No Companion Was Involved in the Martyrdom of ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه
Written by: Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amini
Sayyidunā ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān رضي الله عنه was martyred at the hands of a group of rebels and mischief-makers from Egypt. No Companion of the Prophet ﷺ took part in his killing.
Statements of Scholars
✿ Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله (d. 676H):
"None of the Companions participated in his killing."
(Sharḥ al-Nawawī 15/148)
✿ Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (d. 728H):
"The best of the Muslims did not participate in the blood of ʿUthmān—neither killing him nor ordering his killing. Rather, he was killed by a group of corrupters in the land, rabble from the tribes and people of tribulations."
(Minhāj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah 4/323)
✿ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله (d. 774H):
"Among them was no Companion, and to Allah belongs all praise."
(al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah 10/451)
✿ Sayyidunā ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه said:
"If I knew that Banū Umayyah would accept my word, I would swear fifty oaths on behalf of Banū Hāshim that I neither killed ʿUthmān nor assisted in his killing."
(Tārīkh al-Madīnah Ibn Shabbah 4/1269 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ)
Companions Defended ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه
✿ ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنه said:
“I said to ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه: ‘You have with you a strong group ready to defend you. With fewer than this, Allah has granted victory before. Give me permission to fight!’ But ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه said: ‘I urge you by Allah, do not let a man be killed on my account, or shed blood because of me.’”
(Tārīkh Khalīfah ibn Khayyāt, p. 173 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ)
✿ Kinanah Mawlā Ṣafiyyah رضي الله عنها said:
He witnessed the day of ʿUthmān’s martyrdom when he was 14 years old. He described how rebels surrounded the house, struck at the camel of Umm al-Muʾminīn Ṣafiyyah رضي الله عنها, and how four Quraysh youths were carried out wounded after defending ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه. They were:
- Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī رضي الله عنه
- ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنه
- Muḥammad ibn Ḥāṭib رضي الله عنه
- Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam رحمه الله
He further clarified that Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr رحمه الله did not kill ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه. Rather, when he entered, ʿUthmān said to him: “You are not the one who will kill me.” He then left without harming him.
As for the killer, Kinanah said: “A man from Egypt named Jablah ibn Ayyham struck him and went around declaring: ‘I am the killer of Naʿthal (a derogatory name they used for ʿUthmān).’”
(Musnad Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh 2088 – sanad ḥasan)
Fabricated and Weak Reports
Several fabricated or weak reports exist that wrongly implicate Companions such as Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr رضي الله عنه or al-Juhjāh al-Ghifārī رضي الله عنه. These reports:
- Often come through al-Wāqidī (a known liar and fabricator),
- Contain unknown or broken chains,
- Or describe impossible scenarios contradicted by authentic accounts.
Examples include:
- Reports in Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī narrated through al-Wāqidī → rejected.
- Reports through weak transmitters like ʿUqbah ibn Muslim or ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Abī ʿAwn → not reliable.
- Narrations attributing complicity to Companions like Abū al-Ṭufayl or Juhjāh → weak or baseless.
Conclusion
✔ No Companion of the Prophet ﷺ participated in the killing of ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه.
✔ The killers were outsiders—rebels, mischief-makers, and rabble from Egypt and other lands.
✔ Many Companions, including Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī, ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr, and others, defended ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه but he forbade them from fighting to protect his blood.
✔ Reports implicating Companions are either weak, fabricated, or come through known liars like al-Wāqidī.
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, the truth is preserved: the noble Companions were innocent of the crime of killing the third Rightly Guided Caliph, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān رضي الله عنه.
