Nasb-and-the-Nawasib

is ʿĀʾishah J cursing the killers of ʿUthmān I and the people are saying
Āmīn,” to which he replied, “I also curse the killers of ʿUthmān I whether
they be on flat lands or in the mountains.” 1
Likewise he would say, “By Allah I have not killed ʿUthmān nor have I ordered his
killing,” Repeating it thrice.
It also reported from him that he cursed the killers of ʿUthmān I. 2
Similarly, when ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar I was asked:
هل شرك علي في دم عثمان
Did ʿAlī take part in the murder of ʿUthmān?
He replied:
ل والله ما علمت ذلك في سر ولفي علن،‏ ولكن كان رأسا يفزع إليه فألحق به ما لم يكن
No, by Allah. I do not know of that happening, not in secrecy and not it
openness. But he was a leader to who others resorted at the time of need,
and thus he was blamed for that which did not really happen. 3
Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam 4 said to ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn:
1 Tārīkh Dimashq 29/456.
2 Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā 3/82; Tārīkh Dimashq 39/451; Simṭ al-Nujūm al-ʿAwālī 2/533.
3 Ansāb al-Ashrāf 1/593.
4 Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ al-Umawī. One of the leaders of the Quraysh and its prominent
figures. He is considered to be from the high ranking successors. He was born in the era of Nabī
H. He was a close associate of ʿUthmān I, and because of the letter attributed to him ʿUthmān
I was killed. He went out of his way in seeking revenge for his blood. He assumed the position of
governorship over Madīnah several times for Muʿāwiyah I and ruled over Shām for nine months.
He passed away in 65 A.H. His narration appears in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and the four Sunan. See: al-Ṭabaqāt
al-Kubrā 5/35; Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ 3/476; al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah 8/257; Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb 10/82.
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