So he gave his right of vote to `Ali. Thereafter Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas made his right of vote to
`Abd ar-Rahman. This left three members of the consultative committee out of whom `Abd arRahman
said that he was willing to give up his own right of vote if `Ali (p.b.u.h.) and `Uthman
gave him the right to choose one of them or one of these two should acquire this right by
withdrawing. This was a trap in which `Ali had been entangled from all sides namely that
either he should abandon his own right or else allow `Abd ar-Rahman to do as he wished. The
first case was not possible for him; that is, to give up his own right and elect `Uthman or `Abd
ar-Rahman. So, he clung to his right, while `Abd ar-Rahman separating himself from it
assumed this power and said to Amir al-mu'minin, "I pay you allegiance on your following the
Book of Allah, the sunnah of the Prophet and the conduct of the two Shaykhs, (Abu Bakr and
`Umar).
