Siege of Uthman[edit] Main article: Siege of Uthman The situation in Medina was a big gain for the rebels. When they felt satisfied that the people of Medina would not offer them any resistance, they entered the city of Medina and laid siege to the house of Uthman, essentially taking it over but not confining the Caliph. The rebels declared that no harm from them would come to any person who choose not to resist them. Uthman strongly instructed his supporters to refrain from violence but his various servants (about 40 of them) appealed for permission to fight against the rebels, along with a thousand other citizens of Medina. Uthman, who was a wealthy man even from the days before Islam, freed all 40 of his slaves and ordered them to stay away from the civil war between the Muslims.[citation needed] The early stage of the siege of Uthman’s house was not severe,[31] the rebels merely hovered around the house and did not place any restrictions on him. Uthman went to the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi as usual, and led the prayers. The rebels offered prayers under the leadership of Uthman. While Uthman addressed the people in the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi he was criticized by opponents. At this the supporters of Uthman took up cudgels on his behalf. Tempers flared up on both sides, hot words were exchanged between the parties, and that led to the pelting of stones at one another. One of the stones hit Uthman, he fell unconscious and was carried to his house, still unconscious.[citation needed] The proceedings in the mosque showed that most of the people of Medina (or at least those in the mosque) preferred not to fight, but to watch developments. When the rebels felt that the people of Medina were not likely to offer active support to Uthman, they changed their strategy, and tightened the siege of the house of Uthman, thus confining Uthman to his home. Uthman was denied the freedom to move about and was not allowed to go to the mosque.[citation needed] As the days passed, the rebels intensified their pressure against Uthman.[31] They forbade the entry of any food or provisions, and later water as well, into his house, even turning down a few widows of Muhammad. Ramlah bint Abi-Sufyan, a widow of Muhammad, came to see Uthman and brought some water and provisions for him but she was not allowed to enter. Another widow of Muhammad, and the daughter of the late Caliph Abu Bakr, Aisha, made a similar attempt, and she was also prevailed upon by the rebels to go back.[citation needed] With the departure of the pilgrims from Medina to Mecca, the hands of the rebels were further strengthened, and as a consequence the crisis deepened further. The rebels understood that after the Hajj, the Muslims gathered at Mecca from all parts of the Muslim world might march to Medina to relieve Uthman. They therefore decided to take action against Uthman before the pilgrimage was over. During the siege, Uthman was asked by his supporters, who outnumbered the rebels, to let them fight against the rebels and rout them. Uthman prevented them in an effort to avoid the bloodshed of Muslim by Muslim. Unfortunately for Uthman, violence occurred anyhow. The gates of the house of Uthman were shut and guarded by the renowned warrior, Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr.[31] The sons of Ali, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, were also among the guards;[32] while amongst those inciting the people to fight included Aisha,[33] one of the wives of Muhammad. A skirmish erupted between the opponents and the supporters of Uthman at the gate, some anti-Uthman partisans were killed, and the rebels were finally pushed back. Among the supporters of Uthman, Hasan ibn Ali, Marwan and some other people were wounded.[citation needed] Assassination[edit] This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2011) Uthman was assassinated on the 18 Dhul Haj.[citation needed] Finding the gate of Uthmans house strongly guarded by his supporters, the rebels climbed the back wall and sneaked inside, leaving the guards on the gate unaware of what was going on inside. The rebels entered his room and struck blows at his head.[34] Naila, the wife of Uthman, threw herself on his body to protect him. It is believed that this Quran, now in a museum in Tashkent, has the blood spots of Uthman.[citation needed] Raising her hand to protect him she had her fingers chopped off and was pushed aside, and further blows were struck until he was dead. The supporters of Uthman then counterattacked the assassins and, in turn, killed them. There was further fighting between the rebels and the supporters of Uthman, with casualties on both sides, after which the rebels looted the house.[35] The rioters wanted to mutilate his body and were keen that he be denied burial. When some of the rioters came forward to mutilate the body of Uthman, his two widows, Nailah and Ramlah bint Sheibah, covered him, and raised loud cries which deterred the rioters. The rebels left the house and the supporters of Uthman at gate hearing it, entered, but it was too late.[36] Thereafter the rioters maintained a presence round the house in order to prevent the dead body from being carried to the graveyard.[citation needed] Funeral[edit] After the body of Uthman had been in the house for three days, Naila, Uthmans wife, approached some of his supporters to help in his burial, but only about a dozen people responded. These included Marwan, Zayd ibn Thabit, Huwatib bin Alfarah, Jabir bin Mutaam, Abu Jahm bin Hudaifa, Hakim bin Hazam and Niyar bin Mukarram.[37] The body was lifted at dusk, and because of the blockade, no coffin could be procured. The body was not washed, as Islamic teaching states that martyrs bodies are not supposed to be washed before burial. Thus Uthman was carried to the graveyard in the clothes that he was wearing at the time of his assassination.[38] His body was buried by Hassan, Hussein, Ali and others however some people reject that Ali attended the funeral[39] Naila followed the funeral with a lamp, but in order to maintain secrecy the lamp had to be extinguished. Naila was accompanied by some women including Ayesha, Uthmans daughter.[citation needed] Burial[edit] The body was carried to Jannat al-Baqi, the Muslim graveyard.[citation needed] It appears that some people gathered there, and they resisted the burial of Uthman in the graveyard of the Muslims. The supporters of Uthman insisted that the body should be buried in Jannat al-Baqi. They later buried him in the Jewish graveyard behind Jannat al-Baqi. Some decades later, the Umayyad rulers demolished the wall separating the two cemeteries and merged the Jewish cemetery into the Muslim one to ensure that his tomb was now inside a Muslim cemetery.[40] The funeral prayers were led by Jabir bin Mutaam, and the dead body was lowered into the grave without much of a ceremony. After burial, Naila the widow of Uthman and Aisha the daughter of Abu Bakir wanted to speak, but they were advised to remain quiet due to possible danger from the rioters.[41]
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 09:11:12 +0000
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