The election of Uthman

Uthman ibn Affan, the third caliph, was chosen by a council meeting in Medina, in northwestern Arabia, in AH 23 (643/644). The second caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, was stabbed by a Persian slave named Feroz. Mindful of the tumults that had occurred after the death of Muhammad (see Succession to Muhammad), on his deathbed Umar appointed a committee of six men, to choose a new leader.

He wished this consultation, or shura, to survive the strictest criticism. The six men were:

Umar's expectation seems to have been that the group should choose one among themselves who would be acceptable to all.

Talha was absent and did not reach Medina until after the decision had been made. The choice of a new ruler for the new Islamic empire fell to five men.

At his death bed, Umar ibn al-Khattab (d.644) nominated a board of six members who were required to elect one of themselves as the next caliph. The group consisted of Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas, Abdur Rahman bin Awf, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Talha ibn Ubayd Allah, Ali ibn Abi Talib and Uthman ibn Affan. To regulate the group and ensure that no single person would stop the process, Umar said that they should all agree unanimously on the next caliph and he ordered his son, Abdullah bin Umar to kill any one person whose opinion would differ from the rest of the group.

Out of the six members, Zubair withdrew his candidature in favor of Ali. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas withdrew in favor of Uthman. Out of the three remaining candidates Abdur Rahman decided to withdraw, leaving Uthman and Ali. Abdur Rahman was appointed as the arbitrator to choose between the remaining two candidates. Contacting the two candidates separately, he put to them the question whether they would follow in the footsteps of the previous caliphs. Ali said that he would follow the Quran and the Sunnah of Muhammed. Uthman replied to the question in the affirmative without any reservation. Thereupon, Abdur Rahman gave his verdict in favor of the election to Uthman.

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