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 upon him.
Uthman ibn Maz'un, may Allah be pleased with him.
In the pre-Islamic era, the Arabs
believed that the entirety of life was found in a cup of wine,
with drinkers becoming intoxicated by its heat,
and a playful songstress whose beauty the admirers would enjoy,
and a raid upon the backs of purebred steeds,
through which the raiders would deem lawful what Allah has forbidden of people’s blood and wealth.
Yet Uthman ibn Maz'un, one of the sages of the Arabs in the pre-Islamic era,
believed that life had higher purposes than that,
and more noble goals.
For this reason, he forbade wine for himself,
and never knew its taste.
When asked about this, he said:
"Woe to you! Shall I drink something that takes away my intellect,
and causes those beneath me to laugh at me,
and makes me marry my daughter to someone I do not desire?
By Allah, I shall not taste it as long as I live."
When the Arabian Peninsula was illuminated by the light of Islam,
and Allah sent His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
with the religion of guidance and truth,
Uthman ibn Maz'un was among the first
to enter the religion of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.
For no more than twelve men had preceded him to this goodness.
Regarding the Islam of Uthman ibn Maz'un,
there is a story narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both.
He said: While the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
was sitting in the courtyard of his house in Makkah,
Uthman ibn Maz'un passed by him, paying no heed
or turning toward him.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to him:
"Will you not sit with me, O Abu al-Sa'ib?
Let us talk for a while."
He replied: "Yes."
Then he sat before him.
While he was speaking to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
he saw him fix his gaze toward the sky,
holding his vision there for a short time.
Then he began to lower his gaze to the earth, little by little,
until it settled there.
Then he began to turn away from his companion, Uthman ibn Maz'un,
until he reached the place where he had fixed his gaze.
Then he began to move his head,
as if he were asking about something being said to him.
All of this caused Uthman ibn Maz'un
to look at the Prophet, peace be upon him,
astonished by what he saw,
and bewildered by what had occurred.
When the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, appeared
as if he had comprehended everything that had been said to him,
he began to raise his gaze toward the sky, little by little,
as if he were following someone.
Then he fixed his gaze upon that which had vanished into the sky,
as if he were gazing at it and bidding it farewell.
Then he turned back to Uthman ibn Maz'un
with his gaze and his body,
just as he had been at the beginning.
At that, Uthman ibn Maz'un stared
at the face of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, for a long time,
and said: "O Muhammad,
I have sat with you often before this,
but I have never seen you act as you did today."
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Did you notice that, O Uthman?"
He said: "Yes, I noticed it."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
"The Messenger of Allah, Jibril, came to me just now while I was sitting."
Uthman said:
"You say the Messenger of Allah?"
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Yes."
He said: "And what did he say to you?"
He said: "He said to me:
“Lo! Allah enjoineth justice and kindness, and giving to kinsfolk, and forbiddeth lewdness and abomination and wickedness. He exhorteth you in order that ye may take heed.” (16:90)
and giving to relatives
“Lo! Allah enjoineth justice and kindness, and giving to kinsfolk, and forbiddeth lewdness and abomination and wickedness. He exhorteth you in order that ye may take heed.” (16:90)
He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.﴿"
Uthman said:
"He orders justice and good conduct,
and giving to relatives,
“Lo! Allah enjoineth justice and kindness, and giving to kinsfolk, and forbiddeth lewdness and abomination and wickedness. He exhorteth you in order that ye may take heed.” (16:90)
"How excellent is that which he has brought you!
For he has commanded the core of goodness,
and forbidden all the roots of evil."
Uthman said:
"No sooner had I heard what I heard from him,
than faith settled in my heart,
and Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, became
dearer to me than my own self and my children.
Then I submitted to the Lord of the worlds,
and my son al-Sa'ib accepted Islam with me,
as did my brothers Qudamah and Abdullah."
At first, the Quraysh did not object
to the Muslims' conversion to Islam.
When they saw Muhammad passing by them, they would do no more
than say in mockery:
"The boy of Banu Hashim speaks to the heavens,
and revelation descends upon him from there."
But when the Prophet, peace be upon him, criticized
the idols they worshipped instead of Allah,
and mentioned the destruction of their ancestors who died as disbelievers,
they became extremely angry,
and they kindled against the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and his Companions the fires of enmity and hatred.
Every tribe pounced upon the Muslims within it,
and began to afflict them with severe hardship,
beating their bodies with whips,
branding their flesh with fire,
and throwing them onto the burning sands in the heat of Makkah,
to turn them away from their religion.
The Messenger, peace be upon him,
would see with his own eyes what was befalling his Companions,
and his heart would break with sorrow for them,
and anguish for what they were suffering.
He could do nothing but say to them:
"Be patient, be patient, for your appointment is in Paradise."
At that, the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, gave permission
to his Companions to migrate to Abyssinia.
A group of the believers departed for it,
leaving behind their families and homeland,
bidding farewell to their kin and dwellings,
fleeing with their religion to Allah.
Among the foremost of the emigrants
was Uthman ibn Maz'un,
along with his son and his two brothers.
Not much time had passed since the Muslims' migration to Abyssinia,
when false news reached them
that most of the Quraysh had entered the religion of Allah,
and believed in what was revealed to Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
So many of them returned to Makkah,
not knowing what trials fate had in store for them.
Among the foremost of those returning was Uthman ibn Maz'un.
No sooner had their feet touched the soil of Makkah
than the Quraysh met them with the same torture and persecution they had used when they left.
They inflicted upon them such harm and injury that they could not bear.
So Uthman ibn Maz'un entered into the protection of al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah,
the master of Banu Makhzum and one of the greatest leaders of the Quraysh,
and the father of the Sword of Allah, Khalid.
For he had some ancient, deep-rooted ties with him.
Uthman ibn Maz'un lived under the protection of al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah,
and found in his protection the utmost peace and security he could hope for.
Yet he was not content with this protection,
for it troubled his peaceful and secure life
that the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
was receiving the harm he was from the Quraysh,
and that his brothers in Allah were suffering from their oppression.
This caused him to accuse himself of selfishness, cowardice, and weak faith,
and he tossed and turned on the slow fire of a guilty conscience.
Let us leave Uthman ibn Maz'un to speak about this psychological crisis of his,
as he said: "When I saw the affliction the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, were in,
while I was going and coming in safety under al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah,
I said to myself: 'Woe to you, O Ibn Maz'un!
You live safe and secure under the protection of a polytheist man,
while the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his Companions are suffering such affliction and harm for the sake of Allah that you are not experiencing.
This is a great deficiency in your soul and a dangerous weakness in your faith.'
Then I walked to al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah and said to him:
'O Abu Abd Shams, you have fulfilled your covenant to me,
and I have found safety and security under your protection.
But I wish to return your protection to you.'
He said: 'Why, O son of my brother? Has someone from my people harmed you?'
I said: 'No, but I have preferred the protection of Allah over all other protection,
and I do not wish to seek protection from anyone other than Him.'
He said: 'If it must be so, then come with me to the mosque,
and return my protection to me before the assembly of the Quraysh,
just as I granted you protection before them.'
So we set out until we reached the mosque.
Al-Walid said: 'O people, this is Uthman ibn Maz'un,
he has come to return my protection to me.' I said: 'He speaks the truth.
I found him to be faithful and noble in his protection,
but I wanted not to seek protection from anyone other than Allah.'
So I returned his protection to him."
Uthman ibn Maz'un said:
"Then I left and passed by a gathering of the Quraysh,
in the center of which was Labid the poet,
who was reciting some of his poetry to the people, and they were listening.
Labid said:
'Indeed, everything except Allah is false.'
I said: 'You have spoken the truth.'
He continued, saying:
'And every blessing will inevitably perish.'
I said: 'You have lied.
The blessings of Paradise do not perish.'
Labid was enraged by this statement of mine and said:
'O people of Quraysh,
by Allah, your companion was never harmed before.
When did this happen among you?'
A man from the people said:
'This is a foolish man
from a group of fools
who have abandoned our gods and departed from our religion,
so do not let his words anger you.'
I turned to the man who had said what he said about us and our religion,
and I argued with him,
so he struck me a blow that caused my eye to bleed,
and I could no longer see with it.
Al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah was near me,
and he turned to me and said:
"O son of my brother, your eye,"
"By Allah, was surely in no need of what has befallen it."
I replied,
"Nay, by Allah,"
"My healthy eye is indeed in need of what has befallen its sister for the sake of Allah."
He said,
"Is that so, O son of my brother?"
"Then return to my protection if you wish."
I said,
"I will never trade the protection of Allah the Exalted for any other protection."
From that day on,
The persecution of the polytheists against 'Uthman ibn Maz'un began to intensify and grow harsh.
He and his kin became a target for the malice and brutality of Quraysh.
This is what compelled him to be among the vanguard of those migrating to Medina.
And there,
There he witnessed the Battle of Badr alongside the Messenger, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.
He, his son, and his brother all took part in it.
They displayed the most sincere and noble courage on its battlefield.
They fulfilled the duty they owed to Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him.
They emerged from it among the victorious and triumphant Muslims.
It was but a short time later,
That 'Uthman ibn Maz'un fell terminally ill and departed from this life.
When the news of his death reached the Messenger, peace be upon him,
He went to him, his heart filled with sorrow.
He lifted the shroud from his pure, radiant forehead,
And kissed him.
Then he leaned over him once more,
And kissed him a second time.
Then he leaned over him a third time,
And kissed him again.
Suddenly, the tears of the noble Prophet, peace be upon him,
Began to stream down his radiant, noble face.
And the Muslims who were present wept because of his weeping.
May Allah be pleased with the noble Companion 'Uthman ibn Maz'un and grant him satisfaction.
And may He make his abode and resting place in the highest reaches of 'Illiyyin.
For he chose the protection of Allah over all other protection.
Indeed, Ibn Maz'un chose the protection of Allah over all other protection.