ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn Gives Back His Protection

ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn was one of the Muhājirīn who were in Abyssinia. He came back to Makkah, and since he left, he had to come in with some protection, so he sought protection, or he was offered protection, by al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, who was one of the elders of Makkah. ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn entered into Makkah, and he saw that everyone else, every other Muslim, was going through persecution except for himself. This didn't make him happy — he felt jealous. How come everyone else is going through this purification of their sins except myself? So he went, and he told him, "I don't need your protection — I'm giving it back to you." He said, "Why, my son, are you doing that?" He said, "I want the protection of Allah — I don't want your protection." He said, "Well, since I have given you protection publicly, you have to give it back publicly." So they went next to the Kaaba, and al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah said, "ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn has given me back my protection." ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn said, "Yes — I did find al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah to be a very trustworthy and honest man, but I want to be under the protection of Allah and Allah alone."

Later on, he was sitting in a gathering around one of the famous poets of Arabia, Labīd, and Labīd was reciting some of his poetry, and he said, kullu shayʾin khalā Allāha bāṭil — everything save God is vanity, everything is going to go away. This man said, "Yes, you are right." Now this was a gathering that held a lot of people, and then he continued and said, wa kullu naʿīmin lā maḥālata zāʾil — and all pleasures must fade. ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn interrupted and said, "That's wrong — the pleasures of Paradise never fade away." Labīd, being a respected, famous poet of Arabia, was kind of shocked. How could someone in the audience respond to me like that? So he said, "O man of Quraysh, those who sat with you used to not be so insulted — when did this come about? So when did this start happening among you?" So one man in the audience said, "Don't worry about it, this is one of the fools who followed the religion of Muhammad — don't take it to heart." ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn responded, and they had a fight. So the man stood up, and he struck ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn in his eye, until the whole thing was black. Al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah saw this, and he came to ʿUthmān and said, "There is no need for your eye to go through that suffering — you were under my protection, why did you give it up?" ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn said, "No — the only problem is that my good eye is in need of what the other one suffered for God's sake. Actually, I am under the protection of one stronger and more capable than yourself, O Ibn Abī Shams." Al-Walīd offered again and said, "Do you want to come back to my protection?" He said, "No — I want to be under the protection of Allah." Some of these accounts are hadith, and some are from Sīrah; both are drawn on here, to learn from hadith and from Sīrah alike.