permitted an Emigrant to remain for three days after completing his rites.” For this reason, at the time of his death in Mecca, Ibn ‘Umar instructed that he be buried outside the Sacred Precinct, not in Mecca. The two Sahīh collections also report:

“When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, visited Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqqās, who had fallen ill during the Farewell Pilgrimage, Sa‘d feared that he would die in Mecca. He said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, will I be left behind after my emigration?’ The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave him the glad tidings that he would not die there. He said, ‘You will not die until some people benefit through you and others are harmed through you. But poor Sa‘d ibn Khawlah!’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, lamented his having died in Mecca.”

It is well known that whenever ‘Uthmān performed ‘umrah, he would make his mount kneel, perform ‘umrah, then remount and depart. How, then, can it be said that he intended to remain in Mecca? Moreover, this is a blatant falsehood: ‘Uthmān never took up residence in Mecca; whenever he performed Hajj, he would return to Medina.

Al-Shāfi‘ī and his followers, together with a group of the later followers of Ahmad, such as al-Qādī, Abū al-Khattāb, Ibn ‘Aqīl and others, interpreted ‘Uthmān’s conduct in accordance with their own position. They said:

“Since a traveller has the choice between performing the prayer in full and shortening it, both are permissible. ‘Uthmān acted as he did because shortening the prayer is permissible and performing it in full is also permissible.”

They interpreted ‘Ā’ishah’s conduct in the same way, citing as evidence reports they transmitted from her. Al-Bayhaqī mentioned the view of those who said that he performed the prayer in full on account of the Bedouins. (He related this from Sunan Abī Dāwūd: Mūsā ibn Ismā‘īl narrated to us; Hammād narrated to us, from Ayyūb, from al-Zuhrī, that ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān performed the prayer in full