Page:William Muir, Thomas Hunter Weir - The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline, and Fall (1915).djvu/225

 196 with scorn, said: "And pray, ʿAmmār, how long hast thou been counsellor to the Muslims? Let the Beni Hāshim and the Beni Umeiya speak for themselves." But ʿAmmār would not be silent; whereupon one cried angrily, "Thou passest beyond thy bounds, O son of Sumeiya; who art thou, thus to counsel Ḳoreish?" Saʿd, seeing the strife wax warm, said to ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān: "Finish thy work forthwith, or flames of discord will burst forth." "Silence, ye people!" cried ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān, "Be quiet, or ye will bring evil on yourselves. The determination of this matter rests with me." So saying, he called ʿAlī to the front;—"Dost thou bind thyself by the covenant of the Lord to do all according to the Book of the Lord, the example of the Prophet, and the precedent of his Successors?" "I hope," responded ʿAlī, "that I should do so; I will act according to the best of my knowledge and ability." Then he put the same question to ʿOthmān, who answered unconditionally,—"Yea, I will." Whereupon, either dissatisfied with ʿAlī's hesitating answer, or having already decided in his mind against him, ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān raised his face toward heaven, and taking ʿOthmān by the hand, prayed thus aloud:—"O Lord, do Thou hearken now and bear me witness. Verily the burden that is around my neck, the same do I place round the neck of ʿOthmān." So saying, he saluted him as Caliph, and the people followed his example.

It was the first day of the New year, the 24th of the Hijra. After two or three days spent in receiving the homage of the people, ʿOthmān ascended the pulpit, and made a brief and modest speech. "The first attempt," he said, "was always difficult, for he was unused to speak in public. It would be his duty in the future to address them, and the Lord would teach him how."

Though ʿAlī, like the rest, took the oath of allegiance, yet his partisans were much displeased, and he himself upbraided ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān bitterly with the desire to keep the supreme power out of the Prophet's house and brotherhood. "Beware," said ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān, with prophetic