Appointment as the Governor of Basra
When Abu Musa Ash'ari was deposed from the governorship of Basra, Uthman appointed Abdullah b 'Aamir as the Governor of Basra. The people of Basra wanted that a young man should be appointed as the Governor and in deference to this wish of the people, Abdullah b 'Aamar a young man of twenty- five was appointed to the of fice. 'Aamir the father of Abdullah was a maternal uncle of Uthman. Abdullah was thus a cousin of Uthman.

Assessment of Abdullah b 'Aamir

In 655 C.E. when Saeed b A1 'Aas was deposed from the governorship of Kufa, the people of Kufa demanded the appointment of Abu Musa Ash'ari as their Governor. Uthman accepted the demand and appointed Abu Musa Ashari as the Governor of Kufa. In his address on the occasion of the assumption of office Abu Musa secured an undertaking from the people of Kufa that they would not indulge in agitation, and would be loyal to Uthman. The people of Kufa, however, did not fulfil their undertaking and they sent a contingent to Madina to besiege the house of Uthman and press for his abdication. Although Abu Musa Ash'ari did nothing to oppose Uthman, he did nothing to help him either. He preferred to be neutral and watch developments.

When Uthman became the Caliph, he let Abu Musa Ash'ari continue as the Governor of Basra. He continued to hold this office for three years during the caliphate of Uthman. During the year 647 C.E. there were some disturbances in Fars, and some forces had to be sent there to restore law and order. There was shortage of animals at the time, and addressing the people Abu Musa stressed the virtue of undertaking Jihad on foot. The people were impressed with the preaching of Abu Musa Ash'ari, and they volunteered to undertake Jihad on foot in case there was a shortage of animals.

Abu Musa Ash'ari during the Caliphate of Umar
Abu Musa Ashiari was the Governor of basra during the caliphate of Umar. During this period, some complaints were made against him to Umar. The main complaints against him were: that out of the captives he had kept sixty persons for himself; that he had paid one thousand diners to a poet; that he had a maid Aquila who was paid a stipend which was twice the stipend paid to other Muslims; that he had entrusted most of his work to a young man Ziyad.

In Syria, Amir Muawiyah tried to deal with these conspirators diplomatically. He provided them with various facilities, and conferred many favors on them. He held several sittings with them, and tried to make them see reasons. The conspirators continued their campaign of vilification against the Quraish, and even demanded the deposition of Amir Muawiyah. Amir Muawiyah reported the matter to Uthman and he directed that these men be sent to Jazira where the ruler was Abdur Rahman.

Abdur Rahman was the son of the famous General Khalid b Walid. He treated with these conspirators harshly. The strong measures adopted by Abdur Rahman had a salutary effect, and the conspirators offered repentance. Abdur Rahman sent one of these conspirators Ashtar to Madina, and sent a message to Uthman through him that as they had repented they might be allowed to return to Kufa.

Early Years

When the entire episode of the deposition and penalization of Walid b Uqba is studied objectively one is apt to conclude that the accounts that have come down to us are distorted, and remote from reality. The tale appears to have been embroidered both by those who were critical of Uthman, and those who wanted to defend. Those who were hostile to Uthman took pains to establish that the person appointed by Uthman to high offices was guilty of heinous crimes, and hence Uthman was guilty of appointing undeserving person to high offices.

On the other hand those who stood for the defense of Uthman, and wanted to show that Uthman was just and impartial, held that even when a brother of Uthman was found guilty, Uthman did not hesitate to subject him to the penalty of law.

Walid b Uqba remained the Governor of Kufa for a period of five years and during this period he was very popular among the people and there were no complaints against him.

Thereafter the events took a sudden turn, and the position of Walid as Governor became uneasy. One night some young men beat to death a citizen of Kufa, Ibn Hesiman Khuzaii by name. Three young men Zubair b Jandab Azdi; Mawan b Abi Lawah Asadi; and Shabilb Abi Al Azdi were accused of the murder. Abu Sharih Khuzaii and his son who were the neighbors of Ibn Hesiman watched the murder from their house.

When Walid went to Kufa to take over charge as Governor, Sa'ad b Abi Waqas said to him, "By God I do not know whether after us you have become wiser, or before you we have become more foolish". Walid said, "It is neither this nor that; it is only the vicissitudes of time that shifts the center of power from one person to another." Sa'ad said, "Whatever the case I fear that you would convert the caliphate to monarchy."

As Governor Walid became very popular. His rule was mild and just. His house had no door; every body had free access to him. He took pains to redress the grievances of the people. He sanctioned stipends for the poor, the widows and the orphans, and the people admired him for his generosity.

In the case of revolts in Armenia and Azarbaijan, Walid led his forces in person; suppressed the revolts; restored law and order: and amassed great booty.

Early Years
On the deposition of Sa'ad b Abi Waqas from the governorship of Kufa, Uthman appointed Walid b Uqba as the Governor of Kufa. Walid b Uqba was an uterine brother of Uthman. After the death of Affan the father of Uthman, his mother Urwa had married Uqba b Abi Mo'eet. Uqba b Abi Mo'eet was one of the inveterate enemies of Islam. Among the Quraish he was in the forefront in the persecution of the Muslims. He was taken captive by the Muslims in the battle of Badr and was executed.

Walid became a Muslim at the time of the conquest of Makkah. Thereafter he was commissioned by the Holy Prophet to collect taxes from the Banu Mustaliq tribe. When Walid reached the settlement of the Banu Mustaliq they came out in large numbers to meet him. He got the impression that the Banu Mustaliq meant some mischief. He returned to Madina and reported to the Holy Prophet that the Banu Mustaliq had apostatized and were not willing to pay the taxes.

Dispute between Sa'ad b Abi Waqas and Ibn Masud
Sa'ad b Abi Waqas was not able to repay the loan within the stipulated period, and lbn Masud insisted on immediate repayment. Sa'ad b Abi Waqas wanted an extension in the time for the repayment of the loan. Ibn Masud refused to allow any extension ~n the ground that in accordance with the terms of the grant of the loan no extension was admissible. The issue became the subject matter of a dispute between Ibn Masud and Sa'ad b Abi Waqas. Hot words were exchanged between the two highest functionaries in the province. In the dispute some persons sided with Ibn Masud while some persons favored Sa'ad b Abi Waqas. Such differences created a crisis, and the provincial administration came to be paralyzed.

Deposition of Sa'ad b Abi Waqas

Umar's instructions about Sa'ad b Abi Waqas to his Successor
On his death bed Umar nominated Sa'ad b Abi Waqas as a member of the Committee who were to choose the next Caliph from among themselves. He also left instructions that in case Sa'ad b Abi Waqas was not chosen as the Caliph, he who was chosen as the Caliph should duly compensate Sa'ad b Abi Waqas for his services to Islam. He declared that in 640 C.E. he had deposed Sa'ad from the Governorship of Kufa merely by way of policy and not for any of his faults After the deposition of Sa'ad, Ammar b Yasir was appointed as the Governor of Kufa. He held the office for a short time, and was replaced by Mugheera b Shu'ba as the Governor of Kufa.

Appointment of Sa'ad b Abi Waqas as the Governor of Kuf
Umar left instructions for his successor that no change should be made in the Governors appointed by him for one year and that thereafter his successor was free to make whatever changes he deemed necessary in public interest.