Part 47

On the authority of * Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, who says, "I heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, say to *Uthmaan: "If had forty daughters, I would give them in marriage to you one by one until no one of them remained." (Reported by Ibn ~ Asaakir.)

“Asmah Ibn Malik narrates: When the Prophet's daughter who was married to ~ Uthman died, the Prophet said: "Give your daughters in marriage to ~Uthmaan. If I had a third daughter, I would give her in marriage to him, and I never gave him my daughters except in compliance with a Divine Revelation." (Reported by At-Tabaraani.)

Ibn “Umar, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, reports that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The Angels feel bashful of “Uthmaan the way they feel bashful of Allah and Hid Messenger." (Reported by Ibn Abu Ya‘ la.)

Zayd Ibn Thaabit, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that he heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, saying: "“Uthmaan passed by me when an angel was sitting with me. The angel exclaimed, "A martyr whose people will kill! We feel bashful of him!" (Reported by Ibn ~ Asaakir)

Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The most compassionate of my nation is Abu Bakr; the firmest in abiding by Allah's Law is “Umar; the most bashful is ~Uthmaan; the most knowledgeable of what is lawful and what is prohibited is

Mu*aadh Ibn Jabal; the best in reciting the Quran is Ubayy; the most knowledgeable of Al-Faraa’id (the law of inheritance) is Zayd Ibn Thaabit. Every nation has Ameen (an honest and trustworthy man), and the Ameen of this nation is ~Ubaydah Ibn Al-Jarraah." (Reported by Al-Tirmidhi, An-Nasaa‘i and Ibn Majah)

~Uthmaan as a Great Scholar:

‘Uthmaan, may Allah be pleased with him, had a beautiful handwriting because of which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, appointed him as one of the scribes of the Wahy (Revelation). His style of writing was well recognized among the Companions of the Prophet. People who are well versed in Arabic can easily recognize the fluency of his writings of the letters and the orders he sent to various rulers during his caliphate. Though he was not an orator, his way of lecturing was very eloquent and effective. His addresses and lectures can be seen in history books.

~Uthmaan was a great scholar of the Glorious Quran; he was a Haafiz'. He was well versed in Asbaab An-Nozool, i.e.

the occasions of revelation of various verses and the Surahs of the Glorious Quran, and was considered an authority in this respect. He was one of the few Companions who excelled in deriving rulings and verdicts from the verses of the Quran.

Although he was not a great jurist like ~ Umar and * Ali, he was well qualified in this respect. His verdicts and judgements have been mentioned in the books of jurisprudence. He was considered an authority on the laws of Hajj. Even ~ Umar asked * Uthmaan about that during his time.

The one who commits the whole Quran to memory.

According to At-Tabari who narrates on the authority of “Umar Ibn Maymoon Al-Awdi, that the council of consultants (nominated by ~Umar) at last decided to make * Uthmaan, may Allah be pleased with him, the caliph for the following reasons: When ~Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab was stabbed, he was asked: "O! Commander of the Faithful, if you were to nominate your successor, who would you choose?" ~Umar answered: "Who would I choose? Had Abu * Ubaydah Ibn Al-Jarraah been alive, I would have made him the caliph. If my Lord asked me why I did, I'd say: I heard Your Messenger say: “He is the commander of this nation". Had Salim, Abu Hudhayfah's servant been alive, I would have made him the caliph. If my Lord ask me why I did, I'd say I heard Your Messenger say: "Verily Salim has great love for Allah." A man then said to “Umar: " I can tell you who to choose. ~Abdullaah Ibn “Umar.” *Umar angrily returned: "May Allah punish you! I swear that you have not suggested him seeking merely Allah's satisfaction. We have no interest in being in charge of your affairs. I was never happy to shoulder this responsibility. That is why I would never have any of my family undertake it. It is enough to have only one of this household held accountable for Muhammad's nation. I have done my utmost, and deprived my family (from all luxury). Should I manage to escape Allah's punishment, I would be pleased."

When people said: "O! Commander of the Faithful, just name someone." ~Umar said: "I do not want to shoulder your responsibility in this world and the Hereafter. But you should listen to this Eminent group whom the Messenger of Allah described as being among the dwellers of Paradise: ~ Ali, *~Uthmaan, the two sons of ~ Abdu-Manaaf, * Abdur-Rahmaan and Sa*d, the two uncles of Allah's Messenger, Az-Zubayr Ibn Al-- Awaam, the Prophet's supporter and cousin, and good-

natured Talhah Ibn ~Ubaydellaah. Appoint any of them. If he appoints any of you as a governor, this person should perform his duty and you should all assist him. If the caliph entrusts anyone with anything, this person must discharge truthfully what is entrusted to him." The men then went out.

After “Umar was buried, the council of consultant (i.e. Ash-Shura) gathered. They were five and their meeting was attended by ~ Abdullaah Ibn ~ Umar whereas Talhah was absent. Lengthy discussions and deliberations took place. At-Tabari points that for nights, the house of Abdur-Rahmaan was the meeting spot for many Companions, prominent figures and dignitaries, the majority of whom opted for ~ Uthmaan.

Three days after ~Umar's death, ~ AbdurRahmaan stood up in the Mosque addressing a large crowd saying: "O people, everyone would like to go home to their provinces knowing who the new caliph would be.” Sa eed Ibn Zayd, who was one of the ten men whom the Prophet foretold would be among the dwellers of Paradise, said: "We see you as best suited for the post.” ‘ Abdur-Rahmaan said: "Give me a different opinion."

Then “Umar Ibn Yasir said: “If you do not want Muslims to fight each other, you should nominate * Ali." AlMiqdad Ibn Al-Aswad rejoined: “*Umar is right. Should you select “Ali, we will all be pleased and will support him." But ~Abdullaah Ibn Abu Sarh said: "If you don't want to upset the Qurayshites, you should name * Uthmaan.” * Abdullaah Ibn Abi Rabee*ah supported the suggestion and said: "Should you appoint ~Uthmaan as the new caliph, we will all listen to his commands and abide by his rulings." Then ~Amaar said to * Abdullaah Ibn Abu Sarh: "When did you start giving Muslims’ advice." Later, Banu Hashim and Banu Umayah took part in the discussion. ~Amaar said: " Allah has honored us with His Messenger (i.e. Muhammad), and by revealing Islam unto us.

Why cannot the new caliph be one of your Prophet's kinsmen?" Thereupon, confusion and chaos spread among the people, so Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqaas said: "O! ~Abdur-Rahmaan, get this affair over with before the situation gets out of control. ~ AbdurRahmaan then said: "I have observed this issue and sought people's advice. O people, do not create enmity among yourselves."

Next, ~Abdur-Rahmaan called * Ali and said to him: "Do you pledge to stick to the Glorious Book of Allah, the Sunah of His Messenger and the laid-down principles of the two caliphs who followed him?" ~Ali replied: "I hope to act according to my best knowledge and capacity!" After that *Abdur-Rahmaan called ~Uthmaan and asked him the same question he asked ~ Ali. ~ Uthmaan answered: "I do." ~ AbdurRahmaan_ then gave him his pledge of allegiance. At that point, “Ali said to ~Abdu-Rahmaan: “You are biased to him for the sake of worldly goals." *Abdur-Rahmaan replied: "Do not misunderstand the situation. I have consulted people and they have all chosen ~ Uthmaan." He then added: "I swear by Allah, I have tried my utmost for the Muslims’ best!"

On that day, Talhah arrived from his trip. When people asked to give the pledge of allegiance to ~ Uthmaan, he asked if every are pleased with the choice. They answered in the affirmative. He then headed for *Uthmaan who, in turn, assured him that he is entitled to his own opinion. Talhah ultimately pledge loyalty to him refusing to go against what Muslims have unanimously agreed on.

Hence, it becomes obvious that ~ Uthmaan made his way

to the caliphate through consultations and deliberations (i.e.

Shura) patiently undertaken by * Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn * Awf, It

should crystal-clear to everyone that * Abdur-Rahmaan spared

no effort in seeking Muslims’ true opinion so as to ensure that 282

Consequently, we are not in support of the view that ~ Ali would have been made caliph if he had said "yes" when *Abdur-Rahmaan_ asked him saying: "Do you pledge to stick to the Glorious Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger and the laid-down principles of the two caliphs who followed him?" Nor was ~Uthmaan made caliph simply because he answered the same question with "yes". This view does not go in line with the principle of Shura , based on which ~Uthmaan came to office for the following reasons:

It was ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, who named the six men whom he felt he could trust with the future of the Muslim state if any of them was to assume the leadership of the nation. * Umar placed his trust in those men in particular since the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, foretold that they would be among the dwellers of Paradise in the Hereafter. Added to that were their impeccable morals and laudable efforts which the Companions and Muslims in general were all well-aware of.

In addition, when ~Umar nominated those six men, he was positive of their advantages as well as their ability to shoulder that tremendous responsibility. There was also no shred of doubt in his mind concerning the unblemished faith, their righteous deeds and their sticking to the Glorious Quran and the Tradition of the Prophet. ~ Umar also knew that they