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`UTHMAAN IBN MADH'UUN
A "Monk" whose Hermitage was Life
If you attempt to arrange the Prophet's Companions in the order of their embracing Islam, `Uthmaan
Ibn Madh'uun will be number fourteen. Not only was he the first Muhaajir to die in Al Madiinah, but
also the first Muslim to be buried in Al-Baqli'a. This glorious Companion whose life story you are about
to hear was a great "monk". By "monk" here I mean a worshiper throughout life, not a monk sequestered
in his hermitage, for life with all its commotion, turmoil, burdens, and virtues was his "hermitage". Life
to him meant perseverance in the way of in the way of truth and unremitting self-denial good and
righteousness.
When we go back in time, when the fresh early rays of Islam were emanating from the Prophet's
heart (PBUH) and from his words said in secret and seclusion, `Uthmaan Ibn Madh'uun was there. He
was one of the few who rushed to the way of Allah and supported the Prophet. When the Prophet
(PBUH) ordered the few oppressed believers to emigrate to Abyssinia, he wanted to save them from the
Quraish's oppression, while he chose to be left behind to face it alone. `Uthmaan, who was at the head of
the first group of fugitives, was accompanied by his son, As-Saa'ib. They set their faces towards a far-
away land fleeing the plots of Abu Jahi, Allah's enemy, and the Quraish's atrocities.
The emigration of `Uthmaan Ibn Madh'uun - and likewise for the rest of the emigrants to Abyssinia in
the first and second emigrations - only made him hold more firmly to his Islam. Definitely, the two
emigrations to Abyssinia represented a unique and glorious phenomenon in the cause of Islam, for those
who believed in Muhammad
(PBUH) and followed the light that had been sent down to him had had enough of paganism, error, and
ignorance. Their common sense shunned the idolatry of statues made of rocks and clay. When these
fugitives emigrated to Abyssinia, they found an already prevalent and highly disciplined religion with an
established clerical hierarchy of bishops and priests. Notwithstanding their attitude towards this religion,
it was definitely remote from both the familiar paganism practiced back home and the usual idolatrous
rites they had left behind. Undoubtedly, the clergy in Abyssinia exerted much effort to lure those
emigrants to apostatize and embrace Christianity.
In spite of all this, those emigrants stood steadfast in their profound loyalty to Islam and to the
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). They anxiously yearned for the day when they would return to their
beloved country so as to worship Allah and support the great Prophet (PBUH) in the mosque in
peacetime and in the battlefield when the power of disbelief forced them to take up arms. Thus, those
emigrants who lived in Abyssinia felt secure and peaceful. `Uthmaan lbn Madh'uun was one of them, yet
his expatriation did not make him forget his cousin Umaiyah Ibn Khalaf's plots and the abuse he dealt
him and other Muslims. Hence, he used to amuse himself by rehearsing threats to him, saying, "I hope
that all the arrows you aim will miss their target and strike back at you. You fought against generous and
noble people and tortured them to death. You will soon be punished, and the common people you used to
despise will get back at you."
While the emigrants were, despite their exile, wrapped up in their worship of Allah and the study of
the Qur'aan, news spread that the Quraish had submitted themselves to Islam and prostrated themselves
to Allah, the One, the Irresistable.
Hurriedly, driven by their nostalgic feelings, the emigrants packed up their belongings and hastened
to Makkah. However, no sooner had they reached Makkah's outskirts than they realized that the news
about the Quraish's submission to Islam was only the bait to lure them to return. Suddenly, they realized
that their excessive credulity had led them right into this trap, yet there was nothing they could do, for