Hajj
of 29 AH
Uthmân bin Affân left Al-Madinah at
the head of a party of Muhâjirin and Ansâr to perform Hajj of the House of
Allâh. He ordered the tents to be pitched in Mina and collected the pilgrims
for the feast. However, the people disliked it for they thought it to be an act
of Bid'ah (innovation) as it was not a practice during the time of the Prophet,
Abu Bakr Siddiq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
and Umar Fâruq. During this same journey, a woman was produced before the
Caliph. She was a widow who was married for a second time and she gave birth to
a child within six months of the second marriage. Uthmân bin Affân sentenced
her to be stoned to death. When Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) came to know of such a punishment, he called on the Caliph and
said that Allâhu the Almighty says in the Qur'ân:
"And the bearing of him and the
weaning of him is thirty (30) months." (46:15)
It tells us that the duration of
pregnancy and suckling goes up to thirty months. And the pregnancy period mentioned
at another place in the Qur'ân is:
"The mothers shall give suck to
their children for two whole years." (2:233)
Now if suckling period, i.e., two
years or twenty-four months is deducted from thirty months the pregnancy period
comes to barely six months. Thus she cannot be accused of committing adultery.
On hearing this, Uthmân bin Affân rushed someone to stop the punishment but she
had already been stoned to death. Uthmân bin Affân expressed utmost sorrow over
the incident and ordered recompense.
The same year, the Caliph brought
about the expansion of the Prophet's Mosque by 160 yards in length and 150
yards in width and constructed pillars of stone.
Events
of 30 AH
Walid bin Uqbah was the governor of
Kufah. The poet, Abu Zubaidah who was a Christian and later converted to Islam,
kept company with him, even though he had not abandoned drinking even after
accepting Islam. The people accused Walid bin Uqbah too of drinking wine and
the complaint was lodged with the Caliph. The governor was called to Al-Madinah
for an explanation. A group of the complainants also reached Al-Madinah.
When Walid appeared before the
Caliph, the latter shook hands with him, which they resented. When the case of
drinking was looked into, there was no eyewitness against the accused. For this
reason the Caliph showed hesitation in giving him punishment. The others felt
the Caliph favored him. At last, a witness got up and said, "Although I
have not seen him drinking wine but I saw him vomiting wine." The Caliph,
based on the testimony of this witness, ordered the accused to be whipped. Ali
(رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was also present on
the scene. Abdullah bin Ja'far bin Abu Tâlib began to whip Walid. When the
number of strokes reached forty, Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) stopped it on the plea that even though Umar had ordered to
whip eighty times which is right but Abu Bakr whipped forty times for the same
crime, which I prefer to follow. Following this, Walid bin Uqbah was deposed
from the governorship of Kufah, and Saeed bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) replaced him. [Other sources like Tabari furnish details that
the persons who complained and provided witness, were not reliable enough, but
this fact was not disclosed at that time.]
The
Event of Abu Dhar Ghifâri
During 30 AH, the incident of Abu
Dhar Ghifâri took place. He was in Syria under Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). There arose a conflict between Abu Dhar
Ghifâri and Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
over the meaning of the Verse:
"And those who hoard up gold
and silver and spend it not in the way of Allâh, announce unto them a painful
torment." (9:34)
Abu Dhar was of the view that,
according to this Verse, any deposit of money is unlawful and hence all the
income should be duly spent in the way of Allâh. Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), on the other hand, argued that spending
in the way of Allâh refers to paying Zakât, and the amount over which Zakât has
been paid, could be kept in deposit without incurring any breach of Islamic
code. Had unconditional deposit of money been sinful, the Qur'ân would not have
mentioned division of inheritance and shares thereof. When the people,
particularly the younger section, came to know of the view advanced by Abu Dhar
Ghifâri, they made fun of him. When the matter took a serious turn, Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) informed the Caliph
about it. He wrote the governor to send Abu Dhar to Al-Madinah with due honor.
In Al-Madinah, he also set about
propagating the same view. Since he was stern by nature, they began to avoid
him, but the younger section of men would provoke him at times. In the
meantime, Abdur-Rahmân bin Auf passed way. He was a wealthy person and one
among the ten given glad tidings of Paradise during his lifetime. Someone
reported to Abu Dhar Ghifâri that Abdur-Rahmân bin Auf had left behind riches
in such a great quantity, so what did he have to say about it. He issued his
familiar Fatwa (legal opinion) in the case. Thereupon, Ka'b Ahbâr who had
confessed Islam during the caliphate of Umar Fâruq and who was an accomplished
scholar of the Children of Israel, objected to it. At this Abu Dhar lifted his
stick and fell on him saying, "O Jew! What do you have to do with these
issues?" Ka'b Ahbâr fled to the assembly of the Caliph but Abu Dhar
appeared there chasing him with his stick. The slaves of Uthmân bin Affân saved
Ka'b Ahbâr.
When Abu Dhar's anger subsided, he
called on Uthmân bin Affân and said, "I believe that the entire possession
should be given in the way of Allâh. The people of Syria opposed me and put me
to trouble and now the people of Al-Madinah follow suit. Tell me what course
should I adopt and where should I go?" Thereupon Uthmân bin Affân extended
his suggestion, "You go and settle in a village outside Al-Madinah."
So, Abu Dhar settled in Rabadhah, a village three days distance from
Al-Madinah.
The
Ring of the Prophet
The Prophet had a ring which he used
to seal his letters and orders. After the death of the Prophet, it was
preserved with Âishah and then given to Abu Bakr Siddiq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) after he took over the caliphate. After
the first Caliph, it was handed over to Umar Fâruq who entrusted it to his
daughter and the Mother of the believers, Hafsah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْھَا) to be given to one chosen as Caliph. Thus when Uthmân bin
Affân was elected as Caliph, the ring was given to him. The same year, 30 AH,
the ring fell into a well at Quba. All efforts to find the lost ring proved an
exercise in futility. From that day, Uthmân bin Affân had no peace in this life
and remained surrounded by calamities of all kinds. He had another ring of the
same shape and pattern made.
The number of persons joining
congregational prayers particularly for Jumu'ah (Friday) rose to such an extent
that they could not even hear the Adhân. Thus, the Caliph issued an order to
pronounce an Adhân from a raised spot prior to the Adhân preceding the address.
Thus two Adhân before the Jumu'ah (Friday) prayer came into practice. The same
year Uthmân extended advice to the Companions to sell their properties in Iraq
and Syria and buy in Makkah, Al-Madinah and Tâ'if.
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