Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 72
72 it hurt, but I withstood it. ” The person then asked, “ D id you cry out in pain? ” Talha ra said, “I felt the urge to cry out , but resisted lest my hand move, and an arrow injure the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa. ” So how did Talh a ra bec o me Talha ra ? It was because of the hardships he suffered for the sake of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa. How did Zubair become Zubair ra ? It was because of the hardships he suffered for the sake of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa. Sacrifices of H az rat ‘ Uthman bin Maz`oon ra Ha z rat ‘ Uthman bin Maz`oon ra was a c ompanion of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa. He had accepted Islam in the early days. His father was among the very wealthy of Mecca. Ha z rat ‘ Uthman bin Maz`oon ra was only thirteen or fourteen years old when he accepted the Holy Prophet sa as a Prophet. After accepting Islam , kuffa ar tortured him in many ways and inflicted all kinds of hardships on him b ut that young teenager faced those hardships with courage and took upon all those inflictions with perseverance. He never turned away from Islam. When the migration to Abyssinia took place, and upon being told by the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa to go to Abyssinia , Ha z rat ‘Uthman ra went as well. B ut he came back soon after and said , “ I cannot live without the Holy Prophet sa. ” Then again, when hardships increased, he intended to leave for another place with the permission and according to t he Holy Prophet ’s sa direction. When he was leaving Mecca , he met one of his father’s frie nds on the way, who asked him, “ ‘ Uthman ra , why are you leaving Mecca ? ” ‘Uthman ra replied , “ The people of Mecca do not let us live here. ” That rich man was his father’s good friend. When he heard this from ‘Uthman ra , tears flowed from his eyes at the thought of ‘Uthman ’s ra father and the love he had for him. And he said, “‘ Uthman! Do you know that your father was my brother? This is why it would be a disgrace if you leave Mecca while I am still here. Come back to Mecca with me. I will announce that you are under my protection, and no one will harm you. ” So, he took Ha z rat ‘ Uthman ra with him, and according to the Arab tradi tion, he went to Khana Ka‘bah , and announced, “ ‘Uthman is under my protection. Anyone who tries to harm him will provoke my wrath. ” It was an Arab custom that when a person took another into his protection, no one else w ould dare raise their hand upon that person. Arabs had their shortcomings too. Had they been flawless, how could they have