Describe the circumstances that made cUthmān b. cĀffān earn the title Dhu-Nurayn.

Explanation

cUthmān b. cAffān was the the third successor of the Prophet (S.A.W.) born in the year 573 C.E.( Introduction)

*The title Dhū-Nūrayn means the possessor of two lights.

*This title was given based on his close relationship with the Prophet (S.A.W.)

*The closeness was such that the Prophet (S.A.W.) gave him his daughter Ruqayyah in marriage.

*He and his wife Ruqayyah were among the first batch of Muslims to migrate to Abyssinia.

*On their return to Makkah, Ruqayyah died.

*cUthmān decided not to re-marry after the death of Ruqayyah.

*This is because he could not take anyone else as a father- in-law after the Prophet (S.A.W.)

*The Prophet (S.A.W.) loved him so much that he gave him another daughter Ummu Kulthūm in marriage.

*This was in the third year of Hijrah.

*Ummu Kulthūm too died in the fourth year of Hijrah.

*The holy Prophet (S.A.W.) expressed his admiration for his conduct after the death of  his second wife.

*As a result he remarked that, if he had another unmarried daughter, he would have married her to him.

*His marriage with two daughters of the Prophet (S.A.W.) earned him the honorific title Dhū-Nūrayn.