There were only three residents of Madinah who supported the rebels; one was Muhammad bin Abi Bakr, who was the son of Hazrat Abu Bakr^(ra). Historians are of the view that since people showed him respect due to his father, he began to think that he held a position of rank as well. Except for this, neither did he hold any worldly precedence, nor did he benefit from the company of the Holy Prophet^(sa), and nor did he gain special religious education afterwards. He was born in the days of hajjatul-wada‘ ¹ and was still a suckling baby at the time when the Holy Prophet^(sa) passed away. He was only four when Hazrat Abu Bakr^(ra) passed away and was unable to benefit from the upbringing of this exemplary man either.²

The second person was Muhammad bin Abi Hudhaifah. He was not from among the companions either. His father had been martyred in the battle of Yamamah and Hazrat ‘Uthman^(ra) had taken his upbringing upon himself. He had nurtured him from childhood. When Hazrat ‘Uthman^(ra) became Khalifah, he asked him for a post but Hazrat ‘Uthman^(ra) refused. He then asked for permission to go out and take up some form work. Hazrat ‘Uthman^(ra) granted him permission, so he went to Egypt. Upon reaching there, he joined the supporters of ‘Abdullah bin Saba and began inciting people against Hazrat ‘Uthman^(ra). When the rebels of Egypt attacked Madinah he came along with them. However, after having come some distance, he returned, and was not present in Madinah at the time of this conflict.³

The third person was ‘Ammar bin Yasir, who was one of the companions. The reason he fell to deception was because he was not very informed in the field of politics. When Hazrat ‘Uthman^(ra) sent him to Egypt so that he could return with a report on the administration of its governor, ‘Abdullah bin Saba welcomed him and turned him against the governor of Egypt. Moreover, since the governor had bitterly opposed the Holy Prophet^(sa) in his days of disbelief and had accepted Islam after the victory of Makkah, ‘Ammar bin Yasir was quickly ensnared by them. After creating suspicion against the governor, ‘Abdullah bin Saba slowly made him suspicious of Hazrat ‘Uthman^(ra) as well.⁴ However, ‘Ammar bin Yasir did not practically participate in the rebellion. Although he was present in Madinah when it was attacked, apart from sitting quietly at home and not taking part in opposing the rebels, practically, he did not take any part in the rebellion. He was completely innocent of the crimes committed by the rebels.