Exposing Al-Tijani’s Lies in His Book: “Then I was Guided”

By Abu Sulaiman  
Fifth: Answering Al-Tijani's Libels against Uthman Ibn Affan

Uthman bin Affan, the man of two lights, his wives were Ruqayyah and Umm Kalthum, the two daughters of the Prophet peace be upon him, and the brother-in-law of Ali bin Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased at him. He was the title of generosity and charity. He prepared the army of Al-Essrah, and bought the will of Romah and made it free for Muslims. Not even this man had escaped from Al-Tijani’s allegations who tried to alter the true history by slandering this respected Companion.

Al-Tijani says, And when you ask them why the caliph of the Muslim's Uthman was murdered, they would say: It was the Egyptians - and they were not believers - who came and killed him, thus ends the subject with two words. 

When I had the opportunity to carry out research into history, I found that the main figures behind the killing of Uthman were the Companions themselves, and that Aishah led them, calling for his death publicly and saying: "Kill Na'thal (the old fool), for he was not a believer."

Also we know that Talhah, al-Zubayr, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr and other famous Companions besieged him in his house and prevented him from having a drink of water, so that they could force him to resign. Furthermore, the historians inform us that they did not allow his corpse to be buried in a Muslim cemetery, and that he was finally buried in "Hashsh Kawkab" without washing the corpse and without a shroud.

O Allah, praise be to you, how could they tell us that he was unjustly killed, and that those who killed him were not Muslims. This is another case similar to that of Fatimah and Abu Bakr: Uthman was either unjustly treated, therefore we may pass judgment on those Companions who killed him or those who participated in his killing that they were criminal murderers because they unlawfully killed the caliph of the Muslims, and threw stones at his funeral, and humiliated him when he was alive and then when he was dead; or that the Companions killed him because he committed certain deeds which were not compatible with Islam, as the historical sources tell us.

There is no third option, unless we dismiss the historical facts and accept the distorted picture that the Egyptians, who were not believers, killed Uthman. In both cases there is a definite rejection of the common belief that all the Companions were right and just, without exception, for either Uthman was unjust or his killers were not just, but all of them were Companions, and hence our proposition becomes void. Therefore we are left with the proposition of the followers of Ahl al-Bayt, and that is that some of the Companions were right and some others were wrong. [Then I was Guided, p. 116-117]

Answering Al-Tijani’s lies:

1) Every sane man would have no doubts that the killers of Uthman were not the Companions. The Companions, may Allah be pleased at them, did not participate in this murder, nor did they approve of it. On the contrary, the Companions defended him and stood by Uthman’s side. However, Uthman feared affliction, so he prevented the Companions from defending him, and he knew that he would be killed unjustly as the Prophet peace be upon him informed him. Abdullah bin Omar may Allah be pleased at him narrated from the Prophet peace be upon him that the Prophet said, “And this man –Uthman- (in the affliction) would be killed unjustly.” [Sunan Al-Turmithi, Book of Virtues, #3708, look also Saheeh Al-Turmithi # 2924] Al-Bukhari narrated in his Saheeh that Abu Mousa Al-Ash’ari narrated that the Prophet peace be upon him said, “Let him (Uthman) in, and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise after a calamity that befalls him.” [Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Book of the Virtues of the Companions, Chapter the Virtues of Uthman bin Affan # 3492]

The grand Companions participated in defending Uthman, and they declared their anger for his murder. AbdulRahman bin Layla said, “I saw Ali holding up his hands and saying, ‘O ’ Allah, I declare to you my innocence from participating in the murder of Uthman.’” [Virtues of the Companions, by Ahmed bin Hanbal 1/452] Omayrah bin Sa’ad said, “We were with Ali on the shores of Ephrates when we saw a ship with rising sails. Ali said, ‘Allah almighty says, “And His are the Ships sailing smoothly through the seas, lofty as mountains,” (55, 25) I swear by the One who made the ships sail in one sea of His seas that I did not kill Uthman nor did I encourage his killing.’” [Virtues of the Companions, 1/458] Jabbir bin Abdullah said, “Ali sent a letter to Uthman saying, ‘I have 500 man, so give me the permission to defend you from these people, otherwise things would happen that they would kill you.’ Uthman answered, ‘May Allah reward you for your good intentions, but I do not want blood to be shed for my cause.’” [Tareekh Damascus, p.403] Moreover, the sons of Ali and the sons of the Companions participated in the defense of Uthman. Muhamed bin Sireen said, “Al-Hasan, Al-Hussain, Ibn Omar, Ibn Al-Zubair, and Marwan rushed to the house of Uthman raising their swords. Uthman told them. ‘I order you to go back home, put your swords in their shields, and stay at home.’” [Tareekh Khaleefah Al-Khayyat, p.174]  

Kunanah, the slave of Safiyah, said, “I witnessed the murder of Uthman. Four young men from Quraysh were taken out from Uthman’s house. These young men were covered by blood, and they were defending Uthman may Allah be pleased at him; Al-Hasan bin Ali, Abdullah bin Al-Zubair, Muhamed bin Hatib, and Marwan bin Hakam.” [A’asr Al-Khilafah Al-Rashidah by Akram Diya’a Al-Umari, p.390. Al-Umari said that the hadeeth was narrated in Al-Estia’ab with a good authentication]  

Salamah bin Abdulrahman said that Abu Qutadah Al-Ansari along with another man from Al-Ansar entered upon Uthman while he was surrounded. Abu Qutadah asked for the permission to go to Hajj, and Uthman gave them the permission. The two men asked, “What should we do if these people attacked you?” Uthman answered, “Be with the majority.” The two men asked again, “What if the majority was with these people?” Uthman answered, “Stay with the majority, wherever it is.” Then the two men left Uthman’s room, and when they were about to leave the house, they saw Al-Hasan bin Ali entering. So they followed Al-Hasan wanting to know what Al-Hasan wanted. When Al-Hasan entered upon Uthman, he said, “O’ Commander of the Faithful! I am under your command, so order me as you wish.” Uthman answered, “My dear brother’s son! Go back, and stay in your home until Allah carries out His order. I do not need the shedding of blood.” [Musnad Ahmed, Virtues of the Companions, #753] 

Ibn Abi Sheibah narrated in his Musnad that Abdullah bin Al-Zubair said, “I said to Uthman at those days, ‘Come out and fight them! Allah had given victory to people with less than your men, and I swear by Allah that it is lawful to fight them.’ But Uthman refused.” [Musnaf Abi Sheibah, vol.8, Book of Affliction]. In another version of the same story, Abdullah bin Al-Zubair said, “Allah have made it lawful for you to fight them!” and Uthman answered, “No, by Allah I will never fight them.” [Tabaqat Ibn Sa’ad, vol.3, p.70]. Also in Tabaqat Ibn Sa’ad, “And the son of Omar wore his shield twice at that day and held his sword. However, Uthman ordered him to leave the house for fear of being killed.” [Ibid]

Al-Khayyat narrated that Abu Hurayrah said to Uthman, “Today, to be killed with you is a nice thing.” But Uthman answered him, “I order you to leave the house!” [Tareekh Khaleefah Al-Khayyat, p.147, with authentic narrators]. Ibn Abi Sheibah narrated that Ibn Sireen said, “Zaid bin Thabit entered upon Uthman and said, ‘Here are the Ansars at the door.’ And the Ansars said, ‘If you wish for us to be Ansar [helpers] to Allah twice.’ Uthman said, ‘No fighting.’” [Al-Musnaf, vol.8, Book of Afflictions, p.682, with authentic narrators] 

Khalid bin Rabee’a Al-Absi said, “We heard that Huthayfah was sick. Abu Masoud Al-Ansari went to visit him in Al-Mada’en along with some other people including me. Then we talked about the killing of Uthman. Abu Masoud said, ‘O’Allah! I was not present at that day! I did not kill him [Uthman] nor was I pleased by his murder.’” [Ibid p.683]. Ibn Katheer in Al-Bidayah wa Al-Nihayah narrated that Abi Bakrah said, “To fall from the sky is more beloved to me than to participate in the murder of Uthman.” [Ibn Katheer, vol.7, p.203] 

Abu Mousa Al-Ash’ari said, “If the murder of Uthman were a good deed, then good things would have happened to our Ummah. But it was a bad deed, and so the Ummah received blood.” [Tareekh Dimashq, p.388] Osama bin Zaid said to Uthman, “If you would like, we will drill a hole in your house so you may come out to a safe place. And then, the people who obeys you will fight the people who disobeys you.” [Tareekh Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Ibn Shubbah, vol.3, p.1211] Al-Harithah Bin Nu’oman, who witnessed the battle of Badr, said to Uthman, “If you wish, we will fight in behalf of you.” [Al-Bukhari, Al-Tareekh Al-Sagheer, vol.1, p.76]. Abdullah bin Salam said [to the rebels], “Do not kill Uthman! If you do, then your prayers will no never be accepted.” [Musnad Ahmad, vol.1, p.474, with authentic narrators]. 

After bringing up all these narrations for the position of the Companions regarding the killing of Uthman, we come to the conclusion that the Companions did not participate in the killing of Uthman nor were they pleased about it. We can also notice the integrity that Al-Tijani enjoys when he claims that he had read the history and found that the Companions were the killers of Uthman! May Allah curse the liars!  Let me mention some Shia’s narrations that indicate the Companions’ defense for Uthman, especially Ali bin Abi Talib and his sons Al-Hasan and Al-Hussain, may Allah be pleased at all of them. 

Al-Masoudi, the Shia historian, narrates in his book Murooj Al-Thahab, “When Ali was told that they [the rebels] wanted to kill him [Uthman], he sent his two sons Al-Hasan and Al-Hussain along with his slaves with weapons to Uthman to support him. Ali ordered them to defend Uthman. Al-Zubair sent his son Abdullah, Talha sent his son Muhamed, and the vast majority of the Companions’ sons were sent by their fathers. They prevented the rebels from entering the house.” [Murooj Al-Thahab, vol.2, p.344] 

2. However, the people who rebelled against Uthman are of two kinds:

a. The followers of Abdullah bin Saba’a the Jew. Ibn Saba’a tried to misguide Muslims. H traveled to Hijaz, Basrah, Kufah, until he was expelled from Al-Sham. Then he got into Egypt. He lived there and established the doctrine of Raja’ah. He claimed that the successor to the Prophet peace be upon him was Ali. Lots of people in Egypt were misguided because of him. Then Ibn Saba’a sent his missionaries to different parts of the Islamic world. He also wrote secret letters to some people to collaborate on killing Uthman, and they are the second kind.

b. The Bedouins, and the scums of the Arabs who were originally among the renegades after the demise of the Prophet peace be upon him. Ali said to Talha and Al-Zubair, “O’ Brothers! I am not ignorant of what you know! But what can I do to people who rule us and we don’t rule them? Here they are, and your slaves rebelled with them and the Bedouins as well.” [Tareekh Al-Tabari, vol.2, p.702, Year 35 Hijri]. The Shia Imam Al-Nowbakhti has a similar point of view. He says, “Some Muslims became disbelievers and left Islam. The tribe of Banu Hunayfah accepted the prophecy of Musaylimah who claimed prophecy at the time of the Prophet peace be upon him. Abu Bakr sent the armies headed by Khalid bin Al-Waleed bin Al-Mugheirah Al-Makhzomi to fight them. Khalid fought them and killed Musaylimah. Some were killed and others accepted Islam again and were called the People of Apostasy. And the People of Apostasy were united until they got angry with Uthman for inventing things. (At the affliction of Uthman) some were involved in the killing and some did not object it. The only supporters to Uthman were his family and few others.” [Firaq Al-Shia, p.4]

The leaders of the expedition of the rebels were the ones who came from Egypt headed by Al-Ghafiqay bin Harb Al-Akbay – who became to be known as The Egyptians. However, Al-Tijani denies that, for, as he claims, he had read history! But history books and other books agree unanimously that the killers of Uthman were the Egyptians! Please refer to Tareekh Al-Tabari [vol.3, p.36], Tareekh Ibn Al-Atheer [vol.3, p.46, Year 35 Hijri], Al-Tamhid wa Al-Bayan [By Muhamed bin Yahya Al-Maliqani, p.109-118], Murooj Al-Thahab [By Al-Masoudi, vol.2, p.343], Al-Bidayah wa Al-Nihayah [By Ibn Katheer, vol.7, p.177, Year 36 Hijri], Tabaqat ibn Sa’ad [vol.3, p.64], Explanation of Nahjul Balagha by Ibn Abi Al-Hadeed [vol.1, p.162-167], Al-Esti’ab by Ibn Abd Al-Bir [vol.3, p.1037-1053], Al-Tareekh Al-Islami [By Mahmoud Shakir, vol.3, Chapter of Uthman], and Al-Futooh by Ibn Al-A’atham [vol.1, p.44]. After all, I wonder what history did Al-Tijani read? I truly believe he read the history, but the history of fools and idiots! 

3) Then Al-Tijani claims that Aysha was among the first who called for Uthman’s murder, “I found that the main figures behind the killing of Uthman were the Companions themselves, and that Aishah led them, calling for his death publicly and saying: "Kill Na'thal (the old fool), for he was not a believer.”” Then Al-Tijani attributes that to Al-Tabari, Ibn Al-Atheer, Al-Aqd Al-Fareed, Lisan Al-Arab, and Taj Al-Aroos. I say: 

a)   This story was narrated by Nasr bin Muzahim. Al-Aqeeli says about Nasr bin Muzahim, “He tends to be a Shia, and his narrations are filled with confusions and mistakes.” [Al-Du’afa by Al-Aqeeli, vol.4, p.300, #. 1899]. Al-Thahabi says about him, “A hardcore Rafidhi (Shia), and his narrations are not taken as authentic. Abu Khaythamah said, ‘He was a liar.’ Abu Hatim said, ‘Weak narrator, and is not taken as an argument.’ Al-Darqutni said, ‘His narrations are weak.’” [Al-Mizan by Al-Thahabi, vol.4, p.253, #. 9046]. “Al-Jowzani said, ‘Nasr was a fake person and far away from truth.’ Salih bin Muhamed said, ‘Nasr bin Muzahim narrated ugly stories from unreliable narrators.’ Al-Hafudh Abi Al-Fath Muhamed bin Al-Hussain said, ‘Nasr bin Muzahim goes excess in his denomination.’” [Tareekh Baghdad by Al-Baghdadi, vol.13, p.283]. Therefore, this story is not reliable and is not true. The story also contradicts the authentic narrations.

b)  True and authentic stories show that Aysha was in pain for the murder of Uthman and she also prayed against his killers. Masrooq – a trustworthy Tabi’ei – said that Aysha said, “You left him (to die) just like the dirt-clear cloth, and you came closer to kill him as a sheep is slaughtered.” Then Masrooq told her, “This is the result of your work. You encouraged people to rebel against him.” Aysha answered, “By the One who believers believe in and the disbelievers disbelieve in, I did not write them a single word.” Al-A’amash said, “It is to be known that words were written in her name (and she did not know about it).” [Al-Bidayah wa Al-Nihayah, by Ibn Katheer, vol. 7, p. 204, with authentic chain of narrators]. 

Ahmed narrates that Aysha said (regarding the murder of Uthman), “I wish I was forgotten. And about what happened to Uthman, by Allah, I never wanted anything bad to happen to him unless it happened to me too. So if I wanted him to be killed, then I shall be killed too.” [Virtues of the Companions, by Ahmed, vol. 1, p. 462, with authentic chain of narrators]. Talaq bin Hushan asked Aysha, “How was Uthman, the Commander of the Faithful, killed?” Aysha answered, “He was killed as an innocent man. May Allah curse his killers.” [Al-Tareekh Al-Kabeer by Al-Bukhari, vol. 4, p. 358]

It is a very well known fact for the historians that Aysha marched to seek revenge for the blood of Uthman. Then how could you reconcile between that and Aysha’s saying, “Kill Na’thal, for he was not a believer.”? Unless if the latter saying was a lie.

4) Al-Tijani says, “Also we know that Talhah, al-Zubayr, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr and other famous Companions besieged him in his house and prevented him from having a drink of water, so that they could force him to resign.”

 I answer:

a)  For Muhamed bin Abi Bakr to be a famous Companion is a very well established fact considering the reality that he was the Prophet’s companion for four months only!!! For the Prophet peace be upon him passed away and Muhamed bin Abi Bakr’s age was only four months! How famous of a Companion he is! 

b)  It is an obvious lie that Talha and Al-Zubair surrounded Uthman and prevented him from reaching to water. Where is the authentic attribution? And what reference did Al-Tijani rely on? I challenge him to bring to light one single authentic reference about that!

c)   Authentic narrations show that Talha and Al-Zubair were anguished for the death of Uthman. They even tried to defend him; Abi Habeebah said, “Al-Zubair sent me to Uthman to deliver a message while he was surrounded. I entered upon Uthman in a clear day and he was sitting on a chair. Al-Hasan bin Ali, Abu Hurayrah, Abdullah bin Omar, and Abdullah bin Al-Zubair were all present too. I said, “Al-Zubair bin Al-Awam had sent me to you. He sends you his greetings and says, ‘I am under my allegiance to you. I did not change my allegiance nor did I break it. If you wish, I will join you and be one of your men, and if you wish, I will stay too. The tribe of Umro bin Owf had promised me to be under my command, and they would carry out what I order them.’ When Uthman heard the message, he said, ‘Allahu Akbar! Thanks are due to Allah for He who had saved my brother. Send him my greetings and tell him, “If you joined me, then you will be one of my men, but I like you to stay where you are at now….”’ When Abu Hurayrah heard the message, he said, “Do you want me to tell you what my ears heard from the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him?” They answered, “Yes!” Abu Hurayrah said, “I bear witness that the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said, ‘When I am gone, afflictions and troubles will occur.’ So we asked, ‘How could we save ourselves from that O’ Messenger of Allah?’ He answered, ‘Adhere to the faithful man and his party,’ and he pointed towards Uthman bin Affan.” The people who were present at Uthman’s house stood up and said, ‘Now we see clearly. Give us the permission to wage Jihad!’ Uthman answered, ‘I order whoever gave allegiance to me not to fight.’” [Virtues of the Companions, Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 1, p. 511, with authentic chain of narrators].

Al-Darqutni narrated, “Uthman entered the mosque and saw Talha sitting on the east side of the mosque. Uthman said, “O’ Talha!” Talha answered, “Yes!” Uthman said, “Do you know that the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said, ‘Anyone who would buy this piece of land to add it to the mosque?’ and I bought it with my own money?” Talha answered, “O’ Allah, I do know.” … Uthman said again, “I call you by the grace of Allah, do you know that I supported the army of Al-Esrah just like a hundred men?” Talha answered, “O’ Allah! I do know.” Then Talha said, “O’ Allah! I know nothing of Uthman except that he is an innocent man!”” [Mawaqif Al-Sahabah fi Al-Fitnah, vol. 2, p. 24]

d)  No one disagrees that Talha and Al-Zubair were among the first people who sought justice for the blood of Uthman. They solely marched for this reason. Then how come they would encourage the killing of Uthman and surround him and yet fight against their own partners in the crime?    

5) Then Al-Tijani says, “Furthermore, the historians inform us that they did not allow his corpse to be buried in a Muslim cemetery, and that he was finally buried in "Hashsh Kawkab" without washing the corpse and without a shroud.” And he also says, “It became clear to me what the historians meant when they said that he was buried in "Hash Kawkab," which was Jewish land.” I answer: 

a)    Al-Tijani wants to picture the Companions as a group of savages and barbarians who kill each others, and then prevent the grandest Companions to be buried just like the rest of Muslims, then put him in his grave without washing and without enshrouding him!! However, I do not find this to be strange since it came from this Guided one. Al-Tijani never experienced love in his heart for the Companions of the Prophet peace be upon him. I would like to inform him that these actions that he is trying to attribute to the Companions of the Prophet peace be upon him suite the Shia’s actions and attributes better. And why not? Are not they the grandchildren of Abdullah bin Saba the Jew, the one who is responsible for the first affliction?

b)  Al-Tijani’s claim that the Companions did not allow his corpse to be buried in Muslim cemeteries, and so he was buried in Hashsh Kawkab, which is a Jewish piece of land, his claim only shows his complete ignorance and lack of knowledge. Hashsh Kawkab is not a Jewish land. Hashsh means garden [in Arabic] and Uthman bought the land from an Ansari man named Kawkab! [Tahtheeb Al-Asma wa Al-Lughat by Al-Nawawi, vol. 1, p. 323 and Al-Ma’alim Al-Atheerah fi Al-Sunnah wa Al-Seerah by Muhamed Hasan Sharab p. 101] And when Uthman passed away, he was buried in his own garden, which he bought by his own money! Is there something wrong in that?

Al-Tijani says, “It became clear to me what the historians meant when they said that he was buried in "Hash Kawkab," which was Jewish land, because the Muslims refused to bury him in the Baqi' of the Messenger of Allah. When Muawiya seized power, he bought that land from the Jews and included it in al-Baqi', so that it contains the grave of his cousin Uthman. He who visits al-Baqi' today will see this fact very clearly.” [Then I was Guided, p.139]

If you asked a child in the primary level whether the Jews were present in the city of the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him – Al-madinah Al-Monawarah – in the era of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs, then the child would answer calmly with a no, because the Jews were expelled from the Madinah by the Prophet peace be upon him and later on, Omar bin Al-Khattab expelled them from the whole Arabic peninsula! Praise be Allah! And the Shia say that Al-Tijani has a doctorate degree??

Then Al-Tijani says,

It is worth mentioning here a story related to the subject of inheritance that has been cited by many historians: Ibn Abi al-Hadid al-Mutazili said in his commentary on Nahj al-Balagha: Aisha and Hafsa came to see Uthman, during his caliphate, and asked him to give them their shares of what they had inherited from the Messenger of Allah (saw). Uthman was stretched on the sofa, so he sat up and said to Aisha: You and that woman sitting next to you brought a man who cleansed himself with his urine and testified that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "We, the prophets, do not leave an inheritance." If the Prophet truly did not leave any inheritance, why do you ask for it now, and if he left an inheritance, why did you deprive Fatimah of her legal share? After that, she left him feeling very angry and said: Kill Na'thal, for he has become an unbeliever.” [Then I was Guided, p. 140]  

I say:

I referred back to Sharh Nahjul Balagha vol. 16, p.220-223 – as Al-Tijani wrote in the footnote – and I did not find any trace for this story! However, I found this other story where Aysha said, “When the Prophet peace be upon him passed away, his wives and family wanted to send Uthman bin Affan to Abu Bakr to ask Abu Bakr for their inheritance or their eighths share. I told them, ‘Did not the Prophet peace be upon him say, “We do not inherit. What we leave behind us is for charity.”’” [Sharh Nahjul Balagha, vol. 4, p. 82 under subtitle “The stories of Fadak.” The edition that Al-Tijani relied on is different than my edition. However, I referred back to his edition of Sharh Nahjul Balagha, but could not also find a trace for the story.] The same story was also narrated in Saheeh Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim. And as you can see, this story contradicts Al-Tijani’s story. 

Al-Tijani’s mere reference to Sharh Nahjul Balagha by Ibn Abi Al-Hadeed is of no significance value. Ibn Abi Al-Hadeed is not a knowledgeable person in Hadeeth. He adds authentic and fabricated hadeeths in his books. Even so, I could not find the story Al-Tijani was talking about at the supposed location. I fear that it is one of the makings of Al-Tijani. In general, the authentic stories and the life of Aysha and Uthman belie such a story wa al-hamdulilah.

Then Al-Tijani says,

When Uthman came to power after Umar, he went a long way in al-Ijtihad, and did more than any on his predecessors had done, until his opinions started to affect political and religious life generally, thus leading to the revolution, and he paid with his life as a price for his Ijtihad. [Then I was Guided, p. 167]  

This is an obvious lie. The Bedouins rebelled against Uthman for the sickness in their hearts, and they were not right in their claims. In addition to the acts of Abdullah bin Saba the Jew in starting the affliction, the Bedouins were responsible for this affliction and not Uthman. This was clarified when all of the Companions stood beside Uthman in the affliction. I will not forget to mention the evidences that Uthman was right and the rebels were the people of the affliction.

Al-Hakim narrated in Al-Mustadrak and Ahmed narrated in Al-Fada’el that Abu Hurayrah asked for permission to talk in front of Uthman when Uthman was surrounded. Uthman gave him the permission. Then Abu Hurayrah stood up, praised Allah, and said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him saying, ‘After I am gone, you will suffer afflictions and differences.’ One of the men asked the Prophet peace be upon him, ‘What we ought to do then O’ Messenger of Allah?’ The Prophet peace be upon him answered, ‘Stay close to the faithful man and his companions.’ And the Prophet peace be upon him meant Uthman.” [Virtues of the Companions, By Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 1, p. 451, with an authentic chain of narrators]

When Uthman was about to enter upon the Prophet peace be upon him, the Prophet peace be upon him asked Abu Mousa Al-Ash’ari, “Go open the door for him and give him the glad tidings of entering heaven after an affliction that befalls him.” So Abu Mousa opened the door and it was Uthman, and he told Uthman what the Prophet peace be upon him had just said. Uthman said, “O’ Allah! Grant me patience.” [Sunan Al-Turmithi, hadeeth # 3710, Saheeh Al-Bukhari # 3492]

Ahmed also narrated in his book that the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him mentioned a great affliction. Then a masked man in a piece of clothe passed by. The Prophet peace be upon him said, “This man – the masked man – will be on the true side (in that affliction).” Ka’ab bin Ojrah ran fast and caught the masked man from behind and said, “Is this the man you are talking about O’ Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet peace be upon him answered, “Yes.” And that man was Uthman bin Affan. [Virtues of the Companions, by Ahmed, vol. 1, p. 450, with an authentic chain of narrators]. And after all this, does Al-Tijani think that Uthman’s Ijtihads were false? And they were the reasons for the rebellion? Al-Tijani presided with the affliction people against Ahl Al-Sunnah.

In the end, let me mention some of the virtues of Uthman from Shia books. Abu Al-Fath Al-Arbali – a major Shia scholar – mentions in his book Kashf Al-Ghummah the story of the marriage of Ali to Fatima and how Uthman helped Ali in his marriage. Ali said, “Then the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him told me, ‘Abu Al-Hasan! Go now and sell your armor and come back with its value so I may prepare what is good for you and Fatima.’ So I went and sold my armor to Uthman bin Affan for 400 Darhams. When the money was in my hand and the armor was in his hands, Uthman said to me, ‘Abu Al-Hasan! Don’t you need the armor more than I do and don’t you need the money more than I do?’ I answered with a yes. So he said, ‘Then take back the armor. It is a gift from me to you.’ So I took back the armor and the money and went to the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him. I handed the armor and the money over to the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him and I told him what happened between Uthman and me. The Prophet then asked Allah goodness for Uthman.” [Kashf Al-Ghummah, by Al-Arbali, vol. 1, p. 368 under the subtitle of “A Chapter in his marriage to Fatima alayha Al-salam”]

Another story narrated by Al-Arbali, “Then some people from Iraq entered upon him (Al-Imam Zayn Al-Abideen Ali bin Al-Hussain) and said some bad things about Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman. When they were done, Ali bin Al-Hussain told them, ‘Tell me, Are you the (Muhajirs, those who were expelled from their homes and their property, while seeking Grace from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure, and aiding Allah and His Messenger: such are indeed the sincere ones)? They answered, ‘No!’ Then Ali bin Al-Hussain said, ‘So, are you (those who, before them, had homes (in Medina) and had adopted the Faith, show their affection to such as came to them for refuge, and entertain no desire in their hearts for things given to the (latter), but give them preference over themselves, even though poverty was their (own lot))?’ They answered, ‘No!’ Ali bin Al-Hussain said, ‘Therefore, you disassociated yourselves from being one of these two groups and I bear witness that you are not the ones (who came after them say: "Our Lord! Forgive us, and our brethren who came before us into the Faith, and leave not, in our hearts, rancor (or sense of injury) against those who have believed. Our Lord! Thou art indeed Full of Kindness, Most Merciful.") Get out of here, may Allah curse you!” [Ibid, vol. 2, p. 291, under the subtitle of “Virtues of Al-Imam Zayn Al-Abideen”]

And after all these evidences from Sunni and Shia books, does Al-Tijani dare to claim that Allah had guided him to slander the Companions?