In the past...

In the past, it had been customary for a governor, during his mission to borrow money for a fixed period from the public fund and repay it in due time. al-Walid, too, applied for such a loan, and Ibn Mas'ud extended it to him. On the due date he asked al-Walid for repayment and insisted upon it. But al- Walid, unable to tolerate this impudence on the part of Ibn Mas'ud, wrote to 'Uthman and asked his aid in this involvement with Ibn Mas'ud.

'Uthman wrote the following note to Ibn Mas'ud: "Your job is to act as our treasurer, but you have no authority to interfere and call al-Walid to account for any sum that he draws on the public fund!" When Ibn Mas'ud received this note and realized that he could no longer accept such an important responsibility, and harmonize himself with 'Uthman's methods, he threw down the keys of the treasury before al-Walid and said: "I had supposed till now that I was a keeper of Muslims' assets.

But I have no wish to be your treasurer and I resign from this post." 135 After his resignation as treasurer, he stayed in Kufah for some time. Concerning the same story the book "al-'Iqd al-farid" says that Ibn Mas'ud addressed the Muslims in the Kufah mosque, in these words: "O people of Kufah!

Know that tonight your public fund is reduced by 100,000 and gone, without any instruction being issued by the commander of the Faithful to divest me of the responsibility." al-Walid reported these words to 'Uthman and he dismissed Ibn Mas'ud.136 al-Baladhuri writes in Ansab al-ashraf137: When Ibn 134. Musnad of Ahmad 5/389, al-Mustadrak 3/315 and 320, Hilyat of Abu Nu'aym 1/126 and 127, Kanz 7/55, al-Bukhari and Usd al-ghabah 3/258. Ansab al-ashraf of al-Baladhuri 5/36. al-'Iqd al-farid 2/272.

Ansab al-ashraf of al-Baladhuri 5/36. Mas'ud threw down the keys of the treasury before al-Walid, he exclaimed angrily: Whoever changes God's command at his own wish, will lose his hereafter, and whoever does so at his own whim, will be faced with God's wrath. I see that 'Uthman has done so.

Is it right to remove such a governor as Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas from Kufah and replace him with al-Walid?' Ibn Mas'ud often used to say: "The best words are those of the Qur'an, the best path is the one shown by the Prophet, and the worst deed is heresy since every heresy is deviation that ends in hell."138 al-Walid also reported these stinging words of Ibn Mas'ud, to 'Uthman and added that he slandered the caliph and abused him. 'Uthman summoned Ibn Mas'ud to Medina.