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Concerning Sayyiduna Usman radiAllaho-annho crown of my head


According to Ahlesunnah scholars After the Prophet sallallaho alihi wassallam In rank, is Sayiduna Abu Bakr radiAllaho-annho, second is Sayiduna Umar Farooq, third is Sayiduna Usman and then comes Sayiduna Ali


Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari and al-Qari in Sharh al-Fiqh al-Akbar report the Consensus of Ahl al-Sunna on the above. However, this order refers to unconditional precedence, not spiritual rank.

In the totality of the transmission chains of tasawwuf, there are only two transmitters from the Prophet ﷺ: Abu Bakr and ʿAli. And there is no disagreement that the spiritual ranks attained by Abu Bakr and ʿAli are the highest of all the Companions. There are countless narrations to that effect.

This is not to say that precedence is given to ʿAli over ʿUthman, although Ibn Jamaʿa in al-Manhal al-Rawi said (p. 112):

" Al-Khattabi said that some of Ahl al-Sunna in Kufa gave precedence to ʿAli over ʿUthman, and this is Ibn Khuzayma's position.

Ahl al-Sunna nevertheless hold that the best of human beings after the Prophet ﷺ is Abu Bakr, then ʿUmar, then ʿUthman, then ʿAli. Precedence is one thing, spiritual rank another, and love yet another! May Allah be well-pleased with all of them.

It is written their Grandsheikh was saying about the third caliph Othman (r) ... In spite of this, Othman (r) didn't attain the spiritual ranks attained by Abu Bakr (r) and Ali (r) because he sometimes held firmly to his OWN DESIRES instead of putting them completely in line with the Prophet's.

The problem is with the reason given, "because he sometimes held firmly to his own desires instead of putting them completely in line with the Prophet's." But this problem is eliminated when you remember that the same is explicitly reported from Sayyidina ʿUmar in Sahih al-Bukhari. Therefore, it is even more possible with ʿUthman - Allah be well-pleased with them.

This was also one reason for his martyrdom: misfortunes befell him as a result of his not being able to totally leave his own desires behind.... Among the Sahaba, the most active soul was the soul of Abu Bakr (r) because he never put his desires in the first place; after him came Sayyidina Ali (r) who, in like manner, attained strong soul-activity..."

This is why the Prophet ﷺ gave ʿAli the title of "Gate of the City of Knowledge" and to no-one else - the City being the Prophet ﷺ himself. Hence al-Shafiʿi said in his Diwan:

" I call upon my Lord to witness that ʿUthman is of high merit / and that ʿAli's high merit is shared by none.

Similarly, Imam Ahmad said that none of the Companions had as many merits narrated about him than ʿAli. As to Abu Bakr, his spiritual closeness to the Prophet ﷺ is established by his being the Prophet's ﷺ intimate friend after Allah as mentioned in the hadith, and his sole companion in the Cave as mentioned in the Qur'an.

I CAN NOT ACCEPT THIS! Prophet said about Sayiduna Usman radiAllaho-annho that if he had 100 daughters he would have wed them one by one to him!

This was in reference to his peerless sense of virtue. The Prophet ﷺ praised this specific quality of Sayyidina ʿUthman in many narrations, among them the one you quote above. All the shouting in the world cannot load it with more than it carries. Otherwise, you, brother Nur Ahmed ʿAttari, should never shorten prayers when travelling, because ʿUthman - whom you claim is the Crown of your Head - did not shorten them.

Was'salam,
Nur Ahmed Attari

Shaykh Ahmad ibn al-Mubarak relates in al-Ibriz that a certain man approached a Wali and said to him: By Allah, I love you. The Wali (Sidi ʿAbd al-ʿAziz al-Dabbagh) turned to him with a severe look and said: "Is it not enough that Allah knows all things?" Then he walked away leaving the man in tears. Shaykh Ahmad approached the claimant to love of the Friends of Allah and said to him: "You have claimed a very big thing. No doubt, you will be tested. Therefore brace up and be a man." Later, a dispute arose between that man and Sidi ʿAbd al-ʿAziz over a fruit-tree bordering each of their respective properties - for they were neighbors. In the end, the man cursed Sidi ʿAbd al-ʿAziz and the truth about his claim was exposed for all to see.

I keep the jewels of my knowledge concealed
Lest the ignorant see Truth and turn away.
How many an essential knowledge, if I divulged it,
I would be told for it: You are of the idol-worshippers;
And righteous men would deem licit my blood
And think well of the ugly deed they would commit.

- Zayn al-ʿAbidin, ʿAli ibn al-Husayn ibn ʿAli
(Allah be well-pleased with them.)

Blessings and greetings of Allah upon our Master Muhammad, his Family, and all his Companions.ﷺ

Hajj Gibril

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[2000-07-02]

 

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2000-12-03
latest update: Thu, 12 Feb 2009
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