son Abdallah, who, himself excluded from election,[432] was (in case the conclave were divided) to have the casting vote; and this his father desired him to give on whichever side Abd al Rahmân might be. Talha was absent, and did not return until the election had been made. [Sidenote: Character of the Electors.] Omar hoped, no doubt, that the Successor thus chosen would be strong in the support of his Electors. But he had not calculated on the frailty of human nature; and selfish ends proved more powerful than loyalty to Islam. Abd al Rahmân was the only real patriot amongst them. Talha, Zobeir, and Sád, not yet beyond the age of fifty, had none of them any special reason to aspire to the Caliphate. They were all warriors of renown. Zobeir was closely related to the Prophet. Sád was the nephew of Mahomet’s mother; but his recall from Kûfa (although Omar had declared it to involve no discredit) could not but in some measure tarnish the fame of the conqueror of Medâin. Aly, a few years younger, had by far the strongest claims of kinship (whatever these might be); for he was at once the son of Mahomet’s uncle, the widowed husband of Fâtima, and the father of the Prophet’s only surviving grandsons. He had hitherto, from his inactive temperament, remained passive at the Caliph’s court; but, possessed of a quick and high intelligence, he had ever held a distinguished place in the counsels of Omar. The time was now come, when, in the absence of any leading competitor, his claims could no longer fail to be recognised by those around him; or, without want of spirit, to be asserted by himself. Othmân was the only real rival. His years carried weight, for he was now close on seventy. Handsome and attractive in person and carriage, he gained the hand of Rockeya, the Prophet’s daughter. She died while the battle of Bedr was being fought. Shortly after, he married her sister Omm Kolthûm; and when she, too, died, Mahomet used to say he loved Othmân so dearly that, if another daughter had remained, he would have given her also to him. But with all this, his character had vital defects. Of a close and selfish disposition, his will was soft and yielding. And of all the competitors, Othmân probably had the least capacity for dominating the unruly elements of the Moslem empire. [Sidenote: Electors’ conclave. Three days’ fruitless discussion.]