhan. 'Abdullaah bin Qayswas made the commander of the detachment,
which left forCyprusby boat. WhenConstantineescaped fromAlexandria, he
had taken refuge inCyprus. An Islamic naval force chased him byboats
fromEgyptand reachedCyprus. And this, a fresh naval detachment
fromSyriaalso descended on the coast ofCyprus.Constantinecould not
withstandthe attack and fled toConstantinoplewith great difficulty,
and finally succumbed to death.
However, according to other sources, frustrated by his successive
defeats, some people killed him in his bathroom. ThusCypruseasily fell
to the Muslims. Mu'aawiyahalso arrived inCypruswith a detachment.
After finishing his job inCyprushe sailed toRhodes. The conquests
ofCyprusand Rhodes opened the door for Muslim campaigns
againstConstantinopleand other countries of the region. These events
took place at the end of 28AH or at the beginning of 29 AH.
Circulation of the Quran
When Huthayfah bin Al-Yamaanreached Al-Madeenah on route to Basrah,
Koofah, Rey andSyria, he expressed amazement over the fact that the
people ofIraq,Syria, Basrah and Koofah, andPersiahad their own way of
reciting the Noble Quran which was quite different from each other. He
thought it would be better if one and all were brought to the same way
of recitation. 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan convened a meeting of the
distinguished Companions and placed the suggestion for their
deliberations and decisions. All ofthem endorsed the opinion of
Huthayfah. Then, 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaanhad them bring the copy of the
Quran that was with Hafsahwhich was compiled by Zayd bin Thaabit
andother Companions during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr As-Siddeeqand
which had been kept with 'Umar and then with his daughter Hafsahafter
'Umar's death. The Caliph deputed a number of qualified people to
prepare a number of copies. He then sent a copy of theQuran to each
city with the order that the Quran be copied accordingly and all the
old copies be set on fire. When the fresh copy reached Koofah, the
Companions expressed their joy over it, but 'Abdullaah bin
Mas'oodremained firm on hisown recitation.
Yezdgird killed
ThePersian Empirewas destroyedduring the Caliphate of 'Umar. The rest
of the cities and frontier provinces were conquered during the
Caliphate of 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan. Nevertheless, Yezdgird, the Emperor
of Persia was still running from place to place for safety. Sometimes
he was in Rey and sometimes inBalkh, Marw,Isfahan, Istakhar, Turkistan
andChinaand back again toPersia. A party of several thousand
soldiersremained with him through thickand thin in the hope that one
daytheir past glory and grandeur might be restored. This was the
reason why the Persian provinces, districts and cities would so often
rise against the Muslim rule even though they were instantly put down
by the Muslim forces. In 31 AH, Yezdgird reached the suburbs ofBalkhat
the head of a party fromChinaandTurkistanand captured somecities for a
short period. His misfortunes compelled him to flee and take refuge at
the dwelling of a windmill owner. He was in deep sleep when the owner
of the house, out of greed for his costly garments, killed him and
threw his dead body into water after stripping him of his clothes,
ornaments and weapons. This event took place insuburb of Marw onAugust
23, 651CE. Yezdgird passed four yearsof his life in luxury, sixteen
years in affliction and vagrancy and the last ten years out of
sixteen, he passed as a fugitive. The Persian troubles came to an end
after Yezdgird was killed.

The caliphate of 'Uthmaan -III

Abdullaah bin Saba
'Abdullaah bin Saba`, known as Ibn Sauda' was a Jew from
San'aa)Yemen(. He announced his acceptance of Islam during the
Caliphate of 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaanwith the intention of taking
advantage of the progress and prosperity of the Muslims. He settled in
Al-Madeenah to go deep into the internal affairs and weaknesses of the
Muslims to take advantage thereof. He set out from Al-Madeenah,
reached Basrah and stayed with Haakim bin Jabalah, a man from Basrah
who used to commit highway robbery with a band of criminals. There he
established close and cordial relations with Haakim bin Jabalah and
his friends. Afterwards, he set himself to creating doubts and
mischievous thoughts in the minds of the people around him, after
cleverly presenting himself as a well-wisher of Muslims and the family
of the Prophet,, . After gaining the confidence of many Muslims, he
began to carry out his nefarious plan. He first raised the question
that if 'Eesaa )Jesus(could come back to this world, why not
Muhammad,?
In order to fortify his plea, he began to misinterpret the meaning of
the verse )which means(:"Verily, He Who imposedupon you the Quran will
take you back to a place of return."]Quran 28:85[
He proposed thereby that the lastProphet,must come back to this world.
Following this, he began to bring the people round to another point
that every Prophet had a Caliph )successor( and executor, and that of
Muhammad,, was 'Ali. Encouraged by the favorable response from
gullible Muslims, he came out to openly propagatehis evil intentions
of removing the Caliph and replacing him by 'Ali.
'Abdullaah binSabaleft Basrah and came to another military base at
Koofah after issuing secret instructions to his followers. In Koofah
he found a section already working against the office of the Caliphate
and its governor. Thus, 'Abdullaah binSabafound this land more fertile
and the atmosphere more favorable and encouraging for hisevil plans.
'Abdullaah binSabawas antagonistic to Islam on one hand and was
hostile to 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan on the other. He was, therefore,
restless to take his revenge on the Caliph. In Koofah, he first
established himself as a pious and God-fearing man and was very soon
held in high esteem. When 'Abdullaah's mischievous activities came to
the notice of the governor, Sa'eed bin Al-'Aashe called him and took
him to task. As a result, 'Abdullaah binSababecame suspect in
everyone's eyes. Finding the atmosphere unfavorable, he left Koofah
and went toSyria.
Like Basrah he left behind a strong lobby in Koofah who wereready to
carry on his dirty business. Maalik Al-Ashtar and hisfriends and
relatives were the main figures to lend support to his plan.
AtDamascus, inSyria, his nefarious plans could not make any headway
and he had toleave the city after being there only a short time. His
next target wasEgyptwhere he moved very cautiously in the light of his
past experiences. He showed love for the Prophet's family and support
of 'Alithe main plank of his propaganda. In order to expeditehis plan
in an organized way he set up a secret society. He easily gained
ground inEgyptbecause the Egyptians and the Arabs livingthere already
had complaints against 'Abdullaah bin Sa'd, the governor ofEgypt.
'Abdullaah binSa'd was too preoccupied with the problems created by
the African Berbers and the Caesar of Constantinople to pay attention
to these internal affairs.
'Abdullaah binSabacommunicated with his friends inBasrah and Koofah by
letters, his group instituted a letter writing campaign with the
result that letters containing complaints were constantly being sent
against the governors to the people of Al-Madeenah fromEgypt, Koofah
and Basrah with charges of atrocities and malpractice brought against
them. Similar letters were dispatched from Basrah and Koofah
toEgyptand fromBasrah,EgyptandDamascusto Koofah. Since no one was made
the subject of atrocities, in each city they thought that this news
was referring to other provinces, which might be having victims of
these malpractices. All these accusing letters were directed against
'Uthmaan bin 'Affaanthe Caliph who was charged withfavoring repressive
governors and refusing their dismissal. In view of the letters of
complaint coming in torrents, 'Uthmaan bin'Affaan sent 'Ammaar bin
Yaasir and Muhammad bin Maslamahto Egypt and Koofah respectively, to
make inquiries into the affairs and inform the office of the Caliphate
with the facts.
When 'Ammaar bin Yaasirreached Egypt, both the sections growing angry
with the governorand the followers of 'Abdullaah bin Saba brought
'Ammaar to their own way of thinking. They held him back from
returning to Al-Madeenah, ostensibly to avoid supporting "the
atrocious ways" of 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan. Muhammad bin Maslamah wrote
to the Caliph from Koofah that both the common people and thenoblemen
were openly speaking against the Caliphate and showing signs of
discontent. About the same time Al-Ash'ath bin Qays, Sa'eed bin Qays,
Saa'ib bin Al-Aqra', Maalik bin Habeeb, Haakim bin Salamah, Jareer bin
'Abdullaah, and Salmaan bin Rabee'ah who were wealthy, influential and
courageous supporters of the Islamic Caliphate left Koofah for other
places. In view of the public protest and uproar prevailing over a
vast area, Sa'eed bin Al-'Aas appointed Al-Qa'qaa' bin 'Amr,his deputy
and left for Al-Madeenah, to personally meet the Caliph and give an
account of the new developments in Koofah.With his departure, the
people of Koofah wrote to Maalik Al-Ashtar,who was then staying in
Hims, that there was a complete vacuum in Koofah and they should come
back without delay. In the absence of a strict governor, the
antagonistic elements came out in open criticism and challenged the
authority of the Caliph. Gradually they mustered enough courage to
send a party of the disgruntledelements under the leadership of Yazeed
bin Qays to reach Al-Madeenah to dislodge 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan from
powerby force. However, Al-Qa'qaa' bin `Amrstood in the way and
arrested Yazeed.
Yazeed implored Al-Qa'qaa' to forgive him because he had nothing more
than some complaints against Sa'eed bin Al-'Aas, and his mission was
simply to seek the deposition of the governor. Al-Qa'qaa' set Yazeed
free. However, shortly after that Maalik Al-Ashtar reached Koofah with
his party from Hims. His arrival generated anew zeal into the
subversive people and he declared his support to Yazeed bin Qays and
his decision to join the forces of Yazeed. Al-Qa'qaa' could not stop
the joint forces of Yazeed and Maalik. They marched out of Koofah and
arrived at Jara'ah near Qaadisiyah.
Events of 34 AH
'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan, the Caliph of Islam issued orders to all the
governors to meet him in Al-Madeenah after Hajj for important
consultations. In addition to these governors, the Caliph invited some
men of soundjudgement from Al-Madeenah. The Caliph put before them the
issue of the prevailing anger and dissatisfaction against him and
sought their advice. 'Abdullaah bin 'Amr put forward his suggestion
that the unruly elements should be engaged in Jihaad to fill their
idle hours and charged them with disruptive activities and uprisings.
Sa'eed bin Al-'Aas submitted the suggestion that the leaders of the
troublemakers be dealt with a heavy hand, so that their punishments
would scare away their followers. Even though the Caliph showed his
agreement with this suggestion, he thought that this was a difficult
task. Mu'aawiyah came with the suggestion that governors of each
province should uphold their responsibilities and clear the province
off the existence of those troublemakers. 'Abdullaah bin Sa'd
suggested the point thatthey were all greedy and could, therefore, be
subdued by the power of the purse.
When the real causes leading to the riots and disruptions were
inquired into, it came to light that they were all far-fetched
andunfounded. Some of them raised the point that each one of the
mischief-mongers and rioters should be put to death without showing
any restraint. 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan disagreed and said that he could
only punish people according to the limits set by the Quran. Thus, the
session came to an end without anything concrete being decided.
The people attached to 'Abdullaah binSabaand those harboring hostile
feelings against'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan set about complaining against the
governors and officers appointed by the Caliph. They began to write
letters to the influential people of Al-Madeenah to create suspicion
in their minds about 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan. In response to the
complaints, the people of Al-Madeenah became angry with the governors
and officials and pressed the Caliph for their dismissal. However,
when they would come out faultless after inquiries, the Caliph
refrained from taking any action against them. They grew suspicious of
the fair dealings of the Caliph. Men like Abu 'Usayd Sa'eedi, Ka'b bin
Maalik and Hassaan bin Thaabitrose to stop the disgruntled section
fromspeaking against the Caliph, but to no avail.
When letters of complaint came pouring into Al-Madeenah from almost
every province and city under the Muslim rule, some distinguished
persons of Al-Madeenah called on the Caliph and drew his attention to
the prevailing anger and dissatisfaction against the governors
appointed by him. 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan then selected some reliable
persons and sent them to each province to look into the situation and
come back with a complete report. Thus, Muhammad bin Maslamah was sent
to Koofah and Usaamah bin Zayd and 'Abdullaah bin 'Umarwere sent to
Basrah andSyriarespectively. In this way, each large or small province
and territory was given one official to report the state of affairs to
the Caliph.
All the investigators returned with reports that none of the governors
were found guilty of any evil act or excesses, and all ofthem were
carrying out their duties within the bounds of Sharee'ah. Besides, no
man of understanding and wisdom was found against any governor or the
Caliph. The people of Al-Madeenah received the reportswith
satisfaction. However, very soon the situation took a disturbing turn.
The Hajj season was at hand and taking advantage of the opportunity,
the Caliph proclaimed among the citizens of every city and
town:"Reports are pouring into Al-Madeenah highlighting the excesses
of the governors of various provinces. So, I have sent orders to all
the governors to be present at Hajj. Anybody bearing complaints
against anyone's governance should come and lodge it in my presence
and get his rights either from me or fromthe governor after the
verification of the facts."

The caliphate of 'Uthmaan -IV

Edict of Uthmaan, 34 AH
On the occasion of Hajj, 'Uthmaanbin 'Affaanannounced his readiness to
listen to complaints among the governors. Thus, following his orders,
all the governors reached Makkah. In accordance with 'Abdullaah
binSaba's scheme, his followers too set out from every province and
center but arrived in Al-Madeenahinstead of Makkah. At this point
'Uthmaan bin 'Affaanaddressed them and said:"Trouble is bound to
appear in the near future, but I don't like tobe blamed for it, for
whatever I have done, it was solely for the welfare of the people."
This utterance of the Caliph silenced them all.
'Uthmaancame back to Al-Madeenah after performing the Hajj. He then
assembled thosefrom outside and also invited 'Ali,Talhah and
Az-Zubayr. 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan rose to address them and said: "Abu
Bakrand 'Umarafter becoming Caliph, practiced caution concerning their
relatives with aneye on accountability, although the Prophet,, took
care of hisrelatives and extended help to them. My relatives are poor
and so I do the needful for them. I amready to do away with my
practice if you prove it invalid andunlawful."
Objections:
'Uthmaan bin 'Affaanhad barely spoken this, when a man got up and
raised the objection:"You unlawfully gave away wealthand property to
your relatives; forinstance, you once gave the entire booty to
'Abdullaah bin Sa'd." 'Uthmaanreplied: "I have given him one-fifth
from theone-fifth of the booty. And we have such examples during the
Caliphates of Abu Bakr and 'Umar."
Another person said: "You have conferred power and rule on
yourrelatives; for instance, you have appointed Mu'aawiyah bin Abu
Sufyaan governor of the entireSyria. You made 'Abdullaah bin 'Amr
governor of Basrah by deposing Abu Moosaa Al-Ash'ari; you installed
Waleed bin 'Uqbah and then Sa'eed bin Al-'Aas governors of Koofah by
removingAl-Mugheerah bin Shu'bah." 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaanreplied:"Those
governors are not my relatives and they have the abilityto manage the
affairs well. However, if they do not deserve the post, I am always
ready to change them for others. Thus I have already put Abu Moosaa
Al-Ash'ari as the governor of Koofah by removing Sa'eed bin Al-'Aas."
Yet another person got up and said: "You love your family members the
most and you give them extravagant gifts." 'Uthmaanreplied: "Love of
the family members is not a sin. And I give them gifts from my own
possessions, not from the public treasury. How can I give them
anything from the public treasury when I myself do not take a single
dirham from there? I am at liberty to give away anything to anybody
from my personal property."
In short, objections of this naturewere raised and 'Uthmaan bin
'Affaan answered them fully and thoroughly. At the end of the
assembly, the people left silently.
Events of 35 AH
The governors of various provinces began to leave Al-Madeenah. When
Mu'aawiyahthe governor ofSyriadecided to depart, he came to 'Uthmaan
bin 'Affaanand said: "I anticipate an attack on you and you may not be
able to resist it. Itis better for you to accompany me toSyria, for
the Syrians are loyal and lend their full support to me."
'Uthmaan bin 'Affaanreplied:"On no account shall I abandon the
proximity and neighborhood of the Prophet,." Having heard this
Mu'aawiyah said: "Let me send you an army fromSyriato guard you
against any eventuality." 'Uthmaan said: "I am not in favor of putting
my neighbors into trouble." Hearing this Mu'aawiyahsaid: "You are
bound to be deceived." In reply to this 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaansaid:
"Allaah is enough for me and what an Excellent Supporter He is." After
which he remained silent.
Mu'aawiyahthen left the place and came to 'Ali, Talhah and Az-Zubayr.
He asked them to provide protection to 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan, then he
setoff forSyria.
Conspiracy of 'Abdullaah binSaba
'Abdullaah bin Saba had already finalized his nefarious plan during
his stay inEgypt. He had won over Companions like 'Ammaar bin Yaasir
and Warqah bin Raafi'to his side. However, none besides the small
group of his followers were aware of his real game. His love for 'Ali
and the family of the Prophet,was nothing more than a maneuver for
inciting people against the Caliphate. A considerable number of Muslim
soldiers had joined his party. Gradually, 'Abdullaah binSabawon the
hearts of enough peopleto challenge the authority of 'Uthmaan bin
'Affaan and bring about his deposition or do away with him. However,
the issue of 'Uthmaan's successor was still the bone of contention.
Gradually, his party was divided in three groups each supporting its
own candidate from among 'Ali, Talhah and Az-Zubayr. Since 'Abdullaah
binSabahad no interest in the unity and strengthof Islam, he held back
his supportfrom 'Aliand left the matter to the contenders. His main
issue was the liquidation of 'Uthmaan'sCaliphate.
Departure of the Caravan of Mischief-Mongers
At first, a group of 1000 people was sent in advance pretending to be
a Hajj mission. The party consisted of Abdur-Rahmaan bin 'Udays,
Kinaanah bin Bishr Al-Laythi, andSudanbin Humraan and was headed by
Al-Ghaafiqi bin Harb. It was decided that the entire party should not
proceed at one time fromEgypt. The party was thus divided into four
groups to leaveEgyptseparately and then to meet after several stages.
Another party of 1000 men left Koofah and another of the same number
marched from Basrah. All these parties left their cities in the month
of Shawwaal 35 AH, under the pretext of goingto Hajj. However, their
goal was to get rid of the Caliph either by deposing or by killing
him. At the appointed time, the parties coming from different
directions joined one another and proceeded to Al-Madeenah.
Threestages from Al-Madeenah, the party divided itself into three
separate groups each supporting its own candidate for the Caliphate.
It is worth mentioning here that the followers of 'Abdullaah bin Saba
in Al-Madeenah had written forged letters in the names of 'Ali,
Talhah, Az-Zubayr, and the Mothers of the Believersto their followers
in Koofah, Basrah and Egypt who were against 'Abdullaah bin Saba and
his group. The letters emphasized that 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaanwas no
longer able to shoulder the heavy burden of the Caliphate. Therefore
the matter should be brought to its end in the month of Thul-Hijjah.
Encouraged by these forged letters, the rioters found it easy to
indulge in acts of plunder and massacre in order to do away with the
Caliphate. Otherwise, they could not have mustered thecourage to plan
an invasion of Al-Madeenah, the city of the Prophet,where even a
strongarmy of the disbelievers failed to make inroads during
theBattleofthe Trench.
All the distinguished persons rejected their nefarious plan outright,
but they found no preparations of any kind whatsoever in Al-Madeenah.
They went back to the rioters and assembled their chiefs and
representatives for an emergencyconsultation. Allaying fears of
anydefensive preparations in Al-Madeenah from their minds, they placed
before them a suggestion that the parties belonging toEgypt, Basrah
and Koofah should contact 'Ali, Talhah and Az-Zubayrrespectively. They
should make an attempt during separate meetings to express to them
their viewpoint saying that at no cost did they like the Caliphate of
'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan.
Accordingly, they offered their allegiance to them. But each of them
rejected their offer. Thereupon the party fromEgyptsaid to 'Ali:
"Since 'Abdullaah bin Sa'd, the governor of our province is cruel, we
cannot leaveAl-Madeenah without getting himdeposed." With an eye on
their obstinacy and nerve, 'Ali and some other Companions called on
the Caliph and advised him to fulfill their demand to stop the trouble
and depose 'Abdullaah bin Sa'd as the governor ofEgypt. 'Uthmaan bin
'Affaan asked:"Who will then be appointed the governor ofEgypt?" .
Ali intercedes
'Aliand other Companions took the name of Muhammad binAbu Bakr who
happened to be the supporter of 'Ali. Therefore, the Caliph issued an
edict appointing Muhammad bin Abu Bakr, governor ofEgypt. After this
'Ali sent the rioters out. However, on the third or fourth day, all
the parties joined together and came into Al-Madeenah crying Takbeer
)i.e. uttering Allaahu Akbar( with the utmost fervor and cordoned off
the house of the Caliph. 'Alisaw them and said: "You had already left
this place, what madeyou come back?" They said: "The Caliph has sent a
letter to 'Abdullaah bin Sa'd through his slave to kill us as soon as
we reach there. We have seized the letter and have come here with
itand along with the parties fromEgyptand Koofah who want to share our
problem." 'Ali said: "By Allaah this is an act of conspiracy and you
are ill-intentioned." They replied: "Whatever be the case, we have
decided to kill the Caliph,and we seek your assistance in the task."
'Aliangrily said:"How can I help you?" Hearing thisthey said: "Why had
you then written about this?" 'Ali firmly replied: "I have never
written youanything." Hearing this they looked towards each other with
amazement. 'Alithen left Al-Madeenah to stay in Ahjaar-uz-Zayt and the
rioters surrounded the house of 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan. Until then, they
had followed the Caliph in prayers, but now they gave it up and began
to hold others back from standing in prayer behind him.
Witnessing the lurking danger around him, the Caliph wrote letters to
various provinces and sought their help, and in some cases the news
reached those places on its own. However, virtuous men and the
Companions persuaded the people inEgypt,Syria, Koofah and Basrah to
rush to the help of the Caliph. The mosque was under siege and after
that, the rioters prevented 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaanfrom coming out of his
home and cut off the supply of water too. Although 'Uthmaan bin
'Affaan persistently tried to convince the rioters that the letter was
not written by him and asked them to produce any witness, but they
ignored his plea.
Summarized from: The History of Islam, by: Akbar Shah Najeebadi
To Be concluded