With the rebels gathering in Madinah and assassins waiting in ambush, Uthman tried hard to find a way out of the problem. However, being too caring and compassionate, he did not want to trouble anyone with what he felt to be aimed at him personally. He realized that the rebels wanted to get him in person. He might have wished to have a regular army stationed near to home, so that the capital city of the Muslim world could be defended. But this was not the case. Indeed, Mu’awiyah, his governor in Syria, offered to send him a strong army, but he declined. He did not want an army to come from a distant area to exhaust the supplies available in Madinah, thus causing its people much inconvenience. We see how caring he was.
When he did that, he perhaps thought it inconceivable that any group of protesters could go as far as killing one of the Prophet’s main companions, who also happened to be the caliph. But the situation was not easing at all. On the contrary, the rebels were becoming more and more intransigent, despite the clarifications he gave them. These clarifications, as we have seen over the last few weeks, would have convinced even the most aggrieved party of the soundness of the caliph’s position. But the conspirators who managed to raise such a force of deceived people were intent on causing maximum damage to the Islamic state.
Uthman soon realized that the rebels would not be appeased, no matter how hard he tried. He was keen not to spell blood, and not to allow the situation to reach the stage of fighting. Therefore, he thought that it was his responsibility to defuse the situation. Justice Ibn Al-Arabi reports that Abdullah ibn Umar, a leading scholar of the Prophet’s companions, visited Uthman who said to him: “These people are demanding that I resign or they would kill me.” Ibn Umar said: “Are you immortal? Can these people do anything more than killing you?” When Uthman answered in the negative, Ibn Umar asked him: “Can they determine whether you go to heaven or hell?” Again Uthman answered in the negative. Ibn Umar said: “Then do not take off a garment God has given you, so that you do not set a precedent allowing any group of people to remove their ruler or kill him whenever they disliked him.”
“Indeed Uthman addressed the rebels from a platform and quoted them several Hadiths in which the Prophet commended his actions, particularly those concerning the building of the Prophet’s mosque in Madinah and the digging of the Roomah well, which provided drinking water for the inhabitants of Madinah. He also quoted them what the Prophet said when Mount Uhud quaked while they stood over it. They confirmed their knowledge of all these Hadiths.”
Ibn Umar’s advice echoed the Prophet’s own advice to Uthman, using practically the same words, which confirms that Ibn Umar was aware of that earlier advice. Aishah, the Prophet’s wife, reports that the Prophet said: “Uthman, if one day God assigns to you the position of ruler and some hypocrites try to get you to remove the garment God has given you, then do not do so.” He repeated this three times. This Hadith is related by Ibn Majah and also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, though in different wording.
The Hadiths quoted by Uthman show that the Prophet was always pleased with Uthman. Indeed, the Prophet loved Uthman and appreciated his qualities. Nothing could show this better than the fact that Uthman married two of the Prophet’s daughters, marrying the second after the first one had died. But he was also ready with generous donations whenever the Muslim state was in need of funds. The two examples given by Ibn Al-Arabi relate to the building and expansion of the Prophet’s mosque in Madinah and the provision of drinking water. But Uthman was regularly making generous donations, the best known of which was his provision of 300 fully equipped camels for the Tabuk military expedition.
Mount Uhud, which is close to Madinah, quaked, perhaps as in an earthquake, when the Prophet, Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman stood over it. The Prophet struck the mountain with his foot and said: “Be firm, Mount Uhud. The only people you are carrying are a prophet, a siddiq, i.e. a believer of unshakable faith, and two martyrs. Needless to say that the siddiq was Abu Bakr who was known by this title even during the Prophet’s lifetime. In fact it was the Prophet who gave him this title. Hence, the other two were the martyrs, and these were none other than Umar and Uthman. The latter knew that Umar was assassinated while he was praying. Hence, he was aware that he was most likely to meet the same fate.
Any ruler facing the prospect of assassination but still enjoying much popularity would try to suppress the rebellion by force. But not Uthman. He appealed to God in this way: “My Lord, they have denied my favors and marred my benevolent actions. Make them never satisfied with their leader and let no leader be satisfied with them.” He then made his decision and carried it out immediately, as explained by Justice Ibn Al-Arabi: “Abdullah ibn Amir ibn Rabeeah reports: ‘I was with Uthman in his home when he said: I command everyone here who believes that he should obey my orders to stay his hand and to put down his weapon.” He then addressed Abdullah ibn Umar who was holding his sword, saying: Go out and inform the people of my order. So Abdullah ibn Umar and Al-Hasan ibn Ali went out and the rebels stormed the house and killed Uthman.”
What this tells us about Uthman’s attitude is that he was keen to prevent any bloodshed. He felt that if the people who were close to him, and inside his home, were to defend him against the rebels, there was bound to be much bloodshed. He decided to prevent all that, by leaving the possibility of bloodshed limited to him, knowing fully well that he was bound to be a martyr, because the Hadith we have already quoted was certain to come true, as did every word the Prophet had said. We will explain this further next week, God willing.