ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims Uthman, the Third Khalifa of the Muslims Just before his death, Umar called Abu Talha Ansari, and said to him: “God has given honor to Islam through you (the Ansar), and now you take your 50 armed men to watch the members of the electoral committee, and do not let them disperse without choosing a khalifa which they must do within three days.” The electors began their parleys in the house of Miswar bin Makhrama – the nephew of Abdur Rahman bin Auf.

Abu Talha Ansari began his three-day long vigil. Amr bin Aas and Mughira bin Shaaba, also appeared at the door of the house of Miswar, eager to take part in the proceedings of the committee but the pickets of Abu Talha did not let them enter. Because of the “special powers” Umar had given him, Abdur Rahman bin Auf considered himself the key figure of the electoral committee.

In a size-up of the situation, he gathered that no one of the other five candidates was willing to withdraw his name from the contest, and everyone was determined to press his claim vigorously. He, therefore, quietly developed a strategy of his own, and then told the committee that he would withdraw his name from the list of candidates if it would, in return, allow him to act as chairman and coordinator of its meeting(s).

Other members agreed but Ali hesitated to give Abdur Rahman any extra powers. When others insisted that he too should agree, he said to him: “I shall acknowledge you as chairman of the electoral committee if you give a pledge that you will not be a slave to your own lusts, and that your decision will be taken only to win the pleasure of God and His Messenger.” Abdur Rahman readily gave his pledge for doing so, and thus became the chairman of the committee.

By withdrawing his candidacy, he won extra leverage with the other candidates, and cast himself in the role of a “king-maker.” Abdur Rahman held a series of meetings with other candidates in an attempt to find a satisfactory solution of the problem but his efforts bore no fruit. The discussions of the other candidates during the first two days also ended in stalemate. On the third and the last day, Abdur Rahman paid a visit to each member of the committee in his own house.

In these private meetings, he asked each candidate whom he would like to see as khalifa if he himself were not elected. The answer was Uthman or Ali.