Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

CHARACTER
Hazrat Usman (Rad.A) was a very pious companion .and a man of high character. He was the most modest of all the companions of the Holy Prophet. He used to fear Allah very much. Tears used to roll down his face because of Allah’s fear. He used to say grave is the first stage among 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 would also be difficult for him”. He used to do 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 (Rad.A) was very soft spoken if any person talked to him in a harsh tone he always replied gently. Once he was delivering ”Khutbah” of Juma’a Salat, a person shouted during the sermon :”O’ Usman (Rad.A), repent of Allah’s sake and keep away from going wrong”. He immediately turned his face towards the Qiblah and exclaimed ” O Allah, I am the first to repent before thee and to turn towards thee.” He never took any allowance from the ”Baitul Mai” for his services as a Khalifah. Hazrat Umar (Rad.A) got 5000 Dirhams annually as an allowance from the public treasury thus Hazrat Usman (Rad.A) 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 Medina which he built near the mosque of the Prophet. He established a library in the back of his house for the education of the Muslims.
Hazrat Usman (Rad.A) was the third Caliph of early Islam. Among the rightly guided Caliphs his rule was the longest. Extensive conquests were made during his period. History has, however, not done full justice to him. He has become a controversial figure in history, and different historians have expressed different views about
1 Saeed Ahmad, Akbar Abadi, Hazrat Usman Zunnu-Nurain, (Urdu) P. 156.

290 Political and Cultural History of Islam

him. In his book History of the Saracens, Ameer Ali assesses Hazrat Usman (Rad.A) in the following words: ”The election of Usman (Rad.A) proved in the end to be the ruin of Islam. Usman (Rad.A) though virtuous and honest was very old, feeble in character, and quite unequal to the task of government. He fell under the influence of his family. He was guided entirely by his Secretary Marwan, one of the most unprincipled of the Umayyads. Usman (Rad.A) displaced most of the lieutenants employed by Umar (Rad.A), and appointed in their stead incompetent and worthless members of his own family. The weakness of the Caliph and the wickedness of his favourites created a great ferment among the people. Loud complaints of exaction and operation by his Governors began pouring into the capital. Ali (Rad.A) expostulated several times with the Caliph on the manner in which he allowed the government to fall into the hands of his unworthy favourites. But Usman (Rad.A) under the influence of his evil genius Marwan paid no heed to these counsels.”
In his book History of the Arabs, Philip K. Hitti observes as follows: ”Usman (Rad.A) who committed the words of Allah to an unalterable form, and whose reign saw the complete conquest of Iran, Azerbaijan and Armenia was a pious and well meaning old man, but too weak to resist the importunities of his greedy kinsfolk. His foster brother Abdullah formerly the Prophet’s amanuensis who had tampered with the words of the revelation and who was one of the ten proscribed by Muhammad at the capture of Makkah, he appointed Governor over Egypt. His half brother Walid b/Uqbah who had spat in Muhammad’s face, and had been condemned by the latter, he made the Governor of Kufa. His cousin Marwan b Hakam, a future Umayyad Caliph he put in charge of the Diwan.-Many important offices were filled by the Umayyads, the Caliph’s family.
Charges of nepotism became wide spread. The feeling of discontentment aroused by his unpopular administration was fanned by the three Qurayshite aspirants to the Caliphate, Ali (Rad.A), Talha and Zubair.” Usman (Rad.A) was upright, dutiful and generous. In chastity arid integrity, Usman (Rad.A) was as firm as a mountain. Modesty was the salient feature of his character. The Prophet himself was so much pleased with him that he gave his two daughters in marriage to him. He was very rich but he contented himself with plain dress. His services in the recension of the Holy Quran were invaluable. He sacrificed his own life rather than wield the sword against the rebels. A man who sacrificed his life for the solidarity of