Introduction
Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) belonged to a noble family of Quraish in Makkah. His ancestral lineage joins with that of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in the fifth generation. He was from the Umayyah family of Quraish, which was a well reputed and honourable family of Makkah during the pre-Islamic days.
Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was born in 573 A.C. His father’s name was Affan bin Abul-As and he himself was known by the name Usman ibn ‘Affan.
Hazrat Usman was one of the few persons of Makkah who knew how to read and write. When he grew up, he started business in clothing which made him very rich. He used his money in good and charitable ways and always helped the poor. Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was a soft natured and kind hearted man. He did not hesitate to spend any amount of money on seeing a man in trouble in order to remove his misery. For his noble qualities the Makkans had great respect for him.
Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) accepted Islam when Hazrat Abu Bakr (, may Allah be pleased with him.) preached to him. He was one of those Muslims who accepted Islam in its very early days.
Though Banu Hashim (Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,‘s family) was rival to Banu Umayyah (Hazrat Usman’s family), and the latter was in power at that time,Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.) did not hesitate to acknowledge the Prophethood of Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
This was one of the reasons why Quraish leaders belonging to Banu Umayyah (like Abu Sufyan) were opposing Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Thus, the acceptance of Islam in such a position shows the clear-mindedness of Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.). When he accepted Islam, the Quraish who once loved Hazrat Usman became his enemies. Even his relatives (like Hakam, one of his uncles) began to rebuke him and chastised him severely.
One of the daughters of Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,, Hazrat Ruqayyah (, may Allah be pleased with him.) was married to one of the sons of Abu Lahab, a bitter enemy of Islam. When Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, started to preach Islam, she divorced Abu Lahab’s son. Then Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, married her to Hazrat Usman (, may Allah be pleased with him.)
