Uthman ibn Affan رضي الله عنه — What He Reminded Them Of
Uthman ibn Affan رضي الله عنه — What He Reminded Them Of
Uthman ibn Affan رضي الله عنه — What He Reminded Them Of
Thumamah ibn Hazn al-Qushairi was inside the house that day.
He begins his report with his own presence, standing where he could see and hear everything himself:
“I was present at the house when 'Uthman appeared above them” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
A crowd had gathered at the house of Uthman ibn Affan رضي الله عنه. And Uthman — by then an old man — appeared above them, at an upper opening of the house, looking down at the people below.
He did not come out with guards.
He did not come out with threats.
He came out with a request:
“Bring me your two companions who have gathered you against me.” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
The two were brought.
Then Uthman spoke. And what he said was neither a plea nor a command. It was a question — asked in the most solemn way a question can be asked, and asked not once, but four times:
“I ask you by Allah and Islam!” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
---
The first reminder was a well.
“Do you know that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to Al-Madinah and there was no water in it that was sweet except the well of Rumah” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
One well. That was the sweet water of a whole city.
And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had announced:
“Who will purchase the well of Rumah and place his bucket alongside the buckets of the Muslims, in exchange for better than that in Paradise?” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
Uthman reminded them who had answered that call:
“So I bought it with the core of my wealth, and today you prevent me from drinking from it, so that I would have to drink from the water of the sea?” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
And the answer came from the people below:
“O Allah! Yes!” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
---
The second reminder was the mosque.
The mosque of the Prophet ﷺ had grown too small for its people. And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had announced:
“Who will purchase the land of the family of so-and-so, and add it to the Masjid in exchange for better than that in Paradise?” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
Uthman reminded them of that purchase too:
“So I bought it with the core of my wealth, and today you prevent me from praying two Rak'ah in it?” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
And again, the answer came:
“O Allah! Yes!” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
---
The third reminder was an army.
This time there was no announcement to recall — only the deed itself:
“I ask you by Allah and Islam! Do you know that I prepared the 'army of distress' from my wealth?” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
And the answer came a third time:
“O Allah! Yes!” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
---
The fourth reminder was different.
It was not something Uthman had bought. It was something Uthman had heard.
“I ask you by Allah and Islam! Do you know that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was on (mount) Thabir of Makkah, and with him was Abu Bakr, and 'Umar, and myself.” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
“The mountain began shaking until its rocks fell to its bottom.” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
The Prophet ﷺ stomped the mountain with his foot, and said:
“Be still O Thabir! For there is none upon except a Prophet, a Siddiq and two martyrs?” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
And the fourth answer came, like the three before it:
“O Allah! Yes!” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
Then Uthman raised his voice — not in anger, but in declaration:
“Allah is Great! Bear witness by the Lord of the Ka'bah that I am a martyr!” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
He said it three times.
And there, Thumamah's report ends. He recorded the questions, the answers, and the declaration — and this story ends where his narration ends.
---
🌿 Stop and Think About This Scene
Consider what Uthman did not do.
He did not meet the gathering with a gathering of his own. He did not open with complaints. He opened with questions — four of them — and every question reached back across the years to something done in the days of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
A well, bought so that a city could drink.
Ground, bought so that a mosque could hold its people.
An army, equipped from one man's wealth.
And a day on a mountain in Makkah.
And each item was confirmed by the very people standing before him. Four times, their own answer rose to meet his question:
“O Allah! Yes!” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
His defence was not an argument. It was an inventory — a life, read back item by item, and affirmed at every line.
---
❤️ The Greatest Lesson for Our Lives Today
What a man gives away does not leave him.
Uthman had given “the core of my wealth” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703 — not the leftovers, not the surplus, but the core — again and again: for a well, for a mosque — and from his wealth, for an army.
Decades later, when he stood above a crowd with nothing in his hands, those gifts stood with him. They were his witnesses. They were the record no one below could deny — because the people below confirmed every line of it themselves.
And his certainty rested on something even firmer than his record. On Thabir, he had heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say who stood upon that mountain. Years later, in a far harder hour, those words had not moved — even though the mountain once had.
This is the heart of the story:
Give while giving is possible, and hold fast to what the Prophet ﷺ said. Deeds done for Allah remain. Words spoken by the Prophet ﷺ remain. A crowd can gather — it cannot rewrite either one.
---
📚 Important Lessons From This Hadith
1. Answer with your record
When Uthman stood before the crowd, he did not argue point by point. He listed what he had done, one item at a time, each in the form of a question — and each was affirmed by the very men facing him.
A life of real deeds is the strongest answer a person can give.
---
2. Spend in the way of Allah while you can
Twice in one short speech, Uthman said the words:
“So I bought it with the core of my wealth” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
He gave when the need was in front of him and the opportunity was open. Long afterwards, those acts of giving became the only advocate he needed.
What is spent for Allah is never spent. It is stored.
---
3. Certainty rests on the word of the Prophet ﷺ
On Mount Thabir, Uthman had heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ describe the men standing on the shaking mountain:
“a Prophet, a Siddiq and two martyrs?” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
Because he had heard it from the Prophet ﷺ himself, he could repeat his declaration three times without flinching.
Hold fast to what the Prophet ﷺ said, and no gathering of people can shake it loose.
---
4. Dignity under pressure
An old man, with no force at his command in that moment, chose questions over curses and reminders over raised voices.
The strongest voice in the house that day was the calmest one.
---
🏠 How Can We Apply This Hadith in Our Daily Lives?
If your work or your character is ever questioned, follow Uthman's way: answer calmly, with what you have actually done. Let your record speak before your temper does.
Give from the core, not from the leftovers. The well of Rumah was not bought with spare change, and the mosque was not widened with what nobody wanted. When a need in the way of Allah stands in front of you, give from what you value — that giving is the kind that remains.
Build your record now, quietly. Uthman's deeds were done years before the day he needed them, and most of them were done without any crowd watching. The deed you do today, for Allah alone, may be the truest thing that can ever be said about you.
And when pressure gathers around you, remember the upper opening of that house: an old man, four calm questions, and a certainty that rested entirely on words he had heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Calmness is not weakness. Sometimes it is the sound of a man who knows exactly where he stands.
---
🌹 The Most Beautiful Message of This Story
An old man appeared above a crowd — and brought no weapon but memory.
He reminded them of a well, and they said yes.
He reminded them of a mosque, and they said yes.
He reminded them of an army, and they said yes.
He reminded them of a mountain, and they said yes.
Four questions. Four answers. And then a declaration, spoken three times, by a man whose life had already said everything else for him.
---
📖 Authentic Reference
Book: Jami` at-Tirmidhi
Hadith: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3703
Chapter: About The Virtues Of 'Uthman bin 'Affan, May Allah Be Pleased With Him, , And That He Has Two Kunyahs: He Is Called Abu 'Amr and Abu 'Abdullah
Grade: Hasan (Darussalam)
Narrator: Thumamah bin Hazn Al-Qushairi