The Outset of Dissension in Islam — Page 98
98 H A D RAT MIRZA BASHIR-UD-DIN MAHMUD AHMAD REALITY BEHIND THE REBEL SCHEME It was neither possible for the rebels to be affected, nor were they effected. However, as for those gifted with insight, this response of Hadrat ‘Uthm a n ra was so replete of the exemplary attributes of humility and modesty that the audacity and shamelessness of these rebels becomes even more evident. The rebels forged a letter and accused Hadrat ‘Uthm a n, may Allah be pleased with him, of deception and lies. Furthermore, Hadrat ‘ Al i ra and Muhammad bin Maslamah ra deduced [the true state of affairs] from the events and openly charged the rebels of deceit. Even Hadrat ‘Uthm a n ra himself, who was being accused and against whom this conspiracy was being hatched, cleared himself of the charges, but never said, ‘You have forged this letter. ’ In fact, he actually covered their mistake by merely stating, “You are aware that a letter can resemble another, a stamp can be replicated, and even a camel can be stolen. ” Some people, who believe Hadrat ‘ Uthm a n ra to be absolved of this allegation but are also inclined to think positively about the rebels, believe that perhaps Marw a n wrote this letter and sent it on his own accord. However, in my view this notion is absolutely false. The events clearly show that this letter was forged by the rebels themselves, and was not written by Marw a n or any other person. Furthermore, it is also wrong to object that if the rebels had forged this letter, how then did the servant of Hadrat ‘Uthm a n ra and a camel given in s adaqah come into their custody; how did they forge the letter of a scribe of Hadrat ‘Uthm a n ra ; and how was it stamped by the ring of Hadrat ‘Uthm a n? For many reasons exist, which suggest that it was the rebels who had forged this letter. It appears, however,