1. The Prophet Mohammad(PBUH)

 

SHRINE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH).

1. SACRIFICE OF THE LAMB : Just as the Prophet (S.A.W.), and his companions landed from their rides, and
laid the loads down, it was decided that they would sacrifice a lamb for dinner.

One of the companions volunteered: "I will sacrifice the lamb." Another: "I will skin it." Third: "I will cook it."
Fourth: " I will...." The Prophet (S.A.W.): "I will gather the wood from the desert."

The group: "O Messenger of Allah, it is not becoming of you to discomfort yourself as such. You rest. We will be honored to do all this on our own."

The Prophet (S.A.W.): "I know that you are eager to do it all, but Allah isn't pleased with the slave who distinguishes between himself and his companions, and considers himself better than others."

Then he went to the desert, and gathered some wood, and brought it to the group.

2. TYING THE CAMEL : The caravan had been traveling for few hours now. Signs of fatigue were obvious on their faces. They arrived at a point and stopped. The Prophet (S.A.W.) who was also in the caravan, stopped the camel, and landed. Prior to anything, they were in search of water to prepare for prayer.

The Prophet (S.A.W.) also started searching for water. But soon, returned to his camel, without saying anything to anyone. The companions were surprised that the Prophet (S.A.W.) had ordered stopping here, and now perhaps he would like to move again? Eyes and ears were awaiting his order. But the surprise of the group increased as they saw him approach his camel, and tied its knees, and returned back in search of water.

Noises were raised from every corner:

" O Prophet of Allah! Why didn't you order us to do this for you, and insteadyou put yourself in discomfort? We would have proudly done that service for you."

The Prophet (S.A.W.) responded: "Never seek others' help in your affairs, don't lean on others, even if it is a small piece of Miswak (the wood used for brushing teeth)."

3. TELLING THE TRUTH : Telling the truth is a very good habit. If you always speak the truth, you can save yourself from a lot of trouble! Here is a story of a man who did a lot of bad things, but his promise to tell the truth saved him.

Once a man came to the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) and said, "Oh prophet of Allah, I have many bad habits. Which one of them should I give up first?" The prophet said, "Give up telling lies first and always speak the truth." The man
promised to do so and went home. At night the man was about to go out to steal. Before setting out, he thought
for a moment about the promise he made with the prophet. "If tomorrow the prophet asks me where have I been, what shall I say? Shall I say that I went out stealing? No, I cannot say that. But nor can I lie. If I tell the truth,
everyone will start hating me and call me a thief. I would be punished for stealing."

So the man decided not to steal that night, and gave up this bad habit. Next day, he felt like drinking wine, when he was about to do so, he said to himself, "What shall I say to the prophet if he asks me what did I do during the
day? I cannot tell a lie, and if I speak the truth people will hate me, because a Muslim is not allowed to drink wine." And so he gave up the idea of drinking wine.

In this way, whenever the man thought of doing something bad, he remembered his promise to tell the truth at all times. One by one, he gave up all his bad habits and became a good Muslim and a very good person. If you always speak the truth, you can be a good person, a good Muslim whom Allah likes and favors. If Allah - our Creator - is pleased with us, He will reward us with HEAVEN, which is a place of happiness and joy.

Make a promise: I shall always speak the truth.

4. THE DISTRESSED YOUNG MAN : Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) recited his morning Salat (Prayer) in the
mosque along with other people. By this time, it was becoming bright and the people could be clearly seen. At this moment, the Prophet (S.A.W.) saw a young man whose condition seemed to be not normal. His head could not rest properly on his body and was continuously moving this way and that way. The Prophet (S.A.W.) looked at his face that had become pale; his eyes had gone deep into his face. His body had become thin and lean. He asked him:

"In what condition are you?"
"I am in the condition of certainty, O Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.)". Replied the young man.

"Every certainty has got some symptoms which indicate its truth; what is the symptom of your certainty?"

My certainty is the one, which is associated with my misery. In the nights, it has taken away my sleep; and I pass the days with thirst. I have turned my back from the comforts of this world and have turned my face towards the other side.

It is like this that I am seeing the Empyrean of Allah on the Day of Judgment and similarly I also see the resurrection of the whole of the creation of Allah.

It is as if I am seeing the people in Heaven in pleasure and the people in Hell in severe torment. It is as if the deadly noise of the flames of the Hell-fire is just now ringing in my ears."

Prophet (S.A.W.) turned his face towards the people and said: "He is a worshipper of Allah whose heart has been illuminated by the light of faith."

Then he (S.A.W.) turned towards the young man and said: "keep up this good state of yours for yourself." The young man said: "O Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.)! Pray that Allah gives me an opportunity for Jihad (holy war) and bless
me with SHAHADAH (martyrdom) in the right path."

The Prophet (S.A.W.) prayed. It did not take long when an opportunity arose for Jihad and that young man participated in that Jihad. The tenth person who got martyred in that war was none other than this young man.

5. THE THREE FRIENDS : Once the Prophet of God, Hazrat Muhammed (p.b.u.h) was sitting amidst his Sahaba (companions) in the mosque when all of a sudden he said "Today I shall narrate a story to you all which will reveal three riddles for all of you to solve". This hushed the crowd and they all listened to what the Prophet had to
say.

Hazrat Mohammed (p.b.u.h) continued by saying that once a man got to know that the days in his life was numbered and very soon he would be confronted with death. With this knowledge he feared his loneliness in the grave and went
searching for true friends who would help and accompany him.

He knocked on the door of his first friend and asked whether he would help. To this the friend said, "of course, what are we here for." But then the man went on to say that he had very few days to live after which he required help. As
soon as he uttered this statement, the friend said "I am sorry but when death does us apart, there is nothing we can do for you but buy you a place in the graveyard and some cloth (Kafan) to cover your dead body." Grieved but looking
forward to his next friend, the man moved on.

On the second door, when he came face to face with his friend, and after narrating the entire story of his death and asked for help, the same answer was his fate again. The second friend said "I have been there with you all your life
and can help you here. But there's nothing I can do for you after you die except take your corpse to the graveyard and bury you."

Lost in agony and despair, he headed for the third friend, very sure that he would receive the same answer but there was a tinge of hope left. When he confronted the third friend, and told him that he required help, the friend
eagerly volunteered to help. But the man continued to say that I need help after I die. To which the third friend replied, "Do not worry, my dear friend!

I shall accompany you to the grave, be there with you in the grave, even when the angels arrive for questioning (Munkar-o-Nakeer), then assist you on the Pul-e-Sirat (bridge) and then lead you to heaven. "To this the man heaved a sigh of relief and then passed away in peace."

The Prophet (p.b.u.h) then turned and asked his companions if anybody could identify the three friends and the man. When the prevailing silence didn't dissolve, the Prophet continued to say, "The man in the anecdote is any other
human being." The first friend is "money/wealth", things that help us only in life and not after we die.

The second family/friend were the "children/sons and daughters", we strive for them all our life and all they give us is a shoulder to the grave.

And the third and most important friend is "Aamal (deeds)". Who accompany us all the way through.

Moral: Do not strive for materialistic values that will give you nothing and help you in no way in your eternal life. But work and pray and ask forgiveness from God for only the good deeds assist mankind where every other thing loses
value in the life hereafter!

6. THE GIFT:
Whenever they reaped their first harvest, they brought early, fresh fruits to the Prophet (S.A.W.), peace be upon him. Then he would distribute them among those who sat around him. This morning, a poor man brought one fruit from his small farm and gave it to the Prophet (S.A.W.).

He accepted the gift, tasted it and then went on eating it alone while the companions watched. One of those present meekly said: O Prophet of Allah, you have over looked the right of those who watch while you eat?

The Prophet (S.A.W.) smiled and waited till the man who had brought the fruit had gone. He said:

I tasted the fruit and it was not yet ripe. Had I allowed you to have some of it, someone would have definitely shown his distaste, thus disappointing the poor man who had brought the gift. Rather than make him feel better, my palate accepted the bitterness.

7. WEALTH AND POVERTY: It was a usual meeting. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) was in his place and his companions gathered around him to hear the words of wisdom and guidance. Suddenly a poor man in rags appeared, saluted the assembly:

"Salamun Alaikum" (Peace be on you)
And finding a vacant place comfortably sat down.

The Prophet (S.A.W.) had taught them that all Muslims were brothers and in an assembly one should sit wherever one finds a place, regardless of any status. Now, it so happened that this poor man was seated next to a very rich man.

The rich man felt very disturbed and tried to collect the edges of his dress around himself, so that the poor man didn't touch them. The Prophet (S.A.W.) observed this and addressing the rich man he (S.A.W.) said:

" Perhaps you are afraid that his poverty would affect you?"

" No, O Messenger of Allah," he said.
"Then perhaps you were apprehensive about some of your wealth flying away to him?"

" No, O Messenger of Allah."
"Or you feared that your clothes would become dirty if he touched them?"
" No, O Messenger of Allah."
" Then why did you draw yourself and your clothes away from him?"
The rich man said:

"I admit that was the most undesirable thing to do. It was an error and I confess my guilt. Now to make amends for it I will give away half of my wealth to this Muslim brother so that I may be forgiven."
Just as he said this, the poor man rose and said,

" O Prophet of Allah, I do not accept this offer."
People present were taken by surprise, they thought that the poor man was a fool, but then he explained:

" O Prophet of Allah, I refuse to accept this offer because I fear that I might then become arrogant and ill-treat my Muslim brothers the way he did to me."

8. The BEDOUIN AND THE PROPHET (S.A.W.): The Bedouin entered Madina, and went directly to the Masjid, so that he may get some money or gold from the Prophet (S.A.W.). When he arrived, he saw the Prophet (S.A.W.) sitting among his companions. He asked his need.

The Prophet (S.A.W.) gave his something. He was not content, and moreover he used harsh and inappropriate language against the Prophet (S.A.W.). The companions became very angry, and were ready to hurt him. But the Prophet (S.A.W.) prevented them from haste.

The Prophet (S.A.W.) took the Bedouin to his home, and gave him some more. The Bedouin saw that the residence of the Prophet (S.A.W.) wasn't like those of the heads of governments, and there is no luxury in his home.

The Bedouin became content with the share, and thanked the Prophet (S.A.W.). At this time, the Prophet (S.A.W.) asked him: "You said a harsh word yesterday, which caused anger in my companions. I fear that they will hurt you. Would you be willing to show your appreciation in front of them, so that their anger be resolved, and they don't hurt you?" The Bedouin said: "Sure."

The next day, the Bedouin came to the Masjid. The Prophet (S.A.W.) addressed his companions: "This man says, he is content with his share, is it true?" The Bedouin said: "That is true." Then he repeated the appreciation that he had shared with Prophet (S.A.W.). The companions smiled.

The Prophet (S.A.W.) addressed the group: "The parable of me and these types of individuals is like that of the man whose camel was running away from him. With the [thought] they could help the owner, people were running after the camel. The camel was frightened and ran faster.

The owner called on the people, please leave my camel alone, I know better how to calm it. When the people stopped chasing the camel, the owner followed it calmly, with a fistful of grass. Then without the need for running, yelling, he showed the grass to it.
THE PROPHET (S.A.W.) AND EDUCATION:
The mosque of Medina was not only a place of worship. The believers assembled here to learn. When the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) was present they heard his words of wisdom, his elucidation on the verses of the Holy Qur'an and benefited from his counsel. And when he (S.A.W.) was not present, other faithful companions taught what they had heard from the Prophet of Allah.

Once the Prophet (S.A.W.) entered the Mosque before the prayer time. He found two groups in the Mosque. One group was busy with its own act of worship, some were reading the Qur'an while the others were supplicating. The other group was in a corner busy learning. They learnt how to read and write and discussed the teachings of Islam and their application to their daily lives.

Looking at both, the Prophet (S.A.W.) said:
"They are both engaged in useful pursuits. But I am a teacher. I shall join the group assembled to learn."

And so he (S.A.W.) sat with the group of students.

9. THE PROPHET'S VISIT TO TAIF:
Abu Talib and Khadija were the main supporters of the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him). It was so destined that they passed away within a few days of each other, leaving the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him) to lament the bereavement. He had lost a caring uncle and a loving wife.

The enemies were now relieved, because Abu Talib was no more to protect. A few days after Abu Talib's death, when the Prophet was once passing through a lane, a woman emptied her garbage from a window upon his head. He returned home with his head soiled. His young daughter Fatima sat beside him, consoling and washing off the dirt.

As things became intolerable in Makkah, the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him) decided to move to Taif where he thought he would convey the message of Allah to the tribe of Thaqeef. Taif was known for its pleasant climate and beautiful scenery.

The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him) knew very well that people at Taif were no different from Makkahns. They also worshipped idols and were in constant contact with the people in Makkah. But he did not despair. As he entered Taif, and proclaimed his prophet hood, people jeered at him. One said: "God did not find anyone else for His message except you?" Another said: "I must be naive or a thief if I believed you to be a prophet." And so it went on.

Then in order to prevent him from preaching Islam, people of Taif set a group of children and vagabonds behind him. They pestered him and threw stones at him. Tired, forsaken and wounded, he sought refuge in a nearby garden. It belonged to Atabah and Shaibab, two wealthy chiefs of Quraish. They were both there when the Prophet entered and sat under a distant tree. He was alone.

Then he raised his face towards heaven and prayed: "O Allah! I raise unto you my complaint for my weakness, my helplessness, and for the ridicule to which I have been subjected. O Merciful of all the Mercifuls! You are the Master of all oppressed people, You are my God! So to whom would You consign me? To the strangers who would ill-treat me, or to the enemies who have an upper hand over me?

If whatever has befallen me is not because of Your wrath, then I fear not. No doubt, the field of Your security and care is wide enough for me. I seek refuge in Your light which illuminates darkness and straightens the affairs of this
world and hereafter, that Your displeasure and wrath may not descend upon me. For the sake of Your pleasure, I remain pleased and resigned to my fate. No change in this world occurs without Your Will."

Atabah and Shaibah were watching. They sent for their servant named Adaas and gave him a plate full of grapes. "Take this to that man under the tree," they ordered.

Adaas was a Christian. He brought the grapes to the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him) and bid him eat. As the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him) picked a bunch he said: "Bismillahir Rahmaanir Rahiim," (In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate).

Adaas had never heard this before. He was impressed by it, because the man was invoking mercy and compassion of Allah in spite of his desolate state.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I am the Prophet of God. Where do you come from?"

The servant said: I am Adaas, a Christian. I come from Nainava."

"Nainava? You come from a place where my brother Yunus b. Mati lived," the Prophet said. Adaas was surprised to hear the name.

"What do you know of Yunus? Here no one seems to know him. Even in Nainava there were hardly ten people who knew his father's name."

The Prophet said: "Yes, I know him because just like me, he was a Prophet of God."

Adaas fell on his knees before the Prophet, kissed his hand and embraced Islam.

10. IFTAR: Anas Malik was one of the companions who had served the Prophet Muhammed (S.A.W.) for many years. He therefore knew the Prophet's habits very well.

When Hadhrat Muhammed (S.A.W.) observed a fast, he usually broke it with milk and dates, and in the small hours of the night, he would take simple food for his sahar.

One day, Anas knew that the Prophet (S.A.W.) was fasting; so he arranged for his iftar. He kept the milk and dates ready. At the time of iftar the Prophet (S.A.W.) did not appear, for the breaking of the fast. Anas thought that the
Prophet (S.A.W.) might have accepted an invitation and broken his fast elsewhere. So Anas ate the food himself and retired.

When Prophet Muhammed (S.A.W.) entered the house with another companion, Anas inquired from the companion whether the Prophet (S.A.W.) had already eaten. The Prophet (S.A.W.) had been dealing with some urgent work and was delayed, and he had not eaten. Anas felt so ashamed.

There was nothing left he could offer to the Prophet (S.A.W.), if he asked for food. Still he waited expectantly, ready to explain the situation to the Prophet (S.A.W.). Hadhrat Muhammed (S.A.W.) immediately sensed that Anas was hesitant, so he remained silent and retired to bed hungry.

Anas used to say: "The Messenger of God never mentioned this incident during his lifetime to anyone."

11. SURAH AL-KAUTHAR AND BIBI FATIMAH (SA):
You should never think that you have more than someone else, because there might come a time when that person has more than you. Remember it is through the blessing of Allah that you have what you have.

Bibi Fatimah Zahra (SA) was born to Bibi Khadija (SA) and the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him). Before her birth, the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him) had had two sons, Qasim and Tahir, but both boys had died when they were babies.

The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him) had started teaching the message of Islam and had made many enemies. As a result, some of the unbelievers began to make fun of him at the death of his sons, calling him "Abtar".

The word Abtar means an animal that has no tail - and was meant to say that the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him) was tail-less because he had no children to carry on his family.

Thus, when Bibi Fatimah (SA) was born, the following Sura of the Holy Qur'an was revealed:"In the Name of Allah, the most Kind, the most Merciful. Verily (O Muhammad),We have given you Kauthar. So pray to your Lord and give sacrifice. Verily, your enemies will be Abtar." Surah al-Kauthar, (108:1-3)

When the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him) was asked what Kauthar meant, he replied that it was a stream in heaven and the man who would give water from that stream to the believers was Imam Ali (AS). He then said that Kauthar also meant abundance, and the birth of Bibi Fatimah (SA) signified that, through her, his descendants would be in abundance.

The promise of Allah was certainly true because today, there are countless descendants of the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him), (Sayyids) while there is nobody who claims to be a descendant of the Quraish. Thus the enemies of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him) were those who became truly "Abtar".

This Surah in the Holy Qur'an is thus a reference to Bibi Fatimah (SA).

12. The family members of the Prophet were the true friends and well wishers of the people who felt strong grief when they saw people in any kind of distress or suffering. They worked hard to restore the rights of the deprived and gave all their belongings to the needy.

They were always ready to face hardships in order to save others. Sometimes, they would even give to the needy the food or clothing which they themselves urgently needed. There are many of such happenings that took place in the life of our religious leaders.

For instance, once Imam Ali's (A.S) children were sick. Their mother, daughter of the Prophet, vowed to fast three days on the recovery of her children, in thanksgiving to Allah.

Imam Ali (A.S.) and the children all joined Lady Fatema (S.A.) in thanksgiving. All of them fasted. It was sunset and they had only a few barley loaves of bread for their breakfast.

As they were about to eat their food, someone knocked at their door, saying I am a poor man. Please give me some food. The food, which the whole family had, was very little. They gave it all to the poor man.

Again on next day, when the family wanted to break their fast an orphan began knocking at the door asking for food. The same thing happened on the third day also with a stranger. Each time they gave their food to the needy and they, themselves, remained hungry continuing their fast.
Muslim commentators say, The next day,

The Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him) came to the family with these verses of the Holy Qur'an: "Surely the righteous shall drink of a cup the admixture of which is camphor, a fountain from which the servants of Allah shall drink; they make it to flow a (goodly) flowing forth.

They fulfil vows and fear a day the evil of which shall be spreading far and wide. And they give food out of love for Allah to the poor and the orphan and the Active: We only feed you for Allah's sake. We desire from you neither reward nor thanks: Surely we fear from our Allah a stern, distressful day.

Therefore, Allah will guard them from the evil of that day and cause them to meet with ease and happiness; And reward them because they were patient, with garden and silk." (Holy Qur'an, 76:5-12)

Hadith of Prophet Mohammad (p.b.u.h):

1. "There are three friends of Human being - Wealth, Family & His Aamal".

2. "Whoever rectifies his hereafter affairs, Allah will rectify his worldly affairs and whoever rectifies what is between him and Allah, Allah will rectify what is between him and [the] people."

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Interesting Quotes

1) Never expect things to happen..struggle and make them happen. never expect yourself to be given a good valuecreate a value of your own

2) If a drop of water falls in lake there is no identity.But if it falls on a leaf of lotus it shine like a pearl.so choose the best place where you would shine..

3) Falling down is not defeat...defeat is when your refuse to get up...

4) Ship is always safe at shore... but is is not built for it

5) When your successful your well wishers know who you are when you are unsuccessful you know who your well wishers are

6) It is great confidence in a friend to tell him your faults; greater to tell him/her

7) "To the world you might be one person, but to one person you just might be the world

8) "Even the word 'IMPOSSIBLE' says 'I M POSSIBLE' "

9) Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life makes all the difference.

May ALLAH / God Bless You All,

Never take some one for granted,Hold every person Close to your Heart because you might wake up one day and realise that you have lost a diamond while you were too busy collecting stones." Remember this always in lif

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2.  Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (RadiAllahuAnh).

 

Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu's) real name was Abdullah, and he was given the title of "As Siddique" or"Testifier to the Truth." His father, 'Uthman, was known as Abu Quhafah and his mother, Salma, was known as Ummul Khair. He was two and a half years younger than Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam).

He was the first among the Sahaba to accept Islam. He accompanied Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) during the Hijrah to Madinatul Munawwarah. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) was a merchant. He freed many slaves, including Sayyiduna Bilal (radi Allahu anhu) and Sayyiduna Umayyah bin Qahaf (radi Allahu anhu). He participated in all the battles in which Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) had to fight the Kuffar.

Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) loved his faith more than anything else. At the Battle of Badr, his son, Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman (radi Allahu anhu), was fighting on the side of the Kuffar. After accepting Islam, Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman (radi Allahu anhu) said to his father, "O Father, at Badr, you were twice under my sword, but my love for you held my hand back." To this, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) replied, "Son, if I had you only once under my sword, you would have been no more." He was so uncompromising in his faith.

At the time of the Battle of Tabuk, he donated all his wealth to the war effort, and when Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) asked him, "What have you left for your family,?" he replied, "Allah and His Rasool (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam)."

AS A CALIPH

After his election as the Caliph, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) addressed the Muslims with these words:

"O People! I have been chosen by you as your leader, although I am no better than any of you. If I do any wrong, set me right. Listen, truth is honesty and untruth is dishonesty. The weak among you are the powerful in my eyes, as long as I do not give them their dues. The powerful among you are weak in my eyes, as long as I do not take away from them what is due to others.

"Listen carefully, if people give up striving for the Cause of Almighty Allah, He will send down disgrace upon them. If people become evil-doers, Almighty Allah will send down calamities upon them.

"Obey me as long as I obey Allah and His Rasul (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam). If I disobey Allah and His Rasul (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), you are free to disobey me."

Such was the first Caliph of Islam. Indeed, the world would be a better place to live in, if we had leaders like Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu).

Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) now sent Sayyiduna Usamah (radi Allahu anhu) on the expedition to Syria to fight the Romans, even though he had to attend to all the internal problems of the Islamic State.

The news that Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) had passed away, made some new Muslims think that the Islamic State would crumble and they refused to pay the Zakaah. These new Muslims could not yet get used to their faith and its requirements until then. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) declared, "By Allah! Even if a single thread is due from a man, he must give it. If he refuses, I will declare war against him."

RENEGADES AND IMPOSTERS

Some others became imposters and renegades. Tulaiha, Musailimah, Maalik bin Nuwairah, Aswad Ansi and a woman named Sajah claimed that they were prophets and caused a great deal of confusion. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) was quick to take action against these imposters.

Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (radi Allahu anhu) was sent to deal with Tulaiha who fled to Syria and later became a Muslim. Maalik bin Nuwarah was killed. Sayyiduna Ikramah (radi Allahu anhu) and Sayyiduna Surahbil (radi Allahu anhu) were sent to take action against Musailimah, but they were defeated. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) sent Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (radi Allahu anhu) to tackle the notorious Musailamah who married Sajah. In the fight that followed, Sayyiduna Wahshi (radi Allahu anhu) killed Musailamah. Musailamah and Aswad Ansi also claimed to be prophets while Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) was alive. Aswad was killed by the Muslims of Yemen.

Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu's) swift and bold steps saved the Islamic State from the serious danger of chaos and confusion. He could now attend to other urgent problems.

ERA OF CONQUESTS

During his Khilaafat, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) had to take action against the Iranian Empire. The Emperor of Iran, Khusrou Parvez, was killed by his son, Shirooya, and the whole empire fell into chaos and disorder. Hurmuz, the Persian governor of Iraq, was very hostile to the Arabs and he was also cruel to the Muslims living in that area.

Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) sent Sayyiduna Muthamia (radi Allahu anhu) to take action against the Iranians in Iraq. His forces were not enough and Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (radi Allahu anhu) was then sent with reinforcements. The Muslim army captured vast areas of the Iranian Empire in several battles.

Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) then turned his attention to the Romans who were causing trouble in the North-West frontier. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) sent 4 separate armies under Sayyiduna Ubaidah bin Jarrah, Sayyiduna Amr Ibnul As, Sayyiduna Yazid bin Abu Sufyaan and Sayyiduna Surahbil bin Hasnal (radi Allahu anhumul ajma'in) to deal with the Roman power.

The four armies joined into one unit to face the Romans more effectively. The Romans had amassed 150 000 soldiers, but the total Muslim army was only 24 000. Reinforcements were requested. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) asked Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (radi Allahu anhu) to take charge of the Iraqi front and Sayyiduna Muthanna (radi Allahu anhu) to rush to the Syrian front to help fight the huge Roman army. The armies met in Yarmuk after Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) passed away. In this battle, the Romans were totally defeated.

PASSES AWAY

Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) fell ill at this time and passed away on the 21st of Jamadi-ul-Aakhir 13 A.H. (22 August 634). His rule lasted 2 years and 3 months. He was 63 years old.

One of the many contributions of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) was the collection and compilation of the Holy Quran.

PERSONAL LIFE

He lived a very simple, pious and upright life. He was a true servant of Almighty Allah and a meticulous follower of Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam).

He wore ordinary clothes and his meals were very simple. He attended to house-hold work and would go out at night and seek the poor and destitute. Humility and modesty were the keynotes of his character. He felt embarrassed when people showered praises on him or showed him immense respect. He often fasted during the day and spent the whole night in Salaah and meditation. He was a great orator and a master of genealogy (one who can trace a person's family line). In personal life, he was a Saint. He used all his powers to promote the interest of Islam and the good of people.

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3.Hazrat Umar Farooq

"If there were to be a Prophet after me,
he would have been Umar."
- Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

Introduction

Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) belonged to the Adi family of Quraish tribe. In the 8th generation, his lineage joins with Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
He was born in 583 A.C., about forty years before the great Hijrah. The early life of Hazrat Umar is not known in detail. In his youth he was a famous wrestler and orator, and a spirited person. He was one among the few people in Makkah who knew how to read and write. His main occupation was business.

When the Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, recieved the revelation and invited people to Islam, Hazrat Umar initially became the sworn enemy of Islam and Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,, and did not hesitate to harm the Muslims at every opportunity.

Hazrat Umar's acceptance of Islam

It was the sixth year of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,'s mission when the leaders of Quraish called a meeting and asked for volunteers for the assassination of Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Hazrat Umar offered himself for this job and everybody in the meeting exclaimed that he was the right person for it.

While he was on his way, with a sword in his hand, he met Hazrat Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas who enquired of him about where he was going. Hazrat Umar told him that he was going to murder Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. After some discussion Hazrat Sa'd said, "You had better take care of your own family first. Your sister and brother-in-law both have accepted Islam".

Hearing this, Hazrat Umar changed his direction and went straight to his sister's house. When Hazrat Umar knocked at the door, they were being taught the Holy Qur'anby Hazrat Khabbab (, may Allah be pleased with him). His sister Fatima was frightened on hearing Hazrat Umar’s voice and tried to hide the portion of the Holy Qur'an she was reciting. When Hazrat Umar entered the house he enquired about their Islam and on finding that they had accepted Islam, he first fell upon his brother-in-law and beat him severely. When his sister intervened he smote her so violently on her face that it bled profusely. On this his sister burst out: "Do whatever you like, we are determined to die as Muslims".

When Hazrat Umar saw his sister bleeding, he cooled down and felt ashamed. He loved Fatima very much but could not tolerate her conversion to Islam. However, deeply moved, Hazrat Umar asked her to show the pages on which the Holy Qur'an was written. But she was, after all, Hazrat Umar’s sister and told him straight, "You can not touch it unless you take a bath and make yourself clean".

He then took a bath and read the scripts. It was the beginning of Surah Ta Ha (Chapter 20 of the Holy Qur'an). Finally he came to the verse:

"Lo! I even I, am Allah, there is no god save Me. So serve Me and establish Salat for My remembrance."
(Holy Quran - 20:14) 

At this, Hazrat Umar exclaimed, "Surely this is the Word of Allah. Take me to Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,".

On hearing this Hazrat Khabbab (, may Allah be pleased with him), who had hidden himself in the house, came out from inside and said, "O Umar! Glad tidings for you. It seems that the prayer of the Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, which he said last night has been answered in your favour. He prayed to Allah: "O Allah, strengthen Islam with either Umar b. Khattab or Umar b. Hisham, whomsoever Thou pleaseth".
Hazrat Umar then went to Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. On seeing him, Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked him, "Umar! what brings you here”? He said, "I am here to accept Islam".
Hearing this the Muslims shouted with joy, "Allahu Akbar! (Allah is the Greatest)" and the sound echoed though the air of Makkah.

As a matter of fact, Umar’s conversion to Islam was a terrible blow to the morale of the disbelieves. Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas'ud, a great Companion, says, "Hazrat Umar's conversion to Islam was a great triumph, his emigration to Madinah a tremendous reinforcement and his accession to Caliphate a great blessing for the Muslims".

Hazrat Umar gets the title of Al-Farooq

The conversion of Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) strengthened Islam.
Before this, Muslims had lived in constant fear of the disbelievers, and most of them were concealing their faith. The Muslims were now able to offer their Salat publicly. When Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) became a Muslim, he declared his faith openly before the Quraish chiefs. Though they stared at him, they could not do any harm to him. Then once he had been granted permission from Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,, he led a party of the Muslims to the Kabah to offer Salat. Hazrat Hamza, who had accepted Islam a few days before Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him), carried another party of the Muslims to Kabah.

When all the Muslims gathered in the Kabah, they offered their Salat in congregation. Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, led this, and it was the first public Salat in the history of Islam. For this courageous and bold action of Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him), Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, gave him the title of al-Farooq i.e., the one who makes a distinction between the right (haqq) and the wrong (batil).

Migration to Madinah

When the Muslims were ordered to migrate to Madinah, most of them left Makkah quietly and in secret, but Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) declared it openly.

He put on his armour and first went to the Kabah. After performing the Salat, he announced loudly: "I am migrating to Madinah. If anyone wants to check me, let him come out. I am sure that his mother would cry for his life".
There was no man in Makkah to accept the challenge of Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him). Then he migrated to Madinah boldly.

Hazrat Umar's services to Islam

Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) had great love for Allah and Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. He participated in almost all the big battles: Badr, Uhud, Ahzab, Khaibar, Hunain etc. In the expedition of Tabuk, he gave half of his wealth in the path of Allah.
He was next to Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him) in the sacrifice of his belongings for the cause of Allah.

Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, also had a deep love for him. Once he remarked, "Were a prophet to come after me, he would have been Umar".
In another Hadith mentioned in Bukhari, Hazrat Abu Hurairah (, may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, "In Bani Isra'il (Israelites), there were people who were not prophets but talked to Allah. Were anyone in my Ummah like those persons, he would be Umar".

The death of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was a great shock to him, and he could not believe it until Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him) reminded him of a clear verse of the Holy Qur'an on the subject. He then went to the Council Hall along with Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him) where the people of Madinah had assembled to select the First Caliph.
Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) was the first person to pledge loyalty (Bai'at) at the hand of Hazrat Abu Bakr(, may Allah be pleased with him), and then helped him throughout the duration of his rule.

Hazrat Umar Farooq - the second Khalifa of Islam

During Hazrat Abu Bakr's illness he consulted the people about the next Khalifah, and then gave his decision in favour of Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) who took the charge of Khilafat after the death of Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him) on 22nd of Jamadius Thani 13 A.H. (23rd August 634 AC).
Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him.) followed fully the ways of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the policy of his predecessor, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique, with his characteristic zeal and vigour. It was his strict adherence to the Sunnah of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, which helped him to subdue the mighty empires of Persia and Byzantine.

The period of Hazrat Umar's Khilafat undoubtedly is the Golden Age of Islam in every respect.
He was a man of extraordinary genius who not only moulded the destiny of the nation but made history of his own.

He followed the footsteps of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to the fullest extent. It was Hazrat Umar under whose rule Islam became an international power and the mighty empires of Persia and Byzantine crumbled before the army of Islam.
Within ten years of his glorious rule, the whole of the Persian Empire, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and a part of Turkey came under the banner of Islam and the nations entered the fold of Islam.

He was not only a conqueror but also an exemplary administrator who originated an efficient system of administration, and thus he was the real founder of political system of Islam. He enforced Divine Law (Shari'ah) as the code of a newly formed International Islamic State; he safeguarded the internal safety by introducing the police force: he gave stipends to the poor; he constructed cantonments and forts for the safety of Islamic armies; he founded new cities for the growth of Islamic culture and civilisation; he improved agriculture and economics of the Islamic State; he founded the educational system in an Islamic State; in brief he was the founder of a great Islamic State.

Fall of the Persian empire

During the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him), Hazrat Khalid bin Walid conquered part of the Persian Empire known as the Kingdom of Hira. Then he was ordered by Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him) to join the expedition to Syria.

At the time of his departure, he appointed Muthanna bin Harith as the commander of the Islamic army. The Persians became furious at the loss of the kingdom of Hira and the Emperor sent a large army under the command of a very famous General, Rustam the Commander-in-Chief of Persian armies.
In view of the growing pressure of Persians, Muthanna requested Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) for reinforcement. At that time there was a large gathering of Muslims in Madinah waiting to take pledge of loyalty (Bai'at) at the hand of the new Khalifa (Hazrat Umar). He put the matter before the Muslims but did not get any response in the beginning. Then Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) in his sermons stressed the importance of Jihad and a large number of Muslims volunteered to help Muthanna against the Persians. Abu‘Ubaid ath-Thaqafi was appointed as the commander of the Islamic army comprising five thousand men. In the meantime Persians attacked the places conquered by Muslims and they lost some of them. In the early stage of the battles Rustam sent his subordinates to face Muslims.

It is reported from Hazrat Ibn Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) that Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) dispatched an army to Persia, making a man called Sariyya (, may Allah be pleased with him) the leader of it. It is said that one day Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) was delivering the Friday sermon in Madinah. In it he said loudly "Ya Sariyya al-jabal!" which means "O Sariyya, [towards] the mountain!", and then resumed the sermon.
After a month a courier came from the army bearing of good news. He said, "The people of the army heard Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him)'s voice on that day. We all went towards the mountain and Allah made us victorious."

The severe famine and plague

In the year 17-18 A.H, Hijaz and Syria were faced by severe famine and drought. Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) took steps to get food supplies from Egypt, part of which had been conquered by Hazrat Amr bin al-'As (, may Allah be pleased with him). He sent three big ships of grains to Madinah which were unloaded in the presence of Hadzrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him). He himself distributed the grains among the needy.
Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) did not take any delicacy (butter etc.) during the famine period. When he was requested to take care of his health, he said, "If I don't taste suffering, how can I know the sufferings of others?"

When the famine became intolerable, he prayed to Allah in a big gathering of Muslims. It has been narrated that the prayers had not even finished when rains started to pour down.

About the same time, plague spread in most parts of Iraq, Syria and Egypt and it caused great havoc not only to civilians but also to the Muslim armies. After the plague, Hazrat Umar went to Syria to inspect the losses caused by the plague. Three important figures, Hazrat Abu Ubaidah, Mu'adh bin Jabal and Yazid bin Abu Sufyan (, may Allah be pleased with him) had passed away. He appointed Mu'awiyah bin Abi Sufyan as the Governor of Damascus in place of his brother Yazid bin Abi Sufyan.

Martyrdom of Hazrat Farooq-e-Azam (, may Allah be pleased with him)

In 23 A.H., when Hazrat Umar returned to Madinah from Hajj, he raised his hands and prayed:

"O God! I am advanced in years, my bones are weary, my powers are declining, and the people for whom I am responsible have spread far and wide. Summon me back to Thyself, my lord!"

Some time later, when Hazrat Umar went to the mosque to lead a prayer, a Magian named Abu Lulu Feroze, who had a grudge against Hazrat Umar on a personal matter, attacked him with a dagger and stabbed him several times. Hazrat Umar reeled and fell to the ground.
When he learned that the assassin was a Magian, he said, "Thank God he is not a Muslim."

The injuries were so serious that the great Khalifa died the next morning.

Before his death, the Muslims asked him about his successor and he appointed a panel of six persons; Hadrat Uthma Zubair, Talha, Sa'd bin Waqqas and Abdur Rahman bin 'Auf (, may Allah be pleased with him) to select a Khalifah from amongst them within three days after him.

He requested Hazrat Aisha (, may Allah be pleased with him) for permission for his burial beside Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,, just as Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique expressed the same wish. Though she had reserved that place for herself, on Umar's request she gave it to him and that is where he was buried.

Character and Piety

He was extremely pious and God-fearing. His success lay in two things: fear of Allah and his love for Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

He never used even oil from the Baitul Mal (Public Treasury) to burn a lamp at night for his personal needs. Whenever he finished the official work he put off the lamp. He used to patrol in the city at night to find out the needs and requirements, and conditions of the people.
He did not hesitate to take his wife to work as a midwife for a poor woman. The salary he got from the Baitul Mal was so low that it was hardly enough for him and his family's needs. When some of the eminent Muslims requested him to increase the amount he said, "Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has left a standard by his personal example. I must follow him".

Hadrat Umar was one of the most just rulers in Islamic History. All the citizens, including the Khalifa himself, were equal before law.
Once he appeared before a court in Madinah to clarify his position against a complaint. The Qadi (judge) wanted to stand in his honour, but he did not allow him to do so, so that there would be no distinction between him and an ordinary person before Law.
He was really the founder of the modern democratic system.

In short, he was a perfect example of an ideal character, and was the greatest Khalifah of Islam after Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him).
He selflessly devoted his whole energy for the cause of Islam and the Muslim world will always be indebted to him for his great achievements.

Hazrat Umar as a Great Scholar

Before the advent of Islam there was no tradition in Arabia of reading or writing. There were only seventeen people amongst the Quraish who could read or write at the time when Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, started to receive Divine revelations.
Hazrat Umar was one of those seventeen persons. His writing and lectures are still found in some old books.

The first address he gave as a Caliph was:
"O Allah, I am strict, make me soft. I am weak, give me power. The Arabs are like refractory camels, I will endeavour to bring them to the straight path."

He was also interested in poetry and sometimes he composed verses. Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) was one of the most fluent of the Quraish in language.
Arabic-knowing persons can appreciate the fluency of his writings and addresses. Many of his sayings became aphorisms of literature.

He was a great Jurist and Theologian of Islam. Because of the fear of making any mistake, he did not quote many Ahadith even though he was fully conversant with them. He never allowed a person to quote any Hadith which was not well known without producing any attestator in support of it.
If somebody quoted a Hadith before him which he had never heard, he at once asked him to bring a witness; failing which he would be punished.

He was expert in deriving laws from the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith. A full volume could be complied out of the verdicts and judgements given by Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him). As a matter of fact he opened a new door of Ijtihad (disciplined judgement of a jurist) in the history of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence, and settled a number of disputable cases during his Khilafat.

Preaching of Islam

As the viceroy of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,, his foremost duty was to spread and preach Islam. As mentioned above, the aim of various battles and wars was to clear the way for the Muslims for preaching Islam.
Whenever any army had to attack a place, they had to call the inhabitants of the place to Islam. Hazrat Umar was very strict in this respect and he had given standing orders to the commanders not to start war unless they had first invited the people to Islam. If they accepted it, there was no question of war and if they did not, then the war was fought only with those who were not giving a free hand to Muslims to preach the Right Path.

No person was ever forced to forsake his own faith and accept Islam.

The method adopted to preach Islam was demonstration by actual practice. For this purpose he ordered Muslims to establish their own quarters and present the practical shape of Islam before the population. Seeing the truthful way, the inhabitants of the place were attracted towards Islam. No soldier was allowed to take any property or anything by force from the conquered people.

Because of fair treatment by the Muslims, sometimes the whole army of the enemy accepted Islam.
After the battle of Qadisiya, a battalion of four thousand Persians accepted Islam. After the victory of Jalula, the chiefs of the place entered the folds of Islam along with the inhabitants. A commander of the army of Yadzgird, named Siyah accepted Islam with his battalion during a battle in Persia. All the inhabitants of the town of Bulhat in Egypt accepted Islam at one time without the use of any force only by seeing the piety of the Muslims. A rich merchant and the chief of a place in Egypt, named Shata, accepted Islam with all the inhabitants of the place only after hearing about the character and piety of Muslims at the time when Muslims had not even reached that place.

These are a few examples to show how Islam spread because of the character of Muslims at that time.

Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) was very strict in ensuring that no Muslims forced any non-Muslim to accept Islam. Through his advice, letters and addresses, he made it clear to all the Muslims that they had to adhere to the ways of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,, which was the only method to preach Islam.

Wives and children

Wives:

1. Hazrat Zainab (, may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam but died in Makkah. She was sister of Uthman bin Maz'un. She gave birth to Hazrat Abdullah Abdur Rahman and Hazrat Hafsah (wife of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,) were the children she bore to Hazrat Umar.

2. Malkiah bint Jarwal, she did not accept Islam and was divorced in 6 A.H. according to Islamic law. She gave birth to Ubaidullah.

3. Quraibah bint Abi Ummiyah, she also did not accept Islam and was divorced in 6 A.H.

The above three marriages had taken place before Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him.) accepted Islam. After accepting Islam he contracted marriages with the following:

4. Ummi Hakim bint-ul-Harith, she gave birth to a girl named Fatimah.

5. Jamilah bint Asim, she gave birth to a son who was named Asim. She was a Muslim but was divorced for some other reason.

6. Umm Kulthum bint Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him). She was married in the year 17 A.H. She gave birth to Ruqayyah and Zaid.

7. Atikah (, may Allah be pleased with him)


Children:

Daughters -
1. Ummul Mumineen Hazrat Hafsah (, may Allah be pleased with him) - the chaste wife of Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
2. Ruqayyah - the youngest daughter of Hazrat Umar.

Sons -
3. Abdullah
4. Ubaidullah
5. Asim
6. Abu Shahmah
7. Abd-ur-Rahman
8. Zaid

Hazrat Umar - the Pioneer of Islamic democracy

Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) was the pioneer of modern civilisation who formed a state based upon the Islamic democratic system, the system which was incorporated in the West as late as 19th and 20th centuries.
He was the greatest democratic administrator whose example is unparalleled not only in the history of Islam but also in the history of modern civilisation. A vast part of the Middle East, Persian Empire and Byzantium, was conquered during the ten years of his Khilafat which he consolidated into a state governed by Islam i.e. laws.

The constitution of Islamic Khilafat during the time of Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) was based entirely on the Islamic democratic system. All matters were decided after consultation with the Shura (the council of advisors).
He remarked, "It is essential for a Khalifah to consult his Shura." Once he said, "I do not desire that you may follow anything that arises from my caprice".

Hazrat Umar had clearly stated on various occasions that he should be obeyed as long as he was obeying Allah and Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

Muslims and non-Muslims were treated alike. Although the Arab peninsula was declared to be purely an Islamic State, his attitude towards the non-Muslims was very tolerant. He allowed the Jews and the Christians, living in the Peninsula, to stay there if they so wished and nobody would interfere in their religious affairs. To those who desired to migrate he ensured a safe journey up to the borders. Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him) also gave compensation for their properties and other facilities.

Introduction of the Islamic calendar

For the first time in the history of Islam, Islamic calendar was introduced in the present form by Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him).

The date of start of this calendar was fixed as the date of the Hijrah (migration) of Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Thus the calendar is also known as the Hijrah Calendar.

Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,'s praise about Hazrat Farooq-e-Azam

"If there were to be a Prophet after me, he would have been Umar."- (Tirmidhi)

"Amongst the nations before your time, there have been inspired people (who were not Prophets), and if there is one amongst my Ummah, he is Umar". - (Bukhari and Muslim).

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4.   Hazrat Usman Ghani

"Every Prophet will have a special

companion in Heaven, and my

companion there will be Usman."

Introduction

Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) belonged to a noble family of Quraish in Makkah. His ancestral lineage joins with that of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in the fifth generation. He was from the Umayyah family of Quraish, which was a well reputed and honourable family of Makkah during the pre-Islamic days.

Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was born in 573 A.C. His father's name was Affan bin Abul-As and he himself was known by the name Usman ibn ‘Affan.

Hazrat Usman was one of the few persons of Makkah who knew how to read and write. When he grew up, he started business in clothing which made him very rich. He used his money in good and charitable ways and always helped the poor. Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) 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 Makkans had great respect for him.

Hazrat Usman's acceptance of Islam

Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) accepted Islam when Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him.) preached to him. He was one of those Muslims who accepted Islam in its very early days.

Though Banu Hashim (Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,'s family) was rival to Banu Umayyah (Hazrat Usman's family), and the latter was in power at that time,Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) did not hesitate to acknowledge the Prophethood of Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
This was one of the reasons why Quraish leaders belonging to Banu Umayyah (like Abu Sufyan) were opposing Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Thus, the acceptance of Islam in such a position shows the clear-mindedness of Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.). When he accepted Islam, the Quraish who once loved Hazrat Usman 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 Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,, Hazrat Ruqayyah (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was married to one of the sons of Abu Lahab, a bitter enemy of Islam. When Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, started to preach Islam, she divorced Abu Lahab's son. Then Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, married her to Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.)

Migration to Abyssinia

When life in Makkah became difficult for the Muslims, he went to Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and sought permission to take refuge in Abyssinia along with other Muslims. The permission was granted. Hazrat Usman and his wife crossed the Red Sea with other Muslims and migrated to Abyssinia.

At the time of his migration Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, remarked: "Usman is the first man of my Ummah to migrate with his family for the sake of Allah." He stayed there for a couple of months and returned to Makkah when he was wrongly informed by somebody that the Quraish had accepted Islam.

Hazrat Usman gets title of Dhun Nurain

Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) migrated for the second time with other Muslims to Madinah.

He could not participate in the first battle of Islam against non-believers of Makkah at Badr, because his wife was very ill. She died before the Muslims returned from Badr after the victory. Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, gave him glad tidings that he would be rewarded as though he had participated in the battle.

After the death of Hadrat Ruqayyah (, may Allah be pleased with him.), Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, married his next daughter, Umm Kulthum, to Hazrat Usman and so he was given the title of Dhun Nurain i.e., the man with two lights.

Hazrat Usman's services to Islam before Caliphate

He was a very prominent Muslim to serve Islam by all means. He participated in almost all the battles against the non-believers in which Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had also taken part, except the Battle of Badr.
At the time of the Treaty of Hudaibiya, he was sent to Makkah to negotiate with the non-believers. Shortly after, the Muslims were wrongly informed that he was murdered by the Kuffar of Makkah. It is for this reason that Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, 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 Hazrat Usman’s pledge, Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, put his left hand (representing Hazrat Usman's hand) on his right hand.

When the Muhajirin (emigrants) from Makkah came to Madinah, they had great difficulty in getting drinking water. Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) bought a well named bi’r-i-Rumah from a Jew for twenty thousand dirhams for free use for the Muslims.
That was the first trust ever made in the history of Islam. Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, gave him the glad tidings of Paradise for this act.

When the number of Muslims increased, Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,'s mosque became too small to accommodate the increasing population. It was Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) who responded to Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,'s call and bought land for its extension.
When Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, went to the expedition of Tabuk, Hazrat Usman bore the expenses for one third of the Islamic army (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.
On this, Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, remarked, "Nothing will do any harm to Usman from this day, whatever he does."

Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was one of the scribes of the Wahi (revelation) and also used to write other documents (letters and messages etc.) for Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

At the time of the election of Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him.), Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was present in the Assembly Hall of Madinah. During the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar, he was a member of the Shura (Advisory Council). He occupied a prominent position in the affairs of the Islamic State during that time.

Hazrat Usman Ghani - the third Khalifa of Islam

Before his death, Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him.) 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 the Muslim public. He also instructed them to make the nomination within three days. The panel included Hazrat Usman, Ali, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas, Talha, Zubair and Abdur Rahman bin 'Auf (Ridwanullahi Alaihim) as the members.

The panel could not arrive at any decision even after long meetings. Then, Hazrat 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 Hazrat Talha (, may Allah be pleased with him.) who was not present in Madinah at this time. It so happened that Hazrat Usman proposed Hazrat Ali's name and Hazrat Ali proposed Hazrat Usman's name for the post of Khalifah. But Hazrat Zubair and Sa'd (, may Allah be pleased with him.) were more in favour of Hazrat Usman than Hazrat Ali.
After more consultations with other companions and careful consideration during the third night, Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin ‘Auf (, may Allah be pleased with him.) gave his decision in the morning of the fourth day, in favour of Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.).

First of all, Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin ‘Auf (, may Allah be pleased with him.) took Bai'at at the hands of Hazrat Usman and then all the Muslims present in the Mosque followed suit and took Bai'at (pledge of loyalty) at the hands of Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.). In this way, Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was declared to be the third Khalifah.
When Hazrat Talha (, may Allah be pleased with him.) returned to Madinah, Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) requested him either to accept the post of Khalifah (as he was one of the people proposed by Hazrat Umar for the post) or to acknowledge him as Khalifah by taking Bai'at. Hazrat 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."

The conquests during Hazrat Usman’s caliphate

During the caliphate of Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.), the Muslims conquered a number of new areas.
They took over Antalya and Asia Minor in the west including Cyprus. Afghanistan, Samarkand, Tashkent, Turkmenistan, 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, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Persia or Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and of course 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 of the past mighty Byzantine or Persian Empires had ever been. 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.

Internal issues of Hazrat Usman's caliphate

The first half of Hazrat Usman's caliphate was very peaceful. During this time, the Muslims gained many victories as described above, and the caliphate extended to a vast area of the then known world.
But the later part of Hazrat Usman's caliphate was marred by a terrible civil war which ultimately led to the murder of the Caliph himself. Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was a very gentle and soft-hearted person. The people who wanted to create chaos among the Muslims took advantage of his soft nature. Hazrat Umar's stern hand had kept away the undemocratic and non-Islamic customs, and the practices that prevailed in the courts of Persian and Byzantine Empires. But Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) sometimes overlooked the faults of the governors and other officers in various provinces, though he himself totally and completely followed the ways of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the first two Caliphs.
His compassionate nature made the provincial governors bold, as a result of which unrest in the provincial capitals grew and ultimately it engulfed the whole Islamic State.

The enemies of Islam were in search of a suitable occasion to work against Islam and the Muslims. They finally found the desired opportunity for this and sent out their men to disturb the peace and to spread false news. Only the main events that happened during that time will be discussed in the following lines.

Conspiracy of Abdullah bin Saba

Abdullah bin Saba was a clever Yemenite Jew who had falsely accepted Islam; he pretended to accept Islam only for self-interest and to destroy peace of the Islamic state. He took the leading part in the agitation against Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.). He had a number of followers who had accepted Islam only to create disharmony among the Muslims.
He invented quite a few beliefs and started to preach them. He based his beliefs upon the love of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his family.

The main belief invented by Abdullah bin Saba was that every Prophet left a Wasi (administrator) behind him, and the Wasi was his relative. For example, Hazrat Musa made Hazrat Harun his Wasi. Consequently, Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, must have a Wasi, and his Wasi was Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.) Being the Wasi, Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was the only rightful man to be the Khalifah.
He went to the extent of declaration that the Khilafat of Hazrat Abu Bakr, Umar and Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was unlawful. The only way to redress matters was to remove the then Caliph, Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.).

He started to give wrong commentaries of various verses of the Holy Qur'an and twisted their meaning in favour of his beliefs.

He preached his false self-coined beliefs secretly and selected the main headquarters of Muslim military power (Kufa, Basrah, Syria and Egypt) as centres of his activities.
He picked up a number of newly converted Muslims who lent an easy ear to his preachings. Some simple Muslims who were holdinghaving certain complaints against various governors also joined him.
It was the real cause of all the troubles.

First of all, he visited Madinah to note the internal conditions of the capital. He pretended to be a very pious Muslim but could not get much followers over there. Then he went to Basrah and started to preach his beliefs and incite the public against Muslim officers. At that time, Hazrat Abdullah bin Amir was the Governor. Hearing about his activities, he called him and made certain enquiries of which Abdullah bin Saba became frightened and left Basrah leaving his followers and workers over there under the supervision of Hakim bin Hublah, one of the opponents of the governor.

From Basrah, Abdullah bin Saba moved to Kufa and found it more suitable for his destructive activities. He pretended to be a very pious Muslim and because of his show of piety, a number of simple Muslims started to respect him. Then he preached his beliefs.
Soon the governor of Kufa, Hazrat Sad bin al-'As was informed about him. He called him and warned him against his false beliefs and the damage he wanted to cause to the Muslim community. For this reason, he left Kufa as well but made Ashtar as his deputy with instructions that the mission should be continued secretly. From there, he also went to Damascus but was not successful because of the strict control of Hazrat Amir Mu'awiya (, may Allah be pleased with him.).

At last, he selected Egypt and went there. The governor of Egypt, Hazrat Abdullah bin Sarah was busy in the battles against Byzantine forces in North Africa and could not pay much attention to Ibn Saba's activities. He continued correspondence with his followers in Basrah, Kufa and other places from Egypt, and gave them directions for creating disorder and rivalry among the Muslims.

His followers, most of whom were pretending to be Muslims, used various techniques to increase their strength. They made a great show of piety and posed to be very pious worshippers. They incited people to forge complaints against the governors, various officers and the Khalifah as well.
A new campaign against most of the officers was started by calling them irreligious, non-practical and bad Muslims. They sent forged letters from place to place which talked of injustice and unrest in the place from where they were posted. Such letters were usually sent to Sabaites (the followers of Abdullah bin Saba) who read them out to as many people as possible. These forged letters also showed that Hazrat Ali, Talha, and Zubair (, may Allah be pleased with him.) had full sympathy for them and their mission and they disliked the Khalifah, Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.).
These were the three leading Companions in Madinah at that time. Thus, the people of various places began to believe that there was a widespread unrest and that the leading Companions wanted to remove the Khalifah, Hazrat Usman.

The Sabaites also worked throughout the state against various governors. They were the real cause of their removal from time to time.
Sabaites were the main figures behind the removal of Hazrat Abu Musa Ash'ari from the governorship of Basrah at the time when their mission was not so popular. They spread rumours against Hazrat Walid bin 'Uqbah, governor of Kufa, and wrongly accused him of drinking liquor, and provided false witnesses against him because of which the Khalifah punished him.
When he was punished, they accused the Khalifah of punishing innocent Muslims. When Hazrat Abdullah bin Amir (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was appointed as the governor of Basrah to replace Hazrat Abu Musa Ash'ari, they incited the public against him and against the Khalifah, saying that he was given the governorship in his young age only because he was related to Hazrat Usman.

On one side, they incited the people against the governors and on the other they accused the Khalifah. On the basis of complaints, when Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) removed the governors they criticised him to be unduly kind to his relatives by appointing them to big posts.

Allegations against Hazrat Usman

1. Hazrat Usman belonged to the Quraishi family of Banu Umayyah. Before Islam, there was rivalry between Banu Umayyah and Banu Hashim (another Quraishi family to which Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him) belonged). In Madinah, the Sabaites incited Banu Hashim against Banu Umayyah, actually against Hazrat Usman, bysaying that he was removing Hashmites from the big offices in order to support Umayyads and that he was unduly considerate to his family.

2. They alleged that Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was extravagant and gave away money to his relatives, thus squandered the Baitul Mal. The allegation was absolutely false. Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was one of the wealthiest merchants in Arabia due to which people gave him the title of Ghani (the rich man).
His liberal contributions towards the cause of Islam during the life of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, have been mentioned in the preceding pages. His generosity continued in the same way during his Caliphate. He spent his own money to help the poor, and also his relatives but never took anything wrongfully from the Baitul Mal. Not only this, he did not accept any allowance from the Baitul Mal for his services as Caliph.
Through his addresses and speeches, he clarified his position several times and gave satisfactory explanations to the false accusations against him. Once he promised to give one fifth of the booty of Tripoli, the state share, to Hazrat Abdullah bin Sarah, the then Governor of Egypt, for his invaluable services and the bravery he showed in the battles that took place between the Muslims and the Byzantine forces in North African territories. But because the general public disapproved his view, he asked Abdullah to return that share.

3. One of the allegations, levelled by Sabaites against Hazrat Usman, was that he had burnt some copies of the Holy Qur'an. The fact was that Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) sent copies of the Holy Qur'an, written by Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit by the order of Hadrat Abu Bakr during his caliphate, to various places of the state and asked the governors and other officers to burn all those copies of the Holy Qur'an which were incomplete and were not in accordance with the Holy Qur'an compiled by Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit.
This was done in order to avoid confusion between the Muslims because there were some copies of the Holy Qur'an at that time in which the order of the Surahs (chapters) was not like that which was proposed by the Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in accordance to Hazrat Jibrail's instructions as commanded by Allah. Moreover, some of the copies existing at that time at various places other than Madinah were lacking in some chapters, and were incomplete. For this reason, Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) got copies made of the standard Book which was compiled during the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him.) and sent them to various places. Differences had also arisen due to differences in handwritings so he also standardised the way of writing the Holy Qur'an.
This has been considered as one of the greatest services of Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) rendered to Islam for which he has been given the title of Jami'ul-Qur'an (the Compiler of the Qur'an) although the Holy Qur'an was compiled in a book form by Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him.) on the insistence of Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him.).

4. At this point, I would like to mention something about Hazrat Abu Zarr Ghafari (, may Allah be pleased with him.) because this allegation is concerned with him. He was a well-known and pious Companion of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,, who always kept aloof from the world and its riches. He was not in favour of accumulation of money and saving it. Regarding the Baitul Mal (public treasury), he held the view that all the money should be spent for the welfare of Muslims as soon as it came through taxes etc. In Syria, he started to publicise his opinion and a number of people followed him. Seeing this, Hazrat Amir Mu'awiya wrote to Hazrat Usman who recalled Hazrat Abu Dharr to Madinah and then he retired to a village named Rabdhah near Madinah. Abdullah bin Saba tried to gain favour of Hazrat Abu Zarr (, may Allah be pleased with him.) when he was in Syria but he rebuked Ibn Saba and told him that the beliefs he was preaching were foreign to Islam and that his aim was to create chaos among the Muslims.

When Hazrat Abu Zarr (, may Allah be pleased with him.) had retired, they started accusing Hazrat Usman of forcing him to live in a village. Not only this, but they also accused him of ill treatment of other recognised companions like Hazrat Ammar bin Yasir and Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas'ud (, may Allah be pleased with him.) But all of these accusations were false.

5. One of the allegations against Hazrat Usman was that he called Hakam bin As to Medina who was exiled by Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. However this step of Hazrat Usman was not too wise. Not only this, but he also appointed Hakam's son Marwan as his chief secretary which was not liked by some prominent Companions and also by the Muslim public.

The forthcoming discussion on this point would reveal that Marwan became the main cause of the insurgents' existence who ultimately assassinated the Khalifah. It is alleged that he wrote to Egypt's governor, Hazrat Abdullah to kill Muhammad bin Abi Bakr whom Hazrat Usman had appointed the governor of Egypt in place of Muhammad bin Abi Bakr when the insurgents pressed Hazrat Usman to do so but this, too, was false. The letter was sheer forgery.

There are some other false allegations which were levelled by Sabaites to defame the Khalifah. Since most of them are purely theological in nature and not political, they have not been mentioned here.

Conference of the Governors

When the unrest caused by Sabaites continued to grow in all parts of the State, the news began to pour into Madinah. The leading companions asked Hazrat Usman to take steps against them. So, he called a conference of the governors in Madinah in the year 34 A.H., just after the Hajj.
All the governors attended the meeting. Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) enquired from them about the growing unrest in the State. They told him that it was due to some mischief-mongers who wanted to overthrow the government. They suggested that such persons must be punished and those who were the leaders must be put to sword. But Hazrat Usman disliked the suggestion and told them that without just cause he would never shed even a single drop of Muslim blood. Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was not willing to take stern action against such persons because he did not wish that hundreds of men should be massacred for his interest. Instead, he sent a mission of four persons to tour the provinces: Muhammad bin Muslimah, Usamah bin Zaid, Ammar bin Yasir and Abdullah bin Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him).

After the governors' conference was over Hazrat Amir Mu’awiya (, may Allah be pleased with him.) suggested that he should leave Madinah and should pass some time in Damascus but he said, "I would not leave Madinah even if the people kill me. No price can take me away from the land of the Holy Prophet , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."
Then Hazrat Amir Mu'awiya (, may Allah be pleased with him.) requested Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) to allow him to send an army to Madinah for his protection but Hazrat Usman did not even agree to that.

The mission sent by Hazrat Usman toured various places and talked with the people. Three of them returned to Madinah and reported to Hazrat Usman that the conditions were normal. The fourth member of the mission Hazrat Ammar bin Yasir (, may Allah be pleased with him.) did not return. He was sent to Egypt where Abdullah bin Saba and his followers coaxed him and he started to live with them instead of returning to Madinah.

Saba gets friends

Abdullah bin Saba was in search of some important men who had influence over the Muslims. At last, he won over three important figures. One amongst them was Hazrat Ammar bin Yasir, described above. The other two joined Ibn Saba before Hazrat Ammar. They were Muhammad bin Abi Hudhaifah and Muhammad bin Abi Bakr.

Muhammad bin Abi Hudhaifah was an orphan and was brought up by Hazrat Usman along with some other orphans. When he grew up he desired some big post. Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) did not consider him fit for that. So he left Madinah and went to Egypt and ultimately joined Ibn Saba.

Muhammad bin Abi Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was in debt. The creditor complained to the Khalifah who decided the case impartially in favour of the creditor as a result of which Muhammad bin Abi Bakr left Madinah, went to Egypt and ultimately joined Ibn Saba.

Plan of the Sabaites

The Sabaites were planning to cause a general rising while the Governors were away attending the conference. However, the plot could not be carried out.

Kufa was the main centre of the Sabaites besides their headquarters in Egypt. The hooligans of Kufa tried to carry out the plan and did not allow the governor to enter the city when he returned from the conference. They demanded that Hazrat Musa Ash'ari should be appointed as the governor in place of Sa'd bin As. Their request was granted and Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) sent Hazrat Musa Ash'ari to Kufa.

Then they chalked out another plan and decided that their ring leaders should meet at Madinah. This plan had to serve double purpose. On the one hand, they wanted to study the situation for future course of action, and on the other hand they wanted to show the public that they put their grievances before the Khalifah but he did not pay any attention to them.

According to the plan, three delegations came, one from Egypt, the second from Kufa and the third from Basrah. Hazrat Usman was informed about their plan but he accepted it quietly. When these Sabaites entered Madinah, some Companions suggested to Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) to kill them but he said that without sufficient legal grounds no man would be executed, and that he would try to remove the misunderstandings. He told them, "I will be kind to them and if kindness fails to work I would rather sacrifice myself for Allah's Will."

Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) listened to them and gave a long address in which he replied to all the charges which were put against him. Some parts of his historical address are quoted here:

"I have been accused of loving my kinsmen and being unduly kind to them. It is not a sin to love one's relatives but I have never been unjust to other people due to this. Whatever I give them is from my own pocket. I never spent anything on my relatives and kinsmen from public funds."

"It has been said that I have appointed comparatively young men as officers. I did it only because I found them more able for the cause of Islam. Nobody could deny their honesty and the work they rendered for the cause of Islam and the Muslims. The appointment of Usamah as the commander of the army by Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is proof that youth is no disqualification."

"It has been alleged that I gave the whole booty of North Africa as reward to the governor of Egypt. It is true but when I learnt about the public objection to it, I took back the money from the governor and deposited it in the Baitul Mal."

"It is said that I have reserved the public pastures for my personal use. I swear by Allah that I never did it. In public pastures, only those animals graze which are the property of the Baitul Mal (public treasury). All of you know that when I was entrusted with this office (i.e. caliphate) I had more animals than anyone in the whole of Arabia but now I have only two camels that are to serve me at the time of Hajj. How could I reserve the public pastures for my personal use?"

"I have sent authorized copies of the Holy Qur'an to every part of the empire. There are people who object to this. You all know that the Holy Qur'an is only one book sent down by Allah. The Companions who wrote down this book, under the eyes of the Holy Prophet, are still alive. It is they who compiled the copy which I have sent."

"It is said that I called Hakam to Madinah, who was exiled by Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Actually Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, exiled him from Makkah to Taif. Then Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had allowed him to live at Madinah on my request. I only put into force the permission granted by Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, himself."

In this way Hadrat Uthman gave satisfactory explanations to all the allegations put against him by the Sabaites. At the end of his address, he said to the audience
"Tell me if all I have said is not correct."

But the aim of these ring leaders was to create mischief. They returned to their places and instead of telling the truth, they told them that the Khalifah was not ready to set things right. Then they planned to send strong contingents from places like Basrah, Kufa and Egypt for the forthcoming Hajj. The parties were to leave their places pretending to perform Hajj but their real aim was to go to Madinah and decide the matter with the sword i.e. to change the Khalifah by force. Though the Khalifah, Hazrat Usman, knew about this plan beforehand, he did not want to use force. He was determined to win over his enemies with love and compassion.

Insurgent (Sabaites) enter Madinah

The time of Hajj in the year 35 A.H. (656 A.C.) came near, and they started to put their plans into action. In the month of Shawwal 35 A.H., they started arriving in small groups from various places. In all, about three thousand Sabaites came, one thousand from each place viz. Basrah, Kufa and Egypt. The groups from Basrah stayed at Dhi Khashab, and those from Kufa stayed at Awas while the Egyptians stayed at Dhi Murwah. All three places are near Madinah. All of them wanted Hazrat Usman to step down but there was some difference of opinion regarding the next Khalifah.
Because of Ibn Saba, the Egyptians wanted Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.), but Kufites preferred Hazrat Zubair while Basrites were in favour of Hazrat Talha. The Egyptians came to Hazrat Ali and requested him to accept the Khilafat. Hazrat Ali replied, "Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has told us that the parties of Dhi Khashab, Dhi Murwah and Awas are cursed. Every pious Muslim knows it. I can't cooperate with you. Go back to your places."
The insurgents from Kufa made the same request to Hazrat Zubair who also gave the same reply. The Basrites approached Hazrat Talha who also refused.

When Hazrat Usman heard about the insurgents, he sent some of the leading Companions including Hadrat Ali to them. Hazrat Ali assured the insurgents that their complaints would be listened to. They put forward certain demands including the dismissal of the governor of Egypt and appointment of Muhammad bin Abi Bakr as the new governor.
Hazrat Usman acceded to their demand without any question. Then he gave a short address in which he said, "By Allah, for the cause of truth, I am ready to obey even a slave. I promise to fulfil your demands."
Saying this, tears rolled down the eyes of Hazrat Usman, and the audience also wept.

Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.) then again assured the insurgents and they seemed to be satisfied and started to return from where they had come from. All the Muslims in Madinah thought that the trouble had ended.

The siege of Hazrat Usman's house

A few days later, the people of Madinah were surprised to hear shouts of "Revenge, revenge!" in the streets. Hearing the shouts, Hazrat Ali came out to enquire about the matter. The insurgents showed a letter to him under the seal of the Khalifah and signed by Marwan bin Hakam, the chief secretary of Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.). The letter was being carried to the Governor of Egypt by a special messenger whom they intercepted on the way. The letter said; "Uqtul Muhammad bin Abu Bakr" (Kill Muhammad bin Abu Bakr) instead of "lqbil Muhammad bin Abu Bakr" (i.e. Accept Muhammad bin Abu Bakr as governor).

Note: It seems that the "Nuqtab" (dot) of Arabic letter "Ba" was wrongly placed at the top maing it similiar to another letter "Ta" due to which the meaning was totally changed. But according to most of the historians the letter was intentionally written by Marwan about which Hazrat Usman did not know. While some others say that it was a plot of the insurgents and they produced a forged letter. For the reason given in the Glorious Caliphate by Athar Hussain, the conclusion is that the letter was clean forgery.

Hazrat Ali tried to pacify them but they did not listen to him and went straight to Hazrat Usman, saying: “We do not want Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) to be the Khalifah. Allah has made his blood lawful for us. You should also help us." Hazrat Ali said, "By Allah, I have nothing to do with you. It seems that you have hatched a plot and are trying to carry it out."

When the insurgents went to Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) he took a solemn oath that he knew nothing about the letter. But they refused to believe him and said, "Whether you wrote it or not, you are unfit to be the Khalifah and you must abdicate."
Then, they threatened to kill him to which Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) replied, "I do not fear death, but I do not want to shed Muslim blood."

When Hazrat Ali saw that the insurgents were out of control and Hazrat Usman did not want to use force against them, he left for Ahjar, a place a few miles away from Madinah, because his position was becoming difficult as the insurgents wanted to drag him into the dispute.

Afterwards, the insurgents demanded Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) to give up the Khilafat. He rejected their demand and said, "I can't take off the robe of honour with my own hands that Allah has bestowed upon me."
Consequently, the insurgents began a violent siege of his house and did not allow him to come out except for offering Salats in the Masjid. But later on, they did not even allow him to leave his house even for the Salats. The siege went on for forty days. During the last few days, they also stopped the supply of water. Some brave Muslim youths like Hazrat Hassan, Hussain, Muhammad bin Talha, Abdullah bin Zubair (, may Allah be pleased with him.) were guarding the gate of the house so that nobody among the insurgents could enter the house. Beside Hazrat Uthman and his wife, Nailah, Marwan bin Hakam was also in the house. He did not allow any person to fight with the insurgents although a fight took place between Hazrat Hassan, Hussain and Marwan and the insurgents when they did not allow Ummul Mu'minin Hazrat Habibah (, may Allah be pleased with him.) to supply meals to Hazrat Usman. Hazrat Hassan received minor injuries but Marwan was seriously hurt. However, the insurgents did not fight with Hazrat Hassan and Hussain because of the fear of Hashmites. During the siege, Hazrat Usman sent Abdullah bin ’Abbas to Makkah to lead the Hajj and also to inform people about the insurgents. He also sent messengers to provincial governors.

When hardship grew, some eminent companions like Hazrat Mughirah bin Shu'bah requested the Khalifah to take action against the insurgents and said that all the people of Madinah were ready to fight for him but he did not agree to shedding of Muslim blood. Then they proposed that he should leave the house through the back door and either go to Makkah or to Damascus where he would be safer but he accepted neither of the proposals. Things got worse day by day, and at last the crisis heightened.

The Martyrdom of Hazrat Usman Ghani

The only weapons that were with Hazrat Usman was his kindness and soft nature. He addressed the insurgents several times from the roof of his house and reminded them about his family relations with Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,, and the services he had rendered to Islam but they never listened to him.

The insurgents were afraid that the Hajj was coming to an end and after the Hajj a number of supporters of the Khalifah would go to Madinah. They decided therefore to assassinate him without delay. As stated before, they did not want to fight with Hashmites like Hazrat Hassan, Hussain and Abdullah bin Zubair who were standing guard at the main gate of Hazrat Usman's big residence. The reason not to fight with Hashmites was that they had incited a number of people against Banu Umayyah (Hazrat Usman’s family) in favour of Banu Hashim (Hashmites). So the insurgents climbed the back walls of the house and entered the room where Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was reciting the Holy Qur'an.

On seeing Hazrat Usman, one of the insurgents hit his head with an axe while the next struck him with a sword. His wife, Hazrat Nailah tried to shield her husband but she also got several wounds and her fingers were chopped off. Chronicles record that Muhammad bin Abu Bakr was the leader of the assassins. He got hold of Hazrat Usman’s beard and pulled it. On this Hazrat Usman remarked, "Oh my dear nephew if your father (Hazrat Abu Bakr) was alive you would never have done this."
The remarks of Hazrat Usman cut him and he turned back and did not take part in the assassination.

After giving severe injuries to Hazrat Usman, one of the insurgents, an Egyptian named Amr bin Hamq cut off the Khalifah's blessed head.

Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him), one of Islam's greatest personalities, was assassinated on Friday, the 17th Dhul-Hijjah, 35 A.H. (the 17th July, 656 A.D.).

A Great Martyr

Hazrat Usman was a great martyr as prophesied in the following Hadith quoted by Bukhari and others:

Hazrat Anas (, may Allah be pleased with him.) narrated that Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,, Hazrat Abu Bakr, Umar, and Usman went up the Mount of Uhud (the mountain near Madinah) and when it quivered because of them, Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, kicked it with his foot and said, "Keep steady, Oh Uhud, for on you stands a Prophet, a Siddiq and two martyrs."

In the above Hadith, Hazrat Abu Bakr had been mentioned as the Siddiq (truthful friend) while Hazrat Umar and Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) had been prophesied as the martyrs.

The news of martyrdom

The news of Hazrat Usman's cruel assassination shocked everybody. Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.) received the news when he was returning from Ahjar to see Hazrat Usman. He was stunned on hearing about the assassination of Hazrat Usman and exclaimed, "Oh Allah, You know it, I am free from any blame."
He rebuked his sons Hazrat Hassan and Hussain (, may Allah be pleased with him.) and others who had stood guard at the gate for not being more alert.

After assassinating the Khalifah, the insurgents virtually took over charge of Madinah. They also looted the Baitul Mal. The people of Madinah were afraid of them and did not come out of their houses. The body of the Khalifah could not be buried for two days.
At last, some Muslims in succeeded in getting into the house and carried out the burial service. There were only 17 Muslims who participated in the burial prayers due to the circumstances at the time. Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was 82 years old at the time of his assassination and remained in the office of Khilafat for about 12 years.

His words "I do not want to spill Muslim blood to save my own neck", will be remembered for ever in the history of Islam. He sacrificed his life to save the blood of Muslims.

Consequences of assassination

The assassination of Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was unparalled in Islamic history and it had far reaching effects. Hazrat Hudhaifah (, may Allah be pleased with him), the secret keeper of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,'s prophecies made the following remark when he heard of the assassination of Hazrat Usman:
"Ah, the assassination of Usman has divided the Muslims till resurrection, they will never be united again."

It proved to be true because just after the assassination, civil war started and continued up to the tragedy of Karbala. At that time, the Muslim community was divided into four groups:

1. Uthmanis: The Syrians and Basrites were in favour of capital punishment of the assassins. Syrians thought Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah was the most suitable person to punish the assassins, while the Basrites wanted the Khalifah from any of these two; Talha or Zubair, as they were included in the panel appointed by Hazrat Umar to select the Khalifah.

2. Shia: These people did not think Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) fit for Khilafat and called themselves as the "Shi‘an e Ali" i.e., the friends of Ali. Kufans and some Egyptians were in this group. According to Sunni historians, the assassins were from amongst this group.

3. Murhabah: These were those people who were busy in Jihad (holy wars) at the time when Hazrat Usman was assassinated. They said: "Neither are we with Uthmanis nor with Shi'as. We want to keep aloof from their differences."

4. Ahle Sunnah wal Jamaat: These were the bulk of the Companions and the Muslims of various parts of the Islamic state including Makkah, Madinah and other parts of Arabia.
They said, "We love both Hazrat Usman and Hazrat Ali and consider them as righteous and pious Companions. We do not curse any of the Companions & the righteous Muslims. If any of the Companions committed a mistake it was due to his Ijtihad (his disciplined verdict based upon the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet) and he will not be questioned for it. We follow the Sunnah of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the Sunnah (ways) of his righteous jama'ah (the group of all the Companions)."

The first and the third group, ie. Usmanis and Murhabah proved to be temporary political groups but the other two ie. Shias and the Ahle Sunnah wal Jamaat (Sunnis) took the shape of permanent theological groups and still exist.

Hearing the news of Hazrat Usman's assassination, Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas (, may Allah be pleased with him.), a prominent commentator of the Holy Qur'an remarked, "Allah may have stoned us as He stoned the people of Lot, if the majority of Muslims had supported the assassination of Hazrat Usman."

Hazrat Thamamah bin 'Adi (, may Allah be pleased with him.) the governor of Yemen started to cry and weep hearing the news of the assassination of Hazrat Usman. Hazrat Abdullah bin Salam (, may Allah be pleased with him.), well versed in the past scriptures, said: "By Allah, the power of the Arabs has finished now."

Hazrat Aisha (, may Allah be pleased with him.), the most beloved wife of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,, said, "Ah, Usman has been assassinated most cruelly. His record of deeds is shining like a well washed cloth."

Hearing the news of the assassination, Hazrat Abu Hurairah and Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit (, may Allah be pleased with him.) started to weep continuously and their tears did not stop for a long time.

The shirt of Hazrat Usman, which was marked with his blood, and the cut fingers of his wife, Hazrat Nailah, were carried to Hazrat Amir Mu'awiyah (, may Allah be pleased with him.), the Governor of Syria, in Damascus.
When they were shown to the Muslim public, the whole gathering started to cry and shouted, "Revenge, revenge!".

Mr. Joseph Hell, a Western historian says: "The assassination of Usman was a signal for civil war."
Mr. Wellhausen, a German historian says, "The murder of Usman was more epoch-making than, almost any other event of Islamic history."
Philip Hitti has remarked: "With Usman's death the political unity of Islam came to an end. Soon Islam's religious unity was divided. Islamic society entered upon a period punctuated with schism and civil strife that has not yet ended."
A Muslim historian, Prof. K. Ali, writes, "Unity of Islam which was maintained by the first two Khalifah was lost and serious dissensions arose among the Muslims."

The assassination of Hazrat Usman was followed by great civil wars and battles between the Muslims, the details of which will be discussed later. The system of centralised government initiated by Hazrat Umar and developed by Hazrat Usman was shattered and a number of internal movements started, of which the Kharijite's movement was the most serious.

Victories

Hazrat Usman’s reign constituted a glorious period in the history of Islam. The territories of Islamic state (caliphate) were immensely extended. Though the conquests during his time were not so much in number as during the time of Hazrat Umar, nevertheless they were not few in number either. He ruled over a vast part of the then known world, right from Kabul (Afghanistan) to Morocco. He put down the rebellions with an iron hand.

During Hazrat Usman’s period of caliphate, the Muslim naval force was developed and Muslims began naval victories. The victory over the huge naval force of the Byzantine Empire comprising 500 ships has been termed as the Grand Victory.

After the capture of North African territories by Muslims and gaining full control over Mediterranean, the mighty power of Byzantine and Roman Empires had collapsed. Actually Islam was at the zenith of its glory during the period of Hazrat Usman.

Official Manuscript of the Holy Quran

One of the magnificent services to Islam done by Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was to safeguard any possible change in the codex of the Holy Qur'an.

After the conquests by the Muslims, hundreds of thousands of non-Arabs, whose mother tongue was not Arabic, accepted Islam because of its teachings.
Hazrat Hudhaifah (, may Allah be pleased with him.), one of the prominent Companions of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,, went for Jihad during that time and noticed many differences in the manner of recitation of the Holy Qur'an. The Syrians recited in a way different from that of Kufis while the Kufis differed from the Basris and so on. As a matter of fact, these differences were due to the differences in the way of writing Arabic.
Seeing this condition, Hazrat Hudhaifah reported the matter to the Khalifah on his return from Jihad, and suggested that the Madinah codex should be regarded as authentic, i.e. the Holy Qur'an, which was written and compiled in book form during the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him.) and was kept with Ummul Mumineen Hazrat Hafsah (, may Allah be pleased with him.).
Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) took that Book from Hazrat Hafsah(, may Allah be pleased with him.) and canonised the Madinah codex. He asked Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit (, may Allah be pleased with him.), the person who wrote it during the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr, to make copies of the same with the help of some other Companions like Abdullah bin Zubair and Sa'd bin 'As etc.
Then he ordered all other copies, beside the Madinah codex, to be burnt and destroyed throughout the State. Those people who earned their living in the provinces as the receptacles and expositors of the sacred text were not pleased with this act.

It has been discussed before that such persons criticised Hazrat Usman for burning unauthentic texts. However, for this great service Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) is famous as the Jami'ul Qur'an (the compiler of the Qur'an), and for this act, the Muslim world will forever be indebted to him.

Hazrat Usman; the great scholar

Hazrat Usman had beautiful handwriting, and for this reason Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, appointed him as one of the scribes of the Wahi (revelation).

His style of writing was well recognised among the Companions. Arabic knowing persons can recognise the fluency of his writings especially of the letters and the orders he sent to various officers during his Khilafat.
Though he was not an orator but his way of lecturing was very powerful and effective. His addresses and lectures can be viewed in many history books.

Hazrat Usman was a great scholar of the Holy Qur'an and was a Hafiz (one who commits the whole Holy Book to memory). He was well versed in Shan-i-Nuzul, which is the chronology of the revelation of various verses and chapters of the Holy Qur'an, and was considered an authority in this respect.
He was one of the few Companions who excelled in deriving laws from the verses of the Holy Qur'an.

Although his jurisdiction was not of the standards of Hazrat Umar and Hazrat Ali (, may Allah be pleased with him.), nevertheless he was well qualified in this respect. His verdicts and judgements have been mentioned in many books.

He was also considered an authority on the laws of Hajj. Even Hazrat Umar (, may Allah be pleased with him.) used to ask Hazrat Usman regarding Hajj during his time.

Character and Piety

Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was a very pious Companion and a man of high character. He was the most modest of all the Companions.
Once, Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was sitting with some of his Companions and the shin of his mubarak leg was not covered. In the meantime, somebody informed him about the arrival of Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.). Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, immediately covered it and remarked, "Even the angels have regard for the modesty of Usman."

He was a strict follower of the Sunnah of Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Somebody asked him the reason for smiling after wudu. He replied that he had seen Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, smiling after making wudu, so he smiled in order to follow him. Once, he demonstrated to the Muslims the correct way of making wudu according to the Sunnah of Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

He used to fear Allah very much. Tears used to roll down his face due to Allah's fear. Whenever the consequences to be faced in the grave were described before him, he used to weep so much that his beard would moisten with tears. Sometimes he wept and cried seeing a corpse or a grave due to his fear of Allah.
He used to say, "The grave is the first stage of all the stages of the Hereafter. If a person is successful there, he would be successful on the Day of Judgement too. If a person faces difficulty in the grave, other stages will also be difficult for him."

He used to carry out household work although he was one of the wealthiest persons in the whole of Arabia. He would not wake his slave to take any help from him when he got up to perform Tahajjud Salat.

Hazrat Usman was very soft spoken. If any person talked to him in a harsh tone he always replied gently. Once when he was delivering the Jummah Khutba, a person shouted during the Sermon: "Oh Usman, repent for Allah’s sake and keep away from going wrong." He immediately turned his face towards the Qiblah and exclaimed, "Oh Allah, I am the first to repent before Thee and to turn towards Thee."

He never took any allowance from the Baitul Mal for his services as a Khalifah. Hazrat Umar recieved 5,000 Dirhams annually as an allowance from the public treasury, thus Hazrat Usman contributed 60,000 Dirhams after his 12 years service, towards the Public Fund.

Examples of his generosity have already been given. He was the most generous among all the wealthy Companions and never hesitated to spend his money for the cause of Islam and Muslims. His house was one of the biggest in Madinah which he built near the mosque of Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

He established a library in the back of his house for the education of the Muslims.

Wives and children

Hazrat Usman was first married to Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,'s daughter, Hazrat Ruqayyah (, may Allah be pleased with him.) who died in Madinah while Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was away on the expedition of Badr. Then he was married to the younger daughter of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, whose name was Hazrat Umme Kulthum. She also died in the year 9 A.H.
His first wife, Hazrat Ruqayyah, bore him a son called Abdullah, who died at an early age. He had no child from Umme Kulthum (, may Allah be pleased with him.).

After the death of his second wife Hazrat Umme Kulthum, he married the following ladies at different times: Fakhtah bint Walid; Umme Amr bint Jundah; Fatimah bint Shaibah; Umme Banin bint Uwainah; Ramlah bint Shaibah; Aishah; Umme Aban; and Nailah bint Farafsah, his last wife whose fingers were chopped by the insurgents.

Eleven sons were born to him from different wives. Some of them died at an early age. One of his sons, Aban became famous and held high positions during the Umayyads. He had six or seven daughters.