Hazrath Usman Ghani RA

Hazrat Usman (r.a)

LIFE BEFORE ACCEPTANCE OF ISLAM

Hadrat Usman (R.A.) belonged to a noble family of Quraish in Mecca. His ancestral pedigree joins with that of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) in the fifth generation. He was from the "Umayyah" family of Quraish, which was a well reputed and honourable family of Mecca during the pre-Islamic days. In the famous battle of "Fajar" the Commander-in-Chief of the Quraish army, Harb bin Umayyah was from the same family. The descendants of this family are known as "Banu Umayyah" or "Umawwin".

Hadrat Usman (R.A.) was born in 573 A.C. His patronymic name was "Abu Amr" and father's name was "Affan bin Abul-As". He was known by the name "Uthman ibn 'Affan". Hadrat Uthman was one of the few persons of Mecca who knew reading and writing. When he grew up, he started business in cloth which made him very rich. He used his money in good ways and always helped the poor. Uthman (R.A.) was a soft natured and kind hearted man. He did not hesitate to spend any amount of money on seeing a man in trouble in order to remove his misery. For his noble qualities the Meccans had great respect for him.

ACCEPTANCE OF ISLAM

Hadrat Usman (R.A.) accepted Islam when Abu Bakr (R.A.) preached to him. He was one of those Muslims who accepted Islam in its very early days. Though "Banu Hashim" (the Holy Prophet's family) was rival to "Banu Umayyah" (Hadrat Uthman's family), and the latter was in power at that time, yet Uthman (R.A.) did not hesitate to acknowledge the prophethood of Hadrat Muhammad (Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) which meant authority and supremacy over "Banu Hashim". This was one of the reasons why Quraish leaders, belonging to Banu Umayyah (like Abu Sufyan) were opposing the Holy Prophet(Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam). Thus acceptance of Islam in such a position shows the clear-mindedness of Hadrat Uthman (R.A.). When he accepted Islam, the Quraish who once loved Uthman became his enemies. Even his relatives like Hakam (one of his uncles) began to rebuke him and chastised him severely.


One of the daughters of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam), Hadrat Ruqayyah (R.A.) was married to one of the sons of Abu Lahab (an arch-enemy of Islam). When the Holy Prophet(Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) started to preach Islam, Abu Lahab asked his son 'Utbah to divorce her. Then the Holy Prophet married her to Hadrat Uthman (R.A.)

EMIGRATION TO ABYSSINIA

When life in Makkah became hard for the Muslims, he went to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu'alaihi wa Sallam) and sought permission to take refuge in Abyssinia along with other Muslims. The permission was granted. Hadrat Uthman(R.A.) and his wife crossed the Red Sea with other Muslims and migrated to Abyssinia. At the time of his migration the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu'alaihi wa Sallam) remarked: "Uthman is the first man of my Ummah to migrate (for sake of Allah) with his family." He stayed there for a couple of months and came back to Mecca when he was wrongly informed by somebody that the Quraish had accepted Islam.


H.USMAN (R.A.) GETS THE TITLE OF "DHUN-NURAIN"

Hadrat Uthman (R.A.) migrated second time with other Muslims to Medina. He could not participate in the first battle of Islam against non-believers of Mecca at Badr, because his wife was very ill. She died before the Muslims returned from Badr after the victory. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) gave him glad tidings that he would get the same reward as though he had participated in the battle. After the death of Hadrat Ruqayyah (R.A.), the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) married his next daughter, "Umm Kulthum" with him and he was given the title of "Dhun-nurain" i.e., the man with two lights.


HIS OTHER SERVICES FOR THE CAUSE OF ISLAM BEFORE CALIPHATE

He was a very prominent Muslim to serve Islam by all means. He participated in almost all the battles with the non-believers in which the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) had also taken part, except "Badr". At the time of the "Treaty of Hudaibiya" he was sent to Mecca to negotiate with the non-believers. Then the Muslims were wrongly informed about his murder by the non-believers of Mecca. It is for this reason that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) sought a pledge by the Muslims to fight with the non-believers in revenge of his murder. That pledge is known as "Bai'at al-Ridwan" (the Pledge of Ridwan). For Uthman's pledge, the Holy Prophet(Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) put his left hand (representing Uthman's hand) on his right hand.


When the Muhajirin (Emigrants) from Makkah came to Madinah, they had great difficulty in getting drinking water. Hadrat Uthman (R.A.) bought a well named "bi'r-i-Rumah" from a Jew for twenty thousand dirhams for free use of Muslims. That was the first trust ever made in the history of Islam. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) gave him the glad tidings of Paradise for this act.


When the number of Muslims increased, the Prophet's mosque became too small to accommodate the increasing population, it was Uthman (R.A.) who responded to the Prophet's call and bought land for its extension. When the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) went to the expedition of Tabuk, Hadrat Uthman bore the expenses for one third Islamic army (i.e., about 10,000 men). He also gave one thousand camels, fifty horses and one thousand Dinars (gold coins) to support the rest of the army. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu'alaihi wa Sallam) remarked on this, "Nothing will do any harm to Uthman from this day, whatever he does."

Hadrat Usman (R.A.) was one of the scribes of the "Wahy" (Revelation) and also used to write other documents (letters and messages etc.) of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam).

At the time of the election of Hadrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) Hadrat Uthman (R.A.) was present in the Assembly Hall of Medina. During the caliphate of Abu Bakr and 'Umar (R.A.), he was a member of the "Shura" (Advisory Council). He occupied a prominent position in the affairs of the Islamic State during that time.


HADRAT USMAN (R.A.) ELECTED AS THE THIRD KHALIFAH (CALIPH)

Before his death, Hadrat 'Umar (R.A.) appointed a panel of six men to select a "Khalifah" from amongst themselves and then sought his approval through Bai'at (Pledge of loyalty) by Muslim Public. He also instructed them to make the nomination within three days. The panel included Uthman,'Ali, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas, Talha, Zubair and 'Abdur Rahman bin 'Auf (Ridwanullah-i-'Alaihim) as the members.

The panel could not arrive at any decision even after long meetings. Then, Hadrat 'Abdur Rahman bin 'Auf proposed somebody to withdraw his name in order to decide the matter. When he got no response, he withdrew his own name. The remaining members agreed that he could take a decision. He consulted each member individually except Hadrat Talha (R.A.) who was not present at Medina. It so happened that Hadrat Uthman proposed 'Ali's name and Hadrat 'Ali proposed Uthman's name for the post of Khalifah. But Zubair and Sa'd (R.A.) were more in favour of Hadrat Uthman than Hadrat 'Ali. After more consultations with other companions and thinking over the problem during the third night, Hadrat 'Abdur Rahman bin 'Auf(R.A.) gave his decision in the morning of the fourth day in favour of Hadrat Uthman (R.A.).

First of all Hadrat 'Abdur Rahman bin 'Auf(R.A.) took Bai'at at the hands of Hadrat Uthman and then all the Muslims present in the Mosque followed suit and took Bai'at (pledge of loyalty) at the hands of Hadrat Uthman(R.A.). In this way, Hadrat Uthman (R.A.) was declared to be the third Khalifah. When Hadrat Talha (R.A.) returned to Medina, Uthman (R.A.) requested him either to accept the post of "Khalifah" (as he was among the persons proposed by Hadrat 'Umar for the post) or to acknowledge him as Khalifah by taking Bai'at. Hadrat Talha declined to be the Khalifah and took pledge of loyalty at his hand, saying "How can I object to your being the Khalifah when all the Muslims have agreed upon you."

ADMINISTRATION OF SYRIA

During the time of Hadrat 'Umar (R.A.), Amir Mu'awiya (R.A.) was the governor of Damascus controlling a part of Syria. Hadrat Uthman after combining three provinces viz. Syria, Palestine and Jordan into one, appointed Amir Mu'awiya (R.A.) as the governor of the whole Syria. During the late period of Hadrat 'Umar (R.A.) Heraclius, the Emperor of Byzantium died at Constantinople in 641 (A.C.) and his son, Constans (641-668) after some confusion became the Emperor of Byzantine Empire which was reduced to Antalya (now a part of Turkey) & Asia Minor besides some states in the Eastern Europe, with Constantinople as its capital.

The Romans (Byzantines) were having a covetous eye on the parts conquered by the Muslims, specially Syria and Alexandria (in Egypt). They again started raising a big army against Muslims and incited the people to rebel against the Islamic Government after the death of Hadrat 'Umar (R.A.).

ROMAN INVASION OF ALEXANDRIA

In the year 25 A.H. (645 A.C.) there was a big rebellion in Alexandria, and in 26 A.H., the Roman army took possession of the city after a fight with the Muslims. Hearing this Hadrat Uthman (R.A.)directed 'Amr bin al-'As(R.A.) to crush the rebellion and beat back the Roman invasion. Hadrat'Amr (R.A.) again attacked the city and drove the Romans out, and recovered the port city of Alexandria.

ADMINISTRATION OF EGYPT

During the time of Hadrat 'Umar there was no full pledged governor in Egypt. The powers of the governor were divided. Hadrat'Amr bin al'As was the Commander-in-Chief of the forces and Hadrat'Abdullah bin Sarah (R.A.) was in charge of Revenue. But Hadrat'Amr (R.A.) had more say in the matters of administration. There arose a dispute between Hadrat'Amr and Hadrat Sarah in the year 27 A.H. Hadrat Uthman investigated the case and found that Hadrat 'Amr was not right; so he recalled him to Medina and Hadrat 'Abdullah bin Sarah was appointed as governor of Egypt. Hadrat 'Amr was not pleased with the decision. During the time of Hadrat 'Amr (R.A.) the annual amount of taxes was two million dinars. Hadrat'Abdullah raised it to four million dinars annually.

CONQUEST OF ANTALYA AND CYPRUS

Constan 11, the Byzantine Emperor tried to take over Syria and ordered his army to march on the Muslims. Seeing the Roman invasion, Hadrat Amir Mu'awiya (R.A.) led an army to Asia Minor where the Romans were gathered. He defeated the Romans and took over the city of Amuria. Within a short period of time he conquered a vast part of Asia Minor.

Following these victories Hadrat Amir Mu'awiyah (R.A.) turned his attention to Mediterranean. The island of Cyprus was very important from the defence point of view. He sought Uthman's (R.A.) permission for sea-fighting. The Khalifah approved his plan. For the first time in the history of Islam, a naval force was built and in the year 28 A.H. Hadrat Mu'awiya sent a fleet of 500 ships under the command of Hadrat'Abdullah bin Qais Harthi. After some fighting, the island of Cyprus was occupied and the inhabitants of the island agreed to pay the same tribute to Muslims as they did to the Romans.

Later on in the year 33 A.H. (653 A.C.). Hadrat Amir Mu'awiya also conquered the great fort of Antalya (also known as Anatolia). He also attacked Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of Byzantium in the year 34 A.H. (654 A.C.) but was not successful in conquering it. (It was really in the lot of Sultan Muhammad Fatih who conquered it on 20 Jumadiul Awwal 857 A.H. i.e. 29 May 1453 A.C.).

ADMINISTRATION OF IRAQ

During the time of Hadrat 'Umar (R.A.) Iraq was governed by the governor at Kufa. Hadrat Sa'd was the governor whom Hadrat 'Umar (R.A.) recalled to Medina on some minor complaints. But at his death bed Hadrat'Umar desired reinstatement of Hadrat Sa'd (R.A.). Hadrat Uthman fulfilled his desire and appointed Hadrat Sa'd as the governor of Iraq. In the year 26 A.H., there arose a dispute between Hadrat Sa'd and Ibn Mas'ud (R.A.) who was the Treasury officer of Kufa. Ibn Mas'ud complained to the Khalifah. Hadrat Uthman enquired into the matter and found that Hadrat Sa'd was not right, therefore Hadrat Sa'd was again deprived of the governorship and Hadrat Walid bin 'Uqbah was appointed as the new governor. In 30 A.H. Hadrat Walid bin 'Uqbah was accused of drinking liquor for which he was not only dismissed but was also whipped in accordance with Islamic law. According to some historians Hadrat Walid bin 'Uqbah was wrongly accused by some conspirators but Hadrat Uthman had to punish him because of the evidence given against him. Then Hadrat Uthman appointed Hadrat Sa'd bin al-'As as the governor of Kufa. Again rowdy elements of Kufa plotted against their governor in the year 34 A.H. When Hadrat Uthman received a number of complaints against Sa'd bin al-'As he replaced him by Hadrat Abu Musa Ash'ari (R.A.).

REBELLION OF AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA

Azerbaijan and Armenia were conquered during Hadrat 'Umar's time. There arose a rebellion against Islamic Government after his death. Hadrat Uthman ordered Hadrat Walid bin 'Uqbah (who was the governor of Kufa at that time) to crush the rebellion. He sent Islamic forces and regained the territory taken over by the rebels. This happened in the year 26 A.H.

During the same period, Hadrat Amir Mu'awiyah(R.A.) sent an army to Armenia to face the Romans. The Islamic army was under the command of Habib bin Muslimah. He occupied some of the forts but Constans II sent a huge army of 80,000 men to face the Muslims. Seeing the situation, Amir Mu'awiya (R.A.) wrote to Hadrat Uthman for reinforcement. He ordered Walid Bin 'Uqbah. He received Khalifahs order when he was returning from Azerbaijan after taking it over from the rebels. He immediately sent an army of eight thousand men under the command of Salman bin Rabi'ah to Armenia. The two armies conquered the whole region of Armenia after defeating the Roman forces. They also conquered some more parts of Asia Minor including Aran and Garjastan. Thus by the end of the 26 A.H. the territory up to Caucasus Mountains (now in the U.S.S.R.) came under the sway of Islam.


ADMINISTRATION OF IRAN AND CONQUEST OF AFGHANISTAN

Iran was under the administrative control of the governor of Basrah. Hadrat Abu Musa Ash'ari (R.A.) was the governor of Basrah when Hadrat 'Umar (R.A.) died. The People of Basrah complained against him and wrongly accused him of partiality for the Quraish. At last Hadrat Uthman (R.A.) recalled him to Medina and appointed Hadrat 'Abdullah bin 'Amir (R.A.) as the governor of Basrah.

As stated before whole of the Persian Empire was conquered during the time of Hadrat 'Umar (R.A.) and the Persian Emperor, Yedzgird had ultimately fled to Balkh (a place in Afghanistan). After the death of Hadrat 'Umar(R.A.), the exiled Emperor tried to instigate a rebellion in the frontier region of the Empire against the Islamic rule. To crush this rebellion Hadrat Uthman (R.A.) appointed Hadrat'Ubaidullah bin Ma'mar but he was not successful and was martyred in a battle. Then Hadrat Uthman asked 'Abdullah bin 'Amir, the newly appointed governor to deal with the rebels. He crushed the rebellion and conquered some more parts viz. Hisraf, Gazna, Herat and Kabul. He also took over Balkh, thus the whole of Afghanistan was conquered. Then he took over Samarkand, Tashkent, Sajestan, Arghiyan and Turkmennistan (all these places are now part of the U.S.S.R.).

CONQUEST OF KHURASAN AND TABRASTAN

In the year 30 A.H. Hadrat Sa'd bin'As, newly appointed governor of Kufa, marched towards Khurasan with an army in which some prominent figures like Hadrat Hasan, Husain, 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas,'Abdullah bin'Umar etc. (Rid. A.) were also included who had returned from North African expedition. At the same time Hadrat'Abdullah bin'Amir (the governor of Basrah) also marched there. Before Hadrat 'Abdullah bin 'Amir reached, Sa'd bin 'As conquered a number of places including Tabrastan and Jarjan.

In the year 31 A.H. Hadrat'Abdullah bin'Amir again marched there after hearing the news of rebellion. Then he conquered the remaining part of Khurasan.

In the meantime, Yedzgird, the exiled Persian Emperor reached the north in Turkmennistan and tried to collect an army but was again defeated by the Muslims at Sistan and fled. Thereupon one of the Turk chiefs and Naizak Khan invited him. While he was going to meet him he stayed in a village. There some body killed him while he was asleep for his precious garments and cash. In this way the last Emperor of the vast Persian Empire passed away

CONQUEST OF NORTH AFRICA

For the defence of Egypt it was necessary to drive away the Byzantines from North Africa. Tripoli (now the capital of Libya) was a stronghold of Byzantium. When Hadrai 'Abdullah bin Sarah was appointed as a full-rank governor of Egypt, he took permission from the Khalifah to advance into the northern territory. During Hadrat 'Umar's time. Amr bin al-'As (R.A.) had penetrated into the coastal part of North Africa for some distance.

After his appointment as a governor of Egypt. Hadrat 'Abdullah bin Sarah (R.A.)
received permission from the Khalifah to penetrate deep into North Africa. In 27 A.H. he went with an army to conquer Tripoli, the main Byzantine fort of North Africa at that time. Hadrat Uthman (R.A.)also sent a reinforcement from Medina which included men like Hadrat Hasan, Husain,'Abdullah bin'Umar,'Abdullah bin Zubair,'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin al-'As, and 'Abdur Rahman bin Abi Bakr etc. (Ridwanullah-i-'Alaihim). After some fight the inhabitants of Tripoli agreed to enter into a settlement and promised to pay "Jizya" (Indemnity) equal to 2'/2 million Dinars annually.

After the conquest of Tripoli, Hadrat 'Abdullah bin Sarah spread his armies around Tripoli. Near a city named Yaquba he faced a huge Byzantine army, under the command of a famous Byzantine general named Jarjir. The battle began and the Byzantine commander announced a reward of one hundred thousand Dinars (gold coins) and the hand of his beautiful daughter, to the person who struck off the head of Hadrat 'Abdullah bin Sarah, the Muslim Commander. Hearing this Hadrat'Abdullah bin Zubair requested Hadrat 'Abdullah bin Sarah to announce a reward of one hundred dinars and the hand of Byzantine Commander's daughter (the princess) for the person who brought the commander's head. The reward was announced and the same day the commander was slain but nobody claimed the reward. However the princess recognised the man who had slain her father. He was no other than 'Abdullah bin Zubair (R.A.). The princess was married with him and he also got the reward of one hundred thousand dinars.

This victory cleared the way for advance of Muslims in North Africa and soon they captured Tunisia and Morocco and a part of Algeria.

SECOND INVASION OF ALEXANDRIA BY ROMANS

In the year 31 A.H. (651 A.C.) Constantine sent a fleet of 500 ships to invade Alexandria. The Muslims got ready to beat back the enemy. Hadrat Muawiya (R.A.) the governor of Syria, also ordered his fleet to sail from there to face the Romans. Hadrat'Abdullah bin Sarah advanced with his fleet and faced the Romans in the mid sea. That was the first big naval battle in the history of Islam. Though the Muslims were not experienced in naval battles, yet they did not find it difficult to beat back the enemy. The retreating Romans took refuge in the island of Sicily and the Muslims returned victorious.

INVASION OF SPAIN

After the conquest of North Africa, Hadrat Usman gave orders for the invasion of Spain. He appointed 'Abdullah bin Nafai' as the Commander of Muslim army under the chief command of 'Abdullah bin Sarah, the governor of Egypt. 'Abdullah bin Nafai' conquered some part of Spain but soon returned and was not successful in his mission. (Spain was, as a matter of fact, in the lot of Tariq bin Ziyad who conquered it in the year 92 A.H. i.e. 711 A.C.).

A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE CONQUESTS DURING HADRAT UTHMAN'S CALIPHATE

Thus we see that during the caliphate of Hadrat Usman (R.A.) the Muslims conquered a number of new areas. They took over Antalya and Asia Minor in the west including Cyprus. Afghanistan, Samarkand, Tashkent, Trukmennistan, Khurasan and Tabrastan in the East and North East; and Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco in North Africa. In this way Muslims were ruling over a vast part of Asia and Africa viz. Afghanistan, Turkmennistan, Uzbekistan, Persia or Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and of course Arabia (now Saudi Arabia) and Yemen including the Gulf states. All these countries and places were under one flag, and the Islamic state was far bigger than any one of the past mighty Byzantine or Persian Empires. Islam as a religion was also prevailing in Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) and in some parts of East and Central Africa though these places were not under the direct control of the Caliphate.