Abdullah bin Sa’d  sought permission from ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan  to invade Africa. Africa was then considered a country that included the area stretching between Tripoli and Tangiers. Moreover, Africa was then considered a conglomeration of the countries which make up the northern part of the African continent – Tripoli, Algiers, Tunis, and Morocco. ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan  allowed him to do what he wanted. He marched towards his destination at the head of an army of 10,000 men. First, he subdued the chiefs of Barqah and they agreed to pay Jizyah. The Muslim commander then advanced towards Tripoli capturing the territories falling on the way. At this stage the Caliph dispatched fresh reinforcements from Al-Madeenah to help ‘Abdullah's army.

When the detachment reached Barqah via Egypt, ‘Abdullah bin Sa’d welcomed it and they jointly proceeded towards Tripoli. The Romans tried to put up resistance but were repulsed. After the fall of Tripoli, the Muslim troops marched ahead. Gregory, the King of Africa was the vassal of Caesar. When he came to know of the march of the Muslim army, he mobilized one 120,000 men and came face to face with the Muslim forces. ‘Abdullah bin Sa’d first invited Gregory to accept Islam. When Gregory flatly refused, he asked him to pay the Jizyah (head-tax imposed by Islam on the people of the Book). When he rejected that also, the Muslim army drew up ranks and a fierce battle broke out, which remained indecisive. Fresh Muslim reinforcements joined the battle and the Muslim army called out Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest).

When Gregory inquired about the cries raised by the Muslims, he was told that a fresh detachment had arrived and joined the Muslim forces. Both the armies fought enthusiastically but the battle remained inconclusive. When night set in, consultations were held for adopting a new strategy. ‘Abdullah bin Zubayr  suggested that half of the troops should go to the battlefield and the rest remain inside the camp. When the two armies, exhausted by the daylong fighting were to leave the battlefield for camp, the fresh half of the Muslim army should attack the retreating Romans. The counsel received general acceptance. This strategy was put to practice on the third day of the battle. When the two armies separated in the afternoon, ‘Abdullah bin Zubayr  rushed out from the camp with the fresh detachment and charged the Romans. They could not withstand the attack and fled to their camp, but could not save themselves because the Muslim force surrounded the camp and the Romans were either killed or captured. Gregory also fought against the Muslims and was put to the sword by ‘Abdullah bin Zubayr 

The next day, the Muslim army moved ahead and reached Sabitalah, the headquarters of (northern) Africa which was also conquered in a couple of days, and an immense amount of spoils fell into the hands of the Muslims. The Muslims marched further and laid siege around the fort of Jam, which was very strong and fortified. However, they could not stand the Muslim onslaught and yielded on the condition of paying one million as Jizyah. ‘Abdullah bin Zubayr set out to Al-Madeenah with the glad tidings of the African conquest and one-fifth of the spoils. ‘Abdullah bin Sa’d  returned to Egypt from Africa after an absence of one year and three months.

Conquest of Cyprus and Rhodes

‘Abdullah bin Sa’d  came back to Egypt from the other parts of northern Africa. Constantine again rose to make military preparations for a fresh battle. In 28 AH, he dispatched a part of his navy towards Africa, which reached the African coast and demanded tribute for Caesar. But the Africans flatly refused, because Caesar had lent no help when they were under the Muslim attack and so they no longer held him as their ruler. This refusal led to fighting between the Africans and the Roman army, which resulted in the defeat of Africans. The Romans then advanced towards Alexandria. ‘Abdullah bin Nafi' was ready to fight them. In the meantime Caesar himself set off to conquer Alexandria at the head of a fleet of 600 boats. The Roman forces proceeded to Alexandria from both sides. A fierce fight took place, which ended with the destruction of the Romans. They escaped to Cyprus, which they used as their naval headquarters and an arsenal for their weapons.

During the last days of ‘Umar’s Caliphate, Mu'awiyah  had sought permission to invade Cyprus from the Syrian coast. However, ‘Umar  had hesitated in giving permission for such a campaign and the matter remained undecided until he passed away. ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan  permitted the naval attack on condition that nobody was forced to take part in the adventure. Inspired by the efforts of Mu'awiyah, a party agreed to invade Cyprus. The party included Abu Tharr Al-Ghifari, Abud-Dardaa', Shaddad bin ‘Aws, ‘Ubadah bin As-Samit and his wife Umm Haram bint Milhan . ‘Abdullah bin Qays  was made the commander of the detachment, which left for Cyprus by boat. When Constantine escaped from Alexandria, he had taken refuge in Cyprus. An Islamic naval force chased him by boats from Egypt and reached Cyprus. And this, a fresh naval detachment from Syria also descended on the coast of Cyprus. Constantine could not withstand the attack and fled to Constantinople with great difficulty, and finally succumbed to death.

However, according to other sources, frustrated by his successive defeats, some people killed him in his bathroom. Thus Cyprus easily fell to the Muslims. Mu'awiyah  also arrived in Cyprus with a detachment. After finishing his job in Cyprus he sailed to Rhodes. The conquests of Cyprus and Rhodes opened the door for Muslim campaigns against Constantinople and other countries of the region. These events took place at the end of 28 AH or at the beginning of 29 AH.

Circulation of the Quran

When Huthayfah bin Al-Yaman  reached Al-Madeenah on route to Basrah, Koofah, Rey and Syria, he expressed amazement over the fact that the people of Iraq, Syria, Basrah and Koofah, and Persia had their own way of reciting the Noble Quran which was quite different from each other. He thought it would be better if one and all were brought to the same way of recitation. ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan  convened a meeting of the distinguished Companions and placed the suggestion for their deliberations and decisions. All of them endorsed the opinion of Huthayfah . Then, ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan  had them bring the copy of the Quran that was with Hafsah  which was compiled by Zayd bin Thabit  and other Companions during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq  and which had been kept with ‘Umar and then with his daughter Hafsah  after ‘Umar’s death. The Caliph deputed a number of qualified people to prepare a number of copies. He then sent a copy of the Quran to each city with the order that the Quran be copied accordingly and all the old copies be set on fire. When the fresh copy reached Koofah, the Companions expressed their joy over it, but ‘Abdullah bin Mas'ood  remained firm on his own recitation.

Yezdgird killed

The Persian Empire was destroyed during the Caliphate of ‘Umar . The rest of the cities and frontier provinces were conquered during the Caliphate of ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan . Nevertheless, Yezdgird, the Emperor of Persia was still running from place to place for safety. Sometimes he was in Rey and sometimes in Balkh, Marw, Isfahan, Istakhar, Turkistan and China and back again to Persia. A party of several thousand soldiers remained with him through thick and thin in the hope that one day their past glory and grandeur might be restored. This was the reason why the Persian provinces, districts and cities would so often rise against the Muslim rule even though they were instantly put down by the Muslim forces. In 31 AH, Yezdgird reached the suburbs of Balkh at the head of a party from China and Turkistan and captured some cities for a short period. His misfortunes compelled him to flee and take refuge at the dwelling of a windmill owner. He was in deep sleep when the owner of the house, out of greed for his costly garments, killed him and threw his dead body into water after stripping him of his clothes, ornaments and weapons. This event took place in suburb of Marw on August 23, 651 CE. Yezdgird passed four years of his life in luxury, sixteen years in affliction and vagrancy and the last ten years out of sixteen, he passed as a fugitive. The Persian troubles came to an end after Yezdgird was killed.

On the occasion of Hajj, 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him, announced his readiness to listen to complaints among the governors. Thus, following his orders, all the governors reached Makkah.  In accordance with 'Abdullaah bin Saba’s scheme, his followers too set out from every province and center but arrived in Al-Madeenah instead of Makkah. At this point 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him, addressed them and said: "Trouble is bound to appear in the near future, but I don't like to be blamed for it, for whatever I have done, it was solely for the welfare of the people." This utterance of the Caliph silenced them all.

'Uthmaan, may Allah be pleased with him, came back to Al-Madeenah after performing the Hajj. He then assembled those from outside and also invited 'Ali, Talhah and Az-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with them. 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan rose to address them and said: "Abu Bakr and 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, after becoming Caliph, practiced caution concerning their relatives with an eye on accountability, although the Prophet, , (may Allah exalt his mention) took care of his relatives and extended help to them. My relatives are poor and so I do the needful for them. I am ready to do away with my practice if you prove it invalid and unlawful."

'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him, had barely spoken this, when a man got up and raised the objection: "You unlawfully gave away wealth and property to your relatives; for instance, you once gave the entire booty to 'Abdullaah bin Sa'd." 'Uthmaan, may Allah be pleased with him, replied: "I have given him one-fifth from the one-fifth of the booty. And we have such examples during the Caliphates of Abu Bakr and 'Umar."

Another person said: "You have conferred power and rule on your relatives; for instance, you have appointed Mu'aawiyah bin Abu Sufyaan governor of the entire Syria. You made 'Abdullaah bin 'Amr governor of Basrah by deposing Abu Moosaa Al-Ash'ari; you installed Waleed bin 'Uqbah and then Sa'eed bin Al-'Aas governors of Koofah by removing Al-Mugheerah bin Shu'bah." 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him, replied: "Those governors are not my relatives and they have the ability to manage the affairs well. However, if they do not deserve the post, I am always ready to change them for others. Thus I have already put Abu Moosaa Al-Ash'ari as the governor of Koofah by removing Sa'eed bin Al-'Aas."

Yet another person got up and said: "You love your family members the most and you give them extravagant gifts." 'Uthmaan, may Allah be pleased with him, replied: "Love of the family members is not a sin. And I give them gifts from my own possessions, not from the public treasury. How can I give them anything from the public treasury when I myself do not take a single dirham from there? I am at liberty to give away anything to anybody from my personal property."

In short, objections of this nature were raised and 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan answered them fully and thoroughly. At the end of the assembly, the people left silently.

Events of 35 AH

The governors of various provinces began to leave Al-Madeenah. When Mu'aawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, the governor of Syria decided to depart, he came to 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him, and said: "I anticipate an attack on you and you may not be able to resist it. It  is better for you to accompany me to Syria, for the Syrians are loyal and lend their full support to me."

." Having heard this Mu'aawiyah said: "Let me send you an army from 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him, replied: "On no account shall I abandon the proximity and neighborhood of the Prophet, Syria to guard you against any eventuality." 'Uthmaan said: "I am not in favor of putting my neighbors into trouble." Hearing this Mu'aawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "You are bound to be deceived." In reply to this 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Allah is enough for me and what an Excellent Supporter He is." After which he remained silent.

Mu'aawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, then left the place and came to 'Ali, Talhah and Az-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with them. He asked them to provide protection to 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan, then he set off for Syria.

Conspiracy of 'Abdullaah bin Saba

'Abdullaah bin Saba had already finalized his nefarious plan during his stay in Egypt. He had won over Companions like 'Ammaar bin Yaasir  and Warqah bin Raafi', may Allah be pleased with them, to his side. However, none besides the small group of his followers were aware of his real game. His love for 'Ali and the family of the Prophet,  was nothing more than a maneuver for inciting people against the Caliphate. A considerable number of Muslim soldiers had joined his party. Gradually, 'Abdullaah bin Saba won the hearts of enough people to challenge the authority of 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan and bring about his deposition or do away with him. However, the issue of 'Uthmaan’s successor was still the bone of contention. Gradually, his party was divided in three groups each supporting its own candidate from among 'Ali, Talhah and Az-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with them. Since 'Abdullaah bin Saba had no interest in the unity and strength of Islam, he held back his support from 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, and left the matter to the contenders. His main issue was the liquidation of 'Uthmaan's Caliphate.

Departure of the Caravan of Mischief-Mongers

At first, a group of 1000 people was sent in advance pretending to be a Hajj mission. The party consisted of Abdur-Rahmaan bin 'Udays, Kinaanah bin Bishr Al-Laythi, and Sudan bin Humraan and was headed by Al-Ghaafiqi bin Harb. It was decided that the entire party should not proceed at one time from Egypt. The party was thus divided into four groups to leave Egypt separately and then to meet after several stages. Another party of 1000 men left Koofah and another of the same number marched from Basrah. All these parties left their cities in the month of Shawwaal 35 AH, under the pretext of going to Hajj. However, their goal was to get rid of the Caliph either by deposing or by killing him. At the appointed time, the parties coming from different directions joined one another and proceeded to Al-Madeenah. Three stages from Al-Madeenah, the party divided itself into three separate groups each supporting its own candidate for the Caliphate.

where even a strong army of the disbelievers failed to make inroads during the  It is worth mentioning here that the followers of 'Abdullaah bin Saba in Al-Madeenah had written forged letters in the names of 'Ali, Talhah, Az-Zubayr, and the Mothers of the Believers, may Allah be pleased with them, to their followers in Koofah, Basrah and Egypt who were against 'Abdullaah bin Saba and his group. The letters emphasized that 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him, was no longer able to shoulder the heavy burden of the Caliphate. Therefore the matter should be brought to its end in the month of Thul-Hijjah. Encouraged by these forged letters, the rioters found it easy to indulge in acts of plunder and massacre in order to do away with the Caliphate. Otherwise, they could not have mustered the courage to plan an invasion of Al-Madeenah, the city of the Prophet, Battle of the Trench.

All the distinguished persons rejected their nefarious plan outright, but they found no preparations of any kind whatsoever in Al-Madeenah. They went back to the rioters and assembled their chiefs and representatives for an emergency consultation. Allaying fears of any defensive preparations in Al-Madeenah from their minds, they placed before them a suggestion that the parties belonging to Egypt, Basrah and Koofah should contact 'Ali, Talhah and Az-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with them, respectively. They should make an attempt during separate meetings to express to them their viewpoint saying that at no cost did they like the Caliphate of 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him.

Accordingly, they offered their allegiance to them. But each of them rejected their offer. Thereupon the party from Egypt said to 'Ali: "Since 'Abdullaah bin Sa’d, the governor of our province is cruel, we cannot leave Al-Madeenah without getting him deposed." With an eye on their obstinacy and nerve, 'Ali and some other Companions called on the Caliph and advised him to fulfill their demand to stop the trouble and depose 'Abdullaah bin Sa’d as the governor of Egypt. 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan asked: "Who will then be appointed the governor of Egypt?"  .

Ali intercedes

'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, and other Companions took the name of Muhammad bin Abu Bakr who happened to be the supporter of 'Ali. Therefore, the Caliph issued an edict appointing Muhammad bin Abu Bakr, governor of Egypt. After this 'Ali sent the rioters out. However, on the third or fourth day, all the parties joined together and came into Al-Madeenah crying Takbeer (i.e. uttering Allahu Akbar) with the utmost fervor and cordoned off the house of the Caliph. 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, saw them and said: "You had already left this place, what made you come back?" They said: "The Caliph has sent a letter to 'Abdullaah bin Sa’d through his slave to kill us as soon as we reach there. We have seized the letter and have come here with it and along with the parties from Egypt and Koofah who want to share our problem." 'Ali said: "By Allah this is an act of conspiracy and you are ill-intentioned." They replied: "Whatever be the case, we have decided to kill the Caliph, and we seek your assistance in the task." 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, angrily said: "How can I help you?" Hearing this they said: "Why had you then written about this?" 'Ali firmly replied: "I have never written you anything." Hearing this they looked towards each other with amazement. 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, then left Al-Madeenah to stay in Ahjaar-uz-Zayt and the rioters surrounded the house of 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him. Until then, they had followed the Caliph in prayers, but now they gave it up and began to hold others back from standing in prayer behind him.

Witnessing the lurking danger around him, the Caliph wrote letters to various provinces and sought their help, and in some cases the news reached those places on its own. However, virtuous men and the Companions persuaded the people in Egypt, Syria, Koofah and Basrah to rush to the help of the Caliph. The mosque was under siege and after that, the rioters prevented 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him, from coming out of his home and cut off the supply of water too. Although 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan persistently tried to convince the rioters that the letter was not written by him and asked them to produce any witness, but they ignored his plea.