until the two men began corresponding in line with what each had been told, and each of them wrote to ʿUthmān. Ibn Abī Sarḥ wrote, “My kharāj (land-tax revenue) cannot remain sound so long as ʿAmr leads the prayer.” The Egyptians then travelled to Medina, confirmed his claim, asked to be excused from ʿAmr’s authority, and requested Ibn Abī Sarḥ instead. ʿUthmān wrote to ʿAmr: “There is no benefit for you in staying with people who dislike you; return.” He subsequently placed the whole of Egypt under Ibn Abī Sarḥ.

It is also reported that an argument broke out between ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir and ʿAbbās ibn ʿUtbah ibn Abī Lahab, whereupon ʿUthmān struck them both.

Sīf narrates, through Mubashshir and Sahl ibn Yūsuf, from Muḥammad ibn Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ: ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir arrived from Egypt while my father was ill. When my father heard of it he sent me to invite him. ʿAmmār rose and came with me, wearing a dirty turban and a fur-lined cloak. When he entered upon Saʿd, the latter said, “Woe to you, Abū al-Yaqẓān! You have always been among the righteous in our eyes. What is this I hear—that you are seeking to sow corruption among the Muslims and incite them against the Commander of the Believers? Have you lost your mind?”

ʿAmmār, angered, reached for his turban, removed it, and said, “I have cast off ʿUthmān just as I have cast off this turban.” Saʿd exclaimed, “Indeed we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return! Woe to you—now that your hair is grey, your bones fragile, and your life nearly over, you have stripped the rope of Islam from your neck and walked out of the religion naked!”

ʿAmmār rose in anger, turned away, and said, “I seek refuge in my Lord from the trial of Saʿd.” Saʿd replied, “Lo, they have fallen into fitnah (temptation). O Allah, raise ʿUthmān in rank with You for his clemency and forbearance.”

When ʿAmmār had gone out, Saʿd turned to me weeping until his beard was soaked. He said, “My son, who can feel safe from fitnah? Do not let what you heard from him escape your lips—it is a trust, and I dislike that people seize upon it and attack him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘The truth is with ʿAmmār so long as the dotage of old age does not overcome him.’ Old age has now overcome him, and he has become senile.”

Among those who rose up against ʿUthmān was Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr al-Ṣiddīq. Sālim ibn