Ahmad and others adopted this position, holding that when an advocate of religious innovation repents, he is made to wait for one year, just as Umar made Subaygh wait. The same applies when an open sinner repents. Righteous conduct was required in addition to repentance, as al-Shāfi‘i and Ahmad hold, according to one of the two reports from Ahmad.

Even assuming that he deserved permanent banishment, the most that could be said is that Uthman exercised his independent judgment in bringing him back—an exercise for which he would receive a reward and be forgiven—or that it was a sin for which there were many grounds necessitating forgiveness.

[Refutation of the Rāfidī’s claim that Uthman—may Allah be pleased with him—gave his daughter in marriage to Marwan ibn al-Hakam and handed him the one-fifth share of the spoils of Ifrīqiya]

His statement (1):

“Among these were his banishment of Abu Dharr to al-Rabadhah (2), his giving his daughter in marriage to Marwan ibn al-Hakam, and his handing him the one-fifth share of the spoils of Ifrīqiya, which amounted to two hundred thousand dinars.”

The response is as follows:

The account of Abu Dharr has already been discussed. As for his giving his daughter in marriage to Marwan, what is there in this that could be made a point of contention?

As for his giving him the one-fifth share of the spoils of Ifrīqiya, allegedly amounting to two hundred thousand dinars, who transmitted this report? His earlier (3) statement was: “He gave him one million dinars.” Yet the well-known account is that the one-fifth share from Ifrīqiya did not amount to that much.