[0:07]Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh everyone. Bismillahi wa alhamdulillah wa salatu wassalamu ala rasulillah wa ala alihi wasahbihi wa man wala. So, welcome back to the First, and inshallah ta'ala tonight we're going to be talking about a man subhanallah who, um, you know, you may have heard me say this in a different setting, but he's actually the first person I ever gave a halaqah about. And it is Uthman ibn Affan radiyaAllahu anhu. And there is a special connection that I I feel to Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. You know, I remember thinking about the way that Khulafa Rashidin are talked about are spoken about, and Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu kind of gets lost, right? Uh, you have Abu Bakr, and Omar, and Ali, and sometimes Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu gets lost in there and is really not given his due right in terms of the honor that's due to him, the love that is due to him. And uh, the way that, you know, he contributed to Islam in such a beautiful way. Now, obviously when we're talking about Khulafa Rashidin, uh, we can't do a full biography of them in this particular series, but we're talking about them in regards to how they come into Islam and really building out the story of the Firsts, the people to come around the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam uh as this mission was developing around the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. So, there's a focus on that, so it's not going to be a full seerah of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu through his khilafa, but still, just like we did with Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyaAllahu anhu and Ali radiyaAllahu anhu, we'll talk about some of the qualities of them after we talk about their uh initial coming into Islam and what they meant for the story of Islam in the very beginning. So, Uthman ibn Affan radiyaAllahu anhu, his name is Uthman ibn Affan ibn Abil As ibn Umayyah. So, he's from another powerful tribe, well-known tribe, Banu Umayyah, and his lineage uh is like the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam from Abdi Manaf, all the way to to Abdi Manaf. Um, so once you get to Abdi Manaf ibn Qusai ibn Kilab, then that's where you find the lineage of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam and Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu actually uh meet. His mother is uh very interesting because she uh, she is not as well known of a figure, but she connects Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam in a very unique way. So, his mother's name was Arwa bint Quraysh, and the mother of Arwa bint Quraysh was Um Hakeem bint Abdil Muttalib. So, the maternal grandmother of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu is Um Hakeem al-Bayda bint Abdil Muttalib, and she was the full sister of Abdullah, the father of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. And in fact, some narrations even say they were twins. So, his grandmother is the full sister, maybe even the twin sister of the father of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, which makes him the second cousin of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam as well.
[3:07]So, that family connection between Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu and the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam uh is not very well known. Now, his father passed away in Jahiliyyah. He's his father passed away in the days of ignorance, which is uh part of the reason why he had such a fortune to work with, he inherited a large amount of money from his father. His mother, on the other hand, would become Muslim and would live all the way until his Khilafa and would die uh during his Khilafa, and he would lead the prayer on her, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala be pleased with them both. Before Islam, people used to call him by the Kunya of Abu Amr, and this was uh, you know, in anticipation of the child that he would one day have, but he did not have any children before Islam. So, we're going to talk about, you know, Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu in regards to his marriage, in regards to his family life, which exists entirely after the mission of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam begins. He was about six years younger than the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. He was born in Ta'if, and when you talk about his physical features, it sounds like you're talking about the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. Okay, so the way he's described, he was neither short, nor was he tall. He was uh, he had big bones, broad shoulders. His skin was softer than silk. He had a huge thick beard. He had um hair that came right below his ears. He had a strikingly handsome face. He had a small gap between his teeth. His teeth were the widest of white, and he was the most handsome of people. And what's what's uh narrated about him is that if your gaze landed on Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, you would not want to look away because of the amount of Jamali, the amount of beauty that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala put in him. When he spoke, he spoke eloquently and beautifully, and there are narrations from the likes of Abdul Rahman bin Abi, um, Hashim who says that I never saw a man more handsome than Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. Now, who does he look like most? He looks like the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. Okay, so his qualities, his characteristics, his physical uh resemblance is like the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. And there are a few Sahaba uh that have that resemblance of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, but even the way that the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam would describe Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu to his daughter Ruqayyah that there is no person that resembles your father Muhammad salAllahu alaihi wasallam, or your husband Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu like Ibrahim alaihi salaam, your grandfather Ibrahim alaihi salaam. So, Ibrahim looked like the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam or rather the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam looked like Ibrahim alaihi salaam, and Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu looked like the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam as well. So, he resembles the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam physically. He is an extremely handsome person, very soft uh spoken, very uh, you know, uh very pleasant to look at, very pleasant when he speaks, radiyaAllahu anhu. And he's very rich and very powerful as well, but not powerful in the sense of arrogance. And perhaps what's most endearing about Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu in that sense is that he has this quality of Haya, this quality of modesty, that, you know, usually does not coincide with the circumstances of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. Okay, so think about it. He's from this powerful tribe of Banu Umayyah. Uh, in fact, his brother, uh, through his mother, was Al-Walid ibn Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt. Al-Walid ibn Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt, um, and we know who these people are. Al-Walid ibn Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt, uh, you know, his father was uh was well known for his torture of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. The one who poured guts on the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam and collapsed his back and mocked him along with Abu Jahl. So, he comes from that family, and he has a lot of people around him that are very proud and very arrogant, but he's not proud and arrogant. He's richer than all of them. He's more handsome than all of them. Yet, what is he known for? He's known for his Haya. He's known for his modesty, his shyness, his bashfulness. And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam of course said that every Deen has a quality, every Deen has a khuluq. Every religion has a characteristic quality. The quality of Islam is Haya, is modesty. And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam mentioned that Haya is from Iman, Haya is from faith. So, the more that a person has Haya, the more they have faith. And this is something that we see with Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu that despite his beauty, despite his wealth, despite his prominence, despite all of these things, he's known not for, uh, not for anything more so than his quality of modesty. His quality of uh Haya, his quality of modesty. This nobility plays out in many different ways, uh in terms of his modesty. And the people loved him because of his accessibility, because of his modesty, despite those things. And everyone respected him. The poor person respected him, the rich person respected him, the person from a prominent tribe respected him, the person who had no tribe respected him, because of the character that he had, radiyaAllahu anhu. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu also, despite all of that, uh never prostrated, never made Sujud to an idol in Jahiliyyah. Never committed Zina in Jahiliyyah. He never drank alcohol before Islam. Subhanallah, he had all of these qualities before Islam. Refused to to uh worship the idols, refused to um commit Zina, commit adultery, despite his uh his handsomeness, radiyaAllahu anhu, did not engage in any form of fornication or adultery. Um, refused to drink alcohol because he said alcohol destroys reason, and reason is a gift from God, so he would not drink alcohol even before the prohibition of alcohol. He would not look at the aura of a person. He would not look at a person's nakedness even before Islam. Now, remember, people used to do tawaf without clothes before Islam in the days of Jahiliyyah, and Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu said that I never looked at a aura before and after Islam. He would not engage in the partying of Quraysh or the songs and the entertainment, um of Quraysh. So, he would refrain from all of those things, and he said he has no interest in them whatsoever. So, subhanallah, not only does he resemble the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam in his character in his looks, but also in his character, because if I did not say the name of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, so much of what I just described, describes the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. The refusal to engage in any form of immorality, the shyness, the bashfulness that he had, radiyaAllahu anhu. Um, and of course, this was also a quality of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyaAllahu anhu, right? Some of these qualities were also qualities of Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu. He was well versed, he was poetic, he knew uh the lineage of the Arabs. Um, he knew history. He was well traveled, radiyaAllahu anhu. So, he used to travel to Syria, uh to Asham. He traveled to Abyssinia, to Habasha, uh even before Islam, which is important because we'll talk about that. He learned their lives, he learned about their their customs, he was successful in his trade routes, he had traveled to Yemen. He had traveled all over the world as a businessman before Islam. And when he used to come back from his trade routes, uh he used to always uh give charity to uh the people of Mecca. So, Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu never returned from a trade route. All of this is before Islam. Never returned from a trade route except that the people of Mecca would feel the generosity of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. And so, you're talking about all of the good qualities, and because of those good qualities, he earned the love of his people and the respect of his people. To the point that a mother would say to her child, the very famous words, "Uhibuka wa ar-Rahman hubba Quraysh Uthman." I love you by the Most Merciful, the way that Quraysh loves Uthman.
[11:23]To express the highest level of love to her child. And so, he he truly has it all, radiyaAllahu anhu. And this this speaks to the hadith of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam that people are like precious stones. The best of you in the days of ignorance are the best of you in Islam, if you have knowledge. And Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu already had all of these Akhlaq, all of these attributes and characteristics of Islam before he heard the message of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. Um, he inherited from his father according to some narrations, over 30 million dirhams. So, uh, this is a man radiyaAllahu anhu that was focused on his business, focused on being a merchant. And uh, you know, it seems like, and Allah knows best, that he did not get married before Islam. So, there is uh, you know, there there are some indications that maybe he did, but it doesn't seem like he had any marriages prior to Islam. So, he was busy in his business, busy in his his uh in his trade. And of course, as we said, well loved by his people, known for his haya, known for his modesty, known for his his uh his beauty, both in terms of his outside and his internal being, radiyaAllahu anhu. So, what happened? How does a man like this, um, you know, become amongst the first to accept Islam? How does he come into the story of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam in the way that uh the others have uh come into the story of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam? Usually, a person who has the most to lose, right? The most to lose, would hesitate when the message of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam would come. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu is different from all of the rest, right? He would not hesitate when he heard of the message of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. He was out on a trade route uh to Asham, to Syria. And according to a narration of Tabaqat ibn Sa'd, he actually uh said that on his way back, um, or you know, that that he he had a dream. He went to sleep and he had a dream on his way back from Asham, and in that dream it was said uh to the sleepers, to those that were asleep to get up, "Qad kharaja Ahmad fi Makkah." Ahmad has come out in Mecca. Ahmad has appeared in Mecca. So, Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu said that he he had this dream, and when they got back to Mecca, then uh he heard that the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam had called to Islam, and right away, um, Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu would accept the message of Islam. Who would invite him to Islam? And this is of course something to think about. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyaAllahu anhu. Abu Bakr did not just, as we said when we were talking about him, embrace Islam, but he immediately became the ultimate ambassador of Islam. He immediately went and started bringing in some of the luminaries of Islam, and so the Ajr of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, all the good that Uthman is going to do is to the credit of Abu Bakr. All the good that Abdul Rahman ibn Awf is going to do is to the credit of Abu Bakr. All the good of Talha and Zubair is to the credit of Abu Bakr. Can you imagine if you just took uh Uthman and Abdul Rahman ibn Awf, and all of the charity that they have done, some of which we benefit from till today? Like, we're not even going to talk about their contributions to the making of the story of Islam, but if we just took the sadaqah of Abu Bakr, Uthman ibn Awf, and all of that is to the credit of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyaAllahu anhu because he was the one that called these luminaries to Islam. And he knew how to approach them, because Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu was of the same class as Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. Not as wealthy as him, but Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu is a man who is known for his nobility, who is known for his qualities that the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam is known by as well. Does not worship idols, does not drink alcohol, uh shuns some of the practices of the Arabs at the time of Quraysh at the time, to focus on uh things that were of more importance, was known for his benevolence, and so on, so forth. So, Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu goes to Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu as he returns back from Asham, and he invites him to Islam. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu immediately goes to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam and embraces Islam, and he is, according to Ibn Ishaq, the fourth male to accept Islam. So, he's the first person after, uh, Abu Bakr, Ali, and Zayd ibn al-Harithah, may Allah be pleased with them all, the fourth man to accept Islam. According to these narrations, Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, uh, they say that he even became Muslim before Darul Arqam, before al uh Darul Arqam, the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam went to Darul Arqam and started to teach the companions of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. So, subhanallah, despite all of the implications of his Islam, he didn't think about it. And wealth, uh, you know, is is what uh, you know, a lot of people see in Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, right? Is his wealth. It's not just the tribe and what his tribe is going to think, but wealth, his money. And Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu knows very well, he's a smart man, that he can go from being the most beloved of people to the most hated of people very quickly. But that's not going to stop him radiyaAllahu anhu from accepting the message of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam as articulated to him initially by Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyaAllahu anhu. So, he embraces Islam. And when he embraces Islam, uh, as we said early on that the powerful people in Mecca were tortured by their tribes privately. They tend to be tortured privately. It's not that they weren't tortured, but they were tortured by their pro by by their uh tribes privately because the tribes wanted to save face even as they wanted to deter their own from becoming Muslim. So, he was taken by Al-Hakam ibn Abil As, who would torture him, uh, you know, with all sorts of torture and tell him to leave Islam, tell him to give up the companionship of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. And Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu would respond, and he would say, I will never give up Islam and I will never part ways from Muhammad salAllahu alaihi wasallam. And so, it was a routine type of torture that would come towards Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. And Al-Hakam basically gave up when he saw that Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu was not going to to to give up this message. It's not that Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu was a uh a political person. He wasn't someone that used to get involved in some of the tribal affairs, uh of Quraysh, or from Banu Umayyah in specific. He didn't used to get involved in many things. He was just known for his nobility, for his richness, for his his uh his beauty, for his eloquence, for these types of things, for his modesty. But of course, coming from a tribe like Banu Umayyah, and someone who's that well loved. You know, someone who's that well loved, if people find out he becomes Muslim, uh then that's going to naturally lead people to become Muslim. What happens to that child that grew up hearing, I love you the way Quraysh loves Uthman, and looks up to Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu for his qualities, and now they know that Uthman is Muslim. So, the threat of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu was not like the threat of Omar ibn al-Khattab, or or or some of the more powerful people uh that would give that strength to Islam. The threat was how beloved he was, and how much he was worth, right, primarily, um, you know, uh to that society. And what what the implications of Islam uh would be. So, anyway, he he underwent torture privately, the way that Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyaAllahu anhu would undergo torture privately. And he goes on to, uh, you know, to to support the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam in any way that he could, playing really a a different role, right? Not not doing some of the things that, uh, again, we'll see from some of the the physically more more powerful people, or those that were more political at the time, but supporting the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam as he could. And of course, uh, accompanying the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam in Darul Arqam. And there is something to be said about the morale of the companions. When you walk into Darul Arqam and you see that the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam is sitting with this diverse group of people, across class, across, you know, all of these different levels and and demarcations in society. And you see the people that are well loved and they're sitting to the with the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam and listening to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam teach them the Quran. Now, we mentioned last time, when talking about Zaynab radiyaAllahu anha that she was already married uh before uh Islam. You have Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum, who we mentioned, were uh married, but they had not consummated the marriage yet to the children of Abu Lahab. And when Abu Lahab curses the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, and seeks to punish the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam in every way, Abu Lahab orders his two sons to divorce the two daughters of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. So, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum are uh, they're engagement, if you will, because of course, as we said, they hadn't consummated the marriage yet. Their engagement is broken off by the children of Abu Lahab, and look how beautiful the replacement is, uh, for Ruqayyah radiyaAllahu anha. It doesn't get better than uh than than than this, right?
[21:11]So, Ruqayyah radiyaAllahu anha, of course, um, you know, was was hurt obviously by what had happened, but as soon as this had happened, Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, who we said again, there's nothing to to really solidify that he'd ever been married before, comes to propose to Ruqayyah. And what a gift. Right? "Man taraka shayan lillah awwadahu Allahu khayra minhu." Whoever leaves something for Allah, Allah will give them something better. You go from the son of Abu Lahab to Uthman ibn Affan radiyaAllahu anhu, the most beloved, the most beautiful, the most the most wealthy, the most noble man, uh, known to Quraysh. And he comes to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam to propose uh to uh to Ruqayyah radiyaAllahu anha, and of course the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam and Khadijah radiyaAllahu anha were ecstatic. Right? You don't get a better suitor for your child for your daughter than Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. And Ruqayyah was was ecstatic as well. And subhanallah, we find that uh when Ruqayyah was getting married to Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, he came to Ruqayyah, and he said to Ruqayyah, uh, oh my daughter, take good care of Abu Abdullah. So, his Kunya would change from Abu Amr to Abu Abdullah. "Take care of Abu Abdullah, for indeed he is the closest of my companions to me in his character." Remember, the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam was known for his shyness and his modesty, his Haya. And as we said, all these qualities are present in Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, and the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam is saying he is the most uh the closest of my companions to me in regards to his Akhlaq, in regards to his character, so take good care of him, my daughter.
[23:00]And subhanallah, we find that these two, uh, this couple became the most blessed couple known uh known to the people. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu and Ruqayyah radiyaAllahu anha, they're the best looking couple, they're the most beloved couple. They are, uh, they are in love with one another, and so the ihsan, the character, the quality, uh that Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu was most beloved uh to the people for. Look at how he's bringing that to his house. And we're going to talk about this later on as well. What makes these people so blessed is that they were not just loved or they were not loved by the people for qualities that they used to display out of fame or out of some sort of of of desire for social status. But those qualities were even more prominent when they were in their homes. So, all of these wonderful qualities that Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu was known for, he brings it to his home as well, and he showers Ruqayyah radiyaAllahu anha, the daughter of none other than the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam with that beautiful, uh with those beautiful qualities and those beautiful characteristics. Now, the torture uh of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, as we said, was taking place privately. And Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu strategically, there are some reasons that the scholars mentioned, that uh that strategically it would be beneficial for Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu to be amongst those that would migrate to Abyssinia, that would migrate to Habasha. So, you're not going to see Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu play much of a role in Meccan seerah, in the early Meccan seerah because he is amongst those that would migrate to Abyssinia. As we said, he has been to Abyssinia, uh, you know, on trade routes before, he knows the people of Abyssinia, he knows the land of Abyssinia, he knows the culture and customs of Abyssinia. There's also something to be said about the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam dispatching his own daughter to be amongst those that migrate. So, there's a level of trust, there's a level of being with the community in in different ways. So, as they're going to make this Hijra, they have amongst them, um, you know, none other than the daughter of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. So, Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu and Ruqayyah radiyaAllahu anha were, uh, not just amongst those that migrated to Abyssinia, but they were the first family to, uh, to go forth, to migrate, to do the Hijra to Abyssinia, to make the Hijra to Abyssinia. And there is a narration, and though there's a weakness in in the chain, uh, it is it's a it's a it's a powerful, beautiful narration that Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu is the first one to do Hijra, the first to migrate with his family for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala after Nabi Lut alaihi salaam. So, he's the first one to make the Hijra with his family for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So, Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu embarks on this journey to Abyssinia, along with uh Ruqayyah radiyaAllahu anha, and we'll talk about Abyssinia, inshallah ta'ala, probably in the episode about Jaafar ibn Abi Talib and some of what would transpire there in Abyssinia. So, he doesn't spend much time with the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam in Mecca. Um, he spends time there in Abyssinia. And you you don't really start to see the story of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu in Islam unfold, uh, until you get to Medina. So, he was amongst those that made Hijra both to Abyssinia and to Medina. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu makes his way to Medina with Ruqayyah, and now their son Abdullah. So, Allah has blessed them with a child, and they named their son Abdullah. And as Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu got to Medina, the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, he paired him off with Abu Talha ibn Thabit. Uthman being one of the uh wealthier people of Mecca, who took his trade with him, who succeeded in his trade even in Abyssinia, who managed to hold on to some of his wealth, um, you know, did not need uh uh much help. And so, it was only a short amount of time that Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu was able to purchase his own home and was able to make his way into the marketplace in Medina, and continue with the trends that he was known for of building up his his his business and being able to spend that fortune for noble things. So, Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, he knew how to to work in different types of markets. Some of the Muslims, um, you know, were limited in their scope and what they could do. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu already had prior business relationships, he knew how to maneuver and how to work things in the best of ways. So, he established himself quickly as a uh as a merchant in Medina. And Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu had a reputation for his honesty in trade, making him a person that people wanted to do business with, right? And of course, that's the long route, and, um, you know, a lot of people, uh, you know, were not known for that, they would take the short route, and they would cheat Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu was known for his honesty in trade, and so people loved to work with Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. They had a prior relationship with him, they knew him, and so his character allowed him to flourish in that way as well. So, then you find in Medina, as Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu settles with his family with Ruqayyah and with their son Abdullah, you find that any time the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam makes a call. Anytime the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam makes a call, and he attaches to it alaihi salaam the reward of Jannah, you find this man run forward to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. And it's it's really beautiful because the stories are countless in this regard. As we said, we can't get through all of them, especially when talking about a person like Uthman ibn Affan radiyaAllahu anhu. The first Mauqif, the first uh place that the that Uthman shows this is when they get to Medina, and the Muslims are having a hard time with their water supply because they don't own the wells of Medina. So, especially those that have migrated, uh, you know, they're not able to to have access to water, the way that other people are able to have access to water. So, there was this particular well of Ruma. And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam said, "Man hafara Ruma falahul Jannah," that whoever buys the well of Ruma, I will guarantee Jannah for that person. Ruma was owned by a man from Banu Ghaffar, and he didn't want to sell it. Okay. Why? Because, you know, he had a monopoly on it, he was able to make use of it. And, you know, the people needed water, so at the end of the day, even though he's charging high amounts of money for the people, they're still paying him. So, he's getting wealthy off of uh off of that well. So, Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, hearing the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam say that whoever purchases it uh will have Jannah. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu goes to him and he says, listen, what's the price of this well? So, he told him 40,000 uh dirhams. So, he said, look, what if I buy half of the well? Um, how much would you sell it to me for? He said, 20,000. Now, what is half of the well? Does that mean literally half of the well? No, what it means is, one day for you, one day for me. One day for you, one day for me. So, he told him, okay, fine, you know, you can, he negotiated because he's a smart businessman, radiyaAllahu anhu and he's making the most of the situation. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu agrees to, you know, to to purchase one day uh of the well. So, you know, uh half of the well and that they would alternate days, alternate days. And uh, he gives him 20,000 uh for that. Now, what ends up happening is that Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu then tells the people of Medina, especially the Muhajiroon who, you know, had a hard time getting water, that on his day, the water from the well is free. It's a Waqf. It's an endowment, so you can come and take as much water as you want. So, what does that do to the other man, uh the owner who had set this ridiculous price, uh for the well in the first place? Everyone would come on the day of Uthman, they would fill their their jugs, they take all the water that they need, and so he wasn't able to make any money uh from the other day. So, it backfired. Uh, the the high price that he set backfired. So, he goes to Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu at that point, and he says, look, you want to buy the other day now as well? How about, you know, you just go ahead and buy the other day? So, Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu says, you know, look, what use do I have for it for the other day if everything is working out on my day? If if, you know, the people are able to benefit from it on my day? So, he negotiates him down to half the price, half the price, uh for the second day, uh to to have complete ownership of the well. And, uh, you know, in that subhanallah, you have from this well, from this bi'r that Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu purchased, a guarantee, one of the multiple guarantees that the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam would give of Jannah to Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. Not only that, but until this day, until this day, that well has, uh, you know, has produced gardens. It's it's a Waqf, it's an endowment to the Muslims. Till that day, the bank accounts from that well, which has irrigated gardens throughout Medina, has been used to, uh, you know, to increase more awqaf, more endowments for the Muslims. And there's still a bank account, in fact, from that particular well. That has built some of the hotels in Medina, and all of the money then goes back to being circulated towards charity. And subhanallah, there's there's, you know, uh uh, you know, the the amounts that you find in in what is known as the Waqf of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu from that well, they they vary, but, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars that Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu is still getting the Ajr from today, as he made that initial, uh, you know, that initial stand with the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. So, he purchased his place in Jannah, as the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam mentioned, and at the same time, until today, the sadaqa of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu is working. The sadaqa Jaria of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu is at work, and people are benefiting from that initial uh jump to uh to respond to the call of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. The Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam comes out again another day, and he says, you know, who's going to buy the land of so and so near the Masjid? Fayazidha fil Masjid bi khairin lahu minha fil Jannah. So, they can increase that in, uh, you know, add that space to the Masjid, they can expand that space for the Masjid in return for something good for that person in Jannah. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu says, "Ya Rasulallah, I've got it." How much is it going to be? Um, 20,000 dirhams. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu purchases that land, 20,000 dirhams, and that's where the Masjid is expanded. So, he financed the expansion of the Masjid immediately when the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam said so. And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam said that that person will be rewarded with something better in Al-Jannah. The Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam said that whoever frees a slave, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would free the entirety of their bodies from the fire. So, the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, when he talked about the freeing of the slaves, and he said it's a protection from the fire, Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu from the day he heard that narration, or he heard the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam say that, until the day where he could no longer do so, the day of his death, for all the years, was known that every Jum'ah, every Friday, he would take some of his wealth, and he would purchase the freedom of multiple slaves. And they say that, uh, uh, you know, that that that, uh, we don't know how many people, that if you were to count how many people were freed from slavery through the donations, through the charity of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, we would not be able to count all the people that Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu freed. So, this was not just some initial action, but it became the habit of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu to purchase the freedom of those that were enslaved. And then you have Tabuk, uh, what's known as Jaysh al-Usra, uh the difficult expedition of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, he says, who will finance this expedition, this army, and they have Jannah. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu hears the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam say this. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu stands up and he says, "Ya Rasulallah, 100 camels uh fully uh equipped for this journey." And the Sahaba are looking at Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu like, this is amazing. The Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam calls out again. And he says, who who's going to finance the expedition? Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu stands up again, "100 camels, Ya Rasulallah, uh for this cause."
[36:07]Until Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu had donated, at the end of this all, 940 camels and 60 horses, all fully equipped for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for Tabuk. Subhanallah, when you have Allah talking about the Munafiqun, the hypocrites that held back. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu is the complete opposite of them, giving all that he could, so that when the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam asks, the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam is responded to. And then the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam goes home, I mean Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu goes home and he grabs all the dirhams that he can, and he comes uh after equipping the army of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, he comes and he starts to place the the the dirhams, these thousands of dinars and dirhams, gold coins in the lap of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam he picks up these things, and look at what he says alaihi salaam. He says, "Ma darra Uthman." Nothing can harm Uthman ma fa'al ba'da al-yawm. After what he has done today. Nothing can harm Uthman after what he has done today. When we talk about the Firsts, and, you know, the quality of jumping at the opportunity, it's a small window sometimes that Allah presents you with an opportunity. And Uthman has taken advantage, radiyaAllahu anhu, of that opportunity multiple times, multiple times. And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam is saying, nothing, nothing can harm Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu after today. And so, this becomes the quality of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, anytime the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam asks, Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu comes forward to support the Messenger of Allah salAllahu alaihi wasallam in these moments. And subhanallah, you know, this is this also shows you that some of the Sahaba contributed in different ways. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu is not known as a man of the battlefield. But subhanallah, look at what he was able to do for the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, look at how he was able to come forth uh for the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. Now, he would, um, uh, witness all of the battles of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam except for one in particular. And it's a very unique uh story to be told about Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu and this battle. This was the Battle of Badr. How is it that Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, who accepted Islam as the fourth male, who went out to Abyssinia, who migrated to Medina, who went through all of this alongside the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, how is it that Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu would not attend Badr? The story of that is that Ruqayyah radiyaAllahu anha became sick. And she was so sick that when Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu went out, Uthman who loves his wife dearly, when Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu would go out, the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam gave him permission to stay back and to care for Ruqayyah. So, he stays back. He cares for Ruqayyah radiyaAllahu anha. And he watches Ruqayyah die before his eyes. His young wife, the mother of his child, die before his eyes, and this was crushing to Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. And subhanallah, it it, you know, it it, truly, a person like Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, who gives his heart to the people that he loves, right? I mean, again, all the nobility, the way that this this couple became this model couple, not in physical appearance, no, this model couple, the love that they had for one another. The Ihsan, the excellence that he showed to Ruqayyah radiyaAllahu anha, and that's why the day of Badr, the victory of Badr was known as the day of great joy and the day of great sadness. Right? Because on the same day that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave the good news of the victory of the Muslims over the Mushrikin in Badr, where they were expected to be wiped out, is the same day that Allah took the daughter of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam back to him. And the wife of Uthman ibn Affan radiyaAllahu anhu back. And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, you know, he he knew uh how badly Uthman wanted to be with the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. And so, you know, this is a very special manifestation as well, of, "Innama al-a'malu bin-niyyat," that verily actions are about by intentions. We know that the veterans of Badr have a special place in Islam. Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu was given all of the uh all of the reward of being from the veterans of Badr. He was considered by the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam to be from the veterans of Badr, even though he did not physically attend because he had the intention. And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam told him instead that he could stay home and he could care for his wife and the daughter of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, Ruqayyah radiyaAllahu anha. So, this tragedy strikes Uthman, and it leaves Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu in a very difficult place. And this is where you see some of the human side of these Sahaba as well. A man like Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu who loved so intensely, who loved so intensely, that subhanallah, after Ruqayyah passed away, uh his son Abdullah, his baby boy also would pass away, um, you know, shortly after, uh when he was pecked in the face by some sort of a bird or a rooster, and he had an infection near his eye. The infection spread until it covered the whole face of Abdullah. So, it was a very difficult uh infection. And his face swelled up until he stopped breathing only at the age of six years old. So, Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu has now lost his wife, and he's lost his son Abdullah, his six-year-old son Abdullah. His wife, who was the daughter of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, his son Abdullah, who was the grandson of Muhammad ibn Abdullah, Rasulullah salAllahu alaihi wasallam, and now that's gone too. So, you can imagine the great sadness of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. And he visibly changed. He became very sad. He he did not look the same. Uh, his, you know, his his his devastation was noticeable. And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam cares about Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. He loves Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. So, he goes to Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, and he asks him, he says, what's wrong? What's what's keeping you so down? And he knows the answer, but this is his way of consoling Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, going to talk to Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. So, he says to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, "Ya Rasulallah, it's the death of Ruqayyah and something else." The Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam said, what is the something else? Now, if it's, you know, this could be many different things, right? The something else could be something quantifiable that maybe the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam can do for him, right? So, what is the something else? He says, "Ya Rasulallah, inqata'a sairi wa qurbi minka bi mautiha." He said, "Oh Messenger of Allah, my connection to you, my closeness to you has been severed by her death as well." So, I'm not just grieving the death of Ruqayyah radiyaAllahu anha, and the loss of that family. I'm grieving my loss of a connection to you in that sense, right? He got to be the son-in-law of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam.
[43:37]Subhanallah, because of that, or rather what Allah had decreed for this special man that no other person would be decreed, is that Jibreel alaihi salaam comes to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam and tells him to marry Umm Kulthum, his next daughter to Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, but not just that, uh, with a similar, uh, uh mahar, with a similar dowry, and ala mithli suhbatiha.
[44:06]With the same type of kindness and love that you used to treat Ruqayyah. Subhanallah, with similar kindness. Because his love and his treatment of Ruqayyah was exemplary. And so, Jibreel alaihi salaam comes to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam and says to marry Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu to Umm Kulthum with the same mahar, and upon the same type of kindness, the same character that Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu was known for, in the way that he would treat his wife Ruqayyah radiyaAllahu anha. And this is why you have the nickname, Dhun-Nurayn. The possessor of two lights, because there is no person who would have the honor, the distinction of marrying, not just one, but two daughters of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam than Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. And there's actually a a very uh beautiful and funny story about this with Omar radiyaAllahu anhu, where Omar radiyaAllahu anhu went out and he wanted to marry his daughter Hafsah radiyaAllahu anha to someone noble. So, he was being a good dad, he was going out looking for a suitor. So, who did he go to first? He went to Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu. And he told Abu Bakr that he wants to marry his daughter to, you know, he he asked Abu Bakr if he'd be interested in Hafsah. And the Prophet I'm sorry, Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu told him, you know, let me think about it, come back and meet me at this time. And Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu did not meet him again. He basically avoided seeing Omar ibn al-Khattab again. So, Omar was upset, okay, with Abu Bakr. Then he goes to Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu to ask Uthman if he wants to marry Hafsah radiyaAllahu anha. And Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, he told Omar to come back another time and to meet him. So, Omar radiyaAllahu anhu came back and he found Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu in salah. Uthman did not want to tell Omar no. So, what did he do? He prolonged his salah. He prolonged his prayer until Omar radiyaAllahu anhu got tired of it and left.
[46:08]And Omar got a hint, got a message that wow, both my companions, both my friends, Abu Bakr and Uthman are treating me this way. So, who does he go to to complain? He goes to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. And he says to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam, you know, how upset he is with Abu Bakr and Uthman. What happened to my friends, to my companions? You know, they could have been honest with me, they could have told me no. And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam says to Omar that your daughter Hafsah will marry someone better than Uthman, and Uthman will marry someone better than your daughter, being Umm Kulthum, the daughter of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam.
[46:54]And then you find that Abu Bakr and Uthman came to Omar, and they told Omar radiyaAllahu anhu, that we hope you were not upset, or we know you were upset, but the reason why we did not just outright say it is because the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam had mentioned Hafsah radiyaAllahu anha, and we didn't want to disclose that secret of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam to you. Subhanallah, years go on, and Umm Kulthum also would pass away in the lifetime of both the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam and Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. And you find some of the sad narrations, just like the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam had to bury uh Ruqayyah and and Zaynab. And here you have the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam also, the narrations of him alaihi salaam sitting at the grave side of his daughter Umm Kulthum and and weeping alaihi salaam as he bids farewell to his daughter salAllahu alaihi wasallam. Six of seven children that he would bury in his own lifetime alaihi salatu wasallam. And he sees the sadness of Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu. I mean, Uthman now, think about this devastation, right? He married Ruqayyah and lost her. He married Umm Kulthum and lost her. So, he has married and lost two daughters of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam in the lifetime of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam. And what does the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasallam say to Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu when he sees him sad? He says, "Wallahi Uthman, if we had a third, we would marry her to you." If there was any other daughters left, we would keep on marrying these our daughters to you, um, because of the position that he has, radiyaAllahu anhu.
[48:44]Inshallah ta'ala, I'm going to go ahead and stop there, and uh we will continue, we'll do one more inshallah ta'ala uh halaqah on Uthman radiyaAllahu anhu, speaking about some more of his qualities and contributions. Again, not necessarily going through the seerah of Uthman, but really talking about some more of those qualities that uh sometimes go underestimated when we're talking about the story of this man radiyaAllahu anhu. May Allah be pleased with him, and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala send his peace and blessings upon our Messenger Muhammad salAllahu alaihi wasallam, his family and companions. Allahuma ameen. Jazakumullahu khairan. Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
