Islam, had been one of the closest people to our Prophet (saas)
throughouthis life. He was the son-in-law of our Prophet (saas) and
the third Caliph. Because he was twice honored with being the
son-in-law of our Prophet (saas), he was called "Thun-Nurayn"
(Zunnorain), meaning "the possessor of two lights." He participated in
all the struggles of our Prophet (saas) except for the Battleof Badr.
When Hazrat Uthman (ra) embraced Islam, he was subjected to torture by
the idolaters. When migration to Ethiopia was allowed, he became one
of the first immigrants to Ethiopia together with his wife
Mrs.Ruquayyah, our Prophet's (saas) daughter.
Hazrat Abu Bakr's (ra) communication of Islam became instrumental in
Hazrat Uthman's (ra) embracing Islam. He was one of the precious
companions of our Prophet (saas) who was exemplary to all Muslims with
his superior moral qualities and beautiful speech.
Apart from his refined andinfluential manner of speaking , he had an
extraordinarily retentive memory and he committed the Holy Qur'an to
memory. Having a very profound knowledge of hadith, he also made great
services to Islam by writing and recording the revelations.
Hazrat Uthman's (ra) spending in the way of Allah
Hazrat Uthman (ra), who was engaged in commercebefore converting to
Islam, was a wealthy and greatly respected merchant of his tribe. When
he was honored with Islam, he spent his entire wealth which Allah had
granted him for the spread of Islam and the welfare of Muslims.
In a time when there was a water shortage in Medina, he paid twenty
thousand dirhems, which was quite a sum of moneyfor that time, to buy
the Well of Ruma and donated it to the service of Muslims who were
paying for the water takenfrom this well. He was alsothe person who
met all the needs of the army, consisting of ten thousandMuslims, who
would participate in the expedition to Tabuk. This aside, in a time
when there was famine in Medina, Hazrat Uthman (ra) purchased a
hundred loads of wheat that arrived from Damascus by camel and
distributed them to the needy and thecompanions of our Prophet (saas)
in Medina.
Hazrat Uthman's (ra) Superior Services as a Caliphate
Following the martyrdom of Hazrat Umar (ra), HazratUthman (ra) was
chosen as Caliph by a committee. Because he was considered deserving
of this duty by the Islamic community, nobody objected to this
decision and everyone offered allegiance to him. Hazrat Uthman (ra) no
doubt rendered one of his most important services in spreading the
morality of Islam during his Caliphate by ordering the production of
multiple copies of the text of the Qur'an as it exists today, and
sending them to all the Muslim provinces. During the time of Hazrat
Uthman (ra), the copies of the Qur'an were produced,a copy was left in
Medina and others were sent to Mecca, Damascus, Kufa, Basra, Egypt and
other provinces. Due to this honorable and great service of Hazrat
Uthman (ra), he was given the name "Nashri al-Qur'an", meaning "the
one who spreads the Qur'an."
During his Caliphate, Hazrat Uthman (ra) achieved many other great
accomplishments, one of which was the establishment of the first
Muslim navy on the coasts of Syria that made its first expedition to
Cyprus. Following this first naval triumph, other expeditions were
made to other islands in the Mediterranean in the following years,
with great victories following these expeditions.
During his military expeditions both on land and sea, and as a
requisite of the morality of Islam, Hazrat Uthman (ra) alwaysassumed a
just and compassionate attitude. He observed the rights of the People
of the Book and treated them with compassion and justice.
During the conquest of Dabil (Dvin), which was an Armenian city during
the Caliphate of Hazrat Uthman (ra), he granted indemnity to the
Christians, Jews and zoroastrians living in the city and guaranteed
the protection of their sanctuaries.
The following letter whichHazrat Uthman (ra) wrote to the financial
and administrative authorities when he became the Caliph reveals his
understanding, which was in full conformity with the morality of the
Qur'an:
"Almighty Allah had created nothing for a vain purpose. He created
everything as right. Therefore He accepts nothing but the right. Take
whatever you take asright; and give those things you give away to the
needy. Be especially attentive to honesty. Conduct yourself honestly
and don't be the one violating it, for those violating it also
undertakes the sins of those coming later. Be attentive to be loyal;
do not violate the rights of the orphan and comply with the
conventions.
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