It was only after the fulfillment of the prediction of the...

It was only after the fulfillment of the prediction of the Apostle of God that Ammar would be killed by the people of iniquity, that they were convinced that justice and truth were on Ali's side. But Malik never had such hang-ups. He knew that Ali and Truth were inseparable, and he was most consistent in his devotion and support to him. Some historians have insinuated that Malik was one of those men who were implicated in Uthman's death.

It is true that Malik came from Kufa to Medina with a delegation but he did not come to kill Uthman. He came only to request Uthman to remove a foul and a corrupt governor. He was the most gallant man in Arabia, and one thing he could not do was to kill an old man of 84. Malik, in fact, did not even enter Uthman's palace at any time.

If he had, Naila (Uthman's wife) would have volunteered this information when Ali was interrogating witnesses of the crime; and Marwan would have broadcast the news of the intrusion to the whole world. But he never did. The allegation that Malik was one of the murderers of Uthman, was cooked up by Muawiya. He was churning out new ideas at all times.

In the battle of Siffin, when he saw Malik charging at his bodyguards, he screamed in terror and panic: “O save me from Malik; he is the one who killed Uthman.” Muawiya knew that Malik had not killed Uthman but he also knew that the Syrians loved him (Uthman) and would fall like demons upon his (Uthman's) murderer if they could find him.

In calling Malik the murderer of Uthman, he hoped to rouse the Syrians to make a superhuman effort to check his (Malik's) advance, and thus to save his own (Muawiya's) life. The court historians of Damascus took up the cry from Muawiya, and since then, the falsehood has been passing from generation to generation. It is one of the ironies of the history of the Muslims that though Ayesha, Talha and Zubayr openly instigated the people to kill Uthman, they have never been impeached in its tribunal.

And what was there to prevent Muawiya himself from going to Medina to save his (Uthman's) life? Nothing! But he never did. He withheld his aid on purpose, and let Uthman die. But after his death, he made an alliance, in exchange for Egypt, with Amr bin Aas, to “seek vengeance for Uthman's murder.” As noted before, Amr was one of the most implacable enemies of Uthman, and probably was his real murderer. The scenario changed after the death of Uthman.