I. Pre-reading tasks.

Uthman bin Affan (RAA) was born seven years after Muhammad (SAAS) in a respectable family in Ta’if. He was generous, polite, and well bred. He never drank alcohol or gamble. Uthman preferred to work hard and honestly, and his business flourished, soon becoming one of the richest traders among the Quraysh tribe. Uthman had a very close relationship with Abu Bakr, another trader. When Abu Bakr became a Muslim, he told Uthman about Islam and about the One True God. He acquainted Uthman to the Prophet (SAAS). They became close friends. Soon after, Uthman embraced Islam.

Close Friends.

The Prophet (SAAS) admired Uthman’s politeness and tolerance. He was also very modest and generous. He spent a great deal of his wealth on charity. The Prophet (SAAS) called him the “bashful” one. He was one of ten people promised heaven by the Prophet (SAAS). The Prophet (SAAS) allowed Uthman to marry two of his daughters. He married the eldest daughter, Ruqayyah bint Muhammad, soon after he became a Muslim. After Ruqayyah’s death, he married Um-Kulthum bint Muhammad, the Prophet’s (SAAS) second daughter. Thus, his friends called him the man with “two lights”.

Generosity.

Uthman was a generous man. He helped the Muslim Army by buying all the necessary weapons. He also bought 1,000 camels and 50 horses.

He was also good at bargaining. More and more people were converting to Islam and for more water they needed. The Prophet (SAAS) proclaimed: “Who will buy the Well of Roma for the Muslims?” Uthman offered to buy it.

A Jew suggested to sell it for 24,000 dirhams, but Uthman said that this price was too expensive.He offered to buy the half of the well. “I shall pay you 12,000 dirhams. The Jews will use the well one day, and the Muslims will use it the next day, and so on”.

The Jew agreed. However, every time the Muslims used the well, they took all the water! Next day, there remained very little water for the Jews. The Jews complained and stopped using the well. Now a man who sold the well had no money. The Jews were not using his well, so they did not give him any money. He went to see Uthman. “You have made me poor “, he said. “Please buy the other half of the well for 8,000 dirhams”. Uthman did so.

A Pious Man.

Uthman was a very religious man. He usually prayed most of the night. He did not sleep very much. Many Muslim scholars believe that the Quranic verse in Surat Az-Zumar (ayah 9) is about Uthman:

Is one who worships devoutly
During the hours of the night,

Prostrating himself or standing in adoration,
Who believes in the Hereafter
And who places his hope
In the mercy of his Lord
(Like one who does not?)

A Scholar.

Uthman was a highly educated man. He helped Prophet (SAAS) to write down the revelations. He also helped people to understand them. Both Abu Bakr (RAA), the first caliph, and Umar (RAA), the second caliph, askedhim questions about the revelations.

Reign as a Khalifah.

When Umar was assassinated, on his death bed he formed a committee of six people to choose the next Caliph from amongst themselves.

After Abdurrahman bin Auf (RAA) consulted the leaders of public opinion in Medina, he arrived at the conclusion that the majority of the people favoured the election of Uthman. On the fourth day after the death of Umar, Abdurrahman asked people to vote for a caliph. Most people voted for Uthman. He was made caliph in 24 A.N. at the age of seventy. He was caliph for twelve years. In his time, Islam spread very quickly. Armenia and Azerbaijan became Muslim countries. Persia and some parts of Byzantium were conquered. During his caliphate a navy was organized, administrative divisions of the state were revised, and many public projects were expanded and completed. Under Uthman the people became economically more prosperous, and they invested their money in the construction of buildings. Many new and larger buildings were constructed throughout the country. During the caliphate of Uthman as many as five thousand new mosques were constructed.

Quran.

Uthman is perhaps best known for forming the committee, which compiled the text of the Quran, as it exists today. The reason was that various Muslim centres, like Kufa and Damascus, had begun to develop their own traditions for reciting and writing down the Qur'an. Towards the end of his reign, the committee finished compiling the text, and Uthman had it copied and sent to each of the Muslim cities commanding that alternate versions of the Quran be destroyed, and only the official version used.

The Death of a Great Man.

Uthman died at the age of eighty-two. He was fasting and reading the Quran when assassins killed him. Even as the murderers stabbed him, Uthman continued to read the Qur'an. His blood flowed onto the pages of the Qur'an. He died for the cause of Allah (SWT).

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