Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 49 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (64) - Othman bin Affan, may God be pleased with him
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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The Mawaddah Association is pleased
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to present to you "Portraits from the Lives of the Companions"
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by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
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may Allah have mercy on him.
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'Uthman Ibn 'Affan,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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Truly, he is the Possessor of the Two Lights,
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the emigrant of the two migrations,
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and the husband of the two daughters:
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'Uthman Ibn 'Affan,
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may Allah be pleased with him and grant him contentment.
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'Uthman Ibn 'Affan,
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may Allah be pleased with him, stood at the very pinnacle
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of his people during the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah).
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He possessed immense prestige,
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abundant wealth,
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longstanding fortune and favor,
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profound humility,
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and intense modesty.
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His people loved him with the deepest and most sincere affection,
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to the extent that a woman of Quraysh
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would playfully dance with her small child,
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singing:
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"I love you, by the Merciful Lord,
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as Quraysh loves 'Uthman!"
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And when the light of Islam shone upon Mecca,
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'Uthman was among the foremost
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to seek illumination from its lamp.
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The story of the conversion of 'Uthman
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Ibn 'Affan to Islam
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is one that narrators still recount to this day.
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For when news reached him,
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during the pre-Islamic era,
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that Muhammad Ibn 'Abdullah
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had married his daughter Ruqayyah
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to her cousin 'Utbah Ibn Abi Lahab,
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he was filled with the deepest regret
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that he had not been the first to seek
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her hand,
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and that he had missed out on her noble character.
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So he entered upon his family laden with sorrow,
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and found in their presence
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his maternal aunt, Sa'da bint Kurayz.
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She was
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a resolute,
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wise woman of advanced
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years.
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She cheered him up
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and gave him glad tidings of the emergence of a Prophet
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who would abolish the worship of idols
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and call to the worship of the One,
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the Supreme Judge.
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She inspired in him a longing for the religion of that Prophet,
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and gave him good news that
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with him he would find what he sought.
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'Uthman said:
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"So I set out, pondering
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what my aunt had said.
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Then I met Abu Bakr
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and told him what she had conveyed to me.
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He said:
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'By Allah, your aunt has spoken the truth
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in what she told you,
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and she has brought you glad tidings of good, O 'Uthman!
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Truly, you are a man
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of intellect and resolve;
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truth is never hidden from you,
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nor do you ever confuse it with falsehood.'
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Then he asked me:
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'What are these idols
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that our people worship?
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Are they not merely stones—
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deaf, unable to hear
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or to see?'
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I replied, 'Indeed they are.'
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He said, 'What your aunt told you,
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O 'Uthman, has indeed come to pass!
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For Allah has sent
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His awaited Messenger,
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dispatching him to all mankind
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with the religion of guidance
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and truth.'
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I asked, 'And who is he?'
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He replied, 'He is Muhammad
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Ibn 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib.'
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I said, 'The Truthful,
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the Trustworthy?'
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Abu Bakr replied, 'Yes,
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it is indeed he!'
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I asked, 'Would you accompany me
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to him?' He answered,
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'Yes.' So we proceeded
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to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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When he saw me,
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he said: 'Respond,
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O 'Uthman, to the caller of Allah!
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For I am the Messenger of Allah
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to you specifically,
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and to all of Allah's creation generally.'
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'Uthman said:
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'By Allah, no sooner had I looked upon him
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with my own eyes and heard
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his words than my heart found peace
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with him, and I believed in his message.
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Then I testified
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that there is no god but Allah,
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and that Muhammad is His servant
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and His Messenger.'"
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None of the Prophet's people, peace and blessings
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of Allah be upon him, had believed in him
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up to that day;
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nevertheless, none among them
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openly showed him
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outright enmity,
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except for his uncle Abu Lahab.
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For he and his wife,
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Umm Jamil, were among the harshest
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of Quraysh toward him,
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the most violent in causing him harm,
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and the most cruel in persecuting him.
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So Allah revealed concerning him and
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his wife:
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"May the hands of
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Abu Lahab perish,
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and may he perish!
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His wealth and what he has earned will not avail him.
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He will burn in a fire of blazing flame,
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and his wife, the carrier of firewood..."
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“Will have upon her neck a halter of palm-fibre.” (111:5)
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Thereupon, Abu Lahab grew even more bitter in his malice
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against the Messenger, peace and blessings
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of Allah be upon him,
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and his hatred—as well as the hatred
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of his wife Umm Jamil—intensified against him
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and against the Muslims with him.
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So they ordered their son 'Utbah
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to divorce his wife,
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Ruqayyah, the daughter of Muhammad,
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peace and blessings be upon him.
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And he divorced her out of spite
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toward her father.
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Hardly had 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan,
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may Allah be pleased with him,
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heard the news of Ruqayyah's divorce,
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than he was overcome with immense joy.
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He hastened to seek her hand in marriage
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from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings
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of Allah be upon him.
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The noble Messenger,
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peace be upon him, married her to him,
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and the Mother of the Believers,
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Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, prepared her for the wedding.
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'Uthman was
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among the most handsome of Quraysh in appearance,
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and she matched him
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in grace and radiant beauty.
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Thus it was said of them
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on their wedding day:
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"The finest pair ever seen
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by any human being: Ruqayyah
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and her husband 'Uthman."
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Yet 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan was not spared—
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despite
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his prior merit and longstanding
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benevolence—from the harm of
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his people when he embraced Islam.
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For it grieved his paternal uncle, al-Hakam,
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that the young nobleman
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of Banu 'Abd Shams should abandon the religion of Quraysh,
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and he took it as a grave affront.
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So he and his followers confronted him
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with the fiercest
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and harshest opposition;
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he seized him, bound him
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tightly in fetters, and said:
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"Do you turn away from the faith of your fathers
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and grandfathers to enter
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an invented religion?
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By Allah, I will not let you go until
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you renounce what you have embraced!"
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But 'Uthman replied:
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"By Allah, I will never abandon my religion,
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nor will I ever separate from
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my Prophet as long as
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life remains within me!"
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His uncle al-Hakam continued to torment him,
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while 'Uthman only grew firmer
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in his steadfastness in his faith
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and his adherence to his creed,
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until his uncle finally despaired of breaking him,
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released him,
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and ceased his persecution.
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Yet Quraysh continued
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to harbor animosity toward him
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and subject him to relentless harm,
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until they drove him to flee
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with his religion and part from
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his Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
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Thus, he was the very first
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of the Muslims to migrate to Abyssinia,
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accompanied by his wife, Ruqayyah,
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may Allah be pleased with them both.
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When the time came for their departure,
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the Messenger bid them farewell,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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saying:
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"May Allah accompany 'Uthman and his wife,
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Ruqayyah;
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may Allah accompany 'Uthman and his wife,
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Ruqayyah!
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Truly, 'Uthman is the first to emigrate
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with his family after the Prophet of Allah,
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Lot." However, 'Uthman and his wife
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did not prolong their stay in
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Abyssinia as did
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other emigrants,
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for both he and Ruqayyah were overcome
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with intense longing for the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah
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be upon him, and a yearning
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for Mecca. So they returned
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to it and remained
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there until Allah granted permission
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to His Prophet, peace be upon him,
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and to the believers
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to emigrate to Medina.
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Thereupon, they set forth alongside the emigrants.
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'Uthman
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ibn 'Affan witnessed alongside the Messenger, peace
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and blessings be upon him, all of his major campaigns
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and attended
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every one of his battles,
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and he was not kept away from any campaign
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except the Battle of Badr.
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For he had been occupied
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with nursing his wife Ruqayyah,
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may Allah be pleased with her.
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When the noble Messenger,
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peace be upon him, returned from Badr,
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he found that Ruqayyah
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had already passed away into the presence of her Lord.
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He grieved over her
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most deeply,
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and consoled 'Uthman ibn 'Affan
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in his bereavement in the most generous manner:
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he counted him among the veterans of Badr,
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allotted him a share of its spoils,
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and wed him to his
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second daughter, Umm Kulthum.
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Because of this, people called him
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Dhu al-Nurayn (Possessor of the Two Lights).
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His second marriage to the daughter
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of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah
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be upon him, was a distinction
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attained by no other husband besides him;
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indeed, the history
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of prophethood has never known
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anyone to become the son-in-law of a prophet
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twice over, except
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for 'Uthman ibn 'Affan,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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The acceptance of Islam by 'Uthman,
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may Allah be pleased with him,
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was among the greatest blessings that
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Allah bestowed upon the Muslims,
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and one of the most abundant sources of good
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with which He reinforced Islam.
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No hardship ever befell the Muslims
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except that 'Uthman was the first
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to offer them solace and relief;
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and no crisis ever struck Islam
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except that Ibn 'Affan stood at the vanguard
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of dispelling it.
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When the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him,
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resolved upon the Expedition of
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Tabuk, his need
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for wealth was no less pressing
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than his need for men.
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The Roman army was vast
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in numbers and abundantly equipped,
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fighting upon
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its own home soil, whereas the Muslims
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faced a journey that was
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exceedingly long, with provisions that were
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meager and mounts that were
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fewer still.
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Moreover, they were enduring a severe drought,
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the likes of which the Arabian Peninsula
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had rarely witnessed.
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The Messenger, peace and blessings
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of Allah be upon him, was thus compelled to turn back
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a large number of them from joining the jihad,
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denying them the opportunity
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for martyrdom, simply because
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they possessed no mounts
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to carry them; so they turned away
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with their eyes overflowing
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with tears.
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Thereupon, the Messenger,
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peace and blessings be upon him, ascended
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the pulpit, praised Allah,
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and extolled Him as He deserved
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to be praised. Then he began
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urging the Muslims to give generously,
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heartening them with the promise of a magnificent reward.
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At that, 'Uthman
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ibn 'Affan stood up and said:
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"Mine are one hundred camels,
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fully equipped with their saddles and packframes,
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O Messenger of Allah!"
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The Messenger, peace and blessings
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of Allah be upon him, descended from the pulpit
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by one step, but then
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paused and began exhorting the people to give
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once again. 'Uthman
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ibn 'Affan rose a second time
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and said:
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"Mine are another one hundred camels,
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fully equipped with their saddles and packframes,
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O Messenger of Allah!"
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The face of the noble Messenger,
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peace be upon him, beamed
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with joy,
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and he stepped down another stair from the pulpit.
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Yet soon he paused once more
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and began urging the people to donate
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a third time.
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'Uthman ibn 'Affan stood up yet again
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and said: "[Mine are another hundred,]
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fully equipped with their saddles and packframes,
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O Messenger of Allah!"
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At that moment,
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the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him,
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began gesturing with his noble hand
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in sheer satisfaction with what
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'Uthman ibn 'Affan had done,
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saying: "Nothing can harm 'Uthman,
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whatever he does after this day!
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Nothing can harm 'Uthman,
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whatever he does after this day!"
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Furthermore, no sooner had the Messenger, peace
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and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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stepped down from his pulpit,
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than 'Uthman ibn 'Affan hurried off
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to his home
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and dispatched to him, alongside the camels,
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a thousand gold dinars.
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When the dinars were poured
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into the lap of the noble Messenger,
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upon whom be the highest blessings
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and purest peace,
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he began turning them over with his pure hands,
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top over bottom
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and bottom over top,
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while saying:
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"May Allah forgive you, O 'Uthman,
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for whatever you have kept secret and whatever you have made public,
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for whatever has come from you and whatever shall come to pass,
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until the Hour is established!"
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During the caliphate of al-Faruq,
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may Allah be pleased with him,
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the people were struck by
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a year of devastating drought that ruined
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crops and livestock alike,
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such that, owing to its severe famine,
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it came to be known as the Year of the Ashes.
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The distress
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continued to intensify for the people,
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until their souls
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reached their throats.
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One morning, they came before 'Umar
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and said: "O Successor of
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the Messenger of Allah!
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The sky has withheld its rain,
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the earth has yielded no vegetation,
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and the people are on the very brink of ruin.
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What, then, shall we do?"
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'Umar looked at them
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with a face deeply wrung
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by grief and sorrow, and said:
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"Be patient and seek Allah's reward,
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for I truly hope that you will not see evening
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before Allah grants you relief."
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Towards the end
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of the day, news arrived
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that a caravan belonging to 'Uthman
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ibn 'Affan had come from the Levant,
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and that it would reach
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Medina by morning.
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No sooner was the Fajr prayer concluded
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than the people rushed out
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to meet the caravan, gathering group
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after group,
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and the merchants set out to receive it.
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It was a train of one thousand camels,
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laden with wheat,
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along with olive oil and raisins.
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The caravan knelt at the door
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of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, may Allah be pleased with him,
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and the servants began
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unloading its cargo.
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The merchants then came in
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to 'Uthman and said,
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"Sell us what has arrived to you, O
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Abu 'Amr."
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He replied, "With great pleasure,
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but how much profit will you give me
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over my purchase price?"
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They said, "We will give you two dirhams
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for every dirham."
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He said, "I have been offered more than this."
14:40
So they increased their offer,
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but he said, "I have been offered
14:44
more than what you have added."
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They raised it further,
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yet he said, "I have been offered more
14:50
than this."
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They said, "O Abu 'Amr,
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there are no merchants in Medina
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besides us, and no one
14:58
has preceded us to you!
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Who, then, has offered you more
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than what we offered?"
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He said, "Allah
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has granted me ten for every dirham!
15:08
Can you offer more than that?"
15:10
They said, "No,
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O Abu 'Amr."
15:14
He said, "Then I call Allah,
15:16
the Exalted, to witness that I have dedicated
15:18
whatever this caravan carried
15:20
as charity for the poor of the Muslims.
15:22
I desire
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neither a dirham nor a dinar from anyone;
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I seek only
15:28
Allah's reward and His pleasure."
15:30
When the caliphate passed
15:32
to 'Uthman ibn 'Affan,
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may Allah be pleased with him, Allah opened
15:36
through his hands Armenia,
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the Caucasus, and granted victory
15:40
to the Muslims, giving them mastery over
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Khorasan, Kirman,
15:44
Sijistan, Cyprus,
15:46
and a considerable portion
15:48
of North Africa.
15:51
During his reign, the people enjoyed such prosperity
15:53
as had never been attained
15:55
by any nation on the face of the earth.
15:57
Al-Hasan al-Basri,
15:59
may Allah be pleased with him, recounted the blessings
16:01
the people enjoyed under the reign of Dhu al-Nurayn—
16:03
of abundant prosperity, luxurious
16:05
living, and the overwhelming bliss
16:07
and tranquility they experienced.
16:09
He said,
16:11
"I saw the crier of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan,
16:13
may Allah be pleased with him, calling out,
16:15
saying,
16:17
'O people, come forth early to receive
16:19
your stipends!'
16:21
And the people would go early
16:23
and take them in full.
16:25
Then he would call out and say,
16:27
'O people,
16:29
come and collect your food provisions!'
16:31
And they would come and collect them,
16:33
being given them in bountiful
16:35
and complete measure.
16:37
By Allah, my own two ears
16:39
heard him say,
16:41
'Come forth early to receive your garments!'
16:43
And they would receive ample,
16:45
flowing robes.
16:47
And he used to say,
16:49
'Come partake of clarified butter and honey as well!' Nor is this surprising,
16:51
for provisions during
16:53
'Uthman's reign flowed continuously,
16:55
goodness was abundant,
16:57
mutual relations were harmonious,
16:59
and there was not a single believer
17:01
on the face of the earth
17:03
who was fearful.
17:05
Rather, a Muslim
17:07
was friendly toward his fellow Muslim,
17:09
loving him and supporting him.
17:11
Yet some people,
17:13
when they are sated, become insolent,
17:15
and when Allah blesses them,
17:17
they are ungrateful.
17:19
Thus, these people found fault with 'Uthman
17:21
over matters for which, had anyone else done them,
17:23
they would never have blamed him.
17:25
Nor were they content merely with finding fault—
17:27
for had they
17:29
stopped at that, the matter would have been trivial.
17:31
But Satan continued
17:33
breathing his malice into their souls
17:35
and spreading his evil
17:37
within their hearts,
17:39
until a large mob
17:41
of the rabble of the garrison towns
17:43
rallied against him.
17:45
They besieged him in his home for about
17:47
forty nights,
17:49
depriving him of fresh water.
17:51
These tyrannical
17:53
oppressors had forgotten
17:55
that he was the one who bought the well of Rumah
17:57
from his own wealth
17:59
so that the inhabitants of Medina,
18:01
its residents, and its visitors could drink from it,
18:03
when prior to that they had no
18:05
fresh water to quench
18:07
their thirst. Moreover,
18:09
they barred him
18:11
from praying in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah,
18:13
peace and blessings of Allah
18:15
be upon him. These people turned a blind eye
18:17
to the fact
18:19
that Dhu al-Nurayn was the one who expanded
18:21
the second of the Two Holy Sanctuaries solely
18:23
from his own wealth, to accommodate
18:25
the Muslims after it had become
18:27
too constrained for them.
18:29
The distress intensified for 'Uthman,
18:31
and the evil grew grave against him.
18:33
About seven hundred of
18:35
the Companions and their sons
18:37
rushed to his defense,
18:39
among them 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar
18:41
ibn al-Khattab,
18:43
'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam,
18:45
al-Hasan and al-Husayn,
18:47
the sons of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
18:49
Abu Hurayrah,
18:51
and many, many others.
18:53
But 'Uthman, the possessor of the two lights,
18:55
the veteran of the two migrations,
18:57
and the bestower of charity,
18:59
preferred that his own blood be shed
19:01
rather than the blood of Muslims
19:03
being spilt in his defense.
19:05
He preferred to lose
19:07
his own life rather than having
19:09
the Muslims fight one another over him.
19:11
So he adjured those who had rushed
19:13
to protect him to leave him
19:15
to the decree of Allah.
19:17
He said to them, "I adjure
19:19
everyone over whom I have a right
19:21
to stay his hand."
19:23
And he said to his slaves, "Whoever
19:25
sheathes his sword is a free man."
19:27
Then the eyes of the successor
19:29
of the Messenger of Allah,
19:31
peace be upon him,
19:33
slumbered for a few moments shortly before his assassination,
19:35
and he saw the noble Prophet,
19:37
upon him be the best of prayers
19:39
and the purest blessings,
19:41
accompanied by his two companions, Abu Bakr
19:43
al-Siddiq and 'Umar ibn al-Khattab.
19:45
And he heard the Messenger,
19:47
peace be upon him,
19:49
saying to him,
19:51
"Break your fast with us tonight, O 'Uthman."
19:53
Thereupon, 'Uthman knew with certainty that
19:55
he was about to join his Lord
19:57
and meet his Prophet.
19:59
In the morning, 'Uthman,
20:01
may Allah be pleased with him, was fasting,
20:03
and he asked for a pair of long trousers
20:05
and put them on,
20:07
lest his nakedness be exposed
20:09
when the murderous sinners
20:11
killed him.
20:14
And on Friday,
20:16
when eighteen nights
20:18
had passed of Dhu al-Hijjah,
20:20
the devout worshipper and ascetic,
20:22
who spent his nights in prayer and days in fasting,
20:24
the compiler of the Noble Qur'an,
20:26
the son-in-law of the Messenger of Allah,
20:28
peace be upon him, was slain.
20:30
Thus he returned to the proximity
20:32
of his Lord while thirsty and fasting,
20:34
with the Book of Allah
20:36
spread open before him.
20:38
It is sufficient solace for the Muslims
20:40
that there was not
20:42
among the killers of 'Uthman, may Allah's good pleasure
20:44
and mercies be upon him, a single Companion
20:46
nor the son of a Companion,
20:48
except for a single man
20:50
who had initially joined the tyrannical rebels
20:52
at the very beginning,
20:54
but then felt ashamed and drew back.
20:56
Indeed, the history of prophethood
21:00
has never known anyone
21:02
to marry two daughters of a prophet
21:04
other than 'Uthman
21:06
Ibn 'Affan,
21:08
may Allah be pleased with him.