WEBVTT

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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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Mawaddah Association

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presents:

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The Ten Promised Paradise

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Uthman ibn Affan,

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may Allah be pleased with him.

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Loving the Companions and the Prophet's kin is an established Sunnah,

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which I shall present to my Lord when He resurrects me.

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Love for the Companions and the Prophet's kin—

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indeed, he was the foremost youth of Quraysh,

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its revered nobleman,

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possessing inherently noble manners,

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boasting high lineage among his people,

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and beloved by all his clan.

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Even women from Quraysh,

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when bouncing their young children, would say:

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"By the Most Merciful, I love you

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as Quraysh loves Uthman!"

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So who was this Uthman?

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He was Uthman ibn Affan,

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son of Abi al-As, son of Umayyah,

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son of Abd Shams,

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son of Abd Manaf, son of Qusay.

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Thus, he belonged to Banu Umayyah

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and met in lineage with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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at his fourth grandfather, Abd Manaf.

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Therefore, he is the closest of the Ten Promised Paradise

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in lineage to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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after Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.

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Uthman's mother was Arwa bint Kurayz,

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and Arwa's mother was Umm Hakim al-Bayda',

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daughter of Abd al-Muttalib,

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the twin sister of Abdullah,

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father of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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Thus, Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him,

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was the son of the Prophet's maternal first cousin.

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He was therefore among his relatives, peace be upon him,

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on both his father's and mother's sides.

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Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, was born in Makkah

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in the sixth year after the Year of the Elephant,

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and grew up amidst its mountains and valleys,

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within the embrace of its Ancient House.

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If you saw Uthman,

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you saw a man endowed with a striking beauty that delighted the onlooker.

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He had a handsome face, a full beard,

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and was of medium height,

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neither tall nor short.

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He had broad shoulders,

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a wide chest,

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a fair complexion tinged with tan,

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smooth skin,

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dense hair on his forearms and legs,

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and the hair of his head reached below his ears.

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Abdullah ibn Hazm al-Mazini said of him:

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"I never saw a face more handsome than his."

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During the days of Jahiliyyah, may Allah be pleased with him, he was

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among the finest of his people.

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He possessed vast influence, wealth,

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extreme modesty,

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and gentle speech.

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His people loved him immensely and held him in deep veneration.

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He never prostrated to an idol in Jahiliyyah,

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nor did he ever commit an indecency.

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He never drank wine before Islam,

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and used to say:

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"It deprives one of reason,

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and reason is the noblest gift Allah has bestowed upon man;

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a person ought to elevate it,

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not suppress it."

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He said of himself:

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"I never sang, nor wished for vanity,

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nor touched my private parts with my right hand

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since I swore allegiance with it to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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I never drank wine in Jahiliyyah nor in Islam,

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nor did I ever commit adultery in Jahiliyyah nor in Islam."

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He, may Allah be pleased with him, possessed extensive knowledge of Arab lore in Jahiliyyah,

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including genealogies, proverbs, and historical tribal battles.

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He traveled widely across the land,

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journeying to the Levant and Abyssinia,

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and mingled with non-Arab peoples,

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learning about their affairs and customs in ways others did not.

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He focused on his trade, which he inherited from his father,

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and his wealth grew

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until he became one of the prominent figures of Banu Umayyah

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who held a revered standing in Quraysh.

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These qualities are sufficient to draw a person close to goodness,

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entering its doors without hesitation.

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So how could it be otherwise for Uthman ibn Affan,

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who was a close companion and beloved, intimate friend

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of Abu Bakr?

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One day, Abu Bakr came to him

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after the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was commissioned with prophecy,

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when Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, had joined him,

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along with a small group no larger than the fingers of one hand.

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Al-Siddiq said to him:

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"Woe to you, O Uthman!

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By Allah, you are a prudent man

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who cannot fail to distinguish truth from falsehood.

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These idols that your people worship—

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are they not deaf stones

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that neither hear nor see,

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nor harm nor benefit?"

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Uthman replied:

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"Indeed, by Allah, they are so!"

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Abu Bakr said:

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"This is Muhammad ibn Abdullah,

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whom Allah has sent with His message to all His creation.

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Will you not go to him and listen to him?"

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He replied: "Yes."

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So they both went to him,

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and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

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"O Uthman,

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respond to Allah's call to His Paradise,

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for I am Allah's Messenger to you and to all His creation."

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Uthman said:

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"By Allah, no sooner did I hear his words than I embraced Islam,

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testifying that there is no god but Allah, alone without partner,

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and that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger."

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Uthman was just past thirty-four years of age

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when Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, invited him to Islam;

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thus, he was among the early pioneers.

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Abu Ishaq,

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the biographer, said:

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"Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, was the first person to accept Islam

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after Abu Bakr, Ali, and Zayd ibn Harithah."

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He was, therefore, the fourth man to embrace Islam.

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Perhaps this early conversion to Islam

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was inspired by an incident that occurred upon his return from the Levant.

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Uthman related:

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"O Messenger of Allah,

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I had recently arrived from the Levant,

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and while we were between Mu'an and al-Zarqa',

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resting as if asleep,

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a caller suddenly cried out to us:

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'O sleepers, awake!

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For Ahmad has appeared in Makkah.'

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So when we arrived, we heard news of you."

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Faith shone brightly in Uthman's pure heart,

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which Jahiliyyah had never defiled with its idols and impurities.

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Yet how could this light abide without being tested?

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People's love for Uthman turned into hatred,

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and their affection into enmity.

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Among his most fierce persecutors

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was his uncle, al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As,

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who seized him and bound him tightly with ropes,

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saying:

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"Do you renounce the creed of your forefathers for a newly invented religion?

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By Allah, I will never untie you

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until you renounce this religion of yours!"

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Uthman replied:

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"By Allah, I will never renounce it, nor shall I ever abandon it!"

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His uncle used to wrap him in a mat of palm leaves

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and light a fire beneath him,

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causing smoke to billow up

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until Uthman was on the verge of suffocation and death,

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all while demanding that he renounce his faith,

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yet Uthman only grew firmer and more resolute in it.

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When his uncle despaired of breaking him,

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he abandoned him and left him alone.

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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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had previously married his daughter Ruqayyah

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to Utbah, the son of his uncle Abu Lahab,

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and married her sister Umm Kulthum

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to Utaybah, the son of Abu Lahab.

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When Surah al-Masad was revealed,

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Abu Lahab said to his two sons, Utbah and Utaybah:

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"My head is forbidden from yours

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unless you divorce the daughters of Muhammad!"

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Their mother—

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the carrier of firewood—also said to them:

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"Part from the daughters of Muhammad,

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for they have abandoned their ancestral faith."

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So they divorced them before consummating the marriages,

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an honor bestowed by Allah Almighty upon the two daughters

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and a humiliation for the sons of Abu Lahab.

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No sooner had Uthman ibn Affan, may Allah be pleased with him,

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heard the news of Ruqayyah's divorce

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than he was overjoyed.

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He hastened to ask for her hand from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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who married her to him, peace be upon him.

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The Mother of the Believers, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, may Allah be pleased with her, escorted her in the bridal procession.

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Uthman was among the most handsome men of Quraysh in appearance,

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and she matched him in grace and beauty;

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thus, when she was led to him, it was said of them:

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"The finest couple ever seen by human eyes

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are Ruqayyah and her husband, Uthman!"

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The fruit of this blessed marriage was that

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Allah granted them a beautiful, striking boy,

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whom he named Abdullah,

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and after whom Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, took his agnomen (Kunya).

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However, this young boy did not live long with his parents,

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as a rooster pecked him in his eye

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when he reached six years of age,

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causing the boy to fall ill and pass away.

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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, entered upon them one day

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while Ruqayyah was washing Uthman's hair,

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and he said: "O my daughter, treat Abu Abdullah well,

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for he is the most similar of my Companions to me in character."

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Persecution by Quraysh against the Muslims intensified,

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including against the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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So the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, gave them permission

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to migrate to Abyssinia.

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'Uthman and his wife Ruqayyah, may Allah be pleased with them both, were

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among the very first to migrate to Abyssinia.

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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said regarding them:

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"May Allah accompany them both;

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'Uthman is indeed the first to migrate for the sake of Allah with his family

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since Lot, peace be upon him."

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Before long, 'Uthman and his wife returned along with those who returned,

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after rumors had spread that the people of Makkah had accepted Islam.

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However, the situation was quite the opposite,

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so they both returned, may Allah be pleased with them, to Abyssinia once more.

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Later, they returned to Makkah

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and stayed there

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until Allah decreed for them the migration to Madinah.

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Thus, they were among those who undertook both migrations, may Allah be pleased with them both.

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In Madinah,

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his loving wife, Ruqayyah, fell ill

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just as the Muslims were setting out for the Battle of Badr.

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So the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, commanded him

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to remain behind at his wife's side to care for her.

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On the very day the Muslims returned from Badr,

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victorious and overjoyed,

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shocking news suddenly met them in Madinah:

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the passing of Ruqayyah, may Allah be pleased with her,

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the daughter of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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and the wife of 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan, may Allah be pleased with him.

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Sorrow enveloped Madinah in general,

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and 'Uthman in particular, may Allah be pleased with him,

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over the loss of his wife

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and the severance of his familial bond by marriage to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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Then the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, met him

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near the door of the mosque

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and said, "O 'Uthman, this is Gabriel;

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he has informed me that Allah has commanded me

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to marry Um Kulthum to you

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for a dowry equal to Ruqayyah's,

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and upon the same terms of companionship."

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And the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

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"I did not marry Um Kulthum to 'Uthman

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except through divine revelation from the heavens."

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Delight and joy returned

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to his face once again,

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and happiness entered his home

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with the entrance of Um Kulthum, may Allah be pleased with her.

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Thus, 'Uthman was given the title "Dhu al-Nurayn" (Possessor of the Two Lights)

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for marrying two daughters of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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No other man is known to have married two daughters of a prophet besides him,

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may Allah be pleased with him and be pleased with him.

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In the ninth year after the Hijrah,

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'Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, was struck by tragedy once more

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with the passing of his wife Um Kulthum,

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and he grieved for her most deeply.

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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

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"Marry 'Uthman off;

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if I had a third daughter, I would surely have married her to him."

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In the next episode, Allah willing,

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we will learn about the most important achievements of 'Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him,

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for the Muslims

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and his service to this great religion.

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Until that meeting,

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we entrust you to Allah's care.

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Peace be upon Abu Bakr,

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Abu 'Ubaydah,

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the two Sa'ds, and the Caliphs.