A Glimpse at the life of Hazrat Uthman bin Affaan

Hazrat Uthman embraced Islam in the very early days of Islam through the counselling of Hazrat Abu Bakr Radhiallaho Anhu. Hazrat Uthman married Hazrat Ruqayyah , the daughter of the Prophet .

It was when the torture of the Quraish became unbearable; Hazrat Uthman and his wife Ruqayyah migrated to Abyssinia . This was the first Muslim family which migrated in the path of Allah. Later, they came back to Makkah on hearing that the situation in Makkah was not as bad as before. Within some time, the disbelievers increased the torture. Hence, both migrated to Madinah. Hazrat Uthman 's beloved wife, Hazrat Ruqayyah became very ill, and passed away when the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wassallam was away for the battle of Badr.

Thereafter, Uthman married Hazrat Umme Kulthum , the second daughter of the Holy prophet . This is why Hazrat Uthman was given the unique title of ‘Dhun-Nurain' or ‘the man with two lights.'

Some Muslim tribes of Madinah had great difficulty in finding water for their daily use. Hazrat Uthman bought a well called ‘Bir Rumah' from a Jew for the Muslims. This was the first non-profit Islamic trust in Islam. The Prophet gave Hazrat Uthman the glad tidings of paradise for his noble acts. Hazrat Uthman donated very generously at various expeditions. For example, he donated one thousand camels, fifty thousand homes and one thousand dinars for the battle of Tabuk.

Hazrat Uthmaan was later chosen as the 3rd Khalifa (caliph) unanimously from the advisory council appointed by Omar .

Hazrat Uthman had been appointed by the Prophet to write and record the revelations of the Holy Qur'an in the Prophet 's lifetime. Hazrat Uthman made many conquests and the Islamic state extended. Due to the enormous expansion of the Islamic state, various groups were reciting the Holy Qur'an in different ways. He knew the Qur'an by heart and had excellent understanding of it. Hazrat Uthman ordered to distribute copies of the Qur'an compiled at the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr and destroyed all the others.

Hazrat Uthmaan extended the Prophet 's masjid twice during his period as khalifa of the muslim ummah. An interesting point to note is that where the present Imam leads the Salaah, it is the same spot where Hazrat Uthman Anhu used to be as Imam.

Hazrat Uthman made many contributions to Islam in many ways. Unfortunately, he became a victim of the conspiracies of ibn Saba, a Jewish hypocrite with whom some disgruntled Muslims co-operated with. They martyred Hazrat Uthman when he was reciting the Qur'an in his house. The house of Hazrat Uthman was outside bab-baqee.

He was 82 years old at the time of his martyrdom. He did not fight his opponent since it would cause bloodshed among Muslims. He chose to rather sacrifice his own life for Allah's sake. Allahu Akbar. His martyrdom was predicted by the Holy Prophet .

Once the Holy Prophet went to Mount Uhud with his companions Abu Bakr, Omar and Uthman . The mountain started trembling. The Prophet tapped the mountain with his foot and said, “Stop trembling, since there is a Prophet, a Siddique and two Martyrs (Omar and Uthman ) standing on you. The mountain stopped trembling immediately.

May Allah Taa'la give us the ability to take heed from the lives of the Khulafah Rashideen. May Allah Taa'la also give us the ability to live our lives according to the Islamic way taught by the Prophet . Ameen