The Biography of Uthman Ibn Affan R Dhun Noorayn

The rebels' occu~ation of Madinah 547
Concerning that, al-Hasan al-Basri said: By Allgh, even when the
people pray together, their hearts are divided. ['I
The Sah&bah9s oBer to defend 'Uthmgn and his
rejection &ereof
'Uthmh (&) sent word to the Sahibah ( &) consulting them
about the besiegers and their threats to kill him. Their attitudes
were as follows:
1. 'Ali ibn Abi Taalib (&)
Ibn 'Asaakir narrated from Jaabir ibn 'Abd-All*(&) that 'Ali
sent word to 'Uthmiin saying: I have five hundred men with
shields; give me permission to protect you against the people, for
you have not done anything that would make it permissible to
shed your blood. He said: May you be rewarded with good, I do
not want blood to be shed for my sake.121
2. Az-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwaam (&)
It was narrated that Abu ~abeebah'~' said: Az-Zubayr sent
me to 'Uthmh when he was being besieged and I entered upon
him on a summer day. He was sitting on a chair and al-Hasan ibn
'Ali, Abu Hurayrah, 'Abd-AU2h ibn 'Umar and 'Abd-ALEh ibn
az-Zubayr were with him. I said: az-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwaam has
sent me to you. He sends greetings of salaam to you and says to
you: I am still loyal to you and I have not changed or retracted. If
you wish, I will join you in your house, and will be one of the
people there, or if you wish, I will stay where I am, because Banu
'Amr ibn 'Awf have promised to come to my place, then they will
follow whatever instructions I give them. When 'Uthmh heard
the message, he said: Allihu akbar, praise be to All* Who has
protected my brother. Convey salaams to him and tell him: I
'I Fitnat Maqtal 'Ufhmi~, 1/157
Tareekh Dzmashq, p. 403
Abu Habeebah was the freed slave of az-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwaam who
narrated from al-Zubayr and met Abu Hurayrah when 'Uthmin was being
besieged.