'Uthman was the third caliph of Islam. Write an account of his election and the administration of his caliphate.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2021). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [10] (a) Candidates may include some of the following information. All other relevant information must be credited.
2. [10] (a) 'Uthman was elected from a panel of six respected members of the community of Madina that 'Umar had set up on his deathbed.
3. [10] (a) The names of these six men were: 'Ali, Talha, Zubayr, 'Uthman, Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqas and Abdul Rahman ibn Awf.
4. [10] (a) From this select council, Abdul Rahman ibn Awf withdrew his name to act as Chairman; Talha who was not in Madina at the time could not take part in the electoral meetings and the choice narrowed down between 'Uthman and 'Ali.
5. [10] (a) Abdul Rahman put a question to both candidates and having heard their responses chose 'Uthman as caliph.
6. [10] (a) 'Ali was amongst the first to offer his allegiance to 'Uthman who after taking bait of the Muslims in the Prophet's mosque made a short speech promising to faithfully follow the Qur'an, Sunnah and the practices of the deceased Caliphs.
7. [10] (a) 'Uthman proved himself to be a skilful administrator. His administration can be divided in two parts, the first 6 years were seen as very successful and the last six years had some issues.
8. [10] (a) He began his caliphate by adding 100 Dirhams to the annual stipends and by increasing the control of the central government over garrison cities.
9. [10] (a) He launched a diligent inspection of accounts and overhauled the Diwan salary rolls.
10. [10] (a) He also gradually split the immense responsibility of the provincial governors who doubled as army commanders and created a new post of financial administrators.
11. [10] (a) 'Uthman established a Permanent Secretariat and appointed an Inspector of Markets.
12. [10] (a) Embankments were constructed to prevent Madina from being flooded and a systematic extension and provision of clean water; constructed purpose-built markets whose rents were used to feed the poor.
13. [10] (a) As part of 'Uthman's administrative reforms additional land was bought so that state owned horses and camels could be conveniently pastured, construction of state stables, guest houses were made and a port at Jeddah was built
14. [10] (a) 'Uthman also relaxed the austere measures put in place by 'Umar and allowed Arabs to acquire lands in conquered territories.
15. [10] (a) Candidates may refer to the issues of the last 6 years of his administration which were a direct result of 'Uthman appointing his relatives/tribesmen in important government posts and not overseeing their actions closely. 'Uthman not addressing the complaints against his governors and administration could be written about when discussing his administration.
16. [4] (b) Candidates may include some of the following information. All other relevant information must be credited.
17. [4] (b) Candidates need to either agree or disagree with the above statement which needs to be supported by sound reasoning.
18. [4] (b) If they agree with the statement, they could say that had 'Uthman not compiled the Qur'an differences may have arisen in the Muslim community on its accuracy and led to rifts.
19. [4] (b) If they disagree they could say that his establishment of a Permanent Secretariat with an Inspector of Markets was his most important achievement as this role continued in the Islamic world till very recently.