124 No god but God
death. It was not long before only two men remained: Ali, the scion
of the Banu Hashim, and a somewhat unremarkable septuagenarian
named Uthman ibn Affan.
A wealthy member of the Umayyad clan—the clan of Muham-
mad’s fiercest enemies, Abu Sufyan and Hind—Uthman was a
Quraysh through and through. Although an early convert to Islam, he
had never exhibited any leadership qualities; he was a merchant, not a
warrior. Muhammad deeply loved Uthman, but never once entrusted
him with leading a raid or an army on his behalf, something nearly
every other man standing at the shura had done on more than one
occasion. But it was precisely his inexperience and lack of political
ambition that made Uthman such an attractive choice. He was, more
than anything else, the perfect alternative to Ali: a prudent, reliable
old man who would not rock the boat.
In the end, Ali and Uthman were each asked two questions by Abd
al-Rahman, who, despite being Uthman’s brother-in-law, had been
selected as Hakam between the two men. First, would each man rule
according to the principles of the Quran and the example of Muham-
mad? Both replied that they would. The second question was unex-
pected. Would each man, if selected Caliph, strictly follow the
precedents set by the two previous Caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar?
Not only was this a totally unprecedented requirement for leading
the community, it was obviously meant to weed out one candidate in
particular. For while Uthman remarked that he would follow the
example of his predecessors in all his decisions as Caliph, Ali gave the
men in the room a hard stare and answered flatly, “No.” He would fol-
low only God and his own judgment.
Ali’s answer sealed the verdict. Uthman became the third Caliph,
and in 644 C.E. was promptly endorsed by the Ummah.
The Banu Hashim had fumed when Ali was skipped over in favor of
Abu Bakr. But Abu Bakr was a highly respected Muslim with impec-
cable credentials. The Hashim had been furious with Abu Bakr for
ignoring Ali and simply choosing Umar as his successor. But, again,
Umar was a strong leader and, without the proper channels, there was
little they could do but voice their opposition. However, when Uth-