Khalifa Uthman bin Affan - Recall and re-deposition of 'Amr b Al 'Aas

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 .

'Amr b A1 'Aas took over the command in Egypt and drove away the Byzantines from the soil of Egypt. After the reconquest of Egypt another crisis developed. As under Abdullah b Sa'ad the revenues of the province had risen considerably, Uthman made Abdullah b Sa'ad hold independent charge of the Revenue Department while 'Amr b Al 'Aas was to be the Governor and supreme commander of the military forces. 'Amr b A1 'Aas protested against this arrangement. He said that under such an arrangement he would be holding the cow by the horns while some one else would be milking it. Uthman desired that 'Amr b Al 'Aas should guarantee that the revenues would not fall below the stipulated level 'Amr b A1 'Aas was not prepared to give even such guarantee. The dispute could not be resolved and ultimately Uthman passed orders for the deposition of 'Amr b Al 'Aas .

'Amr b Al 'Aas 's opposition to Uthman
After deposition 'Amr b Al 'Aas returned to Madina and spear-headed the movement for agitation against Uthman in Madina. 'Amr b Al 'Aas freely indulged in the criticism of Uthman, and lost no opportunity in agitating against Uthman. Once when Uthman took him to task for indulging in base talk, 'Amr b A1 'Aas said some unkind words against Affan the father of Uthman. Marwan took objection to these insulting remarks, but Uthman chose to remain quiet. Once when Uthman was addressing the congregation in the mosque and justifying his position, Amr b A1 'Aas contradicted him, and adopted an insulting stance. 'Amr b A1 ,Aas had a strong party in Egypt and this party created a good deal of trouble for Uthman. When the rioters from Egypt came to Madina they enjoyed the support of 'Amr b A1 'Aas . When the agitation against Uthman grew in momentum, 'Amr b A1 'Aas left Madina for Palestine. While departing from Madina, 'Arur b Al 'Aas spoke contemptuously about Uthman, and said that he would raise even the shepherds of the desert against Uthman.