Introduction

Certainly, every form of praise belongs only to Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. We express our gratitude to Him, seek His divine assistance, seek forgiveness from Him, and seek protection in Him from the evil within ourselves and the evil brought forth from our actions. Whomsoever Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala guides, none can misguide; and whomsoever Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala misguides, none can guide. I bear testimony that there is none worthy of worship except Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala Who has no partner and I bear testimony that Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is His slave and Messenger.

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِۦ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسۡلِمُونَ

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims (in submission to Him).^[1]

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفۡسٖ وَٰحِدَةٖ وَخَلَقَ مِنۡهَا زَوۡجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنۡهُمَا رِجَالٗا كَثِيرٗا وَنِسَآءٗۚ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِي تَسَآءَلُونَ بِهِۦ وَٱلۡأَرۡحَامَۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ رَقِيبٗا

O mankind, fear your Lord, Who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through Whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.^[2]

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَقُولُواْ قَوۡلٗا سَدِيدٗا يُصۡلِحۡ لَكُمۡ أَعۡمَٰلَكُمۡ وَيَغۡفِرۡ لَكُمۡ ذُنُوبَكُمۡۗ وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَقَدۡ فَازَ فَوۡزًا عَظِيمًا

O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will (then) amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.^[3]

Thereafter^[4]: Indeed, the best speech is the Book of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala, the best form of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the worst matters are those that have been innovated, and every innovation is misguidance.^[5]

Furthermore: for the study of history to bear fruit, it should be geared towards a righteous goal. It is necessary that the history that is relied upon is authentic in terms of its transmission, otherwise the fruit that is borne from it will be corrupt. History will only be considered authentic if it is drawn from reliable, authentic sources, the first of which is the Book of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala which:

لَّا يَأۡتِيهِ ٱلۡبَٰطِلُ مِنۢ بَيۡنِ يَدَيۡهِ وَلَا مِنۡ خَلۡفِهِۦۖ تَنزِيلٞ مِّنۡ حَكِيمٍ حَمِيدٖ

Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from a (Lord who is) Wise and Praiseworthy.^[6]

It contains vast historical material, of various eras, discussing numerous incidents and—at times—delving into subtle details.

Following this ever-reliable source is what has authentically been narrated from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in the form of Hadith, for it consists of historical knowledge of the previous nations as well as the period of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.^[7]

The third source from amongst the reliable sources of history is authentic historical narrations transmitted by the authors of the reliable books, i.e. the books of Hadith, the books of history, and the books which were specifically written to record the biographies of narrators—all of which have been transmitted with authentic chains of narration until present times. These are the reliable sources of history^[8] which are necessary for anyone researching the life of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the history of the Rightly-guided Khalifas radiya Llahu ‘anhum to extract their information.

Similarly, he should refrain from weak and fabricated narrations, so that his historical construction is built on sound principles, which are suitable for analysis, for deriving lessons, and for reaching the laws of civilisation and the traditions of society.

The truest and most suitable history for that is the history of the prophets ‘alayhim al Salam, at the forefront being the last of them, Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and the history of his Rightly-guided Khalifas, viz. Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhum, for this history is free from anomalies, social and intellectual sicknesses, heretical tendencies, and extremism.

This was the general impression. As for what had transpired towards the end of this period, such as fitan^[9] and wars, then assuming the authenticity of the picture painted by those historical narrations, a generalised ruling cannot be passed, since much distortion and fabrication were introduced in it and then highlighted and spread.

Thus, the fitnah of the assassination of ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu, the Battle of the Camel, the Battle of Siffin, and the arbitration became more widespread than the aspects to emulate, the justice, the fairness, and the highest ideals found in them. It became more prevalent than the lessons derived from the stories of those sincere and righteous believers, which manifests the strength of their iman (faith), their conviction, and their connection with their creator that increase one’s iman and reinforce why they should be taken as role models.^[10]

The fame of these fitan have overshadowed these lofty qualities in how widespread they have become, such that many hardly know about this period except for the fitan that occurred in the last part of it.

Perhaps Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala will send an individual from amongst those whom He loves to accentuate this luminous angle during that era, to emphasise its suitability as a model to be followed, and to expose the role of those conspirators who distorted its beautiful image using narrations which were evil, lies, and exaggerations.

These fitan were not only spread, rather many added to them, and many incidents were misconstrued, thus causing further distortion to the extent that these distorted events began causing many to refrain from talking about them, considering them to be of the disagreements between the Companions^[11], and practicing on the Prophet’s salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam statement:

إذا ذكر أصحابي فأمسكوا…

When my Companions are mentioned then refrain…^[12]

Certainly:

من أصول أهل السنة والجماعة سلامة قلوبهم وألسنتهم لأصحاب رسول الله كما وصفهم الله في قوله تعالى وَالَّذِيْنَ جَاءُوْا مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ يَقُوْلُوْنَ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِيْنَ سَبَقُوْنَا بِالْإِيْمَانِ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِيْ قُلُوْبِنَا غِلًّا لِّلَّذِيْنَ آمَنُوْا رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ رَءُوْفٌ رَّحِيْمٌ وطاعة النبي في قوله لا تسبوا أصحابي فوالذي نفسي بيده لو أن أحدكم ينفق مثل أحد ذهبا ما بلغ مد أحدهم ولا نصيفه

From the principles the Ahlus Sunnah abide by is purifying their hearts and safeguarding their tongues for the Companions of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, as Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala described them in the Qur’an saying: And (there is a share for) those who come after them, saying, “Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith and put not in our hearts (any) resentment toward those who have believed. Our Lord, indeed You are Kind and Merciful.^[13]

Likewise, obeying the statement of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, “Do not revile my Companions, for by the One in Whose hand is my life, if one of you were to spend the like of Mount Uhud in gold, it would not amount to a mudd^[14] of one of them nor half of it.”^[15]

و يتبرؤون من الذين يبغضون الصحابة ويسبونهم ومن الذين يؤذون أهل البيت بقول أو عمل ويمسكون عما شجر بين الصحابة ويقولون إن هذه الآثار المروية في مساويهم منها ما قد زيد فيه ونقص وغير من وجهه والصحيح منه هم فيه معذورون إما مجتهدون مصيبون وإما مجتهدون مخطئون وهم مع ذلك لا يعتقدون أن كل واحد من الصحابة معصوم عن كبائر الإثم وصغائره بل تجوز عليهم الذنوب في الجملة ولهم من السوابق والفضائل ما يوجب مغفرة ما يصدر منهم إن صدر حتى إنهم يغفر لهم من السيئات ما لم يغفر لمن بعدهم لأن لهم من الحسنات التي تمحو السيئات ما ليس لمن بعدهم

They (the Ahlus Sunnah) wash their hands from those who hate the Companions and revile them and from those who harm the Ahlul Bayt (household of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) verbally or by any action, and they refrain from that which transpired between the Companions. They say: These transmissions narrated regarding their shortcomings; some are lies, some have additions and subtractions, and some are distorted from their reality. Regarding what is authentically transmitted, the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum are excused. They were either mujtahids^[16] who were correct (in trying to formulate a legal ruling on the matter) or mujtahids who erred. Despite that, the Ahlus Sunnah do not believe in the infallibility of any of the Companions, whether that be from major or minor sins. It is possible for them to commit sins in general. However, the Companions of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam have earned such precedence and virtues which necessitate the forgiveness of whatever they perpetrated—if it occurred—to the extent that they are forgiven for sins that those coming after them were not forgiven for, due to the Companions carrying out such deeds that expiated those sins, the like of which could not be carried out by those that came after them.^[17]

Moreover, they are well-aware that Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala protected the religion by means of the Companions of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who had transmitted the religion to the generation who met them, and it in turn was transmitted throughout the generations until it reached us exactly as they learnt from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

However, when the enemies of Islam strove but were unable to create doubt within the Muslims regarding their beliefs and their authentic religion, they then intended to discredit the greatest of the religion’s transmitters, the Companions of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Regarding the likes of such individuals, al Imam Malik states:

إنما هؤلاء أقوام أرادوا القدح في النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فلم يمكنهم ذلك فقدحوا في أصحابه حتى يقال رجل سوء ولو كان رجلا صالحا لكان أصحابه صالحين

These are such people who intended to disparage the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam but were unable to do so. They thus disparaged the Companions of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam so that it would be said: an evil man; if he were a righteous man, his Companions would have been righteous.^[18]

Abu Zur’ah pronounces:

إذا رأيت رجلا ينتقص أحدا من أصحاب رسول الله فاعلم أنه زنديق وذلك أن رسول الله عندنا حق والقرآن حق وإنما أدى إلينا هذا القرآن والسنن أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وإنما يريدون أن يجرحوا شهودنا ليبطلوا الكتاب والجرح بهم أولى وهم زنادقة

If you see a man attacking any of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, know well that such an individual is a heretic. That is because the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, according to us, is true and the Qur’an is true; and this Qur’an as well as the Sunnah were only transmitted to us by the Companions of the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. These individuals only desire to defame our witnesses to destroy the Qur’an as well as the Sunnah, whereas they are more deserving of being criticised and they are heretics.^[19]

These biased individuals set their sights on the fitnah (strife) which occurred between the Companions of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and they surrounded it with lies, fabrications, forgery, and exaggerations which were used to discredit the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum.

From amongst these is the killing of ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu. The people were successful in realising some of their aims; however, their plot was hidden from many, and they had conjured it up using weak and fabricated narrations reported by those who are doomed and abandoned. As a result, they (the Ahlus Sunnah) refrained from studying these incidents and compiling those narrations considering them to be from the disagreements between the Companions. The henchmen of the enemies began arguing with the Muslims regarding some of the incidents which are obtained from these false narrations. Some Muslims were flabbergasted and remained silent and others presented excuses, but none debated them regarding the isnad (chain of transmission) for these lies except a handful of scholars.

I have not come across a book which gathers the narrations of this fitnah (strife) and investigates its chains, separating the authentic from the weak, and thereafter uses the authentic narrations to build an authentic image of what had transpired.

Thus, I set out to do such in this book—to the best of my ability. What has become clear to me is that the fitnah should not be considered as a skirmish between the Companions, it should be considered as a skirmish between the Companions and a group of people who were not Companions, as is clear by the stance taken by the Companions regarding ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu and his killing. Not a single Companion had taken part in any incitement, leave alone in his killing, and not a single Companion had rebelled against him. May Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala make Jannat al Firdaws (the highest level of Paradise) our final abode and their final abode, and may Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala raise us all under the banner of the greatest of His friends, Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

This in no way means that the pious predecessors overlooked the study of the fitnah in general. The Ahlus Sunnah exerted significant efforts in clarifying the reality of the issue and rebutting those false narrations which distort its image and debunk them like Ibn Taymiyyah in his book Minhaj al Sunnah and Ibn al ‘Arabi in al ‘Awasim min al Qawasim. May Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala recompense them handsomely and reward them generously.

However, regarding this topic, as I have previously mentioned, research had not been carried out from the aspect of scrutinising the chain of those particular narrations, building upon what is authentic and warning against what is weak, as well as uncovering the hidden defects and explaining the reason for their weakness. This action is a defence of our belief and an effort to correct one of the many angles of our belief, which is love for the Companions and raising them to the pedestal which Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala had awarded them.

This matter caught the attention of some of the honourable educators who seen the need for purification of the narrations regarding the killing of ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu according to the methodology adopted by the Muhaddithin (scholars of Hadith), by studying the chain as well as the texts, thereafter, differentiating between the authentic and the problematic, and then building upon what is authentic.

From amongst these educators was Dr. Akram Diya’ al ‘Umari. He suggested to me that I write on this topic according to this methodology. This agreed with my personal desire due to the following reasons:

1. My desire to defend the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, to expose the innocence of those of them who have been accused, and to rebut the doubts that have been raised against them, as love for the Companions necessitates this, especially due to the emergence of those who accuse them of falsehood. Ibn Taymiyyah states:

إذا ظهر مبتدع يقدح فيهم بالباطل فلا بد من الذب عنهم وذكر ما يبطل حجته بعلم وعدل

When an innovator accuses the Companions of falsehood, it is necessary to defend them and to mention whatever would nullify the proof of the innovator using knowledge and justice.^[20]

This would not be considered from those things from which we have been prohibited, i.e. delving into the disagreements between the Companions. Rather it is highlighting the reality which will defend them from the false accusations levelled at them.

2. Alerting to the fact that this fitnah is not considered to be from amongst the disagreements between the Companions, as is well known to many people.

3. My fervent desire to establish the authentic image of the Companions and to correct the understanding by relaying the realities of this fitnah derived from authentic foundations, based on evaluation of the chains and texts.

4. My response to the encouragement of the scholars to correct Islamic History and cleanse it of the filth which has become attached to it by adopting a sound and firm methodology and to pave the way for educators so that they may nurture generations of Muslims upon authentic upbringing.

5. My intense love for the study of chains and their texts.

In preparing this study, I have relied upon a methodology which will assist in building an accurate historical image, and that is the methodology of the Muhaddithin in dealing with narrations. Thus, I set out to gather the narrations regarding the fitnah from the books of Hadith, general history, the history of the cities, the books containing biographical information, as well as other sources which are relied upon for narrations.

Thereafter I compiled these narrations, which reached over two-thousand, and incorporated the repetitions, whilst indicating to the differences between them in the chains as well as the texts. I then studied these chains until the authentic were distinguished from the weak. I relied upon the authentic narrations to deduce therefrom what can be an accurate image of the fitnah of the murder of ’Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu.

Thereafter, I gathered those narrations extracting the various chains of narration as well as their study and placing them at the end of the book, to afford the reader the opportunity to observe the results I have reached, and that he be informed of the biographies of the narrators of the narrations I have passed judgement on their authenticity or lack thereof.

I have relied on some narrations which are mursal^[21] and weak to establish some historical events, which have no connection to matters of belief nor any connection to the Shari’ah directly or indirectly, like the date of ‘Uthman’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu killing, his age at the time of his martyrdom, and the like. In instances as these, I would take the most authentic of these narrations, study their texts, compare them to the authentic narrations, and present what I considered to be preponderant, and also mention the reason for this preponderance.

If not, I would apply the laws of Hadith Terminology that I am aware of without any leniency. This would be with regards to narrations that have connections to matters of belief or the Shari’ah and they would be managed with great caution. It might appear to the reader—at times—that the narration has no such link. However, after closer inspection, the connection becomes apparent. It is due to this that I remained cautious and inspected the narrations before studying them.

Application of the methodology of the Muhaddithin is the methodology I saw suitable in critiquing Islamic historical narrations, specifically the era of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Rightly-guided Khalifas and more so the fitan, starting from the killing of ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu and the Battles of Jamal and Siffin, so as to protect its foundation from criticism and to ensure the purity of its results.

We find that some, who are not specialists in the field of history, reject this methodology^[22] and avoid what is correct. They have no argument that the predecessors did not rely on this method in critiquing historical narrations because they did apply it, like Ibn Kathir—who ruled some of the narrations as sahih and others as weak—and many others besides him, as you will soon see from their transmissions.

Many of the contemporary specialists in the field of history called for the use of this methodology when dealing with history, and specifically with the killing of ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu. From amongst them are Muhibb al Din^[23], Sadiq ‘Arjun^[24], and Yusuf al ‘Ish^[25]. That is due to their understanding of both the methodologies of the scholars of Hadith as well as the western scholars in critiquing historical narrations, causing them to give preference to the methodology of the scholars of Hadith due to its strength and suitability for the task. There is no doubt that one who has not fully grasped this methodology and is unaware of it, it will be difficult for him to accept it, leave alone use it as a basis and act upon it.

I would like to invite anyone who is reluctant in accepting this sound methodology, firstly to impartiality, thereafter, to study it and ponder over it. This will cause him to reach the same conclusion that those who are calling for it have reached.

The status held by the isnad in Islam has been transmitted from the righteous predecessors. It has been authentically narrated from Muhammad ibn Sirin:

إن هذا العلم دين فانظروا عمن تأخذون دينكم

Certainly, this knowledge is din, so be wary of whom you take your din from.

He also said:

لم يكونوا يسألون عن الإسناد فلما وقعت الفتنة قالوا سموا لنا رجالكم فينظر إلى أهل السنة فيؤخذ حديثهم وينظر إلى أهل البدع فلا يؤخذ حديثهم

Asking regarding the chains of narration was not a common practice. However, when the fitnah occurred, they began stipulating, “Name your narrators.” The ahadith of the Ahlus Sunnah would be accepted and the ahadith of the innovators were rejected.^[26]

Regarding this, ‘Abdullah ibn al Mubarak would say:

الإسناد من الدين ولولا الإسناد لقال من شاء ما شاء

Isnad is an integral part of din. Had it not been for it, anyone would have said whatever he desired.^[27]

Loving the Companions of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and not harbouring ill-feelings towards them is part of din, for they are the ones who had transmitted it to us, pure and lucid, as they had heard it from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. The Ahlus Sunnah consider this to be one of their core principles as was previously mentioned.

Al Tahawi states:

وحبهم دين وإيمان وإحسان وبغضهم كفر ونفاق وطغيان

Loving the Companions is din, having faith, and beneficence. Hating them is disbelief, hypocrisy, and rebellion.^[28]

Muhammad ibn Hatim ibn al Muzaffar states:

إن الله تعالى قد أكرم هذه الأمة وشرفها وفضلها بالإسناد وليس من الأمم كلها قديما وحديثا إسناد موصول إنما هو صحف في أيديهم وقد خلطوا بكتبهم أخبارهم

Certainly, Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala has honoured this Ummah, venerated it, and favoured it with the phenomenon of isnad. There is not a single nation, ancient or modern, that can boast an uninterrupted isnad. All they have are scriptures in their hands. They have mixed their scriptures with narrations.^[29]

Ibn Taymiyyah says:

وعلم الإسناد والرواية مما خص الله به أمة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم وجعله سلماً إلى الدراية فأهل الكتاب لا إسناد لهم يأثرون به المنقولات وهكذا المبتدعون من هذه الأمة أهل الضلالات وإنما الإسناد لمن أعظم الله عليه المنة أهل الإسلام والسنة يفرقون به بين الصحيح والسقيم والمعوج والقويم وغيرهم من أهل البدع والكفار إنما عندهم منقولات يؤثرونها بغير إسناد وعليها من دينهم الاعتماد وهم لا يعرفون فيها الحق من الباطل ولا الحالي من العاطل وأما هذه الأمة المرحومة وأصحاب هذه الأمة المعصومة فإن أهل العلم منهم والدين هم من أمرهم على يقين فظهر لهم الصدق من المين كما يظهر الصبح لذي عينين

The science of isnad as well as oral transmission are from amongst that which Allah had specified for the Ummah of Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and made it a ladder towards knowledge. The people of the book have no isnad by which they can transmit their transmissions. Likewise, the innovators of this Ummah, who are considered people of misguidance. The phenomenon of isnad is only for those whom Allah has favoured tremendously, who are the adherents of Islam and the Sunnah. They use it to differentiate between what is authentic from what is weak, and what is upright from what is crooked. Besides them, the innovators and disbelievers only have transmissions, which they transmit without any chain, and they base their religious authority on it whilst being unable to differentiate between truth and falsehood, and what is current from what is invalid. As for this blessed Ummah and the people of this infallible Ummah, verily the scholars and the religious from amongst them are certain regarding it, because the truth has become evidently clear from falsehood just as dawn is clear to the one who has eyes.^[30]

Ibn Hazm mentioned that transmission from one trustworthy individual to another until it reaches the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is not found except with the Muslims. All the founding principles of Islam, as well as the Shari’ah that is transmitted from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and all the laws that are connected to it, every single one of these narrations, are established through these transmissions.^[31]

Dr. Muhammad Abu Shuhbah says:

ولا أكون غاليا أو متعصبا إذا قلت إن الأصول التي وضعها علماء أصول الحديث لنقد المرويات هي أرقى وأدق ما وصل إليه العقل البشري في القديم والحديث

I will not be considered extreme nor fanatical if I were to say that the principles that were laid down by the scholars of the principles of Hadith in critiquing narrations, is the most advanced and precise of what the human mind is capable of reaching in the past or present.^[32]

Abu Hatim al Razi said:

لم يكن في أمة من الأمم منذ خلق الله آدم أمناء يحفظون آثار الرسول إلا في هذه الأمة

There has never been in any of the previous nations, from the time Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala created Adam, such trustworthy individuals that have protected the legacy of the Messenger, except in this Ummah.^[33]

I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala the Highest, the All-Capable to enable me to expound this great discussion adequately, such that the realities of its occurrences are made clear without disparaging any of the Companions, and that the reader finds within this research and investigation what he will not find elsewhere.

And I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala the Highest, the Majestic to reward abundantly all those who assisted me in completing this book and to recompense them in full for the time and effort spent, and to let it weigh heavy on their scale of deeds on the day when no wealth or offspring will be of any benefit, except the one who comes to Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala with a pure heart.

NEXT⇒ Sources for the narrations on the murder of ‘Uthman

^[1] Surah Al ‘Imran: 102.

^[2] Surah al Nisa’: 1.

^[3] Surah al Ahzab: 70-71.

^[4] This sermon is called Khutbat al Hajah (the sermon of need). The Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam would preface his sermon with it, and likewise the pious predecessors in their sermons, discourses, writings, and various matters. Sheikh Muhammad Nasir al Din al Albani has dedicated a book to it called Khutbat al Hajah.

^[5] Sahih Muslim, 2/592, Musnad Ahmed, 3/371, Sunan al Bayhaqi, 3/214. The portion ‘every innovation is misguidance’ is not narrated from Ahmed. Ahmed and al Bayhaqi added ‘and every novelty is an innovation’. Al Albani graded both their isnad as authentic in Khutbat al Hajah, pg. 26.

^[6] Surah Fussilat: 42.

^[7] As is well known, the scholars of Hadith have specified chapters for the narrations regarding the life of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in their books of Hadith, like kitab al maghazi (the book on military expeditions) in Sahih al Bukhari, kitab al jihad (the book on war) in Sahih Muslim, al Sunan of Abu Dawood, al Tirmidhi, al Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, and al Darimi, and al Muwatta’ of Malik.

^[8] From amongst the sources of history which are not suitable to be used in researching this topic:

What has been mentioned by the historians in their books without any isnad (chain of transmission) and them being contemporaries to these incidents is not proven, then such sources are not reliable, specifically in relation to this subject due to its importance and the necessity of drawing its information from reliable sources.
What has been exhumed by those specialising in archaeology, of excavations and archaeological findings. This source is also not suitable for use in researching this topic.

^[9] Plural of fitnah (strife).

^[10] An example would be ‘Uthman’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu refusal to fight those who had besieged him, as will appear shortly, and how this exemplified ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu preferring the gain of the Ummah over his personal gain. In this lies undisputable proof of the strength of his iman, his connection with his Lord, and his preparation for the Hereafter.

^[11] The cause is: allowing themselves to be deceived by biased narrations and believing them, due to their beautiful appearance and their mastery in formulating narrations which spread falsehood and hide the truth from the masses.

^[12] Abu Nuaim al Asbahani: Hilyat al Awliya’, 4/108, and others, al Albani graded this narration authentic in Sahih al Jami’, 1/155, and al Silsilah al Sahihah, 1/42.

^[13] Surah al Hashr: 10.

^[14] Mudd is unit of measurement for volume, equivalent to approximately 750 ml.

^[15] Ibn Taymiyyah: Al ‘Aqidah al Wasitiyyah, pg. 166. The hadith appears in Sahih al Bukhari; Fath al Bari, 7/21; Sahih Muslim, the chapter on the prohibition of reviling the Companions, 4/1967. Abu Dawood, al Tirmidhi, and Ahmed ibn Hanbal narrated the hadith of Abu Sa’id al Khudri while Muslim and Ibn Majah narrated the hadith of Abu Hurairah.

^[16] A legist formulating independent decisions in legal and theological matters, based on the interpretations and application of the four Usul, as opposed to a muqallid (follower).

^[17] Ibn Taymiyyah: Al ‘Aqidah al Wasitiyyah, pg. 174.

^[18] Ibn Taymiyyah: Al Sarim al Maslul ‘ala Shatim al Rasul, pg. 580.

^[19] Ibn Taymiyyah: Minhaj al Sunnah, 1/18.

^[20] Ibn Taymiyyah: Minhaj al Sunnah al Nabawiyyah, 6/253.

^[21] When a transmitter cites someone or the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam without actually having met them.

^[22] Of those who reject this methodology are: Ahmed Muhammad Jamali, in a lecture of his that was published under the title: Our history never read, and ‘Uthman Safi who felt it necessary to discount this topic under a work titled: Revision of Historical Records is Clearly Inferring Error in the Predecessors Works, he views revision of historical works to be a form of caprice. (See: Muhammad ibn Samil al ‘Ulyani al Sulami, pg. 12.)

^[23] Muhibb al Din: Al ‘Awasim min al Qawasim, pg. 85-86, footnote 66.

^[24] Sadiq ‘Arjun: ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, pg. 7-8.

^[25] Which he tried to apply in his book al Dawlah al Umawiyyah.

^[26] Sahih Muslim, 1/14, in the introduction to the book; Sunan al Darimi, 1/3, in the introduction to the book.

^[27] Sahih Muslim, 1/15, in the introduction to the book.

^[28] Sharh al ‘Aqidah al Tahawiyyah, pg. 467, eighth edition, 1404 Hijri, with the research of al Albani.

^[29] Muhammad ibn Hatim ibn al Muzaffar: Sharh al Mawahib, 5/454.

^[30] Ibn Taymiyyah: Majmu’ al Fatawa, 1/9.

^[31] Ihtimam al Muhaddithin bi Naql al Hadith, pg. 162-163.

^[32] Muhammad Abu Shuhbah: Difa’ ‘an al Sunnah, pg. 36.

^[33] Ihtimam al Muhaddithin bi Naql al Hadith, pg. 162-163. Study that isnad is an integral part of the religion and from the specialties of this Ummah from Dr. ‘Asim ibn ‘Abdullah al Qaryuti in his work: Al Isnad min al Din wa min Khasa’is Ummat Sayed al Mursalin.

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents