HAZRAT USMAN(R.

A)
(644 – 656 A.D.)
Introduction
• Life Before Khilafat:
The third Khalifa, Hazrat Usman, son of
Affan, was born in Makkah. He was five year younger than the Holy
Prophet PBUH. He belonged to the Umayyad tribe. The Holy Prophet
PBUH and Hazrat Usman had a common ancestor in Abd Munaf.
Hazrat Usman’s father was a merchant and one of the richest men
among the Quraish. Hazrat Usman was one of the youngest men in
Makkah who could read and write. Before Islam, he led a very chaste
life, he did not drink wine, did not gamble nor worship idols. Before
accepting Islam, he was known by the name Abu Amr.
• He was the first among the Umayyad to become a Muslim. He spent
most of his time in the company of the Holy Prophet PBUH. He is one
of the Ten companions to whom the Holy Prophet PBUH gave the
tidings of Paradise in their life time.
• The Holy Prophet PBUH gave his second daughter, Ruqayya, in
marriage to Hazrat Usman. After her death Holy Prophet PBUH gave
his Third daughter, Qulsum, in marriage to Hazrat Usman. Thus, he
came to be known as Zun Nurain, the possessor of two lights. The
Holy Prophet PBUH was so pleased with him that after the death of
Qulsum, he would say that had he any other daughter, he would have
given her in marriage to Hazrat Usman.(Tirmizi)
• Hazrat Usman migrated first to Abyssinia and then to Madinah. After
migrating to Madinah he worked as a trader. He earned the title of
Ghani for spending his wealth in the services of Islam. He took part in
all battle except the battle of Badr.
• When Hazrat Abu Bakr was elected as the Khalifa, Hazrat Usman was
the first person after Hazrat Umar to offer allegiance to him. He
served in the army that was sent by Hazrat Abu Bakr to Syria under
the command of Usamah. During the apostasy wars, he remained at
Madinah to act as Hazrat Abu Bakr’s adviser. During the Khilafat of
Hazrat Umar, a severe famine broke out in the country and there was
a shortage of food. Hazrat Usman distributed the entire stock of food
grains among the poor.
• The first two Khalifas had very high regard for Hazrat Usman and used
to seek his advise in all matters. He was regarded as an authority on
the Muslim law of inheritance. He was include in the Panel of six men
nominated by Hazrat Umar before his death for successor as Khalifa:
• Election As Khalifa:
On his death-bed, Hazrat Umar
nominated a committee of six persons to hold consultation and select his
successor from amongst themselves within three days:
1- Hazrat Ali
2- Hazrat Usman
3- Hazrat Zubair Bin Awwam
4- Hazrat Abdur Rahman Bin Auf
5- Hazrat Talha
6- Hazrat Sa’ad Bin Waqqas
All these persons were among the most eminent companions of the Holy
Prophet PBUH, whom he had given tidings of Paradise in their life time.
• Abdur Rahman was not willing to shoulder the great responsibility. Of the remaining five
nominees, Talha was not present at Madinah; therefore., the choice was now restricted to
remaining four members. It was decided that as Abdur Rahman was now restricted to the
remaining four members. He consulted each one individually as to his opinion. Sa’ad
supported Hazrat Usman, while Zubair mentioned both Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Usman,
Hazrat Ali voted for Hazrat Usman, Hazrat Usman voted for Hazrat Ali. Abdur Rahman
asked the opinion of other prominent men as well and arrived at the conclusion that the
majority of the people favored the succession of Hazrat Usman and, thus, he was declared
as the elected Khalifa. Abdur Rahman Bin Auf was first to take the Bayyat or pledge and
he was followed by Hazrat Ali and other companions and then there was a general Bayyat.
Hazrat Usman became the third Khalifa of Islam on the 4th of Muharram 24 A.H.
• Conquest In The East And In The West:
There were
uprising in several territories , notably in Persia in the East and the
Byzantine in the West. Hazrat Usman proved to be a great army
commander. Within the first year of Khilafat, he was able to crush these
revolts. Not only did Hazrat Usman make his grip over these territories
firmer, it was in his time that Muslims conquered the North Africa. It
included countries now known as Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
The Island of Cyprus was conquered during his Khilafat.
The first seven years or eight years of Hazrat Usman’s Khilafat were a
reminder of the glorious rule of Hazrat Umar. During this time Hazrat
Usman ruled with a glorious reputation and “ he was more beloved by
the Quraish than Umar,” says Zuhri. Several victories were won and the
Islamic Empire expanded from Morocco to Kabul.
• Causes Of The Revolt Against Hazrat Usman:
The last
four years of Hazrat Usman’s Khilafat was full of intrigues, conspiracies
and revolts. The Muslim state under his rule was inhabited by many
tribes and nationalities. They had either been subjugated by Islam or
been absorbed in Islam. But most of them not yet imbibed the true
spirit of Islam. Moreover, the Jews who had lost their religious and
social importance and had been expelled, first from Madinah than from
Khaiber for their conspiracies, were nursing grievance against Muslims.
They were waiting for an opportunity to destroy Islam.
• Hazrat Usman expelled some of these conspirators from Kufa and
Basra. This did not improve matters. It only worsened the situation
because these conspirator spread the sphere of their activities to
other areas, specially Egypt, where the number of Jews had become
Muslims but were in reality the worst enemies of Islam. Their plan
was to divide the Muslim nation into sects so that they may fight
amongst themselves. The leader of this conspiracy was Abdullah Bin
Saba, a Jew of Yemen. He posed as a Muslim, but his object was to
destroy Islam. He used the name of Hazrat Ali to instigate people
against Hazrat Usman and create two parties of the followers of
Hazrat Usman and Hazrat Ali. After Madinah, he went to Basra, Kufa,
Damascus and Egypt. It was because of his propaganda that Muslim
began to differ in religious matters.
• The rivalry and jealousy among the Quraish themselves; between the
Hashimites and Umayyads weakened the power of Khalifa [Link]
constituted one of the main causes of his failure. Under the peaceful
reign of Hazrat Usman, the tribal jealousies began to raise their head.
The simple and kind character of Hazrat Usman was also responsible
for many problems which the then world of Islam faced. He leniency
encouraged his enemies and the conspirators to carry out their evil
intensions.
• Charges Against Hazrat Usman:
The people who had once
spoken highly of Hazrat Usman, brought several allegation against him
afterward. One of the main allegation was that he had appointed his
inefficient relatives as governors. There were twelve provinces, namely
Egypt, Syria, Kufa and Basra. He appointed them not because he wanted to
bestow high offices on his family member, but because of the importance
these provinces had. They demanded that there should be governor who
were loyal to him and enjoyed his confidence as the Khalifa. Hazrat Usman
had absolute right to appoint governors and there was no legal bar to the
appointment of relatives to high posts.
All the governors appointed by Hazrat Usman were people of great caliber.
They proved very successful . He reconquered the whole of Fars, Seestan
and Khorasan. Thus none of the governors appointed by Hazrat Usman
proved a failure.
• It is also alleged that Hazrat Usman was weak and that he did not
exercise control on his governors who acted according to their own
wishes and did not carry out the orders of their Khalifa. Hazrat Umar
had imposed some restrictions on his governors, Hazrat Usman did
not consider such restriction necessary. So he allowed them greater
liberty and freedom.
• The greatest allegation against the Khalifa was the burning of the Holy
Quran. There were no standardized copies of the Quran. Hazrat
Usman thought it desirable to standardize the text of the Holy Quran.
In order to carry out this plan, a committee was appointed. Under its
supervision, some fresh copies were made and all unauthentic copies
were burnt. At first, this action of the Khalifa received great
administration, but afterwards, the rebels raised a hue and cry that
the Khalifa had caused the sacred volumes to be burnt.
• Hazrat Usman gave a convincing reply to each of the charges in the
presence of the Holy Prophet’s PBUH companions. In this connection
Hazrat Ali and some companions were satisfied and accepted Hazrat
Usman’s explanation. The rebels however, stuck to one point – their
demand to depose the Khalifa. To achieve this end, a large number of
the rebels from Egypt, Kufa and Basra marched on Madinah and
encamped outside the capital. Hazrat Ali tried to argue with them and
succeeded in persuading them to go back after Hazrat Usman had
agreed to two of their conditions i.e., the removal of the governor of
Egypt, Abdullah Bin Sa’ad and the appointment of Muhammad Bin
Abu Bakr in his place.
• Martyrdom Of Hazrat Usman:
The rebels returned to
Madinah after four days shouting for revenge. The reason was that they
had intercepted an order of the Khalifa to the governor of Egypt to kill
Muhammad Bin Abu Bakr and his companions on their arrival. Hazrat
Usman swore that he had not passed any such order. But the rebels
insisted that Hazrat Usman should abdicate or he should be deposed.
Hazrat Usman refused to abdicate after which the rebels besieged the
Khalifa in his house. They did not allow food and water to reach him.
Hazrat Ali deputed his sons, Hassan, Hussain, and Zubair sent his son
Abdullah to protect Hazrat Usman. Some companions who were
successful in reaching Hazrat Usman during the siege, wanted to help
him and fight the rebels or send for troops to fight them. But Hazrat
Usman refused and said that he did not want to shed Muslim blood.
• The siege lasted for 15 days when some of the rebels jumped into
Hazrat Usman’s house. They mercilessly killed him while he was
reading the Holy Quran. As prophesied by the Holy Prophet PBUH, the
first drop of his blood fell on verse 137 of Surah Baqarah which reads:
“ But Allah will suffice thee as against them; and He is All-Hearing, All-
Knowing.” The Khalifa’s wife, Naila, tried to save her husband, but was
pushed away and her fingers were cut off. This tragic event took place
on Friday, the 18th of Zil Hajj, 35 A.H. He was buried in Jannat-Ul-Baqi in
Madinah.
The assassination of Hazrat Usman had far reaching consequences for
the Muslim Empire. Serious difference arose among the Muslims who
were divided into two parties – the Hashimites and the Umayyads. The
Umayyads under the leadership of Muawiya fought for a long time with
Hazrat Ali for the blood of Hazrat Usman and ultimately established the
Umayyad dynasty. The authority of Madinah ceased to exit and that of
Damascus began to increase.
•Administration:
As the Khalifa, Hazrat Usman Followed the
Sunnah of the Holy Prophet PBUH and the practice followed by the first
and the second Khalifas. He continued the administrative arrangements
made by Hazrat Umar, though he regrouped some of the provinces and
created new provinces for the newly conquered territories. The Majlis-
e- Shura or council of consultation was maintained and all affair of the
state were settled by this council. He started the practice of holding
periodic conferences of the district authorities in order to keep himself
informed of the conditions in the country. Hazrat Usman also used to
hear public complains after Friday prayers.
• Hazrat Usman relaxed most of the restrictions that had been imposed
on the people by Hazrat Umar. He allowed the Arabs to acquire
agriculture lands in the conquered territories. The Arabs purchased
these lands and exchanged them with land in Arabia. Hazrat Usman
made extensions to the Holy Prophet’s PBUH Masjid in Madinah and
had new Masjids constructed at various places. He also ordered the
construction of inns, border outposts and guest houses. He made
arrangements for the supply for drinking water to travelers by getting
wells sunk by the sides of highways and roads. A dam was also built to
protect Madinah from floods. During his Khilafat for the first time a fleet
of nearly five hundred ships was built to fight with the Greeks on the
Mediterranean Sea. More land was set apart as grazing ground for
horses. Hazrat Usman raised the salaries of the Officers and the armed
forces. He also increased the allowances paid to the people by 25%. He
took steps for the propagation of Islam and is said to have sent religious
teachers to India to spread Islam.
•Services:
Hazrat Usman’s greatest service to Islam is the
transcription and the circulation of official copies of the Holy Quran. One
of his commanders reported to him that in the newly conquered
territories, those Muslims whose mother tongue was not Arabic were
reading the Quran in different ways. He feared that if this was not checked,
differences might arise. Hazrat Usman, therefore sent copy of the holy
Quran that had been prepared in the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr and which
was in the custody of Hafsa. He then ordered, Hazrat Zaid Bin Sabit ,
Abdullah Bin Zubair, Sa’ad Bin Aas and Abdul Rahman bin Haris to make a
number of copies from the original. These originals were sent to all parts
of Muslim Empire and the incorrect copies were collected and burnt.
Hazrat Usman’s love for Muslims and the solidarity of Islam was so great
that he sacrificed his life rather than take up the sword against his Muslim
brothers.
•Character:
Hazrat Usman was well-known for his strong
moral character. He was an embodiment of modesty, humility, chastity
and dignity. K. Ali has observed in his book, ‘ A Study of Islamic History’:
“Usman was upright, dutiful and generous. In chastity and integrity, he
was as firm as a mountain. Modesty was the salient feature of his
character.”
S. A. Salik in his book, “The Early Heroes Of Islam” calls him:
“ One of the most generous, pious, pure and heroic souls of early
Islam. As a private individual, his character was simply adorable.”
He was very particular not to offend anyone by his behavior. On account
of his endearing qualities, he enjoyed a great deal of popularity among
the people of Makkah.
• Even before embracing Islam, he led a chaste life., never drank wine
nor gambled, nor did he worship idols. In spite of his wealth, he was a
man of simple habits, and did not indulge in a luxurious way of life. He
was very generous and for his generosity, he was rightly known as
Ghani. He spent the greater part of his wealth in helping the
distressed. He supported many poor families, orphans and widows. S.
A. Salik in his book ‘ Early Heroes Of Islam’ observes:
“ In spite of his opulence, he led a simple life; but with a magnificent
liberality, he spent his money in charity.”
Hazrat Usman was soft spoken and kind-hearted and a man of great
wisdom and foresight. He was known for the firmness and
steadfastness of his faith. In short, he was an embodiment of all the
qualities and virtues that a good Muslim should have.