In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you "Portraits from the Lives of the Companions"
by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy on him.
'Uthman Ibn 'Affan,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Truly, he is the Possessor of the Two Lights,
the emigrant of the two migrations,
and the husband of the two daughters:
'Uthman Ibn 'Affan,
may Allah be pleased with him and grant him contentment.
'Uthman Ibn 'Affan,
may Allah be pleased with him, stood at the very pinnacle
of his people during the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah).
He possessed immense prestige,
abundant wealth,
longstanding fortune and favor,
profound humility,
and intense modesty.
His people loved him with the deepest and most sincere affection,
to the extent that a woman of Quraysh
would playfully dance with her small child,
singing:
"I love you, by the Merciful Lord,
as Quraysh loves 'Uthman!"
And when the light of Islam shone upon Mecca,
'Uthman was among the foremost
to seek illumination from its lamp.
The story of the conversion of 'Uthman
Ibn 'Affan to Islam
is one that narrators still recount to this day.
For when news reached him,
during the pre-Islamic era,
that Muhammad Ibn 'Abdullah
had married his daughter Ruqayyah
to her cousin 'Utbah Ibn Abi Lahab,
he was filled with the deepest regret
that he had not been the first to seek
her hand,
and that he had missed out on her noble character.
So he entered upon his family laden with sorrow,
and found in their presence
his maternal aunt, Sa'da bint Kurayz.
She was
a resolute,
wise woman of advanced
years.
She cheered him up
and gave him glad tidings of the emergence of a Prophet
who would abolish the worship of idols
and call to the worship of the One,
the Supreme Judge.
She inspired in him a longing for the religion of that Prophet,
and gave him good news that
with him he would find what he sought.
'Uthman said:
"So I set out, pondering
what my aunt had said.
Then I met Abu Bakr
and told him what she had conveyed to me.
He said:
'By Allah, your aunt has spoken the truth
in what she told you,
and she has brought you glad tidings of good, O 'Uthman!
Truly, you are a man
of intellect and resolve;
truth is never hidden from you,
nor do you ever confuse it with falsehood.'
Then he asked me:
'What are these idols
that our people worship?
Are they not merely stones—
deaf, unable to hear
or to see?'
I replied, 'Indeed they are.'
He said, 'What your aunt told you,
O 'Uthman, has indeed come to pass!
For Allah has sent
His awaited Messenger,
dispatching him to all mankind
with the religion of guidance
and truth.'
I asked, 'And who is he?'
He replied, 'He is Muhammad
Ibn 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib.'
I said, 'The Truthful,
the Trustworthy?'
Abu Bakr replied, 'Yes,
it is indeed he!'
I asked, 'Would you accompany me
to him?' He answered,
'Yes.' So we proceeded
to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
When he saw me,
he said: 'Respond,
O 'Uthman, to the caller of Allah!
For I am the Messenger of Allah
to you specifically,
and to all of Allah's creation generally.'
'Uthman said:
'By Allah, no sooner had I looked upon him
with my own eyes and heard
his words than my heart found peace
with him, and I believed in his message.
Then I testified
that there is no god but Allah,
and that Muhammad is His servant
and His Messenger.'"
None of the Prophet's people, peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him, had believed in him
up to that day;
nevertheless, none among them
openly showed him
outright enmity,
except for his uncle Abu Lahab.
For he and his wife,
Umm Jamil, were among the harshest
of Quraysh toward him,
the most violent in causing him harm,
and the most cruel in persecuting him.
So Allah revealed concerning him and
his wife:
"May the hands of
Abu Lahab perish,
and may he perish!
His wealth and what he has earned will not avail him.
He will burn in a fire of blazing flame,
and his wife, the carrier of firewood..."
“Will have upon her neck a halter of palm-fibre.” (111:5)
Thereupon, Abu Lahab grew even more bitter in his malice
against the Messenger, peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him,
and his hatred—as well as the hatred
of his wife Umm Jamil—intensified against him
and against the Muslims with him.
So they ordered their son 'Utbah
to divorce his wife,
Ruqayyah, the daughter of Muhammad,
peace and blessings be upon him.
And he divorced her out of spite
toward her father.
Hardly had 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan,
may Allah be pleased with him,
heard the news of Ruqayyah's divorce,
than he was overcome with immense joy.
He hastened to seek her hand in marriage
from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him.
The noble Messenger,
peace be upon him, married her to him,
and the Mother of the Believers,
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, prepared her for the wedding.
'Uthman was
among the most handsome of Quraysh in appearance,
and she matched him
in grace and radiant beauty.
Thus it was said of them
on their wedding day:
"The finest pair ever seen
by any human being: Ruqayyah
and her husband 'Uthman."
Yet 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan was not spared—
despite
his prior merit and longstanding
benevolence—from the harm of
his people when he embraced Islam.
For it grieved his paternal uncle, al-Hakam,
that the young nobleman
of Banu 'Abd Shams should abandon the religion of Quraysh,
and he took it as a grave affront.
So he and his followers confronted him
with the fiercest
and harshest opposition;
he seized him, bound him
tightly in fetters, and said:
"Do you turn away from the faith of your fathers
and grandfathers to enter
an invented religion?
By Allah, I will not let you go until
you renounce what you have embraced!"
But 'Uthman replied:
"By Allah, I will never abandon my religion,
nor will I ever separate from
my Prophet as long as
life remains within me!"
His uncle al-Hakam continued to torment him,
while 'Uthman only grew firmer
in his steadfastness in his faith
and his adherence to his creed,
until his uncle finally despaired of breaking him,
released him,
and ceased his persecution.
Yet Quraysh continued
to harbor animosity toward him
and subject him to relentless harm,
until they drove him to flee
with his religion and part from
his Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
Thus, he was the very first
of the Muslims to migrate to Abyssinia,
accompanied by his wife, Ruqayyah,
may Allah be pleased with them both.
When the time came for their departure,
the Messenger bid them farewell,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
saying:
"May Allah accompany 'Uthman and his wife,
Ruqayyah;
may Allah accompany 'Uthman and his wife,
Ruqayyah!
Truly, 'Uthman is the first to emigrate
with his family after the Prophet of Allah,
Lot." However, 'Uthman and his wife
did not prolong their stay in
Abyssinia as did
other emigrants,
for both he and Ruqayyah were overcome
with intense longing for the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him, and a yearning
for Mecca. So they returned
to it and remained
there until Allah granted permission
to His Prophet, peace be upon him,
and to the believers
to emigrate to Medina.
Thereupon, they set forth alongside the emigrants.
'Uthman
ibn 'Affan witnessed alongside the Messenger, peace
and blessings be upon him, all of his major campaigns
and attended
every one of his battles,
and he was not kept away from any campaign
except the Battle of Badr.
For he had been occupied
with nursing his wife Ruqayyah,
may Allah be pleased with her.
When the noble Messenger,
peace be upon him, returned from Badr,
he found that Ruqayyah
had already passed away into the presence of her Lord.
He grieved over her
most deeply,
and consoled 'Uthman ibn 'Affan
in his bereavement in the most generous manner:
he counted him among the veterans of Badr,
allotted him a share of its spoils,
and wed him to his
second daughter, Umm Kulthum.
Because of this, people called him
Dhu al-Nurayn (Possessor of the Two Lights).
His second marriage to the daughter
of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him, was a distinction
attained by no other husband besides him;
indeed, the history
of prophethood has never known
anyone to become the son-in-law of a prophet
twice over, except
for 'Uthman ibn 'Affan,
may Allah be pleased with him.
The acceptance of Islam by 'Uthman,
may Allah be pleased with him,
was among the greatest blessings that
Allah bestowed upon the Muslims,
and one of the most abundant sources of good
with which He reinforced Islam.
No hardship ever befell the Muslims
except that 'Uthman was the first
to offer them solace and relief;
and no crisis ever struck Islam
except that Ibn 'Affan stood at the vanguard
of dispelling it.
When the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him,
resolved upon the Expedition of
Tabuk, his need
for wealth was no less pressing
than his need for men.
The Roman army was vast
in numbers and abundantly equipped,
fighting upon
its own home soil, whereas the Muslims
faced a journey that was
exceedingly long, with provisions that were
meager and mounts that were
fewer still.
Moreover, they were enduring a severe drought,
the likes of which the Arabian Peninsula
had rarely witnessed.
The Messenger, peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him, was thus compelled to turn back
a large number of them from joining the jihad,
denying them the opportunity
for martyrdom, simply because
they possessed no mounts
to carry them; so they turned away
with their eyes overflowing
with tears.
Thereupon, the Messenger,
peace and blessings be upon him, ascended
the pulpit, praised Allah,
and extolled Him as He deserved
to be praised. Then he began
urging the Muslims to give generously,
heartening them with the promise of a magnificent reward.
At that, 'Uthman
ibn 'Affan stood up and said:
"Mine are one hundred camels,
fully equipped with their saddles and packframes,
O Messenger of Allah!"
The Messenger, peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him, descended from the pulpit
by one step, but then
paused and began exhorting the people to give
once again. 'Uthman
ibn 'Affan rose a second time
and said:
"Mine are another one hundred camels,
fully equipped with their saddles and packframes,
O Messenger of Allah!"
The face of the noble Messenger,
peace be upon him, beamed
with joy,
and he stepped down another stair from the pulpit.
Yet soon he paused once more
and began urging the people to donate
a third time.
'Uthman ibn 'Affan stood up yet again
and said: "[Mine are another hundred,]
fully equipped with their saddles and packframes,
O Messenger of Allah!"
At that moment,
the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him,
began gesturing with his noble hand
in sheer satisfaction with what
'Uthman ibn 'Affan had done,
saying: "Nothing can harm 'Uthman,
whatever he does after this day!
Nothing can harm 'Uthman,
whatever he does after this day!"
Furthermore, no sooner had the Messenger, peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him,
stepped down from his pulpit,
than 'Uthman ibn 'Affan hurried off
to his home
and dispatched to him, alongside the camels,
a thousand gold dinars.
When the dinars were poured
into the lap of the noble Messenger,
upon whom be the highest blessings
and purest peace,
he began turning them over with his pure hands,
top over bottom
and bottom over top,
while saying:
"May Allah forgive you, O 'Uthman,
for whatever you have kept secret and whatever you have made public,
for whatever has come from you and whatever shall come to pass,
until the Hour is established!"
During the caliphate of al-Faruq,
may Allah be pleased with him,
the people were struck by
a year of devastating drought that ruined
crops and livestock alike,
such that, owing to its severe famine,
it came to be known as the Year of the Ashes.
The distress
continued to intensify for the people,
until their souls
reached their throats.
One morning, they came before 'Umar
and said: "O Successor of
the Messenger of Allah!
The sky has withheld its rain,
the earth has yielded no vegetation,
and the people are on the very brink of ruin.
What, then, shall we do?"
'Umar looked at them
with a face deeply wrung
by grief and sorrow, and said:
"Be patient and seek Allah's reward,
for I truly hope that you will not see evening
before Allah grants you relief."
Towards the end
of the day, news arrived
that a caravan belonging to 'Uthman
ibn 'Affan had come from the Levant,
and that it would reach
Medina by morning.
No sooner was the Fajr prayer concluded
than the people rushed out
to meet the caravan, gathering group
after group,
and the merchants set out to receive it.
It was a train of one thousand camels,
laden with wheat,
along with olive oil and raisins.
The caravan knelt at the door
of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, may Allah be pleased with him,
and the servants began
unloading its cargo.
The merchants then came in
to 'Uthman and said,
"Sell us what has arrived to you, O
Abu 'Amr."
He replied, "With great pleasure,
but how much profit will you give me
over my purchase price?"
They said, "We will give you two dirhams
for every dirham."
He said, "I have been offered more than this."
So they increased their offer,
but he said, "I have been offered
more than what you have added."
They raised it further,
yet he said, "I have been offered more
than this."
They said, "O Abu 'Amr,
there are no merchants in Medina
besides us, and no one
has preceded us to you!
Who, then, has offered you more
than what we offered?"
He said, "Allah
has granted me ten for every dirham!
Can you offer more than that?"
They said, "No,
O Abu 'Amr."
He said, "Then I call Allah,
the Exalted, to witness that I have dedicated
whatever this caravan carried
as charity for the poor of the Muslims.
I desire
neither a dirham nor a dinar from anyone;
I seek only
Allah's reward and His pleasure."
When the caliphate passed
to 'Uthman ibn 'Affan,
may Allah be pleased with him, Allah opened
through his hands Armenia,
the Caucasus, and granted victory
to the Muslims, giving them mastery over
Khorasan, Kirman,
Sijistan, Cyprus,
and a considerable portion
of North Africa.
During his reign, the people enjoyed such prosperity
as had never been attained
by any nation on the face of the earth.
Al-Hasan al-Basri,
may Allah be pleased with him, recounted the blessings
the people enjoyed under the reign of Dhu al-Nurayn—
of abundant prosperity, luxurious
living, and the overwhelming bliss
and tranquility they experienced.
He said,
"I saw the crier of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan,
may Allah be pleased with him, calling out,
saying,
'O people, come forth early to receive
your stipends!'
And the people would go early
and take them in full.
Then he would call out and say,
'O people,
come and collect your food provisions!'
And they would come and collect them,
being given them in bountiful
and complete measure.
By Allah, my own two ears
heard him say,
'Come forth early to receive your garments!'
And they would receive ample,
flowing robes.
And he used to say,
'Come partake of clarified butter and honey as well!' Nor is this surprising,
for provisions during
'Uthman's reign flowed continuously,
goodness was abundant,
mutual relations were harmonious,
and there was not a single believer
on the face of the earth
who was fearful.
Rather, a Muslim
was friendly toward his fellow Muslim,
loving him and supporting him.
Yet some people,
when they are sated, become insolent,
and when Allah blesses them,
they are ungrateful.
Thus, these people found fault with 'Uthman
over matters for which, had anyone else done them,
they would never have blamed him.
Nor were they content merely with finding fault—
for had they
stopped at that, the matter would have been trivial.
But Satan continued
breathing his malice into their souls
and spreading his evil
within their hearts,
until a large mob
of the rabble of the garrison towns
rallied against him.
They besieged him in his home for about
forty nights,
depriving him of fresh water.
These tyrannical
oppressors had forgotten
that he was the one who bought the well of Rumah
from his own wealth
so that the inhabitants of Medina,
its residents, and its visitors could drink from it,
when prior to that they had no
fresh water to quench
their thirst. Moreover,
they barred him
from praying in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him. These people turned a blind eye
to the fact
that Dhu al-Nurayn was the one who expanded
the second of the Two Holy Sanctuaries solely
from his own wealth, to accommodate
the Muslims after it had become
too constrained for them.
The distress intensified for 'Uthman,
and the evil grew grave against him.
About seven hundred of
the Companions and their sons
rushed to his defense,
among them 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar
ibn al-Khattab,
'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam,
al-Hasan and al-Husayn,
the sons of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
Abu Hurayrah,
and many, many others.
But 'Uthman, the possessor of the two lights,
the veteran of the two migrations,
and the bestower of charity,
preferred that his own blood be shed
rather than the blood of Muslims
being spilt in his defense.
He preferred to lose
his own life rather than having
the Muslims fight one another over him.
So he adjured those who had rushed
to protect him to leave him
to the decree of Allah.
He said to them, "I adjure
everyone over whom I have a right
to stay his hand."
And he said to his slaves, "Whoever
sheathes his sword is a free man."
Then the eyes of the successor
of the Messenger of Allah,
peace be upon him,
slumbered for a few moments shortly before his assassination,
and he saw the noble Prophet,
upon him be the best of prayers
and the purest blessings,
accompanied by his two companions, Abu Bakr
al-Siddiq and 'Umar ibn al-Khattab.
And he heard the Messenger,
peace be upon him,
saying to him,
"Break your fast with us tonight, O 'Uthman."
Thereupon, 'Uthman knew with certainty that
he was about to join his Lord
and meet his Prophet.
In the morning, 'Uthman,
may Allah be pleased with him, was fasting,
and he asked for a pair of long trousers
and put them on,
lest his nakedness be exposed
when the murderous sinners
killed him.
And on Friday,
when eighteen nights
had passed of Dhu al-Hijjah,
the devout worshipper and ascetic,
who spent his nights in prayer and days in fasting,
the compiler of the Noble Qur'an,
the son-in-law of the Messenger of Allah,
peace be upon him, was slain.
Thus he returned to the proximity
of his Lord while thirsty and fasting,
with the Book of Allah
spread open before him.
It is sufficient solace for the Muslims
that there was not
among the killers of 'Uthman, may Allah's good pleasure
and mercies be upon him, a single Companion
nor the son of a Companion,
except for a single man
who had initially joined the tyrannical rebels
at the very beginning,
but then felt ashamed and drew back.
Indeed, the history of prophethood
has never known anyone
to marry two daughters of a prophet
other than 'Uthman
Ibn 'Affan,
may Allah be pleased with him.