Did al-Hasan & Husayn defend Uthman?

In an attempt to show the relationship between Ahl al-Bayt (as) and their caliphs, some Sunni sources claim that during the revolt against Uthman, which ultimately led to his demise and killing, Imam Ali (as) did everything in his power to defend Uthman. They argue that Imam Ali did not want Uthman to be killed and instead tried to protect him. To support this, they cite reports that indicate Imam Ali sent his two sons, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, to defend Uthman from the crowds. However, they claim that they were unsuccessful due to the overwhelming size of the crowd.

These reports are often used to suggest a clear relationship between Ahl al-Bayt and Uthman. In response, it is important to carefully examine these reports and show why they are fabricated and never actually occurred.

Who did Ali (as) send to defend Uthman?

The reports the Sunnis bring to prove this contradict one another, in some narrations it states up to 500 men were ready to be dispatched by Ali straight to Uthman, however other reports say only his two sons were sent. If Imam Ali (as) wanted to really support Uthman and had so many soldiers, why would he only send his two sons? A rebellion against a government is taking place and only two people are sent to control the masses and the crowds? This is sheer absurdity.

Secondly, if Imam al-Hasan and al-Husayn (as) were indeed sent to protect Uthman, as some reports suggest, then a critical question arises: Why did the followers of Uthman accuse Imam Ali (as) of giving the orders to kill Uthman? If Imam Ali had truly made efforts to protect Uthman, as claimed, why did he not defend himself against these accusations by presenting the testimony of his two sons? Furthermore, why did al-Hasan and al-Husayn never come forward to defend their father and attest to the fact that they were sent to protect Uthman? These inconsistencies raise doubts about the authenticity of such claims and suggest that the narrative may be fabricated.

This was affirmed by Ibn Taymiyyah in his Majmu’ al-Fatawa Vol. 27, pg. 477:

كان طائفة من شيعة عثمان يتهمون عليا بأنه أمر بقتل عثمان

A group of Uthman’s Shias (followers) accused Ali of giving orders to kill Uthman.

Moreover, one of the main allies of Uthman at the time of his killing was none other than Marwan b. al-Hakam, who would have certainly seen al-Hasan and al-Husayn if they had been sent to defend Uthman. However, what we find is that Marwan himself accuses Imam Ali (as) of being responsible for Uthman’s death! This raises a significant issue: how is it possible that no one in history ever knew about this supposed fact — that Imam Ali sent al-Hasan and al-Husayn to defend Uthman? And why did no one mention it at the time, or in the historical records, if it were true? The complete absence of such a claim from contemporary sources casts serious doubt on the authenticity of the reports suggesting that Imam Ali (as) sent his sons to protect Uthman.

Reference for this is in al-Tamhid wa’l Bayan fi Maqtal al-Shahid Uthman, pg. 146:

وَقَالَ مَرْوَان بن الحكم: ‌أَن ‌تكن ‌يَا ‌عَليّ ‌لم ‌تصب ‌الْمَقْتُول جَهرا أصبته أَنْت سرا

Marwan b. al-Hakam said: "If you, O Ali, did not strike the one who was killed openly, then you struck him secretly."

Did Ali (as) have any care for Uthman?

Umar b. Shabbah records in Tarikh al-Medina Vol 4, pg. 9 - 10:

حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ الْحُبَابِ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْمَلِكِ بْنُ هَارُونَ بْنِ عَنْتَرَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ قَالَ: لَمَّا كَانَ مِنْ أَمْرِ عُثْمَانَ رضي الله عنه مَا كَانَ قَدِمَ قَوْمٌ مِنْ مِصْرَ مَعَهُمْ صَحِيفَةٌ صَغِيرَةُ الطَّيِّ، فَأَتَوْا عَلِيًّا رضي الله عنه فَقَالُوا: إِنَّ هَذَا الرَّجُلَ قَدْ غَيَّرَ وَبَدَّلَ، وَلَمْ يَسِرْ مَسِيرَةَ صَاحِبَيْهِ، وَكَتَبَ هَذَا الْكِتَابَ إِلَى عَامِلِهِ بِمِصْرَ أَنْ خُذْ مَالَ فُلَانٍ وَاقْتُلْ فُلَانًا وَسَيِّرْ فُلَانًا، فَأَخَذَ عَلِيٌّ الصَّحِيفَةَ فَأَدْخَلَهَا عَلَى عُثْمَانَ فَقَالَ: أَتَعْرِفُ هَذَا الْكِتَابَ؟ فَقَالَ: «إِنِّي لَأَعْرِفُ الْخَاتَمَ» ، فَقَالَ: اكْسِرْهَا فَكَسَرَهَا. فَلَمَّا قَرَأَهَا قَالَ: «لَعَنَ اللَّهُ مَنْ كَتَبَهُ وَمَنْ أَمْلَاهُ» . فَقَالَ لَهُ عَلِيٌّ رضي الله عنه: أَتَتَّهِمُ أَحَدًا مِنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِكَ؟ قَالَ: «نَعَمْ» . قَالَ: مَنْ تَتَّهِمُ؟ قَالَ: «أَنْتَ أَوَّلُ مَنْ أَتَّهِمُ» ، قَالَ: فَغَضِبَ عَلِيٌّ رضي الله عنه فَقَامَ وَقَالَ: وَاللَّهِ لَا أُعِينُكَ وَلَا أُعِينُ عَلَيْكَ حَتَّى أَلْتَقِيَ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ عِنْدَ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Amr b. al-Habbab narrated: "Abd al-Malik b. Harun b. Antara, from his father, from his grandfather, said:

When the matter of Uthman (ra) unfolded, a group from Egypt came with a small letter. They came to Ali (ra) and said: 'This man (i.e. Uthman) has changed and altered [the Sunnah], he did not follow the way of his two companions (i.e. Abu Bakr & Umar), and he wrote this letter to his governor n Egypt, saying: 'Take the wealth of so-and-so, kill so-and-so, and send so-and-so.' Ali (ra) took the letter and brought it to Uthman (ra) and asked: 'Do you recognize this letter?' Uthman replied: 'I recognize the seal.' Ali (ra) then said: 'Break it,' and he broke it. When he read it, Uthman said: 'May Allah curse the one who wrote it and the one who dictated it.' Ali (ra) asked: 'Do you suspect anyone from your family?' Uthman replied: 'Yes.' Ali (ra) asked: 'Who do you suspect?' Uthman replied: 'You are the first one I suspect.' Ali Ibn Abi Talib stood up and left him angrily saying: "By Allah I will neither help you nor do anything against you until we will meet Allah [On the day of Judgement]."

A further narration in the same book stipulates:

حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنِ ‌الْوَقَّاصِ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ: رَجَعَ أَهْلُ مِصْرَ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَصِلُوا إِلَى بِلَادِهِمْ، فَنَزَلُوا ذَا الْمَرْوَةِ فِي آخِرِ شَوَّالٍ، وَبَعَثُوا إِلَى عَلِيٍّ رضي الله عنه: أَنَّ عُثْمَانَ رضي الله عنه كَانَ أَعْتَبَنَا، ثُمَّ كَتَبَ يَأْمُرُ بِقَتْلِنَا، وَبَعَثُوا بِالْكِتَابِ إِلَى عَلِيٍّ رضي الله عنه ، فَدَخَلَ عَلِيٌّ رضي الله عنه عَلَى عُثْمَانَ رضي الله عنه بِالْكِتَابِ فَقَالَ: مَا هَذَا يَا عُثْمَانُ؟ فَقَالَ: «الْخَطُّ خَطُّ كَاتِبِي، وَالْخَاتَمُ خَاتَمِي، وَلَا وَاللَّهِ مَا أَمَرْتُ وَلَا عَلِمْتُ» . قَالَ: فَمَنْ تَتَّهِمُ قَالَ: «أَتَّهِمُكَ وَكَاتِبِي» . فَغَضِبَ عَلِيٌّ رضي الله عنه وَقَالَ: وَاللَّهِ لَا أَرُدُّ عَنْكَ أَحَدًا أَبَدًا

“Ibrahim b. Muhammad b. Saad from his father who said: “People of Egypt went back to their cities from Medina. Before returning to their cities at the end of Month of Shawal they went to a place called Dhil Murwah. They sent someone to Ali Ibn Abi Talib and said to him: Uthman initially used to care about us and now he is sending letters ordering for us to be killed. They sent a letter to Ali [as an evidence] and Ali went straight to Uthman along with that letter. Ali said to him: What is this? He replied: It is my letter [by my scribe] and my stamp. But by Allah I have not ordered anything like this, and I don’t have knowledge about this. Then he said: I have suspicion about you and my writer about this. Ali became angry and said: "By Allah I will never stop anyone who attacks you.”

We also have the testimony of Imam ‘Ali (as) in his response to one of Mu'awiya's letters prior to the Battle of Siffin. We read in al-Akhbar al-Tiwal, pg. 238 - 239 that Imam Ali (as) wrote to Mu’awiya stating:

ثم كتب: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، من عبد الله على امير المؤمنين الى معاويه بن ابى سفيان، اما بعد، فان أخا خولان قدم على بكتاب منك، ‌تذكر ‌فيه ‌قطعى ‌رحم ‌عثمان، وتاليبى الناس عليه، وما فعلت ذلك، غير انه رحمه الله عتب الناس عليه، فمن بين قاتل وخاذل، فجلست في بيتى، واعتزلت امره، الا ان تتجنى فتجن ما بدا لك، فاما ما سالت من دفعى إليك قتلته، فانى لا ارى ذلك، لعلمي انك انما تطلب ذلك ذريعه الى ما تامل، ومرقاه الى ما ترجو، وما الطلب بدمه تريد، ولعمري لئن لم تنزع عن غيك وشقاقك لينزل بك ما ينزل بالشاق العاصي الباغى، والسلام

Then he (Ali) wrote: ‘In the name of Allah the beneficent the merciful, from the slave of God, Ali the Commander of the Believers to Mu’awiya b. Abi Sufyan: Kaulani has brought your letter to me. You have written that I deserted Uthman and incited people against him. I did no such thing, when the people became dissatisfied with the Khalifa, some withdrew support from him, while others killed him, while I remained confined to my home and kept myself aloof from his affairs, unless if you want to accuse me falsely. Then do whatever you wish, and about your demand to submit to you the killers (of Uthman), I don’t agree with that, because I know that you demand for that in sake to reach your purpose, and you don’t seek revenge for (Uthman’s) blood. I swear if you don't retreat from your error and dissension, the punishment of the one who performs error and dissension will be on you. Wa salam’.

Imam Ali (as) also publicly denounced himself from Uthman and said he was not entitled to any form of protection. We read in Tarikh al-Medina Vol 4 pg. 22:

حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا يُوسُفُ بْنُ الْمَاجِشُونِ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي أَنَّ أُمَّ حَبِيبَةَ زَوْجَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَرَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا حِينَ حُصِرَ عُثْمَانُ رضي الله عنه حُمِلَتْ حَتَّى وُضِعَتْ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ عَلِيٍّ رضي الله عنه فِي خِدْرِهَا وَهُوَ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ فَقَالَتْ: «أَجِرْ لِي مَنْ فِي الدَّارِ» . قَالَ: نَعَمْ إِلَّا نَعْثَلًا وَشَقِيًّا، قَالَتْ: «فَوَاللَّهِ مَا حَاجَتِي إِلَّا عُثْمَانُ وَسَعِيدُ بْنُ الْعَاصِ» . قَالَ: مَا إِلَيْهِمَا ‌سَبِيلٌ. ‌قَالَتْ: «مَلَكْتَ يَا ابْنَ أَبِي طَالِبٍ فَأَسْجِحْ» قَالَ: أَمَا وَاللَّهِ مَا أَمَرَكِ اللَّهُ وَلَا رَسُولُهُ

“Majshun narrates Umm Habibah (ra) the wife of Prophet (saw) went in her veil to Ali Ibn Abi Talib (ra) when Uthman was held captive in his home and Ali was on pulpit and she said to him: I want all those inside the house of Uthman to be placed under my protection [that they be freed]. Ali replied: Save for Nathal [Uthman] and wretched one [Sa’ad b. Al A’as]. Um Habibah said I want these two only to be kept under my protection. Ali said: You can't free these two. She said: You are the son of Abu Talib. Now you have gained power, so pardon them? He replied: Allah (swt) and his Prophet (s) have never allowed you to do this!”

When we bring these narrations together, it becomes clear that Imam Ali (as) was deeply disgusted by the actions of Uthman. To the extent that when Uthman was surrounded by his opponents, Imam Ali (as) stated that all the occupants of Uthman’s house could be granted protection, except for Uthman and Sa’ad b. al-A’as. Given this, it raises the question: why would Imam Ali (as) send his sons to protect a man with whom he no longer wished to associate?

Even if, for the sake of argument, we were to accept that Imam al-Hasan (as) and Imam al-Husayn (as) were indeed present in Uthman’s quarters, we would argue that their presence would have been to protect the women and children inside, not Uthman. It is a religious duty to ensure the safety and well-being of women and children, and if Imam Ali (as) intervened to ensure that food and water were sent to Uthman’s house, it was likely to safeguard the well-being of those women and children. There would be no harm in providing water and food for the children inside, as the priority would have been their protection, not Uthman himself.