'Uthman ibn 'Affaan

Other Kunya: Abu 'Amr, Abu Layla \r\nThe moment he embraced Islam, charity and concern for the poor remained uppermost in his mind. An example of that is what he did at the prophet's era, as we said of late. Likewise, his caliphate was giving, solidarity and relief. \r\nIn the following subject of research we will deal with two features: First : His concern for and relief of his subjects. Second : Situations of concern for and relief of the poor at his era. The first feature: his concern for and relief of his subject: 'Uthman, May Allah be pleased with him, followed the steps of his rightly guided predecessor caliphs in terms of concern for the subject and solidarity with the poor and the needy. He raised the portion of charity which Omar allocated from the House of Charity, taking the individual portion of charity up to one hundred. He also raised the Ramadan portion of charity by one more dirham for each individual in society, and by two dirhams for the Mothers of the Believers. He also, May Allah be pleased with him, allocated Semat in the Prophet's mosque which served as an accommodation to those devoted worshippers or those who were in I'tikaf( seclusion in the mosque), as well as the wayfarers, the poor and the needy. Othman was a generous man who gave the poor Muslims out of his own money if there was not money left in the House of Charity. Al Hassan Al Basry describes how abundant charity which was handed out to the needy in his era, saying" I saw a Othman' s caller announce" Oh People, come along to get your portion of charity, of substances, of clothing", and he even called on the people to come to take butter and honey Second: Situations of solidarity with and relief of the poor at his era: The people enjoyed much bounty in the caliphate of Othman, May Allah be Pleased with him, which covered all brackets of society. Mubarak Ibn Fudalah the Mawla of Zaid Ibn el Khattab, said" I heard Othman addressing the people and saying "Oh people, I wonder at your resentment while you live in daily bounty and high standard of living. These words said by Othman are evidence that there was a sense of solidarity on the part of the whole society among its individuals. It is related that when Talha Ibn Obaid Allah, May Allah be pleased with him, received money from Hadhramaut, estimated at about 700000 dirhams, he spent his night feeling uneasy. When his wife asked him what wrong was, he told her that "I don’t know the magnitude of Allah's punishment with this money in my home". Hearing this, she, Um kulthoum bint Al Seddik, suggested him to" think of some of your Muslim people and in the morning you can divide the money between them.", she said. He hailed her opinion and in the morning he ordered pots to be filled with money and divide them among the Muhajerren and the Ansar. \r\nIt was also related that he extended his charity to Bani Tameem tribe when funds came to him from Iraq, estimated at 400000 to 500000, so much so that his charity outreached all impoverished families in this tribe, with Othman catering for them and helping their men to get married. He even paid back their debts; he paid back the debt due on Subaiha el Tameemy which reached 30000 dirhams.