Imam Hasan (peace be upon him): It is narrated from al-Sha'bi, Abu Mikhnaf and Yazid ibn Abi Habib, who said: There was no day in Islam on which a gathering was held and a group came together in dispute, shouting and vehemence of speech more severe than the day on which Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, Amr ibn Uthman ibn Affan, Amr ibn al-'As, Utba ibn Abi Sufyan, Walid ibn Utba ibn Abi Mu'ayt and Mughira ibn Shu'ba gathered and plotted together upon a single matter. Amr ibn al-'As said to Mu'awiya: "Why do you not send for Hasan ibn Ali so that they may bring him, for he has revived the way of his father and has drawn a group behind him..." When Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) came to Mu'awiya, Mu'awiya welcomed him, greeted him and shook hands with him. Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) said to Mu'awiya: "Is this greeting you have given me a sign of safety, and this handshake you have made a sign of security?" Mu'awiya said: "Yes! This group did not listen to my word and have sent for you so that they may extract from you the admission that Uthman was killed unjustly and that your father killed him. Now, listen to their words and satisfy them, without letting my station prevent you from answering them." ... Amr ibn Uthman ibn Affan began to speak and said: "I never imagined a day like this — that after the killing of Uthman ibn Affan, who was the caliph, any of the children of Abd al-Muttalib should remain upon the face of the earth, while Uthman was the son of their sister and had a virtuous station in Islam and a special rank and standing with the Prophet of Allah. How evil was their deed — that they did not observe the honour Allah had granted him and shed his blood out of rebellion, sedition and envy. They sought a thing they were not worthy of, despite all the precedence and standing Uthman had with Allah and His Messenger and in Islam! Alas, what humiliation is this — that Hasan and the other children of Abd al-Muttalib, who are the killers of Uthman, walk upon the earth while Uthman lies rolling in his own blood! Besides which, the blood of nineteen men from Banu Umayya who were killed at the battle of Badr is upon your necks..." Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) began to speak and said: "...But as for you, Amr ibn Uthman! On account of the foolishness you possess, you were unable to perceive these ugly manoeuvres of Mu'awiya... And as for what you said, that the blood of nineteen men from Banu Umayya at the battle of Badr is upon our necks — they were killed by Allah and His Messenger. By my own life, I swear that nineteen from Banu Hashim, plus three others, shall be killed. Then twice nineteen from Banu Umayya shall be killed in a single place, apart from another group of Banu Umayya who shall be killed whose number none knows but Allah. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'When the number of the offspring of the lizard reaches thirty men, they will pass the wealth of Allah amongst themselves in turns, they will humiliate and debase the servants of Allah, and they will corrupt the Book of Allah, the Qur'an. When their number reaches three hundred and ten, the curse against them and in their favour shall be realised. When their number reaches four hundred and seventy-five, their destruction will be swifter than the chewing of a date.' After this incident, al-Hakam ibn Abi al-'As came forward and resolved to speak on this matter, but the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'Lower your voices, for the lizard hears.' When the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) saw in a dream that Banu Umayya would, after the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), possess the affair of this umma, he became greatly grieved, and Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, revealed this noble verse: وَ ما جَعَلْنَا الرُّؤْیَا الَّتِی أَرَیْناکَ إِلَّا فِتْنَةً لِلنَّاسِ وَ الشَّجَرَةَ الْمَلْعُونَةَ فِی الْقُرْآنِ [And We did not make the vision which We showed you but a trial for men, and the accursed tree in the Qur'an] — meaning Banu Umayya."