WHY DISSENSION EMERGED IN THE ERA OF THE THIRD KHALIFAH?

All educated Muslims are probably aware that signs of dissension amongst the Muslims began to prominently emerge in the era of the third Khalifah. Prior to him, in the era of Hazrat Abu Bakr(ra) and Hazrat ‘Umar(ra), discord never took on a serious nature. The Muslims were so united that both friend and foe believed that it was impossible to divide them. It is for this reason that people generally attribute the discord under discussion to the weakness of the third Khalifah. However, as I shall explain ahead, this is not the case.