The Outset of Dissension in Islam — Page 29
29 H aisum a n Al-Khuz a ‘ i. They broke into his house at night, but he learned of this and came out with a sword. However, when he saw a large party he raised a hue and cry. At this, the group said, “Quiet! Or we shall wipe out your fear with a single blow,” and they killed him. During this time, the neighbours had become alert; they gathered around and apprehended the robbers. A Companion named Hadrat Ab u Shurai h , may Allah be pleased with him, who was a neighbour of this person and had witnessed the whole incident from over the wall of his house, testified that, in fact, these people had killed ‘Al i. Similarly, his son also testified. The matter was submitted to Hadrat ‘ Uthm a n ra in writing and he sentenced all of them to death. Hence, Wal i d bin ‘Utbah, who had been appointed as the governor of Kufah by Hadrat ‘Uthm a n ra in those days, executed all these robbers in an open plain beyond the gate of the city. 27 Apparently, this seems to be an insignificant event, but if one studies the conditions of that time, this was not an minor incident. With the progress of Islam, the rate of crime died out completely. People were at such peace that they did not even fear sleeping with open doors. Hadrat ‘ Umar ra had even stopped his governors from making security posts outside their offices. Although, the intention of Hadrat ‘Umar ra in this was to facilitate the people in submitting their complaints to governors with ease, this order could only have been carried out until an extreme level of peace prevailed. This incident was also especially worthy of note because the children of various powerful and influential people, who 27. T a r i khu t-T abar i , vol. 5, p. 104, Dhikrus-Sababi F ī ‘ Azli. . . . . , Published by D a rul-Fikr, Beirut, 2002 edition