Last week we mentioned how Iraqi rebel leaders were trying to get Caliph Uthman out by whatever means. When the two groups of rebels realized that there was no case to press against the caliph, they started on their journey back home, with one group going back to Egypt and the others to Kufah and Basrah in Iraq. However, they were manoeuvred back through a forged letter, which pertained to be written by Uthman, requiring his governor in Egypt to kill the chiefs of the rebellion. We made clear that the letter was forged in order to bring the rebels back with more determination to get rid of the third caliph.
Now back in Madinah, the rebels went to Ali to try to get him on their side. We also highlighted the fact that Ali was the first to point out that their return was all a conspiracy, because the two groups took two routes that went further apart as they progressed, one heading northwest and the other northeast. But they were keen to persuade him to sanction their effort. Ali was an influential figure in Madinah, as he was one of the leading companions of the Prophet, in addition to his being the Prophet’s cousin and a strong defender of the Islamic cause. Besides, he was famous for his great sense of justice, ever since he acted as a judge under Umar and Uthman.
Ibn Al-Arabi writes that the rebels mentioned the letter assumed to be addressed to the governor of Egypt, and said to Ali: “He has written such and such against us, which makes it lawful for us to kill him under God’s law. We request you to come with us to see him.” He said: “By God, I will not come with you.” They asked him: “Why have you written to us then?” He said: “By God, I have not written anything to you.” They were looking at one another, stupefied. Ali then went out of Madinah. They went ahead to see Uthman and asked him: “Why have you written this and that against us?” He denied all knowledge and said to them: “You either produce two Muslim witnesses or accept my oath that I have not done anything of the sort.” However they refused his offer, went back on their promises and led siege to his home.
Al-Khateeb adds a long footnote here explaining the reference by the rebels to a letter they had received from Ali. He says that the rebels were two groups: One included the real conspirators who stopped at nothing to ensure the accomplishment of their purpose. The other, which included the bulk of the rebels were simply deceived by the first group, thinking that they were on an honorable mission in support of a just cause. Hence, these looked stupefied when Ali denied having written anything to them. They had been told that Ali had written requesting them to come back to Madinah to help in the struggle against Uthman. When he denied the whole thing, they were at a loss. However, such people could easily be swayed.
Al-Khateeb makes clear that there was a series of false letters, which purported to be written by some of the leading figures among the Prophet’s companions. The two letters mentioned so far were the first; one purported to be written by Uthman and the other by Ali. It is very important to ask who could have written such a letter. Al-Khateeb further says that there were letters written later, after Uthman had been assassinated, and these were claimed to have been written by Aishah, the Prophet’s wife, as well as Talhah and Al-Zubayr, both of whom were among the ten companions of the Prophet who were assured of admission into heaven.
In support of his argument, Al-Khateeb quotes a report, which is mentioned later in Ibn Al-Arabi’s book. The report mentions that Masrooq, a leading scholar of the very early period of Islam, remonstrated with Aishah for having written a letter inviting people to revolt against Uthman. In answer “she made a solemn oath, swearing by God who is acknowledged by all believers and denied by unbelievers that she never blackened a white sheet of any kind.” No denial can be more emphatic. Aishah, the mother of the believers, thus denied having ever written a single word to encourage anyone to revolt against Uthman. Hence, the letter attributed to her was indeed a forged one.
As such, we see that at least three of the major figures of the first Muslim generation, including the Prophet’s wife and two of the rightly-guided caliphs, denying writing letters that they were said to have written. Any of these three is by far more reliable than those who claimed to have seen or received such letters. In those days when illiteracy was still common and none of the methods that detect forgery was yet known, it was very easy to forge such letters. Indeed such fabrication was one of the main tools used by the conspirators to achieve their wicked purpose.
As Ibn Al-Arabi says, when Ali refused to go with the rebels to question Uthman, the rebels went on their own. Had this been taking place today, the ruler facing such a small group of rebel soldiers, not exceeding 2000 men, would have deployed his army and security forces for a showdown, and would have never relinquished his position.
He would have easily crushed those rebels and forced them to flee. But Uthman was a ruler of a totally different calibre. He sat to listen to the new complaints, and they recounted what they claimed to be a treacherous letter he had written. He denied all knowledge of it and invited them to produce their witnesses or accept his oath. This is the standard procedure in Islamic law. It requires the accuser to produce the evidence to prove his allegations. If he cannot do that, then it invites the accused to swear to his innocence.
This means that the caliph, who ruled a vast state stretching from the borders of what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan to North Africa, was prepared to submit to the rule of law and to stand with his accusers before a judge who implemented Islamic law. All he asked for was for the law to be allowed to operate. He did not resort to any measures against his accusers, although he was fully aware that they had nothing to support their claims.
When they made their claim concerning the letter, he was absolutely certain that all this was false, because he did not write it. But he did not imprison them or drive them out of the city. He simply asked them to produce their evidence, or accept his oath.