Funeral oration of Ayesha b Uthman

When the dead body of Uthman left the house, Ayesha the daughter of Uthman gave a funeral address in the following terms:

"I bitterly mourn the death of my father Uthman. He was not a father to me alone, he was a father to the entire Muslim community. Alas, those whom he regarded as his sons have murdered him.

O ye murderers of Uthman bear in mind that we all are the creatures of God, and all of us have to return to Him. How deplorable that in the sacred city of the Holy Prophet, a person so close and dear to the Holy Prophet was murdered in cold blood. Even after his assassination, the murderers created difficulties in the burial of his dead body.

O God, if the murdered Caliph had chosen to exercise his authority many persons would have arisen to defend him. Truth and justice were on his side, and God fearing people would have certainly taken up cudgels on his behalf. In that case the rioters would have been shot at, their heads would have been cut off, and there would have been lot of bloodshed. But that was not the way of Uthman. What you considered right he held it to be wrong. He was against any bloodshed. He preferred to give up his own life rather than resort to measures which were likely to promote civil war.

O ye murderers, as Muslims you had to be loyal and faithful to your Caliph at whose hands you had taken the oath of allegiance. By murdering your Caliph you have betrayed Islam; you have proved false even to yourself. You let loose a flood of false propaganda against him, and made allegations against him which were groundless. He refuted all such allegations in categorical terms, but you persisted in your evil design. You have murdered an innocent man, and his blood cries for vengeance.

Father, may Allah have mercy on you. You resigned yourself to the will of God as a true Muslim. In the midst of trials and tribulations you exhibited patience, and bore all hardships without complaint. You met your death with a smiling face. You are martyr in the cause of Allah. In the heavens your place is now in the company of the Holy Prophet.

Now dissension have broken up among your enemies, and they are quarrelling among themselves. Mischief is abroad, and tyrannies of your enemies are now becoming manifest. Now the veil of their hypocrisy is being turn, and they have begun to indulge in conspiracies against one another.

O the murderers of Uthman, how cruel and unjust you have been. You were actuated by extraneous considerations, and you raised preposterous demands. Uthman merely followed in the footsteps of his predecessor. Why did you not raise any demand in the time of Umar. He was harsh, and you did not raise a voice against him as you were afraid of him. On the contrary Uthman treated you kindly. You took undue advantage of his kindness, and instead of appreciating his kindness and mildness you indulged in a vilification campaign against him. That was ingratitude of the worst type. Ingratitude is a great crime before man and God. Ungrateful persons have never prospered. Know that history would never forgive you for your betrayal and ingratitude. Also know that in the world to come severe punishment awaits those who are unjust. Hell will be their abode.

You may recall that the caliphate of Umar was a period of great trial for you. You lived in an atmosphere of awe and fear. He imposed restrictions on your movements. He curtailed your liberties. You submitted to him without raising any protest. You could not dare speak before him, you could not criticize him. He was the Caliph who always carried a whip in his hand. He treated you as dumb cattle and you submitted to this fate. Uthman treated you as men. He allowed you full liberties. He removed all the restrictions on your movements. He increased your stipends, and looked after your welfare in every way. You have recompensed him by murdering him. That is very strange. You have falsified all Islamic values. You have repaid good with evil. Today the Grace of God has been estranged from you. You have been guilty of a great crime. Know that evil cannot hold for long. Ultimately truth will triumph, you will be called to account for your misdeeds. I have perfect faith in God, and I am sure God will duly avenge the murder of Uthman. May the soul of Uthman rest in eternal peace in the heaven! He has been the victim of grave injustice in this world, I am sure Allah will duly compensate him in the next world."