and found that it was sloshing about, so they split it open. Inside was a letter from ʿUthmān addressed to Ibn Abī Sarḥ. Muhammad gathered the Companions who were with him, unsealed the letter, and it read: “When Muhammad, So-and-so, and So-and-so reach you, deem it lawful to kill them, cancel his appointment, and remain in your post.”
After reading the letter they returned to Medina, called together Ṭalḥah, ʿAlī, al-Zubayr, and Saʿd, and laid the letter before them. No one remained who was not furious with ʿUthmān, and the anger and resentment of the supporters of Abū Dharr, Ibn Masʿūd, and ʿAmmār only grew stronger.
Those men then besieged ʿUthmān, while Muhammad ibn Abī Bakr rallied the Banū Taym against him. When ʿAlī saw this, he summoned Ṭalḥah, al-Zubayr, and ʿAmmār, then went in to ʿUthmān carrying the letter, the slave-boy, and the camel.
He said, “Do this slave-boy and this camel belong to you?” ʿUthmān replied, “Yes.” He asked, “Is this your letter?” ʿUthmān swore that he had neither written it nor ordered it. ʿAlī continued, “Is the seal your seal?” He said, “Yes.” ʿAlī exclaimed, “How can your slave ride your camel with a letter bearing your seal and yet you know nothing about it?!” They recognized the handwriting as Marwān’s and demanded that ʿUthmān hand Marwān over to them, but he refused—Marwān was with him in the house. They left in anger, doubtful about the matter; yet they knew that ʿUthmān would not swear falsely, so they stayed in their homes.
The others tightened the siege until they even denied him water. One day he looked out and called, “Is ʿAlī among you?” They answered, “No.” “Is Saʿd among you?” “No.” He fell silent and then said, “Will no one give us water to drink?” When this reached ʿAlī, he sent him three water-skins, and several people were wounded before the water reached him. News then reached ʿAlī that they meant to kill ʿUthmān, so he declared, “All we want from him is Marwān; as for ʿUthmān, we will not let anyone harm him.”
Al-Zubayr sent his son to protect ʿUthmān, Ṭalḥah sent his son, and a number of other Companions sent their sons to guard him and to ask that Marwān be handed over. When Muhammad ibn Abī Bakr saw this—and while the people were firing arrows at ʿUthmān until al-Ḥasan was spattered with blood at the doorway, an arrow struck Marwān, Muhammad ibn Ṭalḥah was covered in blood, and Qanbar, ʿAlī’s freedman, was gashed—Muhammad feared that Banū Hāshim would become enraged at what was happening.