Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 40486 — Reports on Uthman (may Allah be)

It is narrated from Abu Sa'id that Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) heard that a delegation from Egypt had come. So Sayyiduna Uthman went out to receive them, and he was in a settlement outside Madinah. The narrator says: I think Sayyiduna Uthman disliked that they should come to him in Madinah, or there was some matter of this kind. Then the people of Egypt came to him and said: Send for the copy of the Qur'an. He sent for it. Then they said: Open it and turn to al-Sabi'ah. They used to call Surah Yunus al-Sabi'ah (the Seventh). So Sayyiduna Uthman began to recite and reached this verse: Say: Have you considered the provision Allah has sent down, of which you have made some unlawful and some lawful? Say: Did Allah give you permission, or do you fabricate lies against Allah? [Yunus: 59]. They said: Tell us about the pasture you have reserved: did Allah give you permission for it, or do you fabricate lies against Allah? Sayyiduna Uthman said: Leave it; this verse was revealed concerning such and such a matter. As for the pasture you are speaking of, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) established the pasture before me for the camels of charity. Then when I was made ruler, the camels of charity increased, so I enlarged the pasture in view of the large number of camels. The people of Egypt kept taking verses as arguments, and Sayyiduna Uthman kept saying: Leave it; and he kept saying: This verse was revealed concerning such and such an incident. The one speaking with Sayyiduna Uthman was of your age. Abu Nadrah says: Abu Sa'id told me this. Abu Nadrah says: I was of your age on that day. He says: The marks of full manhood had not yet appeared on my face, or he said: I had not yet fully reached manhood. I do not know, perhaps he said another time: I was thirty years old on that day. Then they brought objections against Sayyiduna Uthman from which he could not extricate himself, and Sayyiduna Uthman recognised the reality of those matters well. Then he said: I seek forgiveness from Allah and I turn to Him. Then he said to them: What do you want? They then took a covenant from Sayyiduna Uthman. The narrator says: I think they also settled some conditions, and Sayyiduna Uthman took a covenant from them that they would not break the strength of the Muslims and would not spread division among the Muslims so long as I remained upon the conditions. Then Sayyiduna Uthman said: What more do you want? They said: We want the people of Madinah not to receive stipends, for this wealth belongs only to those who fight and to the Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). So they were satisfied and came to Madinah with Sayyiduna Uthman. Then Sayyiduna Uthman stood and delivered a sermon, saying: By Allah, I have not seen a delegation better than this delegation for my need. He then said the same a second time. The narrator says: I think its members were the people of Egypt. Listen, whoever has crops, let him attend to his farming, and whoever has a milk animal, let him milk it and make his living. I have no wealth for you. The wealth is for the fighters and the Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The people became angry and began to say: This is the deception of Banu Umayyah. Then the Egyptian delegation went back gladly. While they were on the road, a rider came to them, then parted from them, then returned to them and parted again, and he reviled them. They said to him: What is your affair? He said: I am an envoy from Amir al-Mu'minin to the governor of Egypt. The delegation investigated and found on him a letter from Sayyiduna Uthman which also bore Sayyiduna Uthman's seal; it had been written to the governor of Egypt that he should kill this delegation or have their hands and feet cut off. So that delegation returned, reached Madinah, came to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and said to him: Do you not see the enemy of Allah, who has issued such an order concerning us? Allah has made his blood lawful; come with us. But Sayyiduna Ali said: By Allah, I will never go with you. The members of the delegation said: Then why did you write to us? Sayyiduna Ali replied: By Allah, I have never written any letter to you. So they began to look at one another and to say to one another: Is it for this that you will fight? Is it for this that you are enraged? Sayyiduna Ali left Madinah and went to a settlement. They went on until they reached Sayyiduna Uthman and said: Why did you write such a thing concerning us? Sayyiduna Uthman said: Then there are only two things: Either you bring against me two witnesses from among the Muslims, or I swear by Allah, other than whom there is no god, that I neither wrote this letter nor dictated it. And you know that a letter may be written in a man's name, and one seal may be engraved in the pattern of another. They said to him: By Allah, Allah has made your blood lawful, and the covenant and pledge have been broken. He said: Then they besieged him in the palace. He looked out at them and said: Peace be upon you. He said: I did not hear anyone return the greeting, unless a man returned it within himself. Then he said: I adjure you by Allah, do you know that I bought (the well of) Rumah with my own wealth to get sweet water from it, and I made my bucket in it like the bucket of any man among the Muslims? It was said: Yes. He said: Then why do you prevent me from drinking from it, so that I must break my fast with sea water? He said: I adjure you by Allah, do you know that I bought such and such a piece of land and added it to the mosque? It was said: Yes. He said: Do you know of anyone among the people who was prevented from praying in it? It was said: Yes. He said: Then I adjure you by Allah, did you hear the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him)? And he mentioned such and such, something about himself, and, I think, he mentioned the writing of al-Mufassal (the short surahs of the Qur'an). He said: Then disapproval spread, and the people began to say: Go easy on Amir al-Mu'minin. The disapproval spread, and al-Ashtar stood up; I do not know whether that was that day or another day. He said: Perhaps he has been deceived, as you have been. He said: So the people trampled him until he suffered such and such. Then he looked out at them another time, admonished them and reminded them, but the admonition had no effect on them. People used to be affected by an admonition the first time they heard it, but when it was repeated to them it had no effect on them. Then he opened the door and placed the copy of the Qur'an before him.