The Rightly Guided Ones 127was showered with stones hurled from the back of the congregation. A
stone hit him in the forehead and he tumbled off the minbar, falling
unconscious to the floor. Eventually the situation became so dire that
a number of prominent Companions from Mecca banded together to
beg the Caliph to recall his corrupt governors, cease his nepotism, and
repent before the entire community. However, members of his own
clan, and especially his influential and power-hungry cousin, Marwan,
pressured Uthman not to look weak by humbling himself.
Things came to a violent end for Uthman a year later, when a
massive delegation from Egypt, Basra, and Kufa marched to Medina
to present their grievances directly to the Caliph. While refusing to
receive the delegation personally, Uthman sent Ali to ask them to
return to their homes with the promise that their grievances would be
addressed.
What happened next is unclear; the sources are muddled and con-
tradictory. Somehow, on their way back home, the Egyptian delega-
tion intercepted a messenger carrying an official letter that demanded
the immediate punishment of the rebel leaders for their insubordina-
tion. The letter was signed with the seal of the Caliph. Enraged, the
delegation reversed course and returned to Medina, where, with the
aid of the Basran and Kufan rebels, they laid siege to Uthman’s home,
trapping the Caliph inside.
Most historians are convinced that Uthman did not write that let-
ter: he may have been a poor political leader, but he was not suicidal.
He must have known the rebel leaders would not have accepted their
punishment without a fight. Some scholars, like Leone Caetani, have
blamed Ali for the letter, arguing that he wanted to depose Uthman
and claim the Caliphate for himself; but this charge is totally
unfounded. There may have been some hostility between the two
men, and Ali may not have surrendered his aspirations for the
Caliphate. But the fact is that Ali faithfully served as one of Uthman’s
most trusted advisors throughout his Caliphate and did everything in
his power to appease the rebels. It was Ali, after all, who had per-
suaded them to go home in the first place. Even as they were encir-
cling Uthman’s home, swords drawn, Ali maintained his support for
the Caliph. Indeed, Ali’s eldest son, Hasan, was among the handful of
guards who continued to defend Uthman as the rebels charged into