Hazrat Usman Ghani (Radi Allahu Taala Anhu)

Hazrat Usman E Gani 

رضي الله تعالى عنه

 Introduction

Hazrat Usman Ghani Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu belonged to a noble family of Quraish in Makkah. His ancestral lineage joins with that of Rasulallah in the fifth generation. He was from the Umayyah family of Quraish, which was a well reputed and honourable family of Makkah during the pre-Islamic days. 
Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu was born in 573 A.C. His father's name was Affan bin Abul-As and he himself was known by the name Usman ibn ‘Affan.Hazrat Usman was one of the few persons of Makkah who knew how to read and write. When he grew up, he started business in clothing which made him very rich. He used his money in good and charitable ways and always helped the poor. Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu was a soft natured and kind hearted man. He did not hesitate to spend any amount of money on seeing a man in trouble in order to remove his misery. For his noble qualities the Makkans had great respect for him. 

Hazrat Usman's acceptance of Islam

Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu accepted Islam when Hazrat Abu Bakr Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu preached to him. He was one of those Muslims who accepted Islam in its very early days.Though Banu Hashim (Rasulallah 's family) was rival to Banu Umayyah (Hazrat Usman's family), and the latter was in power at that time,Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu did not hesitate to acknowledge the Prophethood of Rasulallah .
This was one of the reasons why Quraish leaders belonging to Banu Umayyah (like Abu Sufyan) were opposing Rasulallah . Thus, the acceptance of Islam in such a position shows the clear-mindedness of Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu. When he accepted Islam, the Quraish who once loved Hazrat Usman became his enemies. Even his relatives (like Hakam, one of his uncles) began to rebuke him and chastised him severely. 
One of the daughters of Rasulallah , Hazrat Ruqayyah Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu was married to one of the sons of Abu Lahab, a bitter enemy of Islam. When Rasulallah started to preach Islam, she divorced Abu Lahab's son. Then Rasulallah married her to Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu 

Migration to Abyssinia

When life in Makkah became difficult for the Muslims, he went to Rasulallah and sought permission to take refuge in Abyssinia along with other Muslims. The permission was granted. Hazrat Usman and his wife crossed the Red Sea with other Muslims and migrated to Abyssinia.At the time of his migration Rasulallah remarked: "Usman is the first man of my Ummah to migrate with his family for the sake of Allah." He stayed there for a couple of months and returned to Makkah when he was wrongly informed by somebody that the Quraish had accepted Islam. 

Hazrat Usman gets title of Dhun Nurain

Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu migrated for the second time with other Muslims to Madinah. 
He could not participate in the first battle of Islam against non-believers of Makkah at Badr, because his wife was very ill. She died before the Muslims returned from Badr after the victory. Rasulallah gave him glad tidings that he would be rewarded as though he had participated in the battle. 
After the death of Hadrat Ruqayyah Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu, Rasulallah married his next daughter, Umm Kulthum, to Hazrat Usman and so he was given the title of Dhun Nurain i.e., the man with two lights. 

Hazrat Usman's services to Islam before Caliphate

He was a very prominent Muslim to serve Islam by all means. He participated in almost all the battles against the non-believers in which Rasulallah had also taken part, except the Battle of Badr. At the time of the Treaty of Hudaibiya, he was sent to Makkah to negotiate with the non-believers. Shortly after, the Muslims were wrongly informed that he was murdered by the Kuffar of Makkah. It is for this reason that Rasulallah sought a pledge by the Muslims to fight with the non-believers in revenge of his murder. That pledge is known as Bai'at al-Ridwan (the Pledge of Ridwan). For Hazrat Usman’s pledge, Rasulallah put his left hand (representing Hazrat Usman's hand) on his right hand.When the Muhajirin (emigrants) from Makkah came to Madinah, they had great difficulty in getting drinking water. Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu bought a well named bi’r-i-Rumah from a Jew for twenty thousand dirhams for free use for the Muslims. That was the first trust ever made in the history of Islam. Rasulallah gave him the glad tidings of Paradise for this act. 
When the number of Muslims increased, Rasulallah 's mosque became too small to accommodate the increasing population. It was Hazrat UsmanRadi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu who responded to Rasulallah 's call and bought land for its extension.When Rasulallah went to the expedition of Tabuk, Hazrat Usman bore the expenses for one third of the Islamic army (about 10,000 men). He also gave one thousand camels, fifty horses and one thousand Dinars (gold coins) to support the rest of the army. On this, Rasulallah remarked, "Nothing will do any harm to Usman from this day, whatever he does." 
Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu was one of the scribes of the Wahi (revelation) and also used to write other documents (letters and messages etc.) for Rasulallah . 
At the time of the election of Hazrat Abu Bakr Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu, Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu was present in the Assembly Hall of Madinah. During the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar, he was a member of the Shura (Advisory Council). He occupied a prominent position in the affairs of the Islamic State during that time. 

Hazrat Usman; the great scholar 

Hazrat Usman had beautiful handwriting, and for this reason Rasulallah appointed him as one of the scribes of the Wahi (revelation). 
His style of writing was well recognised among the Companions. Arabic knowing persons can recognise the fluency of his writings especially of the letters and the orders he sent to various officers during his Khilafat.Though he was not an orator but his way of lecturing was very powerful and effective. His addresses and lectures can be viewed in many history books.Hazrat Usman was a great scholar of the Holy Qur'an and was a Hafiz (one who commits the whole Holy Book to memory). He was well versed in Shan-i-Nuzul, which is the chronology of the revelation of various verses and chapters of the Holy Qur'an, and was considered an authority in this respect.
He was one of the few Companions who excelled in deriving laws from the verses of the Holy Qur'an. 
Although his jurisdiction was not of the standards of Hazrat Umar and Hazrat Ali Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu, nevertheless he was well qualified in this respect. His verdicts and judgements have been mentioned in many books. 
He was also considered an authority on the laws of Hajj. Even Hazrat Umar Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu used to ask Hazrat Usman regarding Hajj during his time. 

Character and Piety

Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu was a very pious Companion and a man of high character. He was the most modest of all the Companions.Once, Rasulallah was sitting with some of his Companions and the shin of his mubarak leg was not covered. In the meantime, somebody informed him about the arrival of Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu. Rasulallah immediately covered it and remarked, "Even the angels have regard for the modesty of Usman." 
He was a strict follower of the Sunnah of Rasulallah . Somebody asked him the reason for smiling after wudu. He replied that he had seen Rasulallah smiling after making wudu, so he smiled in order to follow him. Once, he demonstrated to the Muslims the correct way of making wudu according to the Sunnah of Rasulallah .He used to fear Allah very much. Tears used to roll down his face due to Allah's fear. Whenever the consequences to be faced in the grave were described before him, he used to weep so much that his beard would moisten with tears. Sometimes he wept and cried seeing a corpse or a grave due to his fear of Allah. 
He used to say, "The grave is the first stage of all the stages of the Hereafter. If a person is successful there, he would be successful on the Day of Judgement too. If a person faces difficulty in the grave, other stages will also be difficult for him."
He used to carry out household work although he was one of the wealthiest persons in the whole of Arabia. He would not wake his slave to take any help from him when he got up to perform Tahajjud Salat.Hazrat Usman was very soft spoken. If any person talked to him in a harsh tone he always replied gently. Once when he was delivering the Jummah Khutba, a person shouted during the Sermon: "Oh Usman, repent for Allah’s sake and keep away from going wrong." He immediately turned his face towards the Qiblah and exclaimed, "Oh Allah, I am the first to repent before Thee and to turn towards Thee." 
He never took any allowance from the Baitul Mal for his services as a Khalifah. Hazrat Usman contributed 60,000 Dirhams after his 12 years service, towards the Public Fund. 
Examples of his generosity have already been given. He was the most generous among all the wealthy Companions and never hesitated to spend his money for the cause of Islam and Muslims. His house was one of the biggest in Madinah which he built near the mosque of Rasulallah . 
He established a library in the back of his house for the education of the Muslims.Wives and children Hazrat Usman was first married to Rasulallah 's daughter, Hazrat Ruqayyah Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu who died in Madinah while Rasulallah was away on the expedition of Badr. Then he was married to the younger daughter of Rasulallah whose name was Hazrat Umme Kulthum. She also died in the year 9 A.H. His first wife, Hazrat Ruqayyah, bore him a son called Abdullah, who died at an early age. He had no child from Umme Kulthum Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anha. 
After the death of his second wife Hazrat Umme Kulthum, he married the following ladies at different times: Fakhtah bint Walid; Umme Amr bint Jundah; Fatimah bint Shaibah; Umme Banin bint Uwainah; Ramlah bint Shaibah; Aishah; Umme Aban; and Nailah bint Farafsah, his last wife whose fingers were chopped by the insurgents. 
Eleven sons were born to him from different wives. Some of them died at an early age. One of his sons, Aban became famous and held high positions during the Umayyads. He had six or seven daughters. 

Hazrat Usman Ghani - the third Khalifa of Islam

Before his death, Hazrat Umar Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu appointed a panel of six men to select a Khalifah from amongst themselves and then sought his approval through Bai'at (Pledge of loyalty) by the Muslim public. He also instructed them to make the nomination within three days. The panel included Hazrat Usman, Ali, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas, Talha, Zubair and Abdur Rahman bin 'Auf (Ridwanullahi Alaihim) as the members. 
The panel could not arrive at any decision even after long meetings. Then, Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin 'Auf proposed somebody to withdraw his name in order to decide the matter. When he got no response, he withdrew his own name.The remaining members agreed that he could take a decision. He consulted each member individually except Hazrat Talha Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu who was not present in Madinah at this time. It so happened that Hazrat Usman proposed Hazrat Ali's name and Hazrat Ali proposed Hazrat Usman's name for the post of Khalifah. But Hazrat Zubair and Sa'd Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu were more in favour of Hazrat Usman than Hazrat Ali.
After more consultations with other companions and careful consideration during the third night, Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin ‘Auf Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu gave his decision in the morning of the fourth day, in favour of Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu 
First of all, Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin ‘Auf Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu took Bai'at at the hands of Hazrat Usman and then all the Muslims present in the Mosque followed suit and took Bai'at (pledge of loyalty) at the hands of Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu. In this way, Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu was declared to be the third Khalifah.When Hazrat Talha Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu returned to Madinah, Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu requested him either to accept the post of Khalifah (as he was one of the people proposed by Hazrat Umar for the post) or to acknowledge him as Khalifah by taking Bai'at. Hazrat Talha declined to be the Khalifah and took pledge of loyalty at his hand, saying "How can I object to your being the Khalifah when all the Muslims have agreed upon you." 

The conquests during Hazrat Usman’s caliphate

During the caliphate of Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu, the Muslims conquered a number of new areas. They took over Antalya and Asia Minor in the west including Cyprus. Afghanistan, Samarkand, Tashkent, Turkmenistan, Khurasan and Tabrastan in the East and North East; and Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco in North Africa. 
In this way Muslims were ruling over a vast part of Asia and Africa viz. Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Persia or Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and of course Arabia and Yemen including the Gulf states.All these countries and places were under one flag, and the Islamic state was far bigger than any of the past mighty Byzantine or Persian Empires had ever been.Islam as a religion was also prevailing in Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) and in some parts of East and Central Africa though these places were not under the direct control of the Caliphate. 

Internal issues of Hazrat Usman's caliphate

The first half of Hazrat Usman's caliphate was very peaceful. During this time, the Muslims gained many victories as described above, and the caliphate extended to a vast area of the then known world.But the later part of Hazrat Usman's caliphate was marred by a terrible civil war which ultimately led to the murder of the Caliph himself. Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu was a very gentle and soft-hearted person. The people who wanted to create chaos among the Muslims took advantage of his soft nature. Hazrat Umar's stern hand had kept away the undemocratic and non-Islamic customs, and the practices that prevailed in the courts of Persian and Byzantine Empires. But Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu sometimes overlooked the faults of the governors and other officers in various provinces, though he himself totally and completely followed the ways of Rasulallah and the first two Caliphs. 
His compassionate nature made the provincial governors bold, as a result of which unrest in the provincial capitals grew and ultimately it engulfed the whole Islamic State. 
The enemies of Islam were in search of a suitable occasion to work against Islam and the Muslims. They finally found the desired opportunity for this and sent out their men to disturb the peace and to spread false news. Only the main events that happened during that time will be discussed in the following lines. 

The Martyrdom of Hazrat Usman Ghani

The only weapons that were with Hazrat Usman was his kindness and soft nature. He addressed the insurgents several times from the roof of his house and reminded them about his family relations with Rasulallah , and the services he had rendered to Islam but they never listened to him.The insurgents were afraid that the Hajj was coming to an end and after the Hajj a number of supporters of the Khalifah would go to Madinah. They decided therefore to assassinate him without delay. As stated before, they did not want to fight with Hashmites like Hazrat Hassan, Hussain and Abdullah bin Zubair who were standing guard at the main gate of Hazrat Usman's big residence. The reason not to fight with Hashmites was that they had incited a number of people against Banu Umayyah (Hazrat Usman’s family) in favour of Banu Hashim (Hashmites). So the insurgents climbed the back walls of the house and entered the room where Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu was reciting the Holy Qur'an.On seeing Hazrat Usman, one of the insurgents hit his head with an axe while the next struck him with a sword. His wife, Hazrat Nailah tried to shield her husband but she also got several wounds and her fingers were chopped off. 
Chronicles record that Muhammad bin Abu Bakr was the leader of the assassins. He got hold of Hazrat Usman’s beard and pulled it. On this Hazrat Usman remarked, "Oh my dear nephew if your father (Hazrat Abu Bakr) was alive you would never have done this."
The remarks of Hazrat Usman cut him and he turned back and did not take part in the assassination.
After giving severe injuries to Hazrat Usman, one of the insurgents, an Egyptian named Amr bin Hamq cut off the Khalifah's blessed head.
Hazrat Usman , one of Islam's greatest personalities, was assassinated on Friday, the 18th Dhul-Hijjah, 35 A.H. (656 A.D.).

A Great Martyr 

Hazrat Usman was a great martyr as prophesied in the following Hadith quoted by Bukhari and others:Hazrat Anas Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu narrated that Rasulallah , Hazrat Abu Bakr, Umar, and Usman went up the Mount of Uhud (the mountain near Madinah) and when it quivered because of them, Rasulallah kicked it with his foot and said, "Keep steady, Oh Uhud, for on you stands a Prophet, a Siddiq and two martyrs." 
In the above Hadith, Hazrat Abu Bakr had been mentioned as the Siddiq (truthful friend) while Hazrat Umar and Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu had been prophesied as the martyrs. 

The news of martyrdom

The news of Hazrat Usman's cruel assassination shocked everybody. Hazrat Ali Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu received the news when he was returning from Ahjar to see Hazrat Usman. He was stunned on hearing about the assassination of Hazrat Usman and exclaimed, "Oh Allah, You know it, I am free from any blame." He rebuked his sons Hazrat Hassan and Hussain Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu and others who had stood guard at the gate for not being more alert. 
After assassinating the Khalifah, the insurgents virtually took over charge of Madinah. They also looted the Baitul Mal. The people of Madinah were afraid of them and did not come out of their houses. The body of the Khalifah could not be buried for two days.
At last, some Muslims in succeeded in getting into the house and carried out the burial service. There were only 17 Muslims who participated in the burial prayers due to the circumstances at the time. Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu was 82 years old at the time of his assassination and remained in the office of Khilafat for about 12 years.His words "I do not want to spill Muslim blood to save my own neck", will be remembered for ever in the history of Islam. He sacrificed his life to save the blood of Muslims.