The third caliph pursued the warlike policy of his predecessors; by his orders the Mussulman armies completed the conquest of Persia, and extended the sway of the Saracens to the river Oxus, and the borders of India. Northern Africa, as far as the shores of the Atlantic, was subdued by another army; and a fleet, equipped in the harbours of Egypt and Syria, subdued the island of Cyprus, and menaced the northern coasts of the Mediterranean. But this success produced its natural effect; it required all the energies of Omar’s stern character to resist the progress of luxury and dissipation; the weak Othman was utterly incapable of any similar exertion. The wild sons of the desert began to rival in magnificence the most wealthy monarchs; they became ambitious of palaces and titles, they preferred the splendour of the court, to the glory of the field. Othman’s gentleness and facility accelerated the progress of corruption; naturally generous, he was unwilling to refuse any applicant, and as the foremost candidates for office are generally those least fitted for its duties, the administration fell into the hands of the designing and the profligate. With some show of reason, the old companions of Mohammed complained that they were set aside to make room for the family of Othman; and, with still more justice, that the imprudence and wantonness of youth was preferred to their experience.
Religion did not escape from the general corruption; new sects began to be formed; and the jealousy of the partisans of Ali daily acquired fresh strength. Abu Dar, an old companion of the prophet, misrepresenting some passages of the Koran, declared that the riches of this world were the source of every crime, and that the wealthy should be compelled by force to give their superfluities to the poor. Such doctrine was sure to obtain a favourable hearing in a half-civilised country, where, from the unequal distribution of plunder, a few had been suddenly enriched, but the great bulk of the population reduced to comparative poverty. At the same time another sectary announced that Mohammed was about to reappear, and execute justice on the wicked and cruel men who tyrannised over the Mussulmans. The people, expecting an approaching regeneration, despised their rulers, and neglected the duties of social life. The second revision of the Koran, ordained by Othman, was regarded by many of the Mussulmans as a corruption of the true religion; they suspected that the caliph did not pay sufficient deference to the authority of the prophet; especially as in certain prayers he made four prostrations where Mohammed only used two; and he had rebuilt a chapel destroyed by Mohammed’s special command.
We have been so long accustomed to see the Mohammedan religion united with despotic government, that we are naturally surprised to find a pure democracy under the caliphate; from the very beginning, every affair of importance was submitted to the general assembly; and all, except slaves, were permitted to state their opinions freely. No practical inconvenience arose from this custom, whilst disorder was checked by the sacred character of the prophet, the dignified demeanour of Abu Bekr, or the stern severity of Omar. But Othman possessed no such influence; when he attempted to stem the popular tide, he was attacked in his very pulpit, and driven by volleys of stones from the assembly. Satires and lampoons, “those straws,” which, as Lord Bacon says, “show the direction of the wind,” appeared in countless abundance.
Parties and factions were formed on every side; each province demanded a new governor, every faction desired a new caliph. The leaders in these disturbances were the ancient companions of the prophet; and many of the most devoted Mussulmans were ready to join in a revolution. At length a part of the Egyptian army marched suddenly to Medina and demanded an immediate reform of abuses. By a liberal use of promises and persuasions, they were induced to retire; but it was only to return the following year, irritated by disappointment, and strengthened by large bodies of partisans from Cufa and Bassora. Othman once more soothed the mutineers, but as they were returning home, they learned that the caliph’s secretary had sent official orders that they should be massacred. It is not quite certain that the caliph had sanctioned this perfidy, but that it was meditated does not admit of doubt. The soldiers, justly enraged, again appeared before Medina, demanding the head of the secretary; when that was refused, they slew Othman himself.
[656 A.D.]
The fatal day on which this atrocity occurred was Friday, which the Mohammedans keep holy. It was Othman’s custom on this day to fast until he had read through the entire Koran, and he was engaged in the perusal of the sacred volume, when the approach of the assassins was announced. Some of the caliph’s friends advised him to make some preparations for resistance, but he replied that he had seen Mohammed in a dream, and had been informed that they should break their fast together that day in paradise.
In the meantime, the conspirators advanced sword in hand. Five hundred guards attempted to check their progress, but were cut to pieces; the caliph’s wife threw herself in their path and had her hand cut off; the sons of Ali, and some of the old companions of the prophet, endeavoured to propitiate the mutineers, but were forced to consult their own safety by flight. Othman tranquilly read the Koran in the midst of the confusion; he scarcely deigned to raise his head when the enraged soldiers burst into his apartment. At their head was a son of Abu Bekr, named Muhammed, who seized Othman by the beard, and prepared to strike a fatal blow. The caliph, looking him steadily in the face, asked, “O Muhammed! what think you that your sainted father would say, if he saw my beard in your grasp?” Struck with the words, Muhammed drew back in silence; but his companions, less scrupulous, rushed upon Othman, and he fell covered with wounds. His blood gushed upon the Koran which he held in his hand; it is said to be still preserved as a relic in the mosque of Damascus. So great was the terror diffused by this event, that no one dared to perform the funeral obsequies; the body remained three days unburied; at length Ali gave orders for its sepulture, but it was buried by night, and in a private cemetery.
The orthodox Mussulmans reverence Othman in the present day for the action which excited most resentment in his own, namely, the revision of the Koran. They cite respecting him, the following traditionary saying of the prophet, “I have seen the name of Othman written on the gate of paradise; I have seen it marked behind the throne of God, and on the wings of the archangel Gabriel.” The Shiites regard him as a usurper, but they do not execrate his memory so much as that of Omar.
At first the horror inspired by this murder was so great, that all parties were reduced to silence. The surviving companions of Mohammed took advantage of this interval of tranquillity, and nominated Ali fourth caliph.
Ali was the son of Abu Talib, that uncle of Mohammed who had so faithfully watched over his childhood. He had been the first to acknowledge the divine mission of his cousin, and he ever manifested the most devoted attachment to his person. When Mohammed fled from Mecca, Ali disguised himself in the prophet’s robes, and placed himself on his bed, that the Meccans might not suspect his escape. When he followed his patron to Medina, he married the prophet’s favourite daughter Fatima, by whom he had several children. Mohammed on many occasions showed a strong love for Ali; he appointed him his lieutenant in his first expedition against the Greeks, at Tabuc, and during occasional absence, entrusted to him the government of Medina. It is supposed, on very plausible grounds, that Ali was actually nominated his successor by the prophet, but that Aisha prevented the circumstance from being known. This injustice was deeply felt by the son of Abu Talib and his partisans, but particularly by Mohammed’s relations, who thought themselves neglected by the three first caliphs. In vain, however, did his friends endeavour to persuade Ali to attempt the forcible seizure of the reins of government; he replied constantly, that he would never reign except by the free suffrages of the Mussulmans. During the reign of Omar, his loyalty was so notorious, that he was appointed governor of Arabia during the caliph’s absence at Jerusalem; he refused to join those who conspired against Othman, and one of his sons was severely wounded in defence of that sovereign. Finally, when elected, he very reluctantly consented to accept the dignity of caliph, which had twice already proved fatal to its possessors.