The Search for Peace in Times of Chaos—Volume episode known as the R idda wars or Wars of Apostasy These disputes over religious and political leadership would give rise to schism in the Muslim community The majority believed in the legitimacy of the three rulers prior to Ali and became known as Sunnis A minority disagreed and believed that Ali (Muhammad’s cousin) was the only rightful successor: they became known as the ǯ (or Shi’ites) The second caliph, Umar, appointed by Abu, continued to demonstrate the ability to rule Within four years after the death of the prophet, the Muslim state had extended its sway over all of Syria and, eventually, Persia; henceforth, it was to be one of the most important provinces in the Muslim Empire His caliphate was a high point in early Islamic history He was noted for his justice, social ideals, administration, and statesmanship His innovations left an all-enduring imprint on social welfare, taxation, and the financial and administrative fabric of the growing empire Umar was stabbed by a Persian slave in 644 As He was lying on his deathbed, he appointed a committee of six people to choose the next caliph from among themselves The members went about Medina asking the people for their choice They finally selected Uthman as the new caliph, as the majority of the people chose him One of the most important events of his reign “was Uthman’s compilation of the text of the Qur’an as revealed to the Prophet Realizing that the original message from God might be inadvertently distorted by textual variants, he appointed a committee to collect the canonical verses and destroy the variant versions The result was the text that is accepted to this day throughout the Muslim world.”3 Muslims consider theǯ to be the literal word of God; it is the central religious text of Islam Muslims believe that the verses of the Qur’an were revealed to Muhammad by God through the angel Gabriel on many occasions between 610 and his death on June 8, 632 The Qur’an was reportedly written down by Muhammad’s companions while he was alive, although the prime method of transmission was orally It was compiled in the time of Abu Bakr, the first caliph, and was standardized under the administration of Uthman, the third caliph The Qur’an is divided into 114 chapters, which, combined, contain 6,236 verses The chronologically earlier chapters are primarily concerned Ǥ ~ 93 ~