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"Every
Prophet has an assistant, and my
assistant will be Uthman." (Hadith)
Uthman's
Election
When 'Umar
fell under the assassin's dagger, before
he died the people asked him to nominate
his successor. 'Umar appointed a
committee consisting of six of the ten
companions of the Prophet (peace be on
him) about whom the Prophet had said,
"They are the people of
Heaven" - Ali, Uthman, Abdul Rahman,
Sa'ad, Al-Zubayr and Talha - to select
the next Caliph from among themselves.
He also outlined the procedure to be
followed if any differences of opinion
should arise. Abdul Rahman withdrew his
name. He was then authorized by the
committee to nominate the Caliph. After
two days of discussion among the
candidates and after the opinions of the
Muslims in Medina had been ascertained,
the choice was finally limited to Uthman
and Ali. Abdul Rahman came to the mosque
together with other Muslims, and after a
brief speech and questioning of the two
men, swore allegiance to Uthman. All
those present did the same, and Uthman
became the third Caliph of Islam in the
month of Muharram, 24 A.H.
Uthman's
Life
Uthman
bin Affan was born seven years after the
Holy Prophet (peace be on him). He
belonged to the Omayyad branch of the
Quraish tribe. He learned to read and
write at an early age, and as a young
man became a successful merchant. Even
before Islam Uthman had been noted for
his truthfulness and integrity. He and
Abu Bakr were close friends, and it was
Abu Bakr who brought him to Islam when
he was thirty-four years of age. Some
years later he married the Prophet's
second daughter, Ruqayya. In spite of
his wealth and position, his relatives
subjected him to torture because he had
embraced Islam, and he was forced to
emigrate to Abyssinia. Some time later
he returned to Mecca but soon migrated
to Medina with the other Muslims. In
Medina his business again began to
flourish and he regained his former
prosperity. Uthman's generosity had no
limits. On various occasions he spent a
great portion of his wealth for the
welfare of the Muslims, for charity and
for equipping the Muslim armies. That is
why he came to be known as 'Ghani'
meaning 'Generous.'
Uthman's
wife, Ruqayya was seriously ill just
before the Battle of Badr and he was
excused by the Prophet (peace be on him)
from participating in the battle. The
illness Ruqayya proved fatal, leaving
Uthman deeply grieved. The Prophet was
moved and offered Uthman the hand of
another of his daughters, Kulthum.
Because he had the high privilege of
having two daughters of the Prophet as
wives Uthman was known as 'The Possessor
of the Two Lights. '
Uthman
participated in the Battles of Uhud and
the Trench. After the encounter of the
Trench, the Prophet (peace be on him)
determined to perform Hajj and sent
Uthman as his emissary to the Quraish in
Mecca, who detained him. The episode
ended in a treaty with the Meccans known
as the Treaty of Hudaibiya.
The
portrait we have of Uthman is of an
unassuming, honest, mild, generous and
very kindly man, noted especially for
his modesty and his piety. He often
spent part of the night in prayer,
fasted every second or third day,
performed hajj every year, and looked
after the needy of the whole community.
In spite of his wealth, he lived very
simply and slept on bare sand in the
courtyard of the Prophet's mosque.
Uthman knew the Qur'an from memory and
had an intimate knowledge of the context
and circumstances relating to each
verse.
Uthman's
Caliphate
During
Uthman's rule the characteristics of Abu
Bakr's and Umar's caliphates - impartial
justice for all, mild and humane
policies, striving in the path of God,
and the expansion of Islam - continued.
Uthman's realm extended in the west to
Morocco, in the east to Afghanistan, and
in the north to Armenia and Azerbaijan.
During his caliphate a navy was
organized, administrative divisions of
the state were revised, and many public
projects were expanded and completed.
Uthman sent prominent Companions of the
Prophet (peace be on him) as his
personal deputies to various provinces
to scrutinize the conduct of officials
and the condition of the people.
Uthman's
most notable contribution to the
religion of God was the compilation of a
complete and authoritative text of the
Qur'an. A large number of copies of this
text were made and distributed all over
the Muslim world.
Uthman
ruled for twelve years. The first six
years were marked by internal peace and
tranquility, but during the second half
of his caliphate a rebellion arose. The
Jews and the Magians, taking advantage
of dissatisfaction among the people,
began conspiring against Uthman, and by
publicly airing their complaints and
grievances, gained so much sympathy that
it became difficult to distinguish
friend from foe.
It may
seem surprising that a ruler of such
vast territories, whose armies were
matchless, was unable to deal with these
rebels. If Uthman had wished, the
rebellion could have been crushed at the
very moment it began. But he was
reluctant to be the first to shed the
blood of Muslims, however rebellious
they might be. He preferred to reason
with them, to persuade them with
kindness and generosity. He well
remembered hearing the Prophet (peace be
on him) say, "Once the sword is
unsheathed among my followers, it will
not be sheathed until the Last
Day."
The
rebels demanded that he abdicate and
some of the Companions advised him to do
so. He would gladly have followed this
course of action, but again he was bound
by a solemn pledge he had given to the
Prophet. "Perhaps God will clothe
you with a shirt, Uthman" the
Prophet had told him once, "and if
the people want you to take it off, do
not take it off for them." Uthman
said to a well-wisher on a day when his
house was surrounded by the rebels,
"God's Messenger made a covenant
with me and I shall show endurance in
adhering to it."
After a
long siege, the rebels broke into
Uthman's house and murdered him. When
the first assassin's sword struck Uthman,
he was reciting the verse,
"Verily,
God sufficeth thee; He is the
All-Hearing, the All-Knowing"
[Q2:137]
Uthman
breathed his last on the afternoon of
Friday, 17 Dhul Hijja, 35 A.H. (June.
(656 A.C.). He was eighty-four years
old. The power of the rebels was so
great that Uthman's body lay unburied
until Saturday night when he was buried
in his blood-stained clothes, the shroud
which befits all martyrs in the cause of
God.
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