The Outset of Dissension in Islam

Book excerpt: This is a lecture delivered by Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad(ra), second Successor of the Promised Messiah(as). The primary purpose of this lecture was to provide a correct and accurate historical account of the conflicts which arose most prominently during the Khilafat of Hazrat Uthman(ra). In this lecture, Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad(ra)has shed light on the life of Hazrat Uthman(ra), his piety and righteousness, and his status in the eyes of the Holy Prophet(sa). Moreover, he has expounded upon the virtues of the companions of the Holy Prophet(sa) and has explained how conflicts actually arose in the early period of Islam. Moreover, he has refuted various allegations levelled against the person of Hazrat Uthman(ra) and his companions. The lecture is an academic masterpiece of scholarship and explains the events of the era of the third Khilafat in a manner that no other historian has been able to match, be it Muslim or non-Muslim; all this is done in an an eloquent, academic, yet simple manner, in the form of an interesting narrative.