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Uprisings against Uthman (654–656)

Uprisings against Uthman (654–656)

Map depicting the sites of rebellions against Caliph Uthman
Date654–656
Location
Egypt, Iraq and Medina
Result

Pro-Alid victory

Territorial
changes		 Pro-Alid rebels gain control of Egypt, Iraq and Medina.[1]
Belligerents
Rashidun Caliphate
Uthmaniyya
Banu Umayya		 Pro-Alids
Political Support:
Ansar and Quraysh
Commanders and leaders

Uthman ibn Affan X
Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan
Marwan ibn al-Hakam (WIA)
Abd Allah ibn Sa'd
Sa'id ibn al-As
Abd Allah ibn Amir

Ali ibn Abi Talib[2]
Zubayr ibn al-Awwam
Hasan ibn Ali (WIA)[3][4]
Husayn ibn Ali[5]

Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr
Malik al-Ashtar
Muhammad ibn Abi Hudhayfa
Kumayl ibn Ziyad
Ammar ibn Yasir

Political Support:
Talha ibn Ubayd Allah
Aisha bint Abi Bakr
Amr ibn al-As
Abu Dharr al-Ghifari
Strength
Unknown 1,500 – 3,000[6][7]
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

The Uprisings against Uthman (654–656) were the first major civil conflicts in the Rashidun Caliphate, revolving around the policies and legitimacy of its third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan. Disputes escalated into full scale rebellions in Egypt, Iraq and Medina, culminating in the assassination of Caliph Uthman in 656 by Egyptian rebels following the siege of his residence. These events ultimately triggered the outbreak of the First Fitna.[8][9]

Background

The third Rashidun caliph Uthman ibn Affan was primarily accused of consolidating power in the caliphate around his kinsmen from the Umayyad family and their parent tribe of Banu Abd-Shams. Previously the Ansar of Medina and the Muhajirun of Quraysh had enjoyed power under the first two Rashidun caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar, however during the reign of Caliph Uthman, they lost their importance as Uthman appointed his Umayyad kinsmen as governors throughout the Caliphate and gave monetary and land grants to his relatives Marwan ibn al-Hakam and Sa'id ibn al-As. Uthman's interference in the fiscal affairs of the Caliphate's provinces further escalated the situation. Uthman ordered the crown lands to be claimed as state assets and the economic surplus in Iraq to be forwarded to the central government in Medina. The caliph's efforts at centralisation faced severe opposition in Egypt, Iraq and Medina.[10][11]

The Opposition

Companions Against Uthman

The rapidly worsening unrest and discontent in the Caliphate's provinces reached new heights due to the mistreatment of other tribes, notably the public beating of a respected member of the Banu Makhzum, a prominent clan of the Meccan Quraysh tribe, and opposition from senior companions of Muhammad. Talha ibn Ubayd Allah and Aisha bint Abi Bakr, seeing that they and their kinsmen from the Banu Taym would be denied advancement in the Caliphate, were hostile to Caliph Uthman and wrote letters in favor of instigating a revolt against him. Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, seeing the growing materialism in the Caliphate, strongly opposed Uthman and preached for rebellion against him.[12][13]

Proto-Kharijites

Among the rebels, there were some who supported the overthrow of Caliph Uthman due to their belief that only a caliph devoid of sins could lead the Muslim community. Although the term Kharijites was not yet in use, this faction was primarily composed of the qurra (lit. 'Quran readers') who viewed Uthman's policies as religious deviation and would later become members of the Haruriyya, the first Kharijite movement.[14] The qurra from Kufa participated in the uprising against Uthman and were staunch supporters of Ali until the arbitration of Siffin.[15][16]

Uprisings

Uprising in Kufa

The political situation in Kufa deteriorated in 654,[17][18] due to which Caliph Uthman held a consultation meeting in Medina with the governors of twelve provinces to discuss the issue and for resolving them with diplomacy and local input. Agents were sent to the provinces of Kufa, Basra, the Levant and Egypt. However, the agent sent to Egypt, Ammar ibn Yasir was an adherent of the faction which supported the leadership of Ali, and joined the rebels.[19] After the governor of Kufa, Sa'id ibn al-As, departed the city to discuss its worsening political situation with Uthman at the consultation meeting, the rebels in Kufa publicly called for Uthman to resign as caliph. The rebels in Kufa were early settlers whose privileges had been subverted by Uthman's centralisation policies and the arrival of new Arab settlers. They were led by Yazid ibn Qays, a leader of the Hamdan tribe who later emerged as a prominent figure of the Haruriyya,[20] who sent letters to other members of the Kufan opposition who had been exiled to Damascus and Homs, including Malik al-Ashtar and his associates, and called them back to Kufa.

Malik al-Ashtar declared that the caliph had ordered the governor to reduce the stipends of valour to from five thousand dirhams two thousand dirhams, and to reduce the stipend of women from two hundred dirhams to one hundred dirhams. Malik al-Ashtar gathered support and called for the deposition of Sa'id ibn al-As from the governorship of Kufa and the overthrow of Caliph Uthman. Malik al-Ashtar quickly took control of Kufa as Sa'id had dispersed his army when he had departed, and the rebels detached armed units to take control of important areas in the province. They set up an advanced garrison at Ayn al-Tamr between Kufa and Damascus, 1000 troops to protect the Jibal road towards Hulwan, while other forces were deployed near Kashkar for defense against Basra, at Jukah and Al-Mada'in, and for policing the region between Kufa and Al-Mada'in. The commanders were given instructions to defy the levying of any taxes.[21][22][23]

Malik al-Ashtar then sent Malik ibn Ka'ab with 500 troops in order to intercept Sa'id ibn al-As, who was on his way back from Medina to Kufa. Malik declared to Sa'id that "He would not allow him to drink another drop of the Euphrates" and Sa'id was forced to return to Uthman. The takeover of Kufa by the rebels proved their strength, however their selection of the neutral Abu Musa al-Ash'ari as the new governor of Kufa proved shortsighted. Abu Musa lacked connections and support from the central government and tended to defer decisions to others, leaving his position unstable.[24][25]

Uprising in Egypt

In 651, the governor of Egypt, Abd Allah ibn Sa'd, led a military expedition to Nubia, in which the Muslim army failed to achieve victory and a peace treaty was established between the Caliphate and the Kingdom of Makuria.[26] Ibn Sa'd's determination to increase the revenue sent from Egypt to the central government in Medina was opposed by the local Egyptian garrison. The situation deteriorated with the arrival of new settlers to Egypt which exacerbated the stress on local resources. The discontent with Caliph Uthman and his governor Ibn Sa'd reached its peak in 656, when Ibn Sa'd departed Egypt to attend the consultation meeting of governors in Medina. Ibn Sa'd's authority over Egypt was rejected by Muhammad ibn Abi Hudhayfa, who revolted against him in Shammal, expelled him from Fustat and ultimately seized control over the governorship of Egypt. Except for a faction of Uthman's supporters, which included prominent figures like Mu'awiya ibn Hudayj, Maslama ibn Mukhallad and Amr ibn Qazham, the people of Egypt pledged their allegiance to Ibn Abi Hudhayfa. He sent letters from Egypt to the wives of Muhammad in Medina.[27][28] Ibn Abi Hudhayfa gained support from the early Arab settlers of the Muslim conquest of Egypt, as their political power and monopoly over Egypt's revenues were undermined by Uthman's efforts at centralisation.

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas travelled to Egypt in order to de-escalate of the situation. However, his tent was attacked, and he was wounded by the rebels. Sa'd immediately returned from Egypt afterwards. Around 400 protestors in Egypt began demanding changes from Uthman. They sent a delegation to the caliph led by Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, who agreed to their demands and sent with them a letter to Ibn Sa'd to improve his governorship. The rebels initially accepted Uthman's assurances, however at Aqaba they intercepted a messenger who was carrying a message from the caliph to Ibn Sa'd to deal with the protestors, arrest the delegation and execute its leaders.[29] This caused the outraged rebels to return to Medina and assassinate Uthman.[30]

The Rebel March on Medina

The third Rashidun caliph Uthman led the Hajj pilgrimage in 655. He had arranged a council of all of his important governors and advisers to discuss the discontent in the caliphate. Some suggested a new military offensive to distract the masses from the dissidents, others suggested that the rebels be bribed, whereas a few argued that an efficient administration was required. In contrast, Amr ibn al-As, who had been replaced as the governor of Egypt by Abd Allah ibn Sa'd, told the caliph that he had gone astray and criticized the monopoly of the Caliphate's governorships by the Umayyads.

The rebels from Kufa, Basra and Egypt began plans for a united march to Medina to hold Caliph Uthman accountable for the actions they opposed and sack him out of his office. Muhammad ibn Abi Hudhayfa sent 600 Egyptians with a commander for each hundred men, with Abd al-Rahman ibn Udays as their overall leader. The delegations pretended to perform the Hajj, meeting at Dhu Kashwab from where three nights of journey was required to reach Medina. The rebels from Egypt supported Ali ibn Abi Talib, the rebels of Basra supported Talha ibn Ubayd Allah and the rebels of Kufa supported Zubayr ibn al-Awwam.[31][32] The long-time governor of Greater Syria, Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, offered to provide Uthman with refuge at Damascus and Syrian military assistance to crush the revolt which Uthman refused.

Once the rebels reached Medina, they set up separate camps across the oasis. The Kufan rebels camped at Awas, the Basrans at Dhu Kushub, and the Egyptians at Dhu-l-Marwah. There was no immediate violence, but the arrival of the rebels shocked the residents of Medina, causing them to renew their support for Uthman.[33] Each of the factions approached the leader they favoured, the most significant of whom was Ali. The Egyptian rebels met Ali at a place called Ahjar al Zayt (the oil stones) and greeted him, but he shouted and drove them away. He sent his eldest son Hasan to Uthman's residence where the sons of other notable companions of Muhammad were standing guard. Similar reactions were attributed to Talha and Zubayr. Ali agreed to be the mediator between Uthman and the rebels, and suggested that Abd Allah ibn Sa'd be removed from the governorship of Egypt, while Aisha expressed support for Amr ibn al-As to regain his office. The rebels however demanded that their leader Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr be appointed as the governor of Egypt.[34] After their failure to gain support in Medina, the rebels began to retreat from Medina.[35]

The rebels left Medina for three days before their return. In the meantime, Uthman did not dismiss any of the governors which the rebels complained about to him.[36] On their way back, the rebels captured a messenger carrying a letter with the seal of Uthman, sent to Abd Allah ibn Sa'd, the governor of Egypt, ordering him to execute Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr and the other leaders of the Egyptian rebels.[37] Uthman refused to acknowledge the letter and swore to God that he was unaware of issuing any such order.[38] During this time, the seal of the caliph was with his secretary and kinsman Marwan ibn al-Hakam as the previous seal keeper had been transferred to Basra.[39][40] According to Madelung, Ali and Muhammad ibn Maslama sided with Uthman about the letter, and suspected Marwan to be the culprit, while Hugh N. Kennedy holds Uthman responsible for the letter.

Siege of Uthman's Residence

Main article: Assassination of Uthman

In response to the letter, the rebels charged Caliph Uthman with incompetency and asked for his resignation, which Uthman refused.[41] Subsequently, the rebels proceeded to besiege the caliph's residence. The rebels did not permit the caliph to come out of his house except for prayer in the mosque which was later refused as well. During a Friday sermon, Uthman and his close supporters were pelted with stones and the caliph returned home unconscious.[42] The gates of his residence were defended by Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Muhammad ibn Talha, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali. Uthman and his wife Na'ila bint al-Furafisa along with Marwan ibn al-Hakam resided inside the house. Uthman forbade them to clash with the rebels although a clash had already taken place when the rebels prevented the supply of meals to Uthman by Umm Habiba.[43]

The rebels then blocked the supply of water to Uthman's residence. Uthman asked for assistance from Ali who sent three large leather bottles of water through his kinsmen from the Banu Hashim who were said to be injured by the rebels.[44] During this time, Uthman sent Abd Allah ibn Abbas to lead the Hajj and to inform the inhabitants of Mecca about the rebels. The rebels became concerned that they would be crushed when the supporters of Uthman arrived to aid him and decided to storm the residence quickly. On 17 June 656, the rebels carried out a final assault while avoiding conflict with the Hashemites. Arrows were shot towards Uthman's residence. Mu'awiya sent his Syrian troops to relieve Uthman, however when they were 120 miles from Medina, the rebels broke into Uthman's house. During the morning clashes, Marwan managed to repel one band of attackers but was soon overwhelmed and severely wounded by the rebels, receiving a blow to his neck, before being dragged out of the house by Fatima bint Aws, who had been his wet nurse.[45] Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr and 2 other rebels climbed the back walls of the house and entered Uthman's room, where he had been reciting the Qur'an during the attack. Ibn Abi Bakr seized hold of the caliph's beard to which Uthman replied "Your Father would hate what you are doing". In response, Ibn Abi Bakr stepped back from the caliph, however one of the rebels struck Uthman's head, causing blood to pour over the Qur'an, while several other rebels stormed in and repeatedly stabbed Uthman's body, and his wife Na'ila lost 2-3 of her fingers while attempting to defend the caliph. The Umayyad family then fled from Medina to Mecca and Damascus[46] with the fingers of Na'ila and the blood-soaked clothes of Uthman.[47]

Aftermath

Following the assassination of Caliph Uthman, Medina was in a state of anarchy as Uthman's government had collapsed. The Egyptian rebels led the prayers in the mosque, and their representative Al-Ghafiqi ibn Harb al-Akki acted as the de-facto governor of Medina in the absence of a caliph.[48][49] The rebels also attempted to influence the choice of the new caliph by the electoral council, which alienated notables in Medina who saw it as an attempt to rearrange the political structure of the Caliphate. However, Ali disagreed and insisted on a public pledge of allegiance. Five days after Uthman's assassination, Ali was elected as the fourth caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.[50][51]

See also

References

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