The Outset of Dissension in Islam — Page 85
85 The answer to this question is that no doubt, this audacity of theirs demonstrates that they had full confidence in their victory. However, the reason for this was not because the companions or the people of Madinah were with them or expressed sympathy for them; rather, as is evident from their own statement, only three people of Madinah were with them. Furthermore, as events establish, the companions as well as the other residents of Madinah were extremely averse to these people. Hence, the reason for their daring behaviour cannot be due to the fact that the companions or the people of Madinah expressed any kind of sympathy towards them. The actual reason for the boldness of these people was firstly the mercy of Hadrat ‘Uthm a n ra. The mischief-makers thought that if they were successful then the objective had been achieved, but if they failed, they would escape punishment by appealing to the mercy of Hadrat ‘Uthm a n ra. Secondly, although the rebels had witnessed the reaction of the companions and people of Madinah on the previous occasion and they knew that Hadrat ‘Uthm a n ra was aware of their arrival, these people thought that he would not mobilise an army to fight them due to his forbearance and the companions would not confront them. Considering the companions to be like themselves, the mischief-makers assumed that the companions only apparently expressed loyalty towards Hadrat ‘Uthm a n ra but actually desired his destruction. This assumption was based on the fact that the mischief-makers would give the impression that they were doing everything in order to safeguard the rights of the companions. Hence, they thought that the companions were moved by the influence of their deceit and felt sympathy for them at heart.