Uthman ibn Affan was the third Khalifa of Islam. He was known as
the ‘Man of the Two Lights’, because he was the only man in
history known to have married two daughters of a Prophet. Uthman
was famed for his good looks and immense generosity, and also
for his spiritual closeness to the Holy Prophet of Islam, who
included him among the ten who were assured of Paradise. He
commanded the armies of Islam during an age of miraculous
conquest and victory in East and West. But he remained famously
humble, and his sermons brought people to tears. He said: ‘I am
astounded at four people: he who knows the world to be
temporary, and still chases after it; he who is certain of death
and yet makes no plans for it; he who believes in hell, and yet
commits sins; and he who believes in Allah, and yet seeks the
help of others.’