Objection for not Participating in the Pledge of Ridwan

Those who criticise Sayyidina ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan radiya Llahu ‘anhu level a third objection against him that he did not participate in the pledge of Ridwan. Therefore, he was deprived of this significant virtue.

Answer

This objection was levelled against Sayyidina ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan radiya Llahu ‘anhu early in Islam and the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum have given the answer themselves.

It is recorded in the books of hadith that a person from Egypt came to Makkah Mukarramah on the occasion of hajj, and saw a gathering of people in one place. He asked: “Who are these people?” The answer was given that they are of the Quraysh and the famous Sahabi, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu, had come. This person came to ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu and posed a few questions to him regarding certain issues:

Tell me, did ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan flee from Uhud?

Ibn ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu replied: “Yes.”

You know that ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan did not participate in Badr.

Ibn ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu replied: “Yes.”

He was not present at the Pledge of Ridwan and did not take part in this pledge.

Ibn ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu once again replied: “This is correct.”

After this, Sayyidina ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu provided answers to all three questions that were posed. He said:

I shall reply, listen well,

What you have said with regards to fleeing from Uhud, I bear testimony that Allah has forgiven him for that. (as mentioned in Surah Al ‘Imran: 155)
The reason for ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan’s absence from the Battle of Badr was that the daughter of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam (Sayyidah Ruqayyah radiya Llahu ‘anha) was married to him and she was very ill at that time. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam told ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan that he should look after her, “You will get a share in the spoils and the reward of those that participated in Badr.”
As for ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan’s remaining absent from the pledge of Ridwan, it was because if there was anyone nobler than ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan in the valley of Makkah, then Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam would have sent him instead of ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan. (However, there was no one more suitable for this task at that time than Sayyidina ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan radiya Llahu ‘anhu). So, Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam sent ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan and after ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan left, the incident of the Pledge of Ridwan took place. On this occasion, Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “This hand of mine is the hand of ‘Uthman.” He placed it in the other hand and pledged. He said: “I pledge allegiance on behalf of ‘Uthman.”^{^[1]}

After rendering these replies, Sayyidina ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu addressed the objector saying: “These are the replies to your questions and now you can go.”

The above narration of Sayyidina ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu has the replies to all three questions. The scholars of the Ahlus Sunnah and the Shia have mentioned all three narrations in their works clearly. There is no need for any further response.

NEXT⇒ Objection of Performing Four Raka’at in Mina

^{^[1]} Mishkat pg. 562, Bukhari vol. 1 pg. 523, Bukhari vol. 2 pg. 581, 582, al Mustadrak Hakim vol. 3 pg. 98, al Isti’ab vol. 3 pg. 71, Tarikh al Yaqubi al Shia vol. 2 pg. 169, Rowdat al Kafi pg. 151

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