Abu Dharr
In previous article(s) we looked at a section of Islamic society when ‘Uthman became the khalifah. Now we will expand our knowledge of that society and look at another part of the Islamic general public. Those are the Arabians in general; excluding, of course the Prophet’s kindred spirits, the Muhajireen and the Ansar.
Some of these Arabians eventually became Muslims—some willingly, others reluctantly. This considerable bloc of people was, more or less, recruited by Abu Bakr and ‘Umar to do their “military service” whereby they can prove their mettle and moral fiber. And they did.
Some of them settled far away from their birthplace in Arabia into frontier areas that kept spreading due to the Islamic drive for social-justice everywhere. In a sense many of them became soldierly guards of the borders of a growing Islamic region. In this way they developed and demonstrated their merits and became standard and universal Islamic citizens.
This numerical bloc of citizens had become the mainstay constituency of a growing and developing Islamic demography and geography as ‘Umar once noted. They were the ones who made up the majority of warriors and defeated the external hostile forces. They, it should be noted, were the ones who in a military way took the social justice message of Islam to peoples living in all the areas surrounding Arabia.
They gained a commendable position for their deeds and sacrifices. With all of that, we have to state that these commendable and creditable combatants were nonetheless newcomers to Islam and recent defectors from jahiliyah. The residue(s) of jahiliyah still lingered on in their personal or communal conduct such as enduring tribal ill-feelings, surviving clannish acrimonies, personal and inherited “bad blood” unfriendliness, and the acquired notions of “superiority vs. inferiority” impressions that predated the advent of Islam.
The new aura, gained by their Islamic military service, if combined with their vestiges of jahiliyah, does not make for a suitable chemistry. The best internal governmental program that would improve their standing in society would be to help them switch off and snuff out whatever jahili traits they retained and assist them to solidify their full devotional character and condition. This would eventually integrate them further into the lofty levels of the Muhajireen and Ansar.
Such perception would probably better describe ‘Umar’s approach to them as he tried his best to beat back the remaining deep-seated and traditional self-centeredness of jahiliyah. ‘Umar peeved and piqued, among others, the poets who in that society had been the spokespersons for all things jahiliyah. Towards that end ‘Umar dispatched instructors who he chose from among the Muhajireen and Ansar to go out to the remote areas of this expanding Islamic topography to convey the practical meanings of the Qur’an to the recent adherents of Islam, along with imparting the teachings of the Prophet (pbuh) and the general outlook of this groundbreaking deen.
‘Umar was known to have been passionately serious about all issues pertaining to justice, equality, and meritorious credentials in his decision making appointments. In that manner he chose his governors from the communities of Mudar, Rabi‘ah and Yemen and had them all under his strict supervision and rigorous observation.
As we previously mentioned, ‘Uthman in his early communication/correspondence with his governors tried to keep pace with ‘Umar’s form of administration. But after honoring ‘Umar’s will that all governors remain in their presiding positions, it took only about a year for ‘Uthman to move away from ‘Umar’s austere and stringent style of governance to one that turned out to be relaxed and lenient. Whether ‘Uthman did this strictly on his own or whether his Umawiy kith and kin had something to do with it will remain an unknown or some may say a state secret.
Following that, Quraish began to climb the social, political, and administrative ladder. Therefore and thereafter, “discrimination was in the air”. Quraishi personalities assumed high office while other bona fide Islamic characters and communities began to feel that they were disregarded, disqualified or discounted.
The fourth segment within the Islamic realm during ‘Uthman’s rule was the militarily defeated populaces – defeated of course by the prevailing Islamic forces. General Islamic guidelines towards them were well known: they were evaluated by the standards of truth and justice; if they honored that standard they were in the civic sense on equal par with the rest of the Muslim population. As far as this writer can tell, ‘Uthman’s policy, as well as his administrators, treated them accordingly.
It does not appear that this particular segment of the population had any active role in the very serious internal polarization that happened toward the end of ‘Uthman’s time in power. This may have been due to the fact that they were, generally speaking, still considered dominated opponents and thus never made it to the ranks of political proprietors.
It may be worthwhile to mention here a brief exchange between ‘Uthman and ‘Amr ibn al-‘As. ‘Uthman said to ‘Amr: [قد درت تلك اللقاح بعدك يا عمرو] the mammal glands have been pouring out copiously after you [left office] O ‘Amr [meaning after ‘Amr’s time as ruler over Egypt]. This would mean that the revenue coming out of Egypt and into the central Islamic treasury in al-Madinah was much more during [the subsequent] Ibn Abi Sarh’s [‘Uthman’s brother owing to the fact that ‘Uthman and Ibn Abi al-Sarh were breastfed by the same woman; i.e. brothers by breastfeeding] governorship of Egypt than what used to come out during ‘Amr ibn al-‘As’s time as ruler of Egypt. This dangerous development would have its backlash consequences that became fuel for the well-known fitnah.
One way of understanding this is that Ibn Abi Sarh was imposing more levies and dues upon the conscientiously protected Egyptian population than had been the case when ‘Amr was Egypt’s commissioner. Another way of understanding this is that ‘Amr ibn al-‘As was siphoning off some of the Egyptian revenue into his “own account”.
At any rate, anyway one look at it, the rulers of Egypt during ‘Uthman’s time in office were less than honest to put it mildly or were out-and-out embezzlers to put it harshly. The shady policies during ‘Uthman’s time in office kept on proliferating.
Remember, ‘Umar was exacting or even authoritarian when it came to dealing with Quraish. ‘Uthman, though, did not or could or would not live up to the standards of ‘Umar, Abu Bakr, and the Prophet (pbuh). Quraish, during the time of the Prophet (pbuh), Abu Bakr, and ‘Umar, could not recapture its jahili prestige and prominence.
Things began to change during ‘Uthman’s reign. For the duration of ‘Uthman’s time in office Quraish began to take back its “superiority” posture over others. Even within the larger tribal structure of Quraish there were factions who became grander than others.
It is said that ‘Umar worried that this may happen; thus ‘Umar impressed upon ‘Uthman that should he become the ruler he should never have Bani Umayyah or Bani Abi Mu‘it run roughshod over other families and peoples. ‘Umar likewise approached Imam ‘Ali and requested him if he were to become the ruler of the Muslims not to have Bani ‘Abd al-Muttalib or Bani Hashim run roughshod over other families and peoples.
‘Uthman, though, was never able to perform according to ‘Umar’s entreaty. And so ‘Uthman wound up having Bani Umayyah and Bani Abi Mu‘it treating people without regard for their feelings, rights, and opinions. This should be well understood by both Sunnis and Shi‘is for there to be any clear-sightedness and coming together devoid of the fanaticism that has polarized the Muslims for many generations.
In order to bring back a semblance of balance (not as a matter of scoring against his opponents nor a matter of reacting to the status quo) Imam ‘Ali, upon taking charge of the Islamic body politic, appointed three of his cousins (sons of his uncle ‘Abbas) to become the administrators of al-Basrah, Makkah, and Yemen. It is reported that even Malik al-Ashtar commented on that saying: ففيم قتلنا الشيخ اذن؟ [Then, why did we kill the old man?] in reference to ‘Uthman. It should be understood that there is a world of difference between what ‘Uthman did and what Imam ‘Ali did.
Imam ‘Ali admonished ‘Uthman for placing relatives in high positions. ‘Uthman responded by saying: but ‘Umar appointed al-Mughirah ibn Shu‘bah over al-Kufah while al-Mughirah ibn Shu‘bah is not a native of al-Kufah. He also said that ‘Umar appointed the Quraishi Mu‘awiyah as governor. Imam ‘Ali answered by saying: ‘Umar was in control and command over his governors – they feared and dreaded him; but your governors are doing whatever they want to do without any regard for you.
They give orders in your name as if you are giving those orders and you will not countermand them. Imam ‘Ali’s treatment of his governors was similar to ‘Umar’s: strict, stringent, and stern. He kept a watchful eye over them.
Imam ‘Ali did not fear dismissing or sacking any of them if they were to deviate or disobey and no one had to budge Imam ‘Ali to do that. ‘Uthman, though, never dismissed one governor hailing from Bani Umayyah or the Abi Mu‘it clan except when popular opinion turned against him and he was forced to do it.
Observe [the following]: Allah bids you to deliver all that you have been entrusted with to those who are entitled thereto, and whenever you govern [and judge between] people, to govern [and judge] with justice… (Al-Nisa’, 58)
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