Uthman The Most Generous Companion

Uthman ibn Affan (ra) came from one of the wealthiest and most respected families in all of Makkah. He was handsome, soft-spoken, and generous by nature. Even before Islam, people loved him.

He was a successful merchant whose trade routes stretched across Arabia. Gold passed through his hands. Caravans carried his goods. He had everything the world could offer wealth, status, and a noble name.

But Uthman (ra) was not like the other wealthy men of Quraysh. He never used his money to show off. He never looked down on those who had less. Something in his character was quietly different.

He had a deep sense of modesty, what the Prophet ﷺ would later call hayaa. He was shy, dignified, and careful in all things. People trusted him completely.

This was the man who would one day give everything he had for the sake of Allah.

It was Abu Bakr (ra) who brought Uthman (ra) to Islam, shortly after the revelation began. Abu Bakr came to him quietly and spoke of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his message.

Uthman had actually already heard a sign. He had been travelling in Syria when he had a dream, and a voice had said: "O sleeping people, wake up, Ahmad has appeared in Makkah." He did not yet understand what it meant.

When Abu Bakr spoke of Islam, Uthman went straight to the Prophet ﷺ. He accepted Islam that same day, without a shadow of doubt.

The Prophet ﷺ received him with warmth and joy. One of the most beloved of all companions had just joined the faith.

Uthman (ra) was among the earliest Muslims, at a time when accepting Islam meant facing hostility, mockery, and danger from the powerful families of Makkah, even his own.

When the Muslims arrived in Madinah, there was a serious problem. The city had only one main well of sweet drinking water, the Well of Rumah. It was owned by a man from the Banu Ghifar tribe who sold water to people by the bucket.

The Muslims could not afford to keep paying. Many went thirsty.

The Prophet ﷺ stood before his companions and said:

"Who will buy the Well of Rumah and make it available for all Muslims, and in return he will have something better than it in paradise?"

Uthman (ra) went to the owner the very next day. The man refused to sell the well entirely. So Uthman offered something unusual: he would buy half the well. The two would share it, taking turns, one day for Uthman, one day for the owner.

The owner agreed. From his day, Uthman gave the water freely to every Muslim for free. Soon, no one came to the owner's day anymore, because why pay when the next day was free? The owner had no choice but to sell the other half too.

Uthman bought it, and the Well of Rumah became free for all Muslims forever. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi 3701)

In the ninth year after the Hijra, the Prophet ﷺ called for an army to march to Tabuk, a long and gruelling journey to the north. The journey was in the height of summer, across burning desert. The Muslim army had almost nothing.

The Prophet ﷺ called on his companions to give what they could. He called this the Jaysh al-Usra, the Army of Hardship. People gave what little they had: a handful of dates, a worn-out sandal, whatever they could find.

Then Uthman (ra) came forward.

He brought 950 camels, fully loaded with supplies. Then he added 50 horses. Then he placed one thousand gold dinars directly into the hands of the Prophet ﷺ.

The Prophet ﷺ turned the coins over in his hands. He made du'a for Uthman. Then he said, and he said it three times so that it would never be forgotten:

"Nothing Uthman does after today will harm him." (Sahih al-Bukhari 2778)

With that single act, Uthman (ra) had done something that no amount of future mistakes could outweigh. He had been forgiven in advance, by the word of the Prophet ﷺ.

Uthman (ra) was given an honour unlike any other companion.

The Prophet ﷺ had a daughter named Ruqayyah (ra). When she became old enough, the Prophet ﷺ gave her in marriage to Uthman. She was beloved. She passed away during the Battle of Badr, on the same day that the Muslims were winning their first great victory, so painful was the timing.

The Prophet ﷺ then gave his second daughter, Umm Kulthum (ra), in marriage to Uthman as well.

No one in all of history has ever married two daughters of a prophet of Allah, except Uthman ibn Affan (ra).

For this reason he was called Dhul-Nurayn, The One with Two Lights. Two daughters. Two lights. Two honours from Allah, in a single lifetime.

It was said that when Umm Kulthum also passed away, the Prophet ﷺ said: "If I had a third daughter, I would have given her to you as well."

Uthman ibn Affan (ra) became the third Caliph of Islam. Under his rule, the Muslim world expanded greatly and the community grew to enormous size across different lands.

A problem emerged: different groups of Muslims in different regions were reciting the Qur'an in slightly different ways. Disputes broke out. This worried the companions deeply.

Uthman (ra) made one of the most important decisions in Islamic history. He gathered the senior companions, including Zayd ibn Thabit (ra) who had written the Qur'an under the direct supervision of the Prophet ﷺ, and commissioned the preparation of a single, standardised written copy of the Qur'an.

Several copies were made and sent to the major cities of the Muslim world. This became known as the Uthmani Mushaf, the written copy of the Qur'an that has been the standard for every Muslim in every country across every century since.

The Qur'an you hold today is the same Qur'an that Uthman (ra) preserved. His name is forever connected to the Book of Allah.

He was martyred in 35 AH (656 CE), returning to Allah as a shaheed. He had given his wealth, his service, and his life entirely in the path of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ had promised him paradise, and Allah fulfilled that promise.