The Outset of Dissension in Islam — Page 28
28 H A D RAT MIRZA BASHIR-UD-DIN MAHMUD AHMAD crimes, instead of reforming themselves, they became bent upon the destruction of those who were administering these sentences. Ultimately, they proved to become the cause of creating a great rift in the unity enjoyed by Islam. The centre of these people was in Kufah. However, the strangest thing to note is that an incident took place in Madinah itself, which demonstrates that in that time, some people were as unfamiliar with Islam as the ignorant people of today who live in the remotest areas. H imr a n bin Abb a n was a person who married a woman during her ‘ iddat. 25 When Hadrat ‘ Uthm a n, may Allah be pleased with him, learned of this, he was displeased at him; not only did he order a separation, but also exiled him from Madinah to Basrah. 26 This occurrence demonstrates how certain people began to perceive that the mere acceptance of Islam authorized them as being scholars of Islam. They did not feel a need for further research. Perhaps, due to an influence of various views, related to believing in unlawful things as being permissible, they deemed it a futile act to follow the shariah. This is a sole event and perhaps in Madinah, which was the centre of Islam, there was no one else who was as ignorant as he. However, in other cities, there were some who continued to advance in sins. Hence, it is ascertained from the circumstances of Kufah that a band of youths had taken root for the purpose of robbery. It is written that once they proposed robbing the house of a person named ‘ Al i bin 25. A fixed time period specified by the Islamic shariah, which must elapse before a widow or divorced lady is permitted to marry again. [Publishers] 26. T a r i khu t-T abar i , vol. 5, p. 139, Dhikrul-Khabari ‘ An Tasy ī ri ‘ Uthm a na. . . . . , Published by D a rul-Fikr, Beirut, 2002 edition