Then ʿUthmān stepped down—and they carried him away—and ordered that the staff be mended; they therefore bound it with metal clamps. From that day on he went out only once or twice more, until he was besieged and killed.
Ibn Jarīr said: “Aḥmad ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Idrīs narrated, from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, from Nāfiʿ: Jahjāh al-Ghifārī seized the staff that was in ʿUthmān’s hand, broke it across his knee, and that very spot was later afflicted with an akala (gangrenous ulcer).”
Al-Wāqidī (1) said: “Ibn Abī al-Zinād related to me, from Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah, from Abū Ḥabībah, who said: On one occasion ʿUthmān addressed the people, whereupon ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ said, ‘O Commander of the Believers, you have embarked upon nahābīr (2) (grave excesses), and we have embarked upon them with you; so repent, and we will repent with you.’ ʿUthmān then faced the qiblah and raised his hands in supplication.”
Abū Ḥabībah said: “Never did I witness a day with more men and women weeping than that day. Later on he addressed the people again, and Jahjāh al-Ghifārī rose and shouted at him, ‘O ʿUthmān, here is a shārif (3) (a worn she-camel) we have brought, with a cloak and a jāmiʿah (4) (shackle) upon it. Come down so that we may wrap you in the cloak, throw you into the shackle, mount you on the she-camel, and then cast you onto Jabal al-Dukhān (Mount of Smoke)!’ ʿUthmān replied, ‘May Allah disfigure you and disfigure what you have brought!’ and then he descended. Abū Ḥabībah said, ‘That was the last day I ever saw him.’
Al-Wāqidī said: “Abū Bakr ibn Ismāʿīl narrated to me, from his father, from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd, who said: The first person to dare speak foully to ʿUthmān was Jabalah ibn ʿAmr al-Sāʿidī. ʿUthmān passed by him while he was sitting in the assembly of his clan, a jāmiʿah in his hand. When ʿUthmān passed he gave the salām, and the people returned it. Jabalah said, ‘Why do you return his greeting—this man who has done such-and-such?’ He then turned to ʿUthmān and said, ‘By Allah, I will throw this shackle around your neck unless you dismiss these intimates of yours!’ ʿUthmān said, ‘Which intimates? By Allah, I select only the best of people.’ Jabalah retorted, ‘You have chosen Marwān; you have chosen Muʿāwiyah; you have chosen ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿĀmir ibn Kurayz; you have chosen ʿAbd Allāh ibn Saʿd ibn Abī Sarḥ—men whom the Quran censures and whose blood the Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared lawful!’ ʿUthmān walked away, and from that day people have continued to grow bolder in their insolence toward him.”
Al-Wāqidī said: “Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to me, from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Rāfiʿ ibn Naqākhah, from ʿUthmān ibn al-Sharīd, who said: ʿUthmān passed by Jabalah ibn ʿAmr al-Sāʿidī in the courtyard of his house while Jabalah was holding a jāmiʿah. Jabalah cried, ‘O Naʿthal! By Allah, I will kill you, mount you on a mangy she-camel, and drive you out to Ḥarrat al-Nār (the Volcanic Plain of Fire)!’ On another occasion he came while ʿUthmān was upon the pulpit and forced him down from it.”
Sayf ibn ʿUmar reported that after leading the Friday prayer ʿUthmān again mounted the pulpit and addressed the people, saying during his sermon: “O you strangers, fear Allah—fear Allah! By Allah, the people of Medina know full well that you are cursed upon the tongue of Muhammad ﷺ.”