Gathering of Rebels in Madina

able to harm him there. Usman replied, “Even if I am beheaded, I will not leave the land where the Prophet resided.” Eventually, Ameer Muawiya was disappointed and returned to Syria alone.

In Madina, Usman was thinking of ways to get the situation under control while the insurgents in Kufa, Basra and Egypt were busy in secretly writing letters to each other and had decided to collectively march to Madina. Thus, in the end of 35 AH, three groups of rebels headed towards Madina pretending to be going there with the intention of hajj. On reaching near Madina they stopped outside the city. They had decided amongst themselves to dismiss Usman in any condition but could not agree upon who would replace him. Rebels from Kufa wanted Zubayr, those of Basra wanted Talhah while the Egyptians wanted Ali to be the next Caliph. Therefore, a delegation from all three groups met these prestigious Companions separately and requested them to accept the seat of caliphate. But all three Companions refused to do so and drove them out getting angry on them.

Afterwards, on a Friday, Usman went to the mosque for the Friday salat, after the salat he tried to negotiate with the rebels but they stoned the people in mosque and forcefully evacuated it. They threw so many stones on Usman that he fell from the pulpit and passed out. People picked him up and took him home. On seeing such brutality and audacity of the rebels, Sa‟d ibn Abi Waqqas, Zayd ibn Harithah, Abu Hurairah and Husayn ibn Ali went to guard the home of Usman but he asked them to return. After this incident, the Egyptian rebels marched upon Madina to assassinate Usman. Contrarily, Usman was continuously thinking of the ways to control the revolts and stop the upheavals. Therefore, he called Ali to seek his advice and said that he was willing to do anything to send back the miscreants. On Ali‟s suggestion, a