The Biography of Uthman Ibn Affan R Dhun Noorayn

498 'Uthmin Ibn 'Affsn&i
Dhun-Noorayn
end in the Hereafter, He chose for that mission the best of His
creation, then He chose for him companions the best of whom
were Quraysh, then He built this great kingdom on that
foundation and established this caliphate among them, and no
one could be fit for that except them. So Allsh was taking care of
them as they were following His religion, and He protected them
against the kings who were subjugating you during the
Jaahiliyyah. Woe to you and your companions! I wish that
someone else had spoken instead of you, but you rushed to
speak first. As for you, 0 Sa'sa'ah, your town is the worst of Arab
towns, with the least produce, the deepest valleys, the most
familiar with evil and the meanest to its neighbours. No one,
noble or lowly, stayed there but he was reviled and mistreated.
Moreover, they are the worst in using offensive nicknames, the
worst sons-in-law, the dregs of the nations. You are on the border
and you were controlled by the Persians when the call of the
Prophet (g) reached you. But you were not there with your
people; you were in Oman, not in Bahrain, so the call of the
Prophet (g) did not include you, and you are the worst of your
people. When Islam made you prominent and made you prevail
over nations that used to rule you, now you aim to distort the
religion of Allsh and you demonstrate your meanness. This does
not affect Quraysh in the slightest and it will never harm them or
prevent them from doing their duty. The Shaytaan is not unaware
of you; he knew that you are the most evil of your people and he
has misled the people through you. He is going to be the cause of
your doom. He knows that he will not be able to change the
decree by means of you, or change any decree of All&. There is
nothing that you can achieve by means of evil actions but All&
will punish you with something more evil or more humiliating
than it. Then he stood up and left, and they started muttering
amongst them~elves.'~~
Thus Mu'swiyah did his utmost to convince them on an
intellectual and political level.
['I Tareekh at-Tabari, 5/326