The Tears of Sayyiduna Uthman ibn Affan رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ

The Tears of Sayyidunā ꜤUthmān b. ꜤAffān رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ

Sayyidunā Amir MuꜤāwiyah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ once asked Sayyidunā ꜤAbdullāh b. ꜤAbbas رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهُمَا, “What do you say regarding Sayyidunā ꜤUthmān b. ꜤAffān رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ?”

He رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ replied, “May Allah Almighty have mercy upon Abū ꜤAmr (i.e. Sayyidunā ꜤUthmān). He was foremost from among the people and the most determined from the reciters of the Quran. He would wake up at the time of pre-dawn and engage in worship, and would shed tears profusely when performing the dhikr of Allah Almighty. Whosoever speaks ill of Sayyidunā ꜤUthmān رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ, Allah Almighty will cause regret to follow him till the Day of Judgement (meaning, the Muslims will ridicule such a person until the Day of Judgement).”[1]

Dear Islamic brothers! The third Caliph of Islam, Sayyidunā ꜤUthmān b. ꜤAffān رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ had many lofty qualities. One from among them was his intense weeping whilst remembering Allah Almighty. This exalted quality of his, however, was not only seen at the time of remembering Allah Almighty, rather his eyes would become full of tears on other occasions too. The following are some accounts in this regard.

Tearfully recounting an event

Sayyidunā ꜤUthmān b. ꜤAffān رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ once told his son, Sayyiduna ꜤAmr b. ꜤUthmān رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ, of the difficulties they faced during the early days of Islam:

Once, the Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was performing ṭawāf of the KaꜤbah clasping the hand of Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ. Three disbelievers, Abū Jahl, ꜤUqbah b. Abī MuꜤīṭ and Umayyah b. Khalaf, were sitting near the Black Stone. When the beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم passed by the Black Stone, the three of them uttered some disparaging words regarding him (which pained the beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم), and the painful signs of this were visible on his blessed face. Seeing this, I went to the beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, and now he صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was between me and Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ. The beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم interlaced his fingers in mine, and all three of us proceeded to perform ṭawāf.

Whilst doing the second round [of ṭawāf], we neared those disbelievers, whereupon Abū Jahl said, “We will never reconcile with you as long as the oceans contain such an amount of water that can moisten a piece of wool. You prevent us from worshipping that which our forefathers worshipped.”

During the third round, they said similar words. On the fourth round, all three disbelievers stood quickly and Abū Jahl sprang forward, intending to grasp the collar of the beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, but I struck him on his chest and pushed him away, causing him to fall on his back. Sayyidunā Abū Bakr رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ shoved Ubayy b. Khalaf, and the noble Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم stopped ꜤUqbah b. Abī MuꜤīṭ. Then the three of them separated. By Allah! All three of the disbelievers were overcome with terror, and they began to shake. The noble Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم then revealed, “By Allah! If you did not stop these disbelievers, the punishment of Allah Almighty would have swiftly seized them.”

Tears flowed from the eyes of Sayyidunā ꜤUthmān رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ as he narrated this account.[2]

Shedding tears when observing the state of the Ahl al-Bayt

One time, the Prophetic Household did not eat for four days, such that the children began to cry due to hunger. The noble Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم performed ablution and went to the Masjid, where he صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم offered prayer in one spot and then supplicated in another (not informing his noble Companions about anything). In the last portion of the day, Sayyidunā ꜤUthmān رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ came and sought permission, so Sayyidah ꜤĀˈishah رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا granted him permission. He asked, “O mother of the believers! Where is the Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم?”

Sayyidah ꜤĀˈishah رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا informed him about the situation, causing him to become tearful. He said, “May the world be ruined! Why did you not inform me, ꜤAbd al-Raḥmān b. ꜤAwf, Thābit b. Qays or any other wealthy Muslim about this?” He then left and returned with a large number of supplies, which included flour, wheat, dates, a (slaughtered and) deskinned goat, and a bag full of 300 dirhams. He said, “It will take time (to cook and eat) from these supplies.” So, he brought some bread and a large amount of cooked meat, and said, “Eat from this and save some for the Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.” He then took an oath and said to Sayyidah ꜤĀˈishah رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا, “If this ever occurs again, you must inform me.”[3]

A stream of tears

Whenever Sayyidunā ꜤUthmān رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ would visit a grave, he would cry so much that his beard would become moist with tears. Someone remarked, “You do not cry as much when Paradise and Hell are mentioned as you do when visiting a grave.”

He replied, “Indeed the Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, ‘The grave is the first stage of the Hereafter; if the dweller of the grave attains salvation here, what follows will be easy, and if he does not attain salvation, that which follows will be more severe.’”[4]

Weeping at the loss of his blessed wife

When Sayyidah Ruqayyah رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا passed away on 19 Ramadan 2 AH, Sayyidunā ꜤUthmān رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ wept a lot. The beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم asked him, “Why are you crying?”

“I have been deprived of being your son-in-law,” he replied.

The beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم declared, “Jibrīl has informed me that Allah Almighty has commanded me to give my other daughter, Umm Kulthūm, in marriage to you, with the condition that her dowry is the same as that of Ruqayya’s.” Thus, the marriage of Sayyidah Umm Kulthūm رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا was conducted with him.[5]

Sayyidah Umm Kulthūm رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا passed away in the 9^th Hijri year, causing Sayyidunā ꜤUthmān رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ to weep. The beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said to him, “If I had another daughter, I would give her hand in marriage to you.”[6]

Crying upon the passing of Sayyidunā Miqdād

Sayyidunā Miqdād b. Aswad al-Kindī رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ passed away at the age of 72, in 33 AH, in an area 3 miles outside of Madinah al-Munawwarah known as al-Jurf. His blessed body was brought to Madinah al-Munawwarah on the shoulders of people. Sayyidunā ꜤUthmān رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ shed many tears in pain over his departure.[7]

The people of devotion wept

On 19 Dhū al-Ḥijjah 35 AH, whilst in a state of fasting, Sayyidunā ꜤUthmān رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ attained martyrdom. The entire Ummah was struck with grief at his passing, and his admirers shed profuse tears.