Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (96) - Othman bin Mazun, may God be pleased with him

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:15 The Mawaddah Association is pleased

0:17 to present to you portraits from the lives of the Companions,

0:21 by Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,

0:25 may Allah have mercy upon him.

0:30 Uthman ibn Maz'un, may Allah be pleased with him.

0:51 In the pre-Islamic era, the Arabs

0:53 believed that the entirety of life was found in a cup of wine,

0:57 with drinkers becoming intoxicated by its heat,

0:59 and a playful songstress whose beauty the admirers would enjoy,

1:04 and a raid upon the backs of purebred steeds,

1:07 through which the raiders would deem lawful what Allah has forbidden of people’s blood and wealth.

1:13 Yet Uthman ibn Maz'un, one of the sages of the Arabs in the pre-Islamic era,

1:18 believed that life had higher purposes than that,

1:22 and more noble goals.

1:24 For this reason, he forbade wine for himself,

1:28 and never knew its taste.

1:30 When asked about this, he said:

1:33 "Woe to you! Shall I drink something that takes away my intellect,

1:37 and causes those beneath me to laugh at me,

1:40 and makes me marry my daughter to someone I do not desire?

1:43 By Allah, I shall not taste it as long as I live."

1:47 When the Arabian Peninsula was illuminated by the light of Islam,

1:51 and Allah sent His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

1:55 with the religion of guidance and truth,

1:57 Uthman ibn Maz'un was among the first

2:00 to enter the religion of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.

2:03 For no more than twelve men had preceded him to this goodness.

2:08 Regarding the Islam of Uthman ibn Maz'un,

2:11 there is a story narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both.

2:15 He said: While the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

2:21 was sitting in the courtyard of his house in Makkah,

2:24 Uthman ibn Maz'un passed by him, paying no heed

2:28 or turning toward him.

2:30 The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to him:

2:33 "Will you not sit with me, O Abu al-Sa'ib?

2:36 Let us talk for a while."

2:38 He replied: "Yes."

2:39 Then he sat before him.

2:41 While he was speaking to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

2:46 he saw him fix his gaze toward the sky,

2:49 holding his vision there for a short time.

2:53 Then he began to lower his gaze to the earth, little by little,

2:58 until it settled there.

3:00 Then he began to turn away from his companion, Uthman ibn Maz'un,

3:04 until he reached the place where he had fixed his gaze.

3:08 Then he began to move his head,

3:10 as if he were asking about something being said to him.

3:13 All of this caused Uthman ibn Maz'un

3:16 to look at the Prophet, peace be upon him,

3:19 astonished by what he saw,

3:21 and bewildered by what had occurred.

3:23 When the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, appeared

3:27 as if he had comprehended everything that had been said to him,

3:30 he began to raise his gaze toward the sky, little by little,

3:34 as if he were following someone.

3:37 Then he fixed his gaze upon that which had vanished into the sky,

3:41 as if he were gazing at it and bidding it farewell.

3:44 Then he turned back to Uthman ibn Maz'un

3:47 with his gaze and his body,

3:49 just as he had been at the beginning.

3:51 At that, Uthman ibn Maz'un stared

3:54 at the face of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, for a long time,

3:59 and said: "O Muhammad,

4:02 I have sat with you often before this,

4:05 but I have never seen you act as you did today."

4:08 The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

4:11 "Did you notice that, O Uthman?"

4:14 He said: "Yes, I noticed it."

4:17 The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

4:20 "The Messenger of Allah, Jibril, came to me just now while I was sitting."

4:24 Uthman said:

4:26 "You say the Messenger of Allah?"

4:28 The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

4:31 "Yes."

4:32 He said: "And what did he say to you?"

4:35 He said: "He said to me:

4:39 “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)

4:45 and giving to relatives

4:49 “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)

4:57 He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.﴿"

5:01 Uthman said:

5:04 "He orders justice and good conduct,

5:06 and giving to relatives,

5:08 “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)

5:11 "How excellent is that which he has brought you!

5:14 For he has commanded the core of goodness,

5:16 and forbidden all the roots of evil."

5:19 Uthman said:

5:22 "No sooner had I heard what I heard from him,

5:24 than faith settled in my heart,

5:27 and Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, became

5:30 dearer to me than my own self and my children.

5:33 Then I submitted to the Lord of the worlds,

5:36 and my son al-Sa'ib accepted Islam with me,

5:38 as did my brothers Qudamah and Abdullah."

5:41 At first, the Quraysh did not object

5:44 to the Muslims' conversion to Islam.

5:46 When they saw Muhammad passing by them, they would do no more

5:50 than say in mockery:

5:52 "The boy of Banu Hashim speaks to the heavens,

5:56 and revelation descends upon him from there."

5:59 But when the Prophet, peace be upon him, criticized

6:02 the idols they worshipped instead of Allah,

6:06 and mentioned the destruction of their ancestors who died as disbelievers,

6:10 they became extremely angry,

6:13 and they kindled against the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

6:16 and his Companions the fires of enmity and hatred.

6:20 Every tribe pounced upon the Muslims within it,

6:24 and began to afflict them with severe hardship,

6:27 beating their bodies with whips,

6:30 branding their flesh with fire,

6:32 and throwing them onto the burning sands in the heat of Makkah,

6:36 to turn them away from their religion.

6:38 The Messenger, peace be upon him,

6:41 would see with his own eyes what was befalling his Companions,

6:44 and his heart would break with sorrow for them,

6:47 and anguish for what they were suffering.

6:49 He could do nothing but say to them:

6:52 "Be patient, be patient, for your appointment is in Paradise."

6:56 At that, the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, gave permission

7:01 to his Companions to migrate to Abyssinia.

7:04 A group of the believers departed for it,

7:07 leaving behind their families and homeland,

7:10 bidding farewell to their kin and dwellings,

7:13 fleeing with their religion to Allah.

7:16 Among the foremost of the emigrants

7:18 was Uthman ibn Maz'un,

7:20 along with his son and his two brothers.

7:22 Not much time had passed since the Muslims' migration to Abyssinia,

7:27 when false news reached them

7:30 that most of the Quraysh had entered the religion of Allah,

7:34 and believed in what was revealed to Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

7:39 So many of them returned to Makkah,

7:42 not knowing what trials fate had in store for them.

7:46 Among the foremost of those returning was Uthman ibn Maz'un.

7:51 No sooner had their feet touched the soil of Makkah

7:54 than the Quraysh met them with the same torture and persecution they had used when they left.

8:00 They inflicted upon them such harm and injury that they could not bear.

8:05 So Uthman ibn Maz'un entered into the protection of al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah,

8:09 the master of Banu Makhzum and one of the greatest leaders of the Quraysh,

8:13 and the father of the Sword of Allah, Khalid.

8:16 For he had some ancient, deep-rooted ties with him.

8:21 Uthman ibn Maz'un lived under the protection of al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah,

8:25 and found in his protection the utmost peace and security he could hope for.

8:30 Yet he was not content with this protection,

8:34 for it troubled his peaceful and secure life

8:38 that the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

8:42 was receiving the harm he was from the Quraysh,

8:45 and that his brothers in Allah were suffering from their oppression.

8:49 This caused him to accuse himself of selfishness, cowardice, and weak faith,

8:54 and he tossed and turned on the slow fire of a guilty conscience.

8:59 Let us leave Uthman ibn Maz'un to speak about this psychological crisis of his,

9:04 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,

9:11 while I was going and coming in safety under al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah,

9:16 I said to myself: 'Woe to you, O Ibn Maz'un!

9:20 You live safe and secure under the protection of a polytheist man,

9:25 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.

9:33 This is a great deficiency in your soul and a dangerous weakness in your faith.'

9:39 Then I walked to al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah and said to him:

9:43 'O Abu Abd Shams, you have fulfilled your covenant to me,

9:48 and I have found safety and security under your protection.

9:51 But I wish to return your protection to you.'

9:55 He said: 'Why, O son of my brother? Has someone from my people harmed you?'

10:02 I said: 'No, but I have preferred the protection of Allah over all other protection,

10:07 and I do not wish to seek protection from anyone other than Him.'

10:11 He said: 'If it must be so, then come with me to the mosque,

10:16 and return my protection to me before the assembly of the Quraysh,

10:20 just as I granted you protection before them.'

10:23 So we set out until we reached the mosque.

10:26 Al-Walid said: 'O people, this is Uthman ibn Maz'un,

10:31 he has come to return my protection to me.' I said: 'He speaks the truth.

10:35 I found him to be faithful and noble in his protection,

10:39 but I wanted not to seek protection from anyone other than Allah.'

10:42 So I returned his protection to him."

10:45 Uthman ibn Maz'un said:

10:47 "Then I left and passed by a gathering of the Quraysh,

10:50 in the center of which was Labid the poet,

10:53 who was reciting some of his poetry to the people, and they were listening.

10:57 Labid said:

10:59 'Indeed, everything except Allah is false.'

11:03 I said: 'You have spoken the truth.'

11:05 He continued, saying:

11:07 'And every blessing will inevitably perish.'

11:10 I said: 'You have lied.

11:12 The blessings of Paradise do not perish.'

11:15 Labid was enraged by this statement of mine and said:

11:19 'O people of Quraysh,

11:21 by Allah, your companion was never harmed before.

11:24 When did this happen among you?'

11:27 A man from the people said:

11:29 'This is a foolish man

11:31 from a group of fools

11:33 who have abandoned our gods and departed from our religion,

11:36 so do not let his words anger you.'

11:39 I turned to the man who had said what he said about us and our religion,

11:43 and I argued with him,

11:45 so he struck me a blow that caused my eye to bleed,

11:48 and I could no longer see with it.

11:50 Al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah was near me,

11:54 and he turned to me and said:

11:56 "O son of my brother, your eye,"

11:58 "By Allah, was surely in no need of what has befallen it."

12:02 I replied,

12:03 "Nay, by Allah,"

12:04 "My healthy eye is indeed in need of what has befallen its sister for the sake of Allah."

12:10 He said,

12:11 "Is that so, O son of my brother?"

12:13 "Then return to my protection if you wish."

12:15 I said,

12:17 "I will never trade the protection of Allah the Exalted for any other protection."

12:21 From that day on,

12:23 The persecution of the polytheists against 'Uthman ibn Maz'un began to intensify and grow harsh.

12:28 He and his kin became a target for the malice and brutality of Quraysh.

12:33 This is what compelled him to be among the vanguard of those migrating to Medina.

12:38 And there,

12:40 There he witnessed the Battle of Badr alongside the Messenger, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.

12:44 He, his son, and his brother all took part in it.

12:47 They displayed the most sincere and noble courage on its battlefield.

12:50 They fulfilled the duty they owed to Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him.

12:55 They emerged from it among the victorious and triumphant Muslims.

13:00 It was but a short time later,

13:02 That 'Uthman ibn Maz'un fell terminally ill and departed from this life.

13:09 When the news of his death reached the Messenger, peace be upon him,

13:14 He went to him, his heart filled with sorrow.

13:18 He lifted the shroud from his pure, radiant forehead,

13:22 And kissed him.

13:23 Then he leaned over him once more,

13:26 And kissed him a second time.

13:28 Then he leaned over him a third time,

13:30 And kissed him again.

13:32 Suddenly, the tears of the noble Prophet, peace be upon him,

13:36 Began to stream down his radiant, noble face.

13:40 And the Muslims who were present wept because of his weeping.

13:44 May Allah be pleased with the noble Companion 'Uthman ibn Maz'un and grant him satisfaction.

13:49 And may He make his abode and resting place in the highest reaches of 'Illiyyin.

13:53 For he chose the protection of Allah over all other protection.

14:01 Indeed, Ibn Maz'un chose the protection of Allah over all other protection.

Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (96) - Othman bin Mazun, may God be pleased with him

Transcript