ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr, from Mūsā ibn Ṭalḥah, who said, “I have never seen anyone more eloquent than ʿĀʾishah, nor anyone whose Arabic was purer. I saw her on the Day of the Camel when the people surged toward her and said, ‘Mother of the Believers, tell us about ʿUthmān and his murder.’ She had the people sit, praised Allah and extolled Him, and then said:

‘To proceed: you found fault with ʿUthmān on three points—the appointment of the young man, the lash of the whip, and the matter of al-Ghamāmah, which had been declared a protected reserve. Once he had satisfied us over these issues, you wrung him out as a garment is wrung with soap, and on his account you violated the three inviolabilities: the sanctity of the sacred month, the sanctity of the sacred city, and the sanctity of the caliphate. By Allah, ʿUthmān was the most God-fearing among you, the most faithful in maintaining kinship ties, and the chastest in conduct.

I say these words of mine and ask Allah’s forgiveness for me and for you.’ ⦗1⦘

Al-Būshanji said: ‘“The appointment of the young man” refers to ʿUthmān’s dismissal of Saʿd and his installation of al-Walīd ibn ʿUqbah in his stead because of their kinship.

‘“The lash of the whip” is that it reached ʿAmmār and Abū Dharr in a measure of disciplinary correction.

‘“The matter of al-Ghamāmah” is that he set aside protected pastures in the Arabian lands for the camels of zakāt; ʿUmar had done the same and the people did not object. al-mūṣ means “washing,” and al-fuqr means “opportunities.” ⦗2⦘’

Al-Ḥākim said: ‘Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Mūsā the littérateur narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Būshanji narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yazīd al-Dimashqī narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yazīd ibn Jābir narrated to us. He said: “I saw in al-Maqsalāṭ a copper idol; whenever it became thirsty, it descended and drank.”’

Al-Būshanji then remarked: ‘At times scholars speak in such a way to take stock of their audience’s understanding—disciplining them, alerting them to knowledge, and testing the wanderings of their thoughts. This Ibn Jābir is one of the scholars of Syria and the author of works on learning.’