��The Rightly Guided Ones 129The rebels, provoked by a scuffle outside Uthman’s home,
stormed into the Caliph’s inner chamber, where they found him
sitting on a cushion reading from the Quran that he himself had col-
lected and codified. Ignored by the Companions and virtually unchal-
lenged by the guards, the rebels asked him one final time to abdicate.
When Uthman refused, the rebels drew their swords and plunged
them into Uthman’s chest. The Caliph fell forward upon the open
Quran, his blood soaking into its gold-leafed pages.
THE CALIPH’S MURDER at the hands of fellow Muslims threw
the Ummah into a state of pandemonium. With the rebels still in con-
trol of Medina, it was unclear what would happen next. There were
more than a few Muslims in the Hijaz who would have leaped at the
opportunity to succeed Uthman, including two of the most promi-
nent Meccan Companions, Talha ibn Ubayd Allah and Zubayr ibn al-
Awwam, both of whom had been singled out for their piety by
Muhammad.
And, of course, there was Ali.
When he heard of Uthman’s assassination, Ali was in the mosque
praying. Sensing the chaos that would result, he quickly returned
home to look after his family, and especially to find his son Hasan,
who had stayed behind to try to protect Uthman. The following day,
when a fragile peace had settled over the city, Ali returned to the
mosque to find a substantial delegation of Muslims beseeching him to
accept the oath of allegiance and become the next Caliph. For nearly a
quarter of a century, Ali had been pursuing the Caliphate. But now
that it was being handed to him, he refused to accept it.
Given the circumstances, Ali’s reluctance was not surprising. If
the demise of Uthman had proved anything, it was that some form of
popular consent was still vital to maintaining the authority of the
Caliphate. But with the rebels in control of Medina, Egypt and Iraq in
revolt, Mecca calling for the Caliphate to be restored to the original
vision of Abu Bakr and Umar, and the Banu Umayya demanding
immediate retribution for Uthman’s death, popular sanction would
have been impossible to achieve. And yet there was still a very large
and formidable contingent of Muslims whose unconditional support