As for fighting, neither was I ever afraid of it nor am I so now. Allah knows my intention and He also knows that those standing on the excuse of taking revenge are themselves his assassins." Thus, history corroborates that the people who managed his (`Uthman's) assassination by agitation and had even prevented his burial in Muslims' graveyard by hurling stones at his coffin were the same who rose for avenging his blood. In this connection, the names of Talhah ibn `Ubaydillah, az-Zubayr ibn al-`Awwam and `A'ishah are at the top of the list since on both occasions their efforts come to sight with conspicuity. Thus Ibn Abi'l-Hadid writes that: