3.

LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF HAZRAT UTHMAN/USMAN

Hazrat Usman (R.A) was born in 573 A.D in a highly reputed family of “Umayyah” belonging to the tribe of
Qureysh in Makkah. Banu Umayyah enjoyed a great status among Qureyshi people as they had the
responsibility of keeping the Flag of the whole clan. His father was “Affan bin Abul-As” and his mother was
known as “Arwa”. His complete name was “Usman ibn Affan”. His familial history also matched with that of the
Holy Prophet.

Hazrat Usman (R.A) was one of the few inhabitants of Makkah who could both read and write besides Hazrat
Umar (R.A). He started dealing in the business of cloth in his youth, which earned him a lot of wealth. He was
greatly respected for his kind nature among the Makkans, as he used to help the poor and remove their troubles.
That and later services to Islam in the form of spending his capital earned him the title of “Al-Ghani” (the
Generous One). He was also well known for his truthfulness and honesty.

Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A) and he were close friends from the start. When the former told him about the Prophet
Hood of Hazrat Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬, he readily believed in it. This was because of his great insight of
matters and clear conscious. At that time, the relationships between Banu Hashim and Banu Umayyah had
worsened, and when Hazrat Usman (R.A) accepted Islam, his own family and Qureyshi natives who loved him,
started to hate him. But he did not care about himself, and stood firm on his decision.

During the battle of “Badr”, Ruqayya (R.A) got seriously ill, which lead to Hazrat Usman`s (R.A) exclusion from
this Ghazwa (clash in which the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬participated Himself). He remained in Madina to take
care of her wife, who could not live longer and died. This gave him a great grief as was no longer the Son in Law
of Rasulullah ‫ﷺ‬. Upon this, the Apostle ‫ ﷺ‬of God married His other Daughter, Umm
Kulthum (R.A) to Hazrat Usman (R.A). Thus He got the title of “Dhun-Nurain” (the possessor of the two lights)
by having the great respect of marrying two of the daughters of the Holy Prophet ‫ﷺ‬.

At the time of death of Hazrat Umar (R.A), the second Caliph of Muslims, he appointed a committee of 6 of the
most blessed companions of the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬and gave them task of selecting 3rd Caliph after
him. Eventually, Hazrat Umar (R.A) was chosen as the next Ameer (the leader) of the followers of Islam.
Some of the milestones that he achieved during his reign are:

1. Continuation of the tradition of Hazrat Umar (R.A) and expanding the Islamic state to far off non Arab
countries
2. Formation of Naval Muslim forces leading to more effective outreach to distant regions of the world
3. Winning an emphatic naval battle against Byzantine Empire consisting of 500 ships
4. Ultimate glorification of Islamic State through victories over Byzantine and Roman realms and capturing
the North African territories
Throughout his time in power, he kept his tradition of kindness and generosity to fellow Muslims and never
raised a war against own people despite stubborn and unjust opposition of a few group of so called Muslims.