In Search of Truth

Part 4

Basora was the birthplace of Hazrat Hasan Basori (RA) and Hazrat Rabeya Basori (RA), two special figures in the history of Islam. The Mu'tajila doctrine of free thinking also originated from this Basra in Iraq. Basra is second only to Kufa in terms of political importance.

In the year 24 Hijri, Hazrat Omar (RA) appointed Hazrat Abu Musa-Ashari (RA) as the governor of Basra. Abu Musa-Ash'ari became a terrible self-righteous dictator by wrongly abusing his power for a long time. Abu Musa-Ash'ari, while describing the virtues of Jihad in the mosque in preparation for the conquest of an area, said that walking into the field of Jihad brings many heavenly rewards. People said, his words contain falsehood and arrogance. The next morning, the common Jihadis witnessed to their amazement, the Governor Abu Musa-Ash'ari (R.A.) riding a swift horse in royal attire, coming out of the palace. Forty donkeys carried his war-equipment. Some people stood in his way. Abu Musa Ash'ari (R.A.) called those people low, lowly, idiots and threatened them with severe punishment.

Abu Musa (ra) divided the state into two classes, the privileged and the deprived, by giving his relatives too many privileges. Disenfranchised groups began to organize and at one point their rebellion spread as far as Medina. Caliph Usman (RA) dismissed Abu Musa-Ash'ari (RA) as governor in 29 AH, sensing the signs of an imminent civil war.

The civil war was prevented but the misery of the people of Basra was not removed. Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Amir, the cousin of Caliph Usman (RA) came to power in Basra that time. That man was more violent than Khalid bin Walid and Amr Ibn al-Aas. As soon as he came to power, he banned the rights of non-Quraysh to state power.

Abdullah Ibn Amir was a man of horrible nature. His inhuman harsh regime created terror in the minds of common people. Gradually the entire Muslim world was divided into two parts. Quraish vs. non Quraish. On the one hand, as Caliph Usman's (R.A.) expansion of the kingdom, the occupation of various countries and areas, and the suppression of rebellion in the occupied areas continued, on the other hand, within the country, the Hashimi clan of Muhammad (PBUH) against the ruling Umayyas of Hazrat Usman, the non-Arabs against the Arabs, the non-Arabs against the Quraish, the ruler against the ruler. The struggle for survival of the exploited continued.

When the rulers of Egypt, Kufa and Basra, who had been deposed by Hazrat Usman, gathered together and planned to overthrow the Caliph, Usman (RA) took the initiative to compile the Qur'an in order to stay in power for a few more days in his old age. Since the trial of the murderous son of Omar (RA), the people had not seen an example of following the Sharia law of the Qur'an in the administration of the state of Caliph Usman. So, for good reason, the common people could not help being skeptical about the Caliph's initiative to compile the Qur'an. However, Hazrat Usman did not include his foster brother, the Ruler of Egypt, a non-believer in the miracles of the Qur'an, the Word of God, Abdullah bin Sa'd bin Abi Sarah (RA) in the Qur'an Compilation Committee.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) could read and write. But he did not write the Qur'an himself. His utterances were claimed to be divine oracles, and the audience tried to remember them as best they could. Some wrote his words on stones, palm leaves, paper specially made from tree leaves, animal skins and pieces of wood, and even memorized them. The stories of Muhammad (pbuh) heard from the followers of other books and the words that people heard from Muhammad (pbuh), scattered sentences written in different materials, scattered, isolated were the Holy Book 'Al-Qur'an'. The poetic rhythm, word order of the Qur'an was borrowed from contemporary and pre-Islamic Arabic poets.

One day when Prophet's youngest daughter Hazrat Fatima (RA) was reciting 'Sura Qamar' (Moon) of Quran, the daughter of the famous Poet of Arabia Imrul Qays was present there. Qays's daughter became angry and said to Hazrat Fatimah: 'Alas, this is a line of a poem written by my father. Your father copied my father's poetry and inserted it into the Qur'an as the word of God.' Christian religious devotional poem of Imrul Qays was written before the birth of Muhammad (pbuh) and the poet Imrul Qays died before Muhammad's birth but his poems were popular in Arabia.

It is known from history that the idea of making the Qur'an in a bibliography first came to the mind of Hazrat Omar. When Hazrat Omar proposed that to Khalifa Abu Bakr, Abu Bakr did not agree at first. Abu Bakr (RA) knew that the matter was sensitive and difficult. When Caliph Usman took this initiative again, it was found that there was a huge difference between the Qur'an from different areas including Syria, Kufa, Basra, Azerbaijan, Egypt and the Qur'an compiled by Hazrat Omar in Madinah and collected by his daughter Hafsa.

Arbitrary, tyrannical, aspiring to dominate Muslims all over the world, when the Quraysh rulers claimed the Qur'anic instructions to torture, misrule and exploit their subjects, the oppressed subjects also tried to prove with the same Qur'an that the rulers had modified the Qur'an according to their interests and misinterpretation. Prophet’s companion Hazrat Abu Jawhar Giffari (R.A.) directly accused the dictator of Syria, Hazrat Moabiya, of being an 'anti-Qur'an ruler'. Abu Jawhar quoted from the Qur'an and said: 'You have built palaces with the wealth of the people and lived luxuriously in royal guises, which is contrary to the Qur'an.' Muabiya (RA) reprimanded Abu Jawhar Giffari (RA) and said: 'Yoo are all diots, state revenue and wealth, the owner is not the people. Allah alone is the owner of all wealth and Allah has appointed me as the caliph to guard His wealth. Wealth will be used not by the people, but by the will of the Caliph’.

When Caliph Usman himself, along with all the provincial governors of the entire Muslim empire, was considered aas anti-Qur'an, un-Islamic ruler by the people, then there is no telling how much Hazrat Usman's compilation of the Qur'an would be appreciated by the people. Hazrat Usman with Zaid Bin Thabit (R.A.) formed a Qur'an Compilation Committee with 12 members including Abdullah Ibn Jubair, Saad Ibnul As and Abdur Rahman Bin Hares. He instructed that in case of linguistic disagreement with the Ohi writers of Medina, the committee should follow the language of the Quraysh. The Caliph also said: "The Qur'an prepared by this committee will be the fully valid Qur'an approved by the government and all other Qur'ans of the state will be considered invalid." The Qur'an was written and edited by the state. Hazrat Usman ordered the committee to make 7 copies of the Quran. He sent 7 copies of the Quran to 7 states and ordered to burn all the remaining copies in the fire. All privately circulated Qurans were burned. That time, not Arabs and non-Arabs, Hashimi-Umayyas, Quraish, non Quraish, people from all areas of all provinces of the kingdom, people from all walks of life rose up against the Caliph.

A large territory was unjustly occupied; the status, standards, promotions, the world's endless wealth, treasures, property, slaves, maids were all attained. But alas! Alas, the religion of peace! Alas, the equality of Islam! After taking the lives of countless innocent men and women, children and teenagers, drinking so much human blood did not stop it’s thirst for blood. Islam is now trying to drink its own blood. Anti-government organizations were formed from all areas of the state. They have one point, one demand: the fall of the dictatorship. A brief introduction of those who came forward to lead the all-party struggle is given below:

Hazrat Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr (RA): Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr (RA) was the youngest son of Hazrat Abu Bakr, the most beloved companion of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the first Caliph of Islam, and the brother of Aisha, the youngest wife of Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr, the third caliph, accused Hazrat Omar's selection committee of conspiracy, conspiracy and nepotism.

Hazrat Muhammad Ibn Abu Huzaifa (RA): The son of Hazrat Abu Huzaifa (RA), a highly respected companion of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), was also named 'Muhammad'. After the death of his father in the battle of Yamama (during the reign of Abu Bakr), he was brought up in the house of Caliph Usman.

Growing up, Muhammad Ibn Abu Huzaifa realized that the tyranny that was going on in the world in the name of spreading Islam could not be supported by religion in any way. After leaving his homeland, Muhammad Ibn Abu Huzaifa (RA) moved to Egypt. The original inhabitants of Egypt, the 'Kivbati community', could not tolerate the rule of the Quraish. Muhammad Ibn Abu Huzaifa (R.A.) came to the side of the oppressed people of Egypt. He pointed to Abdullah bin Saad bin Abi Sarah, the governor of Egypt, and pointed to the luxurious real face of the rulers. Muhammad Ibn Abu Bakr and Muhammad Ibn Abu Huzaifa came to Egypt and raised public opinion against injustice for 12 long years.

Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Saba (RA): Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Saba hated luxurious life. He had no greed for power and money. He had great respect for Hazrat Ali. He believed that Hazrat Ali would be the first caliph after the Prophet's death as all the qualities of Prophet Muhammad were present in Hazrat Ali. Three successive Caliphs seized power by force and injustice. In Basra, Abdullah ibn Saba continued to campaign for his beliefs.

Abdullah bin Amir, governor of Basra, expelled Abdullah ibn Saba from his country. Abdullah Ibn Saba moved to Kufa. Hazrat Ali already had many supporters there. A large number of people supported his faith in Basra and Kufa. Then Abdullah Ibn Saba went to Syria. In Syria, Hazrat Usman's Umayya government was on the move to Hazrat Moabiya, the suffocating condition of the Hashemite dynasty. Abdullah ibn Saba eventually left Syria and joined Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr and Muhammad ibn Abu Huzaifa in Egypt. Here he founded an organization called Sabayi.

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) noticed that the revolt of the subjects against the autocrats was intensifying throughout the Muslim world and gave some subtle advice to Caliph Usman. 80-year-old Hazrat Usman was a clear proof of how blind people could be by the greed of power and wealth. He did not accept the advice of Ali (RA) but slandered Hazrat Ali as an instigator of rebellion.

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) noticed that the revolt of the subjects against the autocrats was intensifying throughout the Muslim world and gave some subtle advice to Caliph Usman. 80-year-old Hazrat Usman was a clear proof of how blind people could be by the greed of power and wealth. Then...

The situation in the country was getting worse day by day. Seeing the entire country in an explosion of mass agitation, Hazrat Usman suddenly introduced a new practice: 'Transfer of Tenancy, Jagirdari and Zamindari system. Hazrat Usman did this for two purposes. Namely: One, to gain the support of wealthy people of one's own family. Two, to make the poor people poorer than poor, and the peasants landless.

Arguing in favor of his ruinous law, he said - 'The population has increased excessively in the country. The lower classes has outnumbered the elite and civility and decency are suffering as a result. Most of the Muslim newcomers to the country are nomadic-Bedouins or rural non-Arabs. They are stupid and barbaric. Their tastes, behavior is ugly, rude language, uncivilized customs and insolent. The peace of the country is being endangered by them’.

In fact, that situation arose as a result of constant warfare. In the name of preaching religion, the Arabs accepted murder, robbery and robbery as a profession. Robbery was not only a profitable legal business, but also a virtuous deed, the rulers preached. There was no movement other than accepting Islam as a means of survival for common people and accepting banditry. People from all walks of life became Muslims in droves, joined the army and shared in the looted wealth, bringing with them superstition, disorder, vulgarity, disorder, ignorance and anarchy. Moreover, whores, captured as a commodity to satisfy the sex appetite of the powerful and wealthy companions, became a nuisance to the society and the rulers with their bastard children.

No one was left to understand that Caliph Usman's 'transfer of tenancy, jagirdari and zamindari system' was not introduced to save a nation from certain destruction, which was plunged into extreme moral decay. Several Companions objected to this.

That time, the eminent ulama of the country, famous companion group of the Prophet joined the rebel group. Even Hazrat Talha (RA), Hazrat Jobair (RA), who was once known as Usman's right hand, Sahabi Ibn-Masud (RA), the treasurer of Kufa, and many companions and government officials went against the Caliph.

Hazrat Usman followed a strict policy of repression. Some of the Companions were expelled from the country, some people were summoned to Palace and inflicted inhuman and cruel punishment with his own hands. Hazrat Usman's language towards the rebels was very vulgar, unspeakable, indecent. Hazrat Ali also did not escape Usman's foul language abuse.

Unbelievable but true, Prophet’s companion Hazrat Abdur Rahman Bin Awf (RA) who was chosen by Hazrat Omar to be the head of the Caliph Selection Committee, Usman was selected as Caliph, Prophet’s companion Hazrat Zaid Bin Thabit (R) whom Usman made the head of his 'Qur'an Compilation Committee', Companion Hazrat Amr Ibnul As, on whose words Uthman (RA) freed Ubaidullah, the murderous son of Hazrat Omar, without punishment, along with Hazrat Ali (RA) came to the front line of the rebel group.

From the village to the city, from the city to the capital, the fire of rebellion was burning. Seeing the dire situation, the Governor of Syria, Moabiya, sent a message to the Caliph - 'Amirul Momineen, come to Syria as soon as possible, your life is no longer safe in Medina, or impose martial law, I will help with troops.' The Caliph did nothing.

Madina was hot with the wind of popular uprising. Usman sensed the imminent danger. He remembered Hazrat Ali. Uthman (RA) admitted his mistake by calling Hazrat Ali. In fact, he did not admit the mistake. He wanted to use Hazrat Ali to achieve political objectives.

Ali remembered the tainted days of the long 12 year rule of the power and wealth hungry, egotistical, arbitrary Usman. Caliph Usman released Hazrat Obaidullah, the son of Hazrat Omar, the murderer of three innocent people, without punishment. By compiling and editing the Quran, he burnt the handwritten 'Qur'an' of people all over the state. The people of the world wiould never know what was written on them. By forcibly occupying the land of poor farmers and expanding the mosque in Medina, they made people homeless. Tainted the ideals of the Prophet by taxing horses. By enacting the 'Transfer of Tenure' Act, he made his relatives of the Umayya clan zamindars that is permanent land owners, and made the common people beggars. Drug addicts, adulterers, liars, self-proclaimed terrorists of the country, who have no character had been appointed as governors. The governor of Kufa, who had embezzled money from the Baytulmal, publicly abused his treasurer, Companion Ibn-Masud, in the words of the infamous Alid. On seeing Ibn-Masud in the mosque that day, Usman said, 'Look, the slave's degenerate child has come, he defecates on the same plate he eats'.

Earlier, Ibn-Masud (R.A.) could not bear the injustice of Hazrat Ali, the governor of Kufa, and resigned and moved to Madinah. Hazrat Ayesha came out from the house adjacent to the mosque after hearing Usman's abuse and said, "You are abusing the faithful companions of the Prophet like that?" The Caliph got very angry at Ayesha's words and kicked Ibn-Masud (R.A.) in such a way that one of the bones of Companiom Masud's back was broken. Usman dragged Masood unconscious that day, He threw him out of the 'Masjid Nawabi'.

A few days ago Companion Hazrat Ammar Ibn Yasir (RA) protested the economic arbitrariness of Caliph Usman. Because some people of Madinah accused the Caliph of stealing war booty, some gold ornaments and gems and pearls from Baitulmal. They also showed evidence of that ornament on several of the Caliph's relatives. Usman (RA) said in the language of Moab, "Allah is the owner of the wealth of Baitulmal." I am Allah's chosen caliph. One cannot become a caliph without God's nomination. The wealth will be used as I wish, you have no say in it'. Ammar Ibn Yaser and Hazrat Ali said together - "Khalifa, by Allah, I will be your first protestant, you will have to answer for the wealth of Baitulmal". Caliph Uthman imprisoned Ammar ibn Yasir and punished him in such a way that he lay unconscious and dead in the house of Umm Salma (RA) for three days. Ayesha was also present in that room. Hazrat Usman also said to Hazrat Ali that day: 'If you exaggerate too much, you will also be like Ammar'. Ali also showed his bloodshot eyes and said - 'Usman, self-confident, by Allah, my father is better than your father, my mother is better than your mother, my status with the Prophet is much higher than yours. By ordering me to leave the country, you can try once to see where the water flows!' Ali remembered these things and said, 'Today I cannot help you. I have warned you many times before, advised you, but you did not listen. Rather, a few days ago, a prominent companion, Hazrat Abu Jawhar Giffari (R.A.), drove him out of the country without any crime. When I protested against this, you on behalf of your minister Marwan abused me in obscene language and almost choked me out of the prasad.'

Usman said - 'Ali, I will accept all the complaints of the people and accept their demands, you return them from Medina.'

Hazrat Ali told Usman one by one the complaints and demands that the rebels had previously made to him. Hearing the allegations, Hazrat Usman laid all the blame on the two previous Caliphs, especially Hazrat Omar. He pointed out the names of some of the companion notorious miscreants and said, 'Look Ali, they have been appointed as governors by the second Caliph Omar. You know what kind of person the governor of Syria, Moabiya, is. Will my caliphate last even one day by removing people like him?’

Usman also said in a very humble language, 'Look, the last two caliphs also made many mistakes but no one ever demanded their resignation, why is this happening in my case? I will accept all the demands of the people except one demand. I cannot give up power’.

Translated from the works of https://www.facebook.com/russel495