You are the leader of the people and there has befallen you what you see, I am going to suggest to you three options, choose one of them. Either go out and fight them, because you have numbers and strength, and you are in the right and they are in the wrong; or we will make another door for you other than the door where they are, then you can mount your animal and go to Makkah, for they will not try to kill you there; or go to Syria, for the people of Syria are good people and among them is Muʿawiyah. ʿUthman ؓ said: As for going out and fighting. I will never be the first successor of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to shed blood among his ummah; as for going out to Makkah because they will never try to kill me there, I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, “A man of Quraish will commit profanity in Makkah and half the punishment of the world will be upon himʿ, and I will never be that one; as for going to Syria, because they are the people of Syria and Muʿawiyah is among them, I shall never leave the land to which I migrated, where I am close to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ It was narrated from Ibn al-Mubarak... and he mentioned the same hadeeth, and said ʿwill commit profanity.”  

إِنَّكَ إِمَامُ الْعَامَّةِ وَقَدْ نَزَلَ بِكَ مَا تَرَى وَإِنِّي أَعْرِضُ عَلَيْكَ خِصَالًا ثَلاثًا اخْتَرْ إِحْدَاهُنَّ إِمَّا أَنْ تَخْرُجَ فَتُقَاتِلَهُمْ فَإِنَّ مَعَكَ عَدَدًا وَقُوَّةً وَأَنْتَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ وَهُمْ عَلَى الْبَاطِلِ وَإِمَّا أَنْ نَخْرِقَ لَكَ بَابًا سِوَى الْبَابِ الَّذِي هُمْ عَلَيْهِ فَتَقْعُدَ عَلَى رَوَاحِلِكَ فَتَلْحَقَ بِمَكَّةَ فَإِنَّهُمْ لَنْ يَسْتَحِلُّوكَ وَأَنْتَ بِهَا وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَلْحَقَ بِالشَّامِ فَإِنَّهُمْ أَهْلُ الشَّامِ وَفِيهِمْ مُعَاوِيَةُفَقَالَ عُثْمَانُ أَمَّا أَنْ أَخْرُجَ فَأُقَاتِلَ فَلَنْ أَكُونَ أَوَّلَ مَنْ خَلَفَ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ فِي أُمَّتِهِ بِسَفْكِ الدِّمَاءِ وَأَمَّا أَنْ أَخْرُجَ إِلَى مَكَّةَ فَإِنَّهُمْ لَنْ يَسْتَحِلُّونِي بِهَا فَإِنِّي سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ يُلْحِدُ رَجُلٌ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ بِمَكَّةَ يَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ نِصْفُ عَذَابِ الْعَالَمِ فَلَنْ أَكُونَ أَنَا إِيَّاهُ وَأَمَّا أَنْ أَلْحَقَ بِالشَّامِ فَإِنَّهُمْ أَهْلُ الشَّامِ وَفِيهِمْ مُعَاوِيَةُ فَلَنْ أُفَارِقَ دَارَ هِجْرَتِي وَمُجَاوَرَةَ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ