Martyrdom of Hadrath Uthman

Deepening of the crisis

With the departure of the pilgrims from Madina to Makkah, the hands of the rebels were further strengthened, and as a consequence the crisis deepened further. The rebels apprehended that after the Hajj, thc Muslims gathered at Makkah from all parts of the Muslim world might march to Madina to the relief of the Caliph. They therefore decided to take action against Uthman before the pilgrimage was over.

Mugheera b Shu'ba

It is related that during the course of the siege, Mugheera b Shu'ba went to Uthman, and placed three courses of action before him, firstly to go forth and fight against the refuels; secondly to mount a camel and go to Makkah; and thirdly to betake himself to Syria. Uthman rejected all the three proposals He rejected the first proposal saying that he did not want to be the first Caliph during whose time blood in shed. He turned down the second proposal to escape to Makkah on the ground that he had heard from the Holy Prophet that a man of the Quraish would be buried in Makkah on whom whom would be half the chastisement of the world, and he did not want to be that person. He rejected the third proposal on the ground that he could not forsake the city of the Holv Prophet.

Ten distinctions

It is recorded on the authority of Abu Thaur al Fahami that he visited Uthman when he was besieged, and Uthman referred to his ten distinctions vis-a-vis Islam, namely:

  1. He was one of the first four converts to Islam.
  2. He had the distinction of marrying two daughters of the Holy Prophet.
  3. He had not applied his hand to worldly use since he had offered allegiance to the Holy Prophet.
  4. He liberated a slave every week.
  5. He never committed fornication.
  6. He never committed a sin.
  7. He preserved the text of the Holy Quran.
  8. He was one of the ten persons who were given the tidings of paradise during their lifetime.
  9. He freely spent his wealth in the way of Allah.
  10. The Holy Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar were happy with him.

Abdullah b Salam

Abdullah b Salam, a companion visited the house of Uthman and he is reported to have addressed the besiegers as follows:

"Slay him not, for by Allah not a man among you shall slay him, but he shall meet the Lord mutilated without a hand, and verily the sword of God has continued sheathed, but surely by Allah if you slay him the Lord will indeed draw it, and will never sheath it from you. Never was a Prophet slain, but there were slain on account of him,70,000 persons, and never was a Caliph slain. but 35,000 Persons were killed on his account.

Nayyar b Ayyad

A companion Nayyar b Ayyad Aslami who joined the rebels exhorted them to enter the house and assassinate Uthman. When the rebels under the leadership of Nayyar b Ayyad advanced to rush into the house, Kathir b Salat Kundi a supporter of Uthman shot an arrow which killed Nayyar. That infuriated the rebels. They demanded that Kathir b Salat Kundi the man who had killed Nayyar should be handed over to them. Uthman said that he could not thus betray a person who had shot an arrow in his defense. That precipitated the matters. Uthman had the gates of the house shut. The gate was guarded by Hasan, Hussain, Abdullah b Zubair, Marwan and a few other persons. Open fighting now began between the rebels and the supporters of Uthman. There were some casualties among the rebels. Among the supporters of Uthman Hasan, Marwan and some other persons were wounded.

Assassination of Uthman

The rebels increased their pressure, and reaching the door of the house of Uthman set it on fire. Some rebels led by Muhammad b Abu Bakr climbed the houses of the neighbors and then jumped into the house of Uthman. It was the seventeenth day of July in the year 856 C.E. uthman was keeping the fast that day. The previous night he had seen the Holy Prophet in a dream. The Holy Prophet had said, "Uthman, break your fast with us this evening. We will welcome you". That made Uthman feel that it was his last day of life. He prepared himself for death. He sat reading the Holy, Quran, and his wife Naila sat by his side. Some rebels entered the room of Uthman, but they could not dare murder the Caliph. Then Muhammad b Abu Bakr entered the room and held the beard of Uthman. Uthman said that he was like a nephew to him, and he would be false to the memory of his father Abu Bakr if he contemplated any violence against him. That made Muhammad b Abu Bakr waver in his resolve, and he walked out of the room. Seeing this some of the rebels entered the room, and struck blows at the head of Uthman. Naila threw herself on the body of Uthman to protect him. She was pushed aside, and further blows were struck on Uthman till he was dead. From God he had come and to God he returned. He died while keeping the fast, and true to his dream he broke the fast in the company of the Holy Prophet that evening.

Some slaves of Uthman fell on the person whose blows had killed Uthman and killed him. There was some fighting between the rebels and the supporters of Uthman. There were casualties on both the sides. Rowdyism prevailed for some time, and the rebels looted the house. When the women raised loud lamentations over the dead body of Uthman, the rebels left the house.