his son al-Hasan to ʿUthmān with the group that had gathered around him. When the Egyptians greeted ʿAlī and laid out their request, he shouted at them and drove them off, saying, “The righteous know full well that you are accursed. Go back—may God abandon you!” They withdrew, and Ṭalḥah and al-Zubayr treated them in the same way.
The rebels then departed, pretending that they were returning to their own lands, so the people of Medina went back to their homes. Once the rebels reached their camps, however, they wheeled around, took the city by surprise, burst into Medina, raised the cry of “God is greatest,” re-occupied their previous positions, surrounded ʿUthmān, and proclaimed, “Anyone who keeps his hand to himself is safe.”
The townsfolk stayed inside their houses. ʿAlī came to the rebels and asked, “What brought you back after you had left?” They replied, “We intercepted a courier carrying a letter ordering our execution.” The Kufans and Basrans added, “We will protect our brothers and support them,” and everyone realized that this was a ruse.
ʿUthmān wrote to the provinces asking for reinforcements. Helpers set out for him by every means, on both hardy and docile mounts. Muʿāwiya sent Ḥabīb ibn Maslama; Ibn Abī Sarḥ sent Muʿāwiya ibn Ḥudayj; and from Kufa came al-Qaʿqāʿ ibn ʿAmr.
On Friday ʿUthmān led the people in prayer and addressed them, saying, “O you who claim to fight in God’s cause, fear God, fear God! By God, the people of Medina know that you are cursed on the tongue of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Erase error with what is right, for God removes evil only with good.”
Muḥammad ibn Maslama stood and said, “I bear witness to that,” but Ḥakīm ibn Jabala forced him to sit down. Zayd ibn Thābit then rose and said, “Hand me the Book,” whereupon Muḥammad ibn Abī Qutayra sprang at him from another side and made him sit, speaking with harshness. The entire group rose up, pelting the congregation with stones until they drove them out, and they stoned ʿUthmān himself until he fell from the pulpit unconscious. He was carried inside the house.
The Egyptians had never expected that anyone from the people of Medina would come to their aid.