5 of 10 · The Prophet's lifetime ﷺ · Madinah
'Uthman ibn 'Affan رضي الله عنه
A Man the Angels Are Shy Of
'A'ishah described a day when the Prophet ﷺ was lying at ease in his house, his garment pulled up from his thigh or shin. Abu Bakr asked to come in and was admitted, and the Prophet ﷺ stayed as he was; then 'Umar, and he stayed as he was. When 'Uthman asked permission, the Prophet ﷺ sat up and straightened his clothes. Asked why, he said: "Should I not be shy before a man before whom the angels are shy?" (Sahih Muslim 2401).
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari once guarded the gate of a garden where the Prophet ﷺ sat by a well. Abu Bakr came, then 'Umar, and each time the Prophet ﷺ said, "Let him in, and give him glad tidings of Paradise." When 'Uthman came, he said: "Let him in, and give him glad tidings of Paradise, with a trial that will befall him" (Sahih al-Bukhari 3674).
Another day the Prophet ﷺ climbed Mount Uhud with Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman, and the mountain trembled. He said: "Be firm, Uhud, for upon you are a Prophet, a siddiq and two martyrs" (Sahih al-Bukhari 3675). 'Uthman heard, long before the day came, both his reward and the trial he would meet.
Modesty (haya') is not weakness; it is a beauty of faith that even the angels honour.
Where in your speech, dress or conduct could a little more haya' bring you closer to Allah?
- Sahih Muslim 2401Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3674 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3675 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
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