Foreword

الحمد لله رب العالمين و الصلوة و السلام على سيدنا محمد و على آله و صحبه أجمعين

Jami’ah Muhammadi Sharif, in the Jhang district, is a famous religious institute and has world-recognised fame by the grace of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. Remaining engaged in establishing an environment of unity and harmony between Muslims is its unique speciality.

There is continuous conflict between the Shia and Sunni of the country. The main reason behind this being that the masses of both sects have not studied the lives of the Rightly Guided Khalifas in depth. Otherwise, they would not have openly overlooked the accuracy of the glorious Qur’an, where Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala declares them as Ruhama’ Baynahum, merciful and compassionate to one another.

Therefore, it was necessary for a bondsman of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala―one blessed with the wealth of knowledge and understanding―to write on this subject. All praise belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala who granted the ability to Molana Muhammad Nafi’, a significant central pillar of the production department of Jami’ah Muhammadi Sharif, to write a comprehensive well-researched book by the name Ruhama’ Baynahum wherein he provided references to famous books of both sects in a fair and amicable manner. The book consists of three sections, Siddiqi section, Faruqi section, and ‘Uthmani section. All three sections, after being published, have been widely accepted in the country [and internationally] by the grace of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. It was established therein that Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu enjoyed an amicable and brotherly relationship with the three Khalifas. In the third section, the issue of the accusations against Sayyidina ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu of nepotism needed clarification. However, for fear that the ‘Uthmani section’s will become extensively lengthy, it was decided that the issue of nepotism be discussed in a separate book which was titled Mas’alah Aqriba’ Nawazi (Addresing the issue of nepotism). Accordingly, this book is now being presented. Hopefully, the readers will find it easier to benefit from and will not be confounded with the issues. This book has five chapters, each chapter was titled with a discussion, and each discussion deals with a different topic.

First Discussion: An analysis of the officials and posts in the ‘Uthmani era as well as their comparison. 20 non-Umayyad individuals were governors in 17 places and only a small handful of Umayyads were governors in 4 places.
Second Discussion: The expertise and worthiness of the governors of the ‘Uthmani era. The objectors have criticised them due to them being related to Sayyidina ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu; e.g. Sayyidina Walid ibn ‘Uqbah, Sayyidina Sa’id ibn al ‘As, Sayyidina ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amir, Sayyidina Amir Muawiyah, ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh, and Marwan ibn al Hakam. The author establishes the fact that these individuals were austere-natured governors, learned, doers of good, lovers of justice, and administrators of note of the ummah, together with them possessing intelligence and proficiency.
Third Discussion: This aspect was tackled that not only in the ‘Uthmani era were relatives given positions of authority. Rather, during the Prophetic era, as well as the Faruqi and Murtadwi eras, their relatives were appointed to noble positions. This has been proven through recorded events.
Fourth Discussion: While discussing the issue of stipends, it was clarified through reliable isnads that Sayyidina ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu would give stipends to his relatives from his personal wealth, and not from the Bayt al Mal (public treasury).
Fifth Discussion: A detailed response to the objection that towards the ending of his rule, Sayyidina ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu acted contrary to Shar’i injunctions and tramped the legal punishments determined by Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. The clarifications of Imam al Bukhari, ‘Allamah ibn al ‘Arabi, Sheikh ‘Abdul Qadir Jilani, and others were presented in this regard.

Moreover, the original causes which led to the martyrdom of Sayyidina ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu were revealed, i.e. the enemies of Islam harboured hatred for Islam and the Muslims and vented their hatred by assassinating Sayyidina ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu. The alleged deficiencies and imperfections of the ‘Uthmani reign did not lead to his martyrdom.

The approach of presenting proofs and evidences and style of Mas’alah Aqriba’ Nawazi is so clear that the supporter will receive further satisfaction by reading it, and the critic will be forced to ponder over why he had the audacity to discard the brilliant actions of the Possessor of the Two Lights [Sayyidina ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu]. And divine ability rests in the hands of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala.

Publishers

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