Khalifa Uthman bin Affan - The verdict of Uthman

On the whole the people were satisfied with the verdict of Uthman, and they praised him for his generosity in paying the blood money out of his own pocket. There were, however, a few persons who found fault with his judgment, and insisted that Ubaidullah should have been executed. In a poem the poet Ziyad b Labid said:

"O Uthman, there is no doubt that after the assassination of Hurmuzan, Ubaidullah had no right to live. You have unjustly pardoned him although you had no right to do so".

Uthman summoned Ziyad, and explained to him the justification for his verdict. Thereafter Ziyad composed some verses praising Uthman for his verdict, and for his generosity in paying the blood money out of his pocket.

Tabari's version
In Tabari's history, a somewhat different version of the incident is given. It is stated that Qamazban the son of Hurmuzan appeared as a witness before the Caliph. He stated that a day previous to the assassination of Umar, his father came across Firoz. A double edged dagger fell from the hands of Firoz. Hurmuzan had asked Firoz why he had that dagger with him. Firoz had given an evasive reply, but Hurmuzan warned him not to use the dagger as that would involve them all in trouble.

In view of the evidence of Qamazban it was established that the assassination of Umar was the sole act of Firuzan neither Hurmuzan nor Jafina were involved in the conspiracy in any way. Thereupon the Caliph decided that Qamazban could deal with Ubaidullah in any way he liked. Qamazban was originally of the view to murder Ubaidullah, but later he changed his view and pardoned him for the sake of God. Thereupon Uthman paid the blood money out of his pocket.