In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Mawaddah Association
presents:
The Ten Promised Paradise
Uthman ibn Affan,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Loving the Companions and the Prophet's kin is an established Sunnah,
which I shall present to my Lord when He resurrects me.
Love for the Companions and the Prophet's kin—
indeed, he was the foremost youth of Quraysh,
its revered nobleman,
possessing inherently noble manners,
boasting high lineage among his people,
and beloved by all his clan.
Even women from Quraysh,
when bouncing their young children, would say:
"By the Most Merciful, I love you
as Quraysh loves Uthman!"
So who was this Uthman?
He was Uthman ibn Affan,
son of Abi al-As, son of Umayyah,
son of Abd Shams,
son of Abd Manaf, son of Qusay.
Thus, he belonged to Banu Umayyah
and met in lineage with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
at his fourth grandfather, Abd Manaf.
Therefore, he is the closest of the Ten Promised Paradise
in lineage to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
after Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.
Uthman's mother was Arwa bint Kurayz,
and Arwa's mother was Umm Hakim al-Bayda',
daughter of Abd al-Muttalib,
the twin sister of Abdullah,
father of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Thus, Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him,
was the son of the Prophet's maternal first cousin.
He was therefore among his relatives, peace be upon him,
on both his father's and mother's sides.
Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, was born in Makkah
in the sixth year after the Year of the Elephant,
and grew up amidst its mountains and valleys,
within the embrace of its Ancient House.
If you saw Uthman,
you saw a man endowed with a striking beauty that delighted the onlooker.
He had a handsome face, a full beard,
and was of medium height,
neither tall nor short.
He had broad shoulders,
a wide chest,
a fair complexion tinged with tan,
smooth skin,
dense hair on his forearms and legs,
and the hair of his head reached below his ears.
Abdullah ibn Hazm al-Mazini said of him:
"I never saw a face more handsome than his."
During the days of Jahiliyyah, may Allah be pleased with him, he was
among the finest of his people.
He possessed vast influence, wealth,
extreme modesty,
and gentle speech.
His people loved him immensely and held him in deep veneration.
He never prostrated to an idol in Jahiliyyah,
nor did he ever commit an indecency.
He never drank wine before Islam,
and used to say:
"It deprives one of reason,
and reason is the noblest gift Allah has bestowed upon man;
a person ought to elevate it,
not suppress it."
He said of himself:
"I never sang, nor wished for vanity,
nor touched my private parts with my right hand
since I swore allegiance with it to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
I never drank wine in Jahiliyyah nor in Islam,
nor did I ever commit adultery in Jahiliyyah nor in Islam."
He, may Allah be pleased with him, possessed extensive knowledge of Arab lore in Jahiliyyah,
including genealogies, proverbs, and historical tribal battles.
He traveled widely across the land,
journeying to the Levant and Abyssinia,
and mingled with non-Arab peoples,
learning about their affairs and customs in ways others did not.
He focused on his trade, which he inherited from his father,
and his wealth grew
until he became one of the prominent figures of Banu Umayyah
who held a revered standing in Quraysh.
These qualities are sufficient to draw a person close to goodness,
entering its doors without hesitation.
So how could it be otherwise for Uthman ibn Affan,
who was a close companion and beloved, intimate friend
of Abu Bakr?
One day, Abu Bakr came to him
after the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was commissioned with prophecy,
when Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, had joined him,
along with a small group no larger than the fingers of one hand.
Al-Siddiq said to him:
"Woe to you, O Uthman!
By Allah, you are a prudent man
who cannot fail to distinguish truth from falsehood.
These idols that your people worship—
are they not deaf stones
that neither hear nor see,
nor harm nor benefit?"
Uthman replied:
"Indeed, by Allah, they are so!"
Abu Bakr said:
"This is Muhammad ibn Abdullah,
whom Allah has sent with His message to all His creation.
Will you not go to him and listen to him?"
He replied: "Yes."
So they both went to him,
and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"O Uthman,
respond to Allah's call to His Paradise,
for I am Allah's Messenger to you and to all His creation."
Uthman said:
"By Allah, no sooner did I hear his words than I embraced Islam,
testifying that there is no god but Allah, alone without partner,
and that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger."
Uthman was just past thirty-four years of age
when Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, invited him to Islam;
thus, he was among the early pioneers.
Abu Ishaq,
the biographer, said:
"Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, was the first person to accept Islam
after Abu Bakr, Ali, and Zayd ibn Harithah."
He was, therefore, the fourth man to embrace Islam.
Perhaps this early conversion to Islam
was inspired by an incident that occurred upon his return from the Levant.
Uthman related:
"O Messenger of Allah,
I had recently arrived from the Levant,
and while we were between Mu'an and al-Zarqa',
resting as if asleep,
a caller suddenly cried out to us:
'O sleepers, awake!
For Ahmad has appeared in Makkah.'
So when we arrived, we heard news of you."
Faith shone brightly in Uthman's pure heart,
which Jahiliyyah had never defiled with its idols and impurities.
Yet how could this light abide without being tested?
People's love for Uthman turned into hatred,
and their affection into enmity.
Among his most fierce persecutors
was his uncle, al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As,
who seized him and bound him tightly with ropes,
saying:
"Do you renounce the creed of your forefathers for a newly invented religion?
By Allah, I will never untie you
until you renounce this religion of yours!"
Uthman replied:
"By Allah, I will never renounce it, nor shall I ever abandon it!"
His uncle used to wrap him in a mat of palm leaves
and light a fire beneath him,
causing smoke to billow up
until Uthman was on the verge of suffocation and death,
all while demanding that he renounce his faith,
yet Uthman only grew firmer and more resolute in it.
When his uncle despaired of breaking him,
he abandoned him and left him alone.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
had previously married his daughter Ruqayyah
to Utbah, the son of his uncle Abu Lahab,
and married her sister Umm Kulthum
to Utaybah, the son of Abu Lahab.
When Surah al-Masad was revealed,
Abu Lahab said to his two sons, Utbah and Utaybah:
"My head is forbidden from yours
unless you divorce the daughters of Muhammad!"
Their mother—
the carrier of firewood—also said to them:
"Part from the daughters of Muhammad,
for they have abandoned their ancestral faith."
So they divorced them before consummating the marriages,
an honor bestowed by Allah Almighty upon the two daughters
and a humiliation for the sons of Abu Lahab.
No sooner had Uthman ibn Affan, may Allah be pleased with him,
heard the news of Ruqayyah's divorce
than he was overjoyed.
He hastened to ask for her hand from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
who married her to him, peace be upon him.
The Mother of the Believers, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, may Allah be pleased with her, escorted her in the bridal procession.
Uthman was among the most handsome men of Quraysh in appearance,
and she matched him in grace and beauty;
thus, when she was led to him, it was said of them:
"The finest couple ever seen by human eyes
are Ruqayyah and her husband, Uthman!"
The fruit of this blessed marriage was that
Allah granted them a beautiful, striking boy,
whom he named Abdullah,
and after whom Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, took his agnomen (Kunya).
However, this young boy did not live long with his parents,
as a rooster pecked him in his eye
when he reached six years of age,
causing the boy to fall ill and pass away.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, entered upon them one day
while Ruqayyah was washing Uthman's hair,
and he said: "O my daughter, treat Abu Abdullah well,
for he is the most similar of my Companions to me in character."
Persecution by Quraysh against the Muslims intensified,
including against the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
So the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, gave them permission
to migrate to Abyssinia.
'Uthman and his wife Ruqayyah, may Allah be pleased with them both, were
among the very first to migrate to Abyssinia.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said regarding them:
"May Allah accompany them both;
'Uthman is indeed the first to migrate for the sake of Allah with his family
since Lot, peace be upon him."
Before long, 'Uthman and his wife returned along with those who returned,
after rumors had spread that the people of Makkah had accepted Islam.
However, the situation was quite the opposite,
so they both returned, may Allah be pleased with them, to Abyssinia once more.
Later, they returned to Makkah
and stayed there
until Allah decreed for them the migration to Madinah.
Thus, they were among those who undertook both migrations, may Allah be pleased with them both.
In Madinah,
his loving wife, Ruqayyah, fell ill
just as the Muslims were setting out for the Battle of Badr.
So the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, commanded him
to remain behind at his wife's side to care for her.
On the very day the Muslims returned from Badr,
victorious and overjoyed,
shocking news suddenly met them in Madinah:
the passing of Ruqayyah, may Allah be pleased with her,
the daughter of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and the wife of 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan, may Allah be pleased with him.
Sorrow enveloped Madinah in general,
and 'Uthman in particular, may Allah be pleased with him,
over the loss of his wife
and the severance of his familial bond by marriage to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Then the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, met him
near the door of the mosque
and said, "O 'Uthman, this is Gabriel;
he has informed me that Allah has commanded me
to marry Um Kulthum to you
for a dowry equal to Ruqayyah's,
and upon the same terms of companionship."
And the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"I did not marry Um Kulthum to 'Uthman
except through divine revelation from the heavens."
Delight and joy returned
to his face once again,
and happiness entered his home
with the entrance of Um Kulthum, may Allah be pleased with her.
Thus, 'Uthman was given the title "Dhu al-Nurayn" (Possessor of the Two Lights)
for marrying two daughters of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
No other man is known to have married two daughters of a prophet besides him,
may Allah be pleased with him and be pleased with him.
In the ninth year after the Hijrah,
'Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, was struck by tragedy once more
with the passing of his wife Um Kulthum,
and he grieved for her most deeply.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Marry 'Uthman off;
if I had a third daughter, I would surely have married her to him."
In the next episode, Allah willing,
we will learn about the most important achievements of 'Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him,
for the Muslims
and his service to this great religion.
Until that meeting,
we entrust you to Allah's care.
Peace be upon Abu Bakr,
Abu 'Ubaydah,
the two Sa'ds, and the Caliphs.