THE STORY OF CALIPHATE UTHMAN (r.t.a) (Episode 45)

 ASSALAAMU ALAYKUM WARAHMATULLAH WABARAKAATUHU . LET'S START TONIGHT'S EDUCATION. OUR TOPIC IS 👇.                                                                            *THE STORY OF CALIPHATE UTHMAN (r.t.a) (Episode 45)*                                                                                                      

_______PAGE 1_______

The State was under an obligation that the real needs of the people were met. Uthman pointed out that he had raised the stipends of the people, and these were enough to meet their needs. Some persons were critical that he had been lavish in raising the amount of the stipends. Uthman made out the point that in the circumstances to preach the doctrine that nothing should be kept in the state treasury and should be distributed immediately was not only unpractical, it was dangerous as well.

Ka'ab Ahbar an eminent companion who was also present on the occasion joined in the discussion.

_______PAGE 2______

He observed that it was inadvisable to condemn the rich for hoarding. The obligation on them was to pay Zakat, and after they had paid Zakat they could use their money in any way they liked and they could not be condemned for hoarding money or violating any injunctions of Islam. Abu Dhar Ghifari did not agree with this view. Hot words were exchanged between Abu Dhar Ghifari and Ka'ab Ahbar. In a fit of fury Abu Dhar Ghifari struck Ka'ab Ahbar with his staff. Uthman took strong notice of this conduct on the part of Abu Dhar Ghifari and said, "O Abu Dhar may God have mercy on you; hold your tongue and your hand".

______PAGE 3_______

Abu Dhar Ghifari thereupon wanted permission to live outside Madinah. Uthman permitted him to live wherever he liked. Abu Dhar Ghifari chose Rabza as the place of his residence. Uthman sanctioned a stipend for Abu Dhar Ghifari. He granted him some camels, and placed the services of a slave at his disposal. Abu Dhar settled at Rabza with his wife and daughter. He built a mosque at Rabza, and spent the remaining years of his life in prayers and religious meditation. Abu Dhar died in 652 C.E. A curious story is narrated about his death. On the day he was to die he asked his daughter to see whether any men were visible on the horizon coming that way.

________PAGE 4_______

She saw some persons in the distance, and informed her father accordingly. Thereupon he lay on the bed with his face to the Kaaba. He told his daughter that he was now going to die, and that when the men she had seen reached there, they should be given his salutation and asked to arrange for his burial. She was further asked to prepare meals for the guests, and they should be fed after they had buried him.

Thereafter Abu Dhar Ghifari died. It was a peaceful passing on from one life to another. When the people she had seen arrived at the hut, the daughter of Abu Dhar Ghifari.

______PAGE 5_______

Gave them the salutation of her father That was a caravan of fourteen persons led by Abdullah bin Masud. On inquiring where was Abu Dhar Ghifari, she said that he was in the hut and had died. Abdullah b Masud and his men arranged for the burial of Abu Dhar Ghifari. Abdullah b Masud recalled that the Holy Prophet had said about Abu Dhar: "He would live alone and die in solitude." When Uthman came to know of the death of Abu Dhar Ghifari, he shifted the wife and daughter of Abu Dhar Ghifari to Madinah, provided them with accommodation and sanctioned a special stipend for them.

______PAGE 6_______

Later he also arranged for the marriage of the daughter of Abu Dhar Ghifari. Uthman always spoke high about Abu Dhar Ghifari He used to say: "May God have mercy on Abu Dhar Ghifari He was a great soul, who was more a citizen of the next world than that of this world”.

In the accounts that have come down to us, there is a good deal of confusion in the matter of the relationship between Uthman and Abu Dhar Ghifari. In the books which have a critical stance with reference to Uthman it is made out that Uthman was too harsh with Abu Dhar Ghaffari and that he had exiled him.

_______PAGE 7_______

In the books generally favorable to Uthman it is stated that Uthman did not exile Abu Dhar Ghifari, and that Abu Dhar Ghifari had of his own accord chosen to reside at Rabza. If all the evidence is examined dispassionately the conclusion that emerges is that there is no truth in the story about the exile of Abu Dhar Ghifari by Uthman. Rabza was only three miles from Madinah and if Uthman had exiled him he would have exiled him to some remoter place in the interior of the country. Again there is evidence to the effect that Abu Dhar Ghifari came to Madinah from Rabza on some occasions. If he had been exiled he could not have gone to Madinah.

_______PAGE 8_______

There is also evidence to the effect that Uthman had gifted some camels to Abu Dhar and also placed a slave at his disposal. He had also sanctioned a stipend in favor of Abu Dhar Ghifari. If Abu Dhar Ghifari had been the victim of the hostility of Uthman, he would not have been allowed such privileges. The truth of the matter is that Abu Dhar Ghifari being of an ascetic bent of mind preferred the solitude of the desert to the busy life of Madinah which had developed into a metropolis. Both Uthman and Abu Dhar Ghifari were great Muslims, and although they had different outlooks on life, there was no ill will between the two.

_______PAGE 9________

After the death of Umar when Uthman became the Caliph, Abdullah b Masud addressed the citizens of Kufa in the mosque, and exhorted them to take the oath of allegiance to Uthman, as he was the best choice for the caliphate. In the second year of his caliphate, Uthman appointed Sa 'ad b Abi Waqas as the Governor of Kufa. Soon a quarrel arose between Sa'ad and Abdullah. Sa'ad took some loan from the Baitul Mal and failed to return it within the stipulated period. Abdullah b Masud insisted on the repayment of the loan. The dispute grew and culminated in the deposition of Sa'ad b Abi Waqas.

______PAGE 10_______

After Sa'ad, Walid b Uqba was appointed as the Governor of Kufa. At one time Abdullah b Masud used to shepherd the goats of Uqba b Abi Moheet the father of Walid. To start with the relationship between Walid and Abdullah b Masud was very cordial, but later differences grew between the two.

When Abdullah b Masud came to know of Uthman's reform about the recension of the Holy Quran, Abdullah b Masud was critical of the exercise. He regarded himself as an authority on the Holy Quran, and he felt aggrieved that in the standard text his viewpoint had not been accommodated.

_______PAGE 11_______

✍🏻…

End of Today's Education. Subhanakallahuma wabihamdik ash-hadu an laaila Anta astagfiruka wa atuuubu ilayhi. Questions, Suggestions and problems are welcome privately. *We shall continue tomorrow on this same topic in sha Allah*. May HE strengthen and make us steadfast in faith. May HE accept our ibaadat and grant us the Good in this World and the Hereafter. May Allah Azza wa jalla forgive and grant us Jannah...AMIN