The shura council in the caliphate of Uthman

Umar made the matter a council among six of the Companions of the Prophet. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and Ali spoke, Umar named Talha by name, and he assigned the matter to Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf. ¹

The index of the fourth volume of al-Tabari names "the story of the council" in the reports of the year 23 AH. ²

This summary does not give the whole account; the details of the choice and its outcome need an additional source.

The speaker recounts that Umar set up a council of six, which was to be shut in a room until they chose one of themselves. The matter narrowed to Uthman and Ali, with Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf to choose between them, and the speaker says the matter was a trust given to the community ^{5 6}.

He names the six as Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Ali, Sa'd, Talha, al-Zubayr and Uthman, and says they were among the ten promised Paradise and were to stay in a room until they chose one of themselves ^{7 8}.

He says that if the six split three and three, Abdullah ibn Umar would enter to decide between the two sides with no say in the matter of the caliphate. Ibn Umar was excluded from candidacy, though the speaker describes him as known for candour and piety ^{9 10}.

He says Talha and al-Zubayr stood aside from the caliphate from the outset, then Sa'd withdrew, leaving Abd al-Rahman with Ali and Uthman ¹¹.

He recounts that Abd al-Rahman asked Uthman whether he would govern by the Qur'an, the Sunna and the conduct of the two predecessors, and Uthman agreed. He asked Ali, who said he would govern by the Qur'an and the Sunna, but that the two predecessors had their own way and he had his; he did not accept their conduct as binding ^{12 3 13}.

He says Abd al-Rahman raised Uthman's hand in pledge, and that Uthman accepted the conditions the community had set ⁴.