Have a look at this funny story from
http://www.al-islam.org/special-deputies-association-imam-al-mahdi/first-deputy-hazrat-%E2%80%98uthman-b-sa%E2%80%99eed-al-amri-ra========================
Shaikh Mufid (r.a.) writes in his book ‘Kitabul Irshad’: ‘After the martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Askari (a.s.) when Ja’far b. Ali Naqi saw that their Imam (a.s.) did not have a successor, he usurped his (a.s.) property, imprisoned his (a.s.) maids and the women of the household and said evil things about his (a.s.) companions who were steadfast in their faith that Imam (a.s.) had a son and were waiting for his reappearance. He threatened them but they did not pay attention to him.
Ja'far knew his brother did not have a son & those who claimed otherwise would be liars or being fooled at. If Ja'far said "evil" things about shias then Ali RA & other imam also cursed those who claim to be their shias many times for being the worst of people, liars even heretics. Ja'far is just continuing the Ahlulbait's tradition of cursing their fake followers aka shias
Finally, Ja’far approached the Caliph of the time and sought his assistance to claim the position of his brother (Imam Hasan al-Askari (a.s.)). He paid a huge amount to the government by way of bribe, but failed miserably in his evil plans.’11
So the caliph saw Hasan al-Askari's position as a threat & a challenge to his authority, killed him, but then his brother went to that caliph asking for the position which shia said caused his brother killed in the first place? Nice. Also how can you bribe a caliph anyway?
Hazrat ‘Uthman b. Sa’eed (r.a.) had to face the uphill task of Ja’far’s claim of Imamat, his standing to lead the funeral prayers of Imam (a.s.) and creating doubts about the Imamat of Imam az-Zaman (a.t.f.s.).
Of course it would be an uphill task to lie about something like that. Ja'far was not the only one who knew uthman was a liar & Hasan had no son. The majority of Shia sects also opposed & doubted Uthman's claim (
http://forum.twelvershia.net/imamah-ghaybah/shia-after-11th-imam's-death/).
When the Shias heard of Ja’far’s claim and his usurping Imam’s (a.s.) property and seeking help from Bani Abbas, some of them consulted Hazrat ‘Uthman b. Sa’eed (r.a.) and requested for a ‘Tawqee’ from Imam az-Zaman (a.t.f.s.) to clarify the matter and remove all suspicion and doubts once and for all. Our readers should find the following incident very interesting.
Ahmad b. Ishaaq wrote a letter to Imam az-Zaman (a.t.f.s.) enclosing Ja’far’s letter. He gave it to ‘Uthman b. Sa’eed (a.s.) to be forwarded to Imam az-Zaman (a.t.f.s.). Imam (a.t.f.s.) gave a very strong-worded reply and refuted the Imamat of Ja’far. Following is the extract of Imam’s (a.t.f.s.) letter:
‘This defrauder (Ja’far) has falsified Allah and has claimed Imamat. We do not know on what basis he has made such a claim. If he claims knowledge in the Ahkam and Fiqh of Allah’s religion, then by Allah, he is not able to distinguish between the permissible and the prohibited. He cannot distinguish between the clear and ambiguous verses of the Holy Quran.
So when Uthman bin Said's khums collection activities was in trouble due to Ja'far's testimony, he then brought a letter which he claimed was written by Mahdi condemning Ja'far. A letter which can be written by anyone or himself. Nice move to save the "khums enterprise" there.
After the martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Askari (a.s.), the first representative of Imam az-Zaman (a.t.f.s.) came to Baghdad from Samarrah on the order of Imam (a.s.). The reason being that the government vigilance and control in Samarrah was very strict and it had relatively ignored Baghdad. Samarrah was the capital of the Abbasi government.
or maybe Uthman left, because he realised most people including majority of shia back then believed he was a liar?
What you will notice, the story of this deputy & St Paul are similar:
- both of them worked for the opponents (shia deputy supply army & Paul was member of forces which persecuted jesus followers)
- both of them claimed something which only them can proof (shia deputy said letters were written by imam & paul said he met jesus on his way to damascus which made him repented)
- both of them claim to be commanded to be their representatives
- the companion & original followers of jesus had issue with paul & the family of 11th imam had issue with uthman bin said