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"Every Prophet has an assistant, and my assistant will be Uthmân." (Hadith)
Uthmân'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" - Alee, Uthmân, 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 Uthmân and Alee. Abdul Rahman came to the mosque together with other
Muslims, and after a brief speech and questioning of the two men, swore
allegiance to Uthmân. All those present did the same, and Uthmân became the
third Caliph of Islam in the month of Muharram, 24 A.H.
Uthmân's Life
Uthmân 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 Uthmân 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. Uthmân'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.'
Uthmân'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 Uthmân deeply grieved. The Prophet was
moved and offered Uthmân the hand of another of his daughters, Kulthum. Because
he had the high privilege of having two daughters of the Prophet as wives Uthmân
was known as 'The Possessor of the Two Lights. '
Uthmân 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
Uthmân 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 Uthmân 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. Uthmân knew the Qur'an from memory and had an intimate
knowledge of the context and circumstances relating to each verse.
Uthmân's Caliphate
During Uthmân'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. Uthmân'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. Uthmân 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.
Uthmân'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.
Uthmân 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 Uthmân, 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 Uthmân 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, Uthmân" the Prophet had told him once, "and if the people want
you to take it off, do not take it off for them." Uthmân 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 Uthmân's house and murdered him. When
the first assassin's sword struck Uthmân, he was reciting the verse,
"Verily, God sufficeth thee; He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing" (2:137)
Uthmân 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 Uthmân'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.