Hence, Mu'awiyah and his companions thought them on astray...

Hence, Mu'awiyah and his companions thought them on astray and therefore they made it lawful for themselves to fight Ali and his faction.." Could Abu Sulaiman show any reference as to when Mu'awiya cited these traditions to support his action? Or is Abu Sulaiman simply seeking to read Mu'awiya's mind? Do these ahadith (narrations) state that it will then be permissible for Uthman's relatives to rebel against the state and demand retribution forthwith?

We should also ask Abu Sulaiman 'was Mu'awiya's desire for revenge, more important than the smooth running of the Islamic State under the rule of the rightful caliph? Did Mu'awiya not consider the repercussions of such an action? Was there for example not a risk of Munafiqs (hypocrites) and the Kuffar (pagans) exploiting the situation and spread fitnah to further their own machinations?

It is indeed interesting that when the same Abu Sulaiman seeks to read the mind of Mu'awiya later by pointing out that Mu'awiya killed Hujr to quell the risk of sedition and yet the same Mu'awiya saw no problem in himself opposing Imam Ali (as) actively participating in rebellion and sedition! Clearly the risk was inherent - the third khalifa had been killed, so it was a time of upheaval.

In light of such tense / delicate circumstances would it not have been better for Mu'awiya to allow the new Khalifa to settle down and then punish the killers of Uthman? What was the exact correlation between giving baya and Imam Ali (as) handing over Uthman's killers? How exactly was Mu'awiyas demand going to help the situation? One also wonders how Mu'awiya had all of a sudden become the Waris of Uthman demanding Qisas.

Hadhrath Uthmans was survived by sons all of who were baligh they were his Waris and they had the right to ask for Qisas not Mu'awiya. Ansar.org states:Al-Thahabi narrated in "Sayr A'alam Al-Nubala'a" from Ya'ali bin Ubayd from his father who says: (Abu Muslim Al-Khulani and some others went to Mu'awiyah and asked him: "Do you dispute Ali or are you equal to him? Mu'awiyah answered: "By Allah no.

I know he is better than I am, and he has the right to rule, but do not you know that Uthman was killed as an innocent? And I am his cousin and the seeker of his revenge?