Last week we provided some information about the background and characters of the leaders of the rebellion against Uthman, the third caliph. We need to know more about how these people were determined to cause trouble in the Muslim state. Justice Ibn Al-Arabi mentions this very briefly, stating the following:

“They had caused a situation of strife, and therefore Uthman judged that it would be best to remove them from Madinah. Their group was thus sent to Mu’awiyah, his governor of Syria. Mu’awiyah reminded them of their duty to God and that they should not do anything that could have negative consequences for the Muslim community. It is reported that Zayd Sawhan said to him: ‘You dwell too much about the Quraysh and its being in a position of leadership. We know that the rest of the Arabs lived by their swords while the Quraysh were engaged in their trade.’ Mu’awiyah said to him: ‘Confound you. I remind you of Islam and you remind me of the days of jahiliyyah! A person who takes you for support against the caliph is sure to fail, because you can bring no benefit or harm. Leave me.’”

In his annotation of Ibn Al-Arabi’s book, Al-Khateeb mentions what Mu’awiyah said to them after reminding them of the hereafter and that they will be held to account for their deeds. He added: “You belong to the Arabs and some of you have attained to a senior age and others are eloquent. Yet it was through Islam that you have attained a position of honor, and through Islam you were able to overcome other nations and take over their leading positions. I hear that you are now against the Quraysh. I remind you that if the Quraysh were to disappear, you will return to your humble position in the old days. Your leaders are today like a shield protecting you. Do not remove such a shield. They tolerate your wrong actions and the trouble you have already caused. By God, you shall refrain from all that or God will bring you under rulers who will be unjust and will not thank you for being patient. You will then be party to their guilt bearing its consequences in your life and after you die.”

Zayd Sawhan apparently was rough in his reply. He did not only say what Ibn Al-Arabi quoted, but said to Mu’awiyah: “As for what you describe as a protective shield; well, if this shield is removed, we will be the leaders and rulers.” This was a threat to Mu’awiyah showing how these people felt that if they could kill the rulers, they would be taking power. No government could tolerate such insolence. But Mu’awiyah was not interested in keeping his position. He wanted an end to the trouble, and by peaceful means. But those rebels were intent on troublemaking.

Ibn Al-Arabi writes: “One of them, Ibn Al-Kawwa, related to Mu’awiyah what the rebels in each province were like and the plots they were devising. He wrote to Uthman informing him of all this, and Uthman sent back requiring him to send them over to him. On their way, they passed by Abd Al-Rahman ibn Khalid ibn Al-Waleed, the governor of Hums in Syria, and he detained them and reproached them for their attitude. He put them in their place, until they declared about a year later that they had repented what they had done. So he wrote to Uthman informing him of what he had done. Uthman wrote back asking for them to be sent over to him. When they arrived in Madinah, they renewed their declaration of repentance and swore that they were telling the truth. They denied much of what was said about them. Uthman gave them a choice of places where they could settle. Each chose a province and he sent them to their respective choices. Yet when they had settled there, they began to raise people against Uthman and some people responded to their efforts.”

Al-Khateeb explains that only Al-Ashtar went to see Caliph Uthman representing all the others in confirming their repentance, which they had declared before Abd Al-Rahman ibn Khalik ibn Al-Waleed. But this group did not include all the plotters. In fact, the chief schemer was Abdullah ibn Saba’ who at the time was living in Al-Fustat, in present-day Cairo. Another part of the plot to stage the rebellion was being cooked in Basrah, while Al-Ashtar and his group had followers in Kufah. At the time when Al-Ashtar was confirming his repentance and declaring his allegiance to the caliph, Ibn Saba’s assistants were corresponding with their friends in Basrah and Kufah to fix a date for their rebellion against their governors. When Al-Ashtar rejoined his group who were detained with him by Abd Al-Rahman ibn Khalid, he saw a letter they had recently received. It was sent by their colleagues in Kufah, asking them to join them in an event they were preparing for. It was an invitation for further evil and troublemaking, but none was enthusiastic about it except Al-Ashtar who traveled fast to Kufah and joined the event known in history books as the Day of Al-Jar’ah in year 34. It was a rebellion against the governors of these provinces, but it all ended in failure.

This second failure did not deter the troublemakers. They now plotted for a wider rebellion to be timed during the pilgrimage season. Thus, when pilgrims started to travel from all over the Muslim world to perform this great act of worship, the rebels organized themselves to stage their rebellion in disobedience to God. By this time, they organized themselves in 12 battalions, four from each center: Egypt, Kufah and Basrah, forming an army nearly 2000 strong.

Thus the stage was set for a showdown with the caliph who was by now an old man approaching 80. His devotion to the service of Islam never waned. If he was always ready to sacrifice his wealth and lay down his life for Islam, he was now more determined to do so.

The last thing he wanted was to cause bloodshed. In order to spare the Muslim community any further division or damage, he determined to do all that was within his power to prevent civil war in the Muslim state. As a first step, he was ready to meet the rebels and discuss their complaints, and also to give them whatever he could in order to avoid the trouble he could see to be looming large.

Ibn Al-Arabi writes: “They all marched for confrontation with the caliph. The Egyptians were led by Abd Al-Rahman ibn Udays Al-Balawi (who was apparently the main commander of the four battalions, but the overall leader was Al-Ghafiqi ibn Harb). Those who came from Basrah were under the command of Hukaym ibn Jablah, while the Kufah battalions were led by Al-Ashtar Malik ibn Al-Harith. They arrived in Madinah at the beginning of Dhul-Qaadah, 35 H. And the caliph met them.

We will discuss what took place in that meeting next week, God willing.