Paul did with Christianity: he adopted a show of devotion, then began to preach “commanding right and forbidding wrong” until he stirred up the turmoil that led to the trial and assassination of ʿUthmān. When he later arrived in Kūfah he displayed excessive veneration for ʿAlī and championed his cause in order to achieve his own objectives. News of this reached ʿAlī, who ordered that he be put to death, so the man fled to Qarqīsiyyā. His story is well known in the chronicles.

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “When ʿUthmān was killed, hearts scattered and calamities grew immense. The wicked gained prominence while the righteous were humbled. Those who had earlier been unable to foment strife now strove for it, whereas those who loved to establish goodness and reform found themselves powerless. The Muslims therefore pledged allegiance to the Commander of the Believers, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib—who at that moment was the most entitled to the caliphate and the best of those who remained. Yet hearts were divided and the fire of sedition was ablaze; the word was not united, the community did not cohere, and neither the caliph nor the elite of the ummah were able to accomplish all the good they desired. Certain people plunged into division and turmoil, and what happened, happened. (1)"