Distinguished by Prophet Muhammad
Sa'ad b Abi Waqas belonged to the section of the Quraish to which the mother of the Holy Prophet belonged. Sa'ad became a convert to Islam at the age of seventeen. He participated in all the expeditions undertaken by the Holy Prophet. He had the distinction for shooting the first arrow in the cause of Islam. He was the only person to whom the Holy Prophet said, "May my parents be your ransom". He was very close to the Holy Prophet. The Holy Prophet held him in high esteem. He was one of the ten distinguished Muslims, whom the Holy Prophet gave the tidings of paradise in their lifetime.

Victor of Qadisiyia

Early Life
Mugheera b Shu'ba belonged to the tribe of Thaqueef of Taif. He became a convert to Islam after the battle of Taif in 628 C.E. On conversion to Islam he took part in all the battles. He was a brave fighter. He lost an eye in the battle of Yamamma. During the caliphate of Umar, Utba b Ghazwan was the Governor of Basm while Mugheera b Shu'ba was the Deputy Governor. Utab b Ghazwan died in 639 C.E., and Mugheera b Shu'ba became the Governor of Basra.

Deposition of Mugheera b Shu'ba

Amir Muawiyah was the second cousin of Uthman, and he supported Uthman through thick and thin. When the agitation against Uthman mounted high, Muawiyah made three offers to Uthman. He requested Uthman to go with him to Damascus as the people there were very loyal. Uthman did not accept this offer as he did not want to leave the city of the Holy Prophet. In the alternative Muawiyah offered to send a force form Syria who could act as the guard of the Caliph. Uthman did not accept this offer as he was averse to civil war among the Muslims. In the last resort, Muawiyah made the offer that if Uthman was killed he should be authorized to raise the demand for the avenging of his blood. This alternative was accepted by Uthman. After the martyrdom of Uthman, Muawiyah raised the demand for the vengeance of the blood of Uthman. This culminated in the establishment of the Umayyad rule after the death of Ali.

Taha Hussain's Criticism

Syria became an important and strategic province because of its proximity to the dominions of the Byzantines. Muawiyah proved to be a Governor of exceptional character. He ruled as Governor for twenty years, and thereafter ruled as Caliph for another twenty years. In the history of the world we do not come across an instance of a Governor who was as popular as Muawiyah.

Muawiyah conquered the islands of Cypress and Rhodes. The Byzantines invaded Spain with a large force. Amir Muawlyah defeated the Byzantines. The Byzantines evacuated the border forts in the Tarsus which were occupied by the Muslims. The Muslims under Amir Muawiyah raided the Byzantine territories every year and made extensive conquests.

Early Life
Amir Muawiyah was the son of Abu Sufian. He was the leader of the Quraish He led the Quraish in the battle of Uhud. He was the inveterate enemy of Islam and he tried his best to overpower the Muslims. All his efforts, however, failed, and after the conquest of Makkah he had no option but to accept Islam. Muawiyah's mother was Hindah. She led a contingent of women in the battle of Uhud. At the battle of Uhud, she chewed the liver of Hamza, and uncle of the Holy Prophet. One of the sisters of Muawiyah Umm Habibah was married to the Holy Prophet. After conversion to Islam, Abu Sufian and his sons worked faithfully in the cause of Islam. Muawiyah was attached to the Holy Prophet. The Holy Prophet had a high opinion about the capacities of Muawiyah.

Amir Muawiyah as Governor of Syria

In 655 C.E. when the agitation against the Government grew in momentum Abdullah b Sa'ad went to Madina to apprise the Caliph of the state of affairs in Egypt. In the absence of Abdullah b Sa'ad from Egypt Muhammad b Abu Hudhaifa staged a coup d'etat, and captured power. On coming to know of th6 coup Abdullah b Sa'ad returned to Egypt but he failed to, recapture power. He retired to Ramlah where he died two years later. On coming to power in Egypt Muhammad b Hudhaifa sent Muhammad b Abu Bakr and 'Ammar b Yasir to Madina to prepare the ground in Madina for revolt against Uthman. Thereafter he sent a strong contingent from Egypt with the instructions to overthrow the Government of Uthman, and kill him if he refused to abdicate.

Family of Muhammad b Abu Hudhaifa

Criticism against Uthman

Early Life

Early in 646 C.E. a large Byzantine force landed at Alexandria and occupied it. From the base at Alexandria, the Byzantines planned to reconquer the whole of Egypt. The Muslims of Egypt sent a delegation to Madina to prevail on Uthman to restore 'Amr b Al 'Aas and appealed to him to take over the command of Egypt. He stipulated some terms which were accepted by Uthman. 'Amr b Al 'Aas was made the Governor of United Egypt, and he was also to be the supreme commander of the military forces in Egypt. Abdullah b Sa'ad was to hold a subordinate position under 'Amr b Al 'Aas .

In his testament, Umar had instructed his successor not to make any change in the administrative set up for one year after his death. True to these instructions, Uthman maintained the status quo in the administrative set up of Egypt.

'Amr b Al 'Aas smarted under the loss of power, and felt dissatisfied at the partition of the province. Soon after the death of Umar, 'Amr b Al 'Aas came to Madina, and apprised Uthman of the state of affairs in Egypt. He pointed out that Egypt was a unity, and its division into two provinces was undesirable politically as well as economically. He pressed Uthman to rescind the orders of partition, depose Abdullah b Sa'ad, and make him ('Amr) the Governor of United Egypt once again.

Early Life
'Amr b Al 'Aas belonged to the Sahm section of the Quraish. When the Holy Prophet declared his mission, 'Amr was one of the great opponents of Islam. He even planned the murder of the Holy Prophet. When some of the Muslims migrated to Abyssinia, the Quraish sent a delegation to Abyssinia to prevail upon the Negus to expel the Muslims from his State. 'Amr was one of the members of this delegation. 'Amr was an active member of the delegation, but the delegation failed in its object. At the battle of Uhud, 'Amr commanded the Quraish cavalry.

Conversion to Islam

In view of these traditions the view of Uthman was that there was a divinity about the office of the Caliph, and as such the Caliph was responsible to God and not to the people. As such the people had no right to disobey or criticize the Caliph. If the Caliph was just his reward lay with God.

There are however numerous traditions on the point. The Holy Prophet said:

"Whoso obeys me obeys God, and whoso rebels against me rebels against God. Whoso obeys the ruler obeys me and whoso rebels against the ruler rebels against me."

The Holy Prophet said:

"After me will come rulers; tender them your obedience for the ruler is like a shield wherewith a man protects himself; if they are righteous and rule you well, they shall have their reward, but if they do evil then punishment will fall upon them, and you will be quit of it, for they are responsible for you, and you have no responsibility."

The Holy Prophet said: