I would have told you.”

He said, “We replied, ‘May Allah set your affairs aright—tell us, for we will not repeat what the people are saying.’

He answered, ‘In this dream of mine I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and he said: “You will be with us for the Friday prayer.”’

Ibn Abī al-Dunyā (1) reported: Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Qurashī narrated to us; Khalaf ibn Tamīm narrated to us; Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Muhājir al-Bajalī narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr narrated to me; and Kathīr ibn al-Ṣalt told me:

‘I entered upon ʿUthmān while he was under siege, and he said to me, “O Kathīr, it seems to me that I shall be killed today.”

‘I said, “Allah will aid you against your enemy, O Commander of the Believers.”

‘He repeated the same words, so I asked, “Has a specific hour been fixed for you today (something), or has anyone said anything to you?”

‘He replied, “No! But I stayed awake last night, and just before dawn (2) I dozed off for a moment. In that sleep-vision I saw the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—together with Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, and the Messenger of Allah said to me, ‘O ʿUthmān, come to us; do not keep us waiting, for we are expecting you.’ ”’ He was killed later that very day.

Ibn Abī al-Dunyā (3) also said: Isḥāq ibn Ismāʿīl narrated to us; Yazīd ibn Hārūn narrated to us, from Faraj ibn Faḍāla, from Marwān ibn Abī Umayya, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām, who said:

‘I went in to greet ʿUthmān while he was besieged. He said, “Welcome, my brother (5). Last night, in this little alcove”—the narrator said there was an alcove in the house—“I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. He asked, ‘O ʿUthmān, have they besieged you?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He asked, ‘Have they left you thirsty?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He then lowered a bucket of water, and I drank until I was completely satisfied, so much so that I could feel its coolness between my chest and my shoulders. Then he said to me, ‘If you wish, you will be granted victory over them; and if you wish, you may break your fast with us.’ I chose to break my fast with him, and that very day he was killed.”

Muḥammad ibn Saʿd (7) said: ʿAffān ibn Muslim informed us; Wuhaib narrated to us; Dāwūd narrated to us, from Ziyād ibn ʿAbd Allāh, from Umm Hilāl bint Wakīʿ, from the wife of ʿUthmān—the narrator said, “I think she was the daughter of al-Farāfiṣa”—who said:

‘ʿUthmān dozed off; when he awoke he said, “These people are going to kill me.”

‘I said, “Never, O Commander of the Believers!”

‘He replied, “I have seen the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—together with Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, and they said, ‘Break your fast with us tonight,’ or, ‘You will break your fast with us tonight.’ ”’

Al-Haytham ibn Kulayb said: ʿĪsā ibn Aḥmad al-ʿAsqallānī narrated to us; Shabāba narrated to us; Yaḥyā ibn Abī Rāshid —