Shining Stars
The Impact of Sayyidunā ʿUthmān’s Martyrdom
Adnan Ahmad Attari
Our master and the Commander of the Faithful, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ was martyred during a cruel attack by some dissidents on 18 Dhu al-Hijjah, 35 AH. The heinous attack on his house shook the Companions and sent tremors of sorrow through the Islamic world. Here is what some of the leading Companions said about the incident.
Our Master, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib
“Dear Allah! I am neither happy with the martyrdom of ʿUthmān nor did I command it.”[1]
“Now, there is nothing but destruction for you (the people) until the end of time.”[2]
The Mother of the Faithful, Sayyidatuna ʿĀʾisha al-Ṣiddīqa
“You have left ʿUthmān as pure as cloth after it is washed of impurities.[3] You then martyred him.”
“You have made ʿUthmān as immaculately clean as a bowl after it is washed. You then martyred him.”[4]
Sayyidunā Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ
After the martyrdom of Sayyidunā ʿUthmān, Sayyidunā Saʿd went into seclusion, leaving public life and having limited contact with the affairs of people.[5]
Sayyidunā ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf
“The thought of remaining alive whilst ʿUthmān becomes a martyr had never occurred to me.”[6]
Sayyidunā ʿAbd Allah ibn Salām
“Today!” he exclaimed in tears, “the people of Arabia are destroyed.”[7]
“By martyring ʿUthmān, the people have opened such a door of tribulation which will remain open until the Day of Judgement.”[8]
Sayyidunā Ḥudhayfa
Whilst in Midian, he asked, “What has happened with ʿUthmān?” It was said, “It seems as though miscreants have martyred him.” Hearing this, he answered, “If this is the case, ʿUthmān is in Paradise, and the miscreants are in the Fire.”[9]
In another narration, when he heard the sorrowful news of Sayyidunā ʿUthmān’s martyrdom, he made the following supplication: “Dear Allah! You know I am free from being involved in Sayyidunā ʿUthmān’s martyrdom. Even if those who did this are correct, I still have nothing to do with them. If those who martyred him are sinful, You know I am free from any form of link with them.”[10]
He was also reported to have said, “By Allah! Those who martyred Sayyidunā ʿUthmān will not find anyone better to replace him.”[11]
Sayyidunā Ḥudhayfa further commented:
The first tribulation was the martyrdom of ʿUthmān, and the last will be the arrival of Dajjal. I take an oath by that Being in Whose control is my soul! Whoever has even an atom’s worth of love for those who martyred ʿUthmān, he will follow Dajjal when he arrives, and he will die in this state. If such a person does not encounter Dajjal, he will believe in him in his grave.[12]
Sayyidunā Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī
“If the martyrdom of ʿUthmān was right, the people of Arabia would extract milk from their cattle. However, this martyrdom was driven by misguidance, and so they are to now extract blood.”[13]
Sayyidunā Abū Hurayra
On the day of this event, Sayyidunā Abū Hurayra held two locks of his blessed hair and said, “Also behead me! By Allah, ʿUthmān has been wrongfully martyred.”[14]
When this incident would be mentioned before him, he would begin to cry.[15]
The Prophet’s Grandson, Sayyidunā Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī
“May Allah curse those who martyred ʿUthmān.”[16]
Sayyidunā ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbbās
Acting as a deputy of Sayyidunā ʿUthmān رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ, Sayyidunā ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbbās رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ was performing the obligations of Hajj that year. When news of the tragic event reached him in Makka, he said, “By Allah! ʿUthmān was from those who upheld justice and integrity. If only I too were martyred on that day.”[17]
“If everyone was involved in the martyrdom of ʿUthmān, they would all have been subject to stoning in the same manner as the nation of Lūṭ.”[18]
Sayyidunā ʿAbd Allah ibn Zubayr
“The murderers attacked ʿUthmān the way thieves attack the blind-side of a town. May Allah ruin them all.”[19]
Sayyidunā Zayd ibn Thābit
He would cry upon the besieging of Sayyidunā ʿUthmān’s house.[20]
Sayyidunā Salama ibn Akwaʿ
After this event took place, he left Madina for Rabza, where he remained for a long time. A few days before his passing away, he returned to Madina.[21]
Sayyidunā Thumāma ibn ʿAdī
Whilst in Yemen delivering a sermon, he received news of this sorrowful event. He began to cry in deep sadness, and when he was able to speak, he said, “Today, the vicegerency of Prophetic blessings has been taken away from the Prophet’s Ummah.”[22]
Sayyidunā Samura ibn Jundub
“Without doubt! Islam was in an unassailable and invincible fortress. By martyring ʿUthmān, insurrectionists have brought a fissure into it. This space will not be filled by the people until the Day of Judgement.”[23]
The blind Companion, Sayyidunā Abū Usayd
“I thank Allah for granting me vision during the Prophetic era, bestowing me the honour of seeing the Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, and I thank Him for taking my vision away during this time of tribulation.”[24]
Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Saqafī
“I would rather be cast onto the earth from the sky than be involved in the murder of Sayyidunā ʿUthmān.”[25]
Sayyidunā Abū Ḥamīd al-Sāʿidī
“Dear Allah! I shall neither perform such-and-such action for Your sake, nor shall I smile until I meet Sayyidunā ʿUthmān رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ.”[26]
The following statement is attributed to either Sayyidatunā Umm Ḥabība or Sayyidatunā Ṣafiyya, who are both wives of the Holy Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and mothers of the faithful:
“Allah and His Messenger are displeased with those who have taken varying paths in their religion and became many factions.”[27]
Sayyidunā ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr
“ʿUthmān, the possessor of two lights, was martyred most unjustly, and for this, he was given two shares of reward.”[28]
Sayyidunā Ḥassān ibn Thābit
He mentions this incident in his poetry, by writing:
You have murdered a friend of Allah in his own home, bringing misguidance and injustice into the fray. Whichever nation aided in martyring ʿUthmān, it will never achieve success, as he was rightly guided and walked upon the correct path.[29]
Sayyidunā Kaʿb ibn Mālik
He also penned poetry describing this event: “You have seen how goodness turned its back to the people, with the same speed as an ostrich turns and runs away, after ʿUthmān has now left.”[30]
Sayyidunā Walīd ibn ʿUqba
He is another Companion who expressed his emotions regarding this incident in poetic form, saying: “If only I were subject to destruction before this took place, as my body is now sick and my heart suffering from panic.”[31]
Sayyidatunā Zaynab bint ‘Awwām
She said in a poem, “You made ʿUthmān thirsty in his own home, yet quenched your own the way a severely thirsty camel drinks from gushing water.”[32]
Other Companions
Our masters ʿAlī, Ṭalḥa, Zubayr, Saʿd and others رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُم in Madina fell unconscious when they learned of Sayyidunā ʿUthmān’s martyrdom.[33]
When this event took place, many of the mothers of the believers said, “Calamities have taken over, and Islam has come under their effect.”[34]
After this tragic incident, many Companions رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُم who had partaken in the Expedition of Badr left public life and remained in their homes, leaving only on their funeral biers.[35]
May Allah Almighty have mercy upon them, and for their sake, may He forgive us without accountability.
اٰمِیْن بِجَاہِ النَّبِیِّ الْاَمِیْن صلَّی ا لـلّٰـهُ علیه واٰلهٖ وسلَّم
[1] Tareekh Ibn Asakir, vol. 39, p. 369
[2] Ansab al-Ashraf, vol. 6, p. 224
[3] I.e., his book of deeds is full of good deeds.
[4] Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d, vol. 3, p. 60
[5] Mu’jam Ma'a Isti’jam, p. 1093
[6] Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaiba, vol. 21, p. 348
[7] Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaiba, vol. 21, p. 308
[8] Riyad ul Nadira, vol. 2, p. 81
[9] Riyad ul Nadira, vol. 2, p. 80
[10] Riyad ul Nadira, vol. 2, p. 80
[11] Tareekh al-Madina, p. 1249
[12] Riyad ul Nadira, vol. 2, p. 80
[13] Tareekh Ibn Asakir, vol. 39, p. 480
[14] Tareekh al-Madina, p. 1246
[15] Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d, vol. 3, p. 59
[16] Riyad ul Nadira, vol. 2, p. 80
[17] Tareekh Ibn Asakir, vol. 39, p. 219
[18] Riyad ul Nadira, vol. 2, p. 81
[19] Zad al-Maseer, vol. 8, p. 121
[20] Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d, vol. 3, p. 59
[21] Bukhari, vol. 4, p. 439, Hadith 7087
[22] al-Mujam al-Kabeer, vol. 2, p. 90, Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d, vol. 3, p. 59
[23] Tareekh Ibn Asakir, vol. 39, p. 483
[24] Tareekh Ibn Asakir, vol. 39, p. 482
[25] Tareekh Ibn Asakir, vol. 39, p. 483
[26] Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d, vol. 3, p. 59
[27] Tareekh Madina, p. 1314
[28] al-Mujam al-Kabeer, vol. 1, p. 89
[29] al-Isti’aab, vol. 3, p. 163
[30] Tareekh Ibn Asakir, vol. 39, p. 537
[31] Tareekh Ibn Asakir, vol. 63, p.249
[32] al-Isti’aab, vol. 3, p. 162
[33] Tareekh Ibn Asakir, vol. 39, p. 419
[34] Tareekh Ibn Asakir, vol. 39, p. 528
[35] al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, vol. 5, p. 351
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