Chief of the Prophets — Page 168
Chapter Eight 168 performing the circuit without Muḥammad sa was out of question. His reply enraged the Quraish and they detained him. A rumour quickly spread among the Muslims that ‘Uthmān ra had been murdered. When this rumour reached Muḥammad sa , he immediately assembled the Companions under an acacia tree and made a forceful speech saying, “If this news is true, by God, we will not move from this place until we have avenged ‘Uthmān’s death. ” He further said, “Come and pledge on my hand that no one among you will back away, and caring not for your own life, will not leave this place [until we are successful]. ” In their eagerness, the Companions tripped over each other to rush to take part in the pledge. At the time of the pledge, Muḥammad sa , putting his left hand on his right hand said: This is ‘Uthmān’s hand, for indeed he had gone to fulfill Your command and that of Your Messenger. This event is known in history as the Pledge of Riwān. 1 This was such an important event that when people started visiting this tree during the time of ‘Umar ra , he had it cut down lest people start worshipping it. When the Quraish heard about this pledge, they immediately freed ‘Uthmān ra and his Companions. The Muslims were overjoyed at their return. When the sensible people of the Quraish realized that the Muslims were ready to do or die, as they had previously observed during many battles, they showed their inclination towards making peace. They sent ‘Urwah bin Mas‘ūd, the chieftain of the Banū Thaqīf, as their representative to Muḥammad sa. ‘Urwah addressing Muḥammad sa said: O Muḥammad, if you succeed in wiping out your enemy in the war, you will have committed such excess as no one in 1 Bukhārī, Bāb Manāqib ‘Uthmān (Virtues of ‘Uthmān) and Ibni Sa‘d.