They sat together inside the house while Abū Talḥah stood at the door shielding them. ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ and al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah then arrived and took seats outside the door, whereupon Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ pelted them with small stones (1) and drove them away, saying, “You have only come so that you can later claim, ‘We were present at the consultation.’” This was related by al-Madāʾinī from his teachers, and Allah knows best the soundness of the report.

In short, the six secluded themselves from the public inside a house to deliberate, the discussion grew lengthy, and voices rose. Abū Talḥah remarked, “I imagined each of you would seek to avoid this office; I did not expect you to vie for it.”

After Talḥah’s arrival the matter reached the point where three of the men entrusted their right to rule to the other three. Thus al-Zubayr relinquished whatever claim he had in favor of ʿAlī, Saʿd yielded his to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, and Talḥah ceded his right to ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (may Allah be pleased with him).

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān then said to ʿAlī and ʿUthmān, “Whichever of you withdraws from this matter, we shall place it in his hands; with Allah and Islam as witness, he must then install the better of the two remaining men.” The two elders, ʿAlī and ʿUthmān, remained silent.

So ʿAbd al-Raḥmān declared, “I now surrender my own claim, and—calling Allah and Islam to witness—I shall strive to appoint whichever of you is more entitled.” They both agreed. He then spoke to each of them individually, reminding him of his merits, and bound each with a solemn covenant: if he were invested with authority, he would rule justly; and if the other were appointed, he would listen and obey. Both accepted, and they dispersed.

It is also reported that the members of the shūrā placed the matter entirely in ʿAbd al-Raḥmān’s hands so that, on behalf of the Muslims, he might identify the most deserving and grant him authority. He is said to have questioned every person he could reach, whether among the council or beyond, and none indicated anyone but ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān.

He even asked ʿAlī, “If I do not appoint you, whom would you recommend?” “ʿUthmān,” he replied. And he asked ʿUthmān, “If I do not appoint you, whom would you recommend?” “ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib,” he answered.

It appears that this occurred before the choice was narrowed to three and before ʿAbd al-Raḥmān withdrew from contention so that—binding himself before Allah and in Islam—he could exert every effort to choose the better of the two and confer the office upon him.

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf (may Allah be pleased with him) then set out to consult the community regarding the two candidates. He canvassed the opinion of the Muslims by meeting the leaders (2) and notables—collectively and individually, in pairs and singly, openly and in private. He even reached the veiled women in their quarters, questioned the boys in the schools, and asked every traveller and Bedouin who arrived in Madinah—over the course of three full days and nights. He did not find two people who disagreed that ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān should take precedence, except for a report that ʿAmmār and al-Miqdād pointed to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib; they nonetheless pledged allegiance with the rest, as we shall relate.

For those three days and nights ʿAbd al-Raḥmān devoted himself to the task, sleeping little apart from the prayer, filling his time with supplication, istikhāra, and consultation with people of sound judgment. He found no one he deemed equal to ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (may Allah be pleased with him).

When the night whose dawn would usher in the fourth day after the death of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb arrived, he went to the house of his nephew (3)