Who really killed ‘Uthman?

Page 19 of 43
3. Identifying the usual suspects
Ansar.org states:
However, the people who rebelled against ‘Uthman are of two
kinds:a. The followers of Abdullah bin Saba’a the Jew. Ibn Saba’a
tried to misguide Muslims. He travelled to Hijaz, Basrah, Kufah,
until he was expelled from Al-Sham. Then he got into Egypt. He
lived there and established the doctrine of Raja’ah. He claimed
that the successor to the Prophet peace be upon him was ‘Ali.
Lots of people in Egypt were misguided because of him. Then Ibn
Saba’a sent his missionaries to different parts of the Islamic
world. He also wrote secret letters to some people to collaborate
on killing ‘Uthman, and they are the second kind.
This is the favorite bogey man figure for the Ahl’ul Sunnah. In a murder case, the testimony of
the affected is very important, ‘Uthman himself claimed in Al Tabaqat Al Kubra that he was
murdered by Momineen, and Nayla, the wife of ‘Uthman told us who these Momineen are, and
she stated these Momineen were from Madina, including Ansar, Muhajireen, Talha and Zubayr.
Moreover, the testimony of neighbors and others is crucial in a murder case. In ‘Uthman’s
murder case, people had testified that Amr bin Aas, Ayesha, Talha, Zubayr and people from
both Muhajreen and Ansar murdered him. Neither Uthman nor Naila blamed Ibn Saba for
inciting hatred that led to his overthrow. Their testimonies seem to be mysteriously devoid of
Ibn Saba. Such a lack of witness testimony is comprehensive proof that this is a lie that Ibn
Saba has been produced as a means of diverting attention away from the true killers of
‘Uthman.
3.1 Analyzing the isnad concerning the Ibn Saba report
Whilst Nasibi have sought to blame Ibn Saba and his followers for his murder, to date no
research has proved the identity of Ibn Saba. If the Nasibi will point out the existence of the
name of Ibn Saba from Sunni / Shi’a sources, the onus is on Abu Sulaiman to produce a full
authentic chain setting out that Ibn Saba existed and his activities against ‘Uthman that led to
his killing. Worthy of note is that Abu Sulaiman simply makes a comment without even citing a
reference, why? Simple for he knows that the moment he mentions the Ibn Saba of Sunni texts
who led the rebellion against ‘Uthman then the chain of narrators will be proven as fraudulent
or non-existent.
We challenge Nasibi Abu Sulaiman to verify his claim. Show us with a complete isnad from the
texts of Ahl'ul Sunnah the evil machinations of Ibn Saba who in his own words:
1. Traveled to Hijaz, Basrah, Kufah, until he was expelled from Al-Sham.
2. Arrived in Egypt preaching the doctrine of Raja’ah.
3. Claimed that the successor to the Prophet peace be upon him was ‘Ali. Lots of people in
Egypt were misguided because of him.
4. Sent his missionaries to different parts of the Islamic world. He also wrote secret letters
to some people to collaborate on killing ‘Uthman, and they are the second kind.
The fact is the sole individual that quotes the role of Ibn Saba against ‘Uthman in the manner
that Abu Sulaiman had cited is Tabari. Nasibi such as Ibn Kathir of course grasped on to this
and quoted these same references blindly. Unfortunately for Abu Sulaiman the basis of this
argument falls apart when we examine the chain of narrators that Tabari had used. Let us delve
into the report:
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