Mecca’s Quraysh tribe.
While most of the Umayyads had opposed Muhammad
until just two years before, Othman had accepted Islam
early on. He had emigrated to Medina with the Prophet,
given most of his wealth to the cause, and steadfastly
supported it even when it meant battle against his own
kin. In gratitude, Muhammad had honored him with the
hand of his second daughter in marriage and then, when
she died, with that of his third. Othman thus had the
unique distinction of being the double son-in-law of the
Prophet. His voice would be essential if Omar and Abu
Bakr were to prevail.
He had not been there in the sickroom in the ɹnal
days of Muhammad’s illness; as is the way of the
aristocrat, he exercised the prerogative of wealth and
spent most of the midsummer months in his mountain
estate outside Medina, where the air was fresher and
cooler. But his presence was vital now, and word was
sent to him posthaste. With or without invitation, the
Emigrants were going to the shura, and Othman should
join them there as quickly as he could.
Led by Omar and Abu Bakr, they turned up in force
and muscled their way in. Essentially, they gate-crashed
the meeting, outnumbering those already there. Only
one person with a direct interest in the proceedings
would remain absent, but for many, that absence would
deprive the shura of all legitimacy.