Uthman ibn Maz'un

The Protection of Allah Alone

Uthman ibn Maz’un was an early Muslim of Banu Jumah. While he lived safely under the protection of the pagan chief al-Walid ibn al-Mughira as other believers were tortured, he grew ashamed; he publicly renounced that protection, preferring the protection of Allah alone. Soon after, struck in a quarrel so that his eye was blackened, he said his eye was in need of what its sister eye had suffered for Allah’s sake. 1 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 1 · pp. 320–321 — Kandhlawi — Uthman renounces Walid's protection for the protection of Allah; his blackened eye and his words.

Asceticism Gently Corrected

He inclined to a severe worship — standing all night in prayer, fasting every day, and withdrawing from his wife — until the Prophet ﷺ corrected him, reminding him that he himself, who feared Allah most, prayed and slept, fasted and broke his fast, and kept the company of his family; monasticism, he taught, had not been ordained for this Ummah. 2 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 2 · pp. 703–704 — Kandhlawi — Uthman's extreme worship and celibacy; the Prophet's correction that monasticism is not ordained for this Ummah.

The Prophet’s ﷺ Tears

When Uthman died in Madinah, the Prophet ﷺ bent over his body and kissed his face, weeping until his tears fell upon him, and said: “O Abu Sa’ib, do not grieve — you have left this world without taking any of it.” 3 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 2 · pp. 314–315 — Kandhlawi — the Prophet weeps over and kisses the deceased Uthman ibn Maz'un, and his words to him. He was buried in al-Baqi.