54 DESTINY DISRUPTED
Reputedly, Othman had stopped someplace for the night and was lying
under the stars, looking up at the black dome of the sky, when the immen-
sity of the universe suddenly overwhelmed him. Along with a crushing
sense of his own insignificance carne a conviction that somebody was in con-
trol, that this universe had a master, and what a master He must be! At that
moment, even though he was alone, Othman heard a penetrating voice an-
nounce out loud that the Messenger of God was in the world. As soon as he
got home, the story goes, Othman went to his friend Abu Bakr, who told
him the curious tale of Mohammed and his message about a single, om-
nipotent God. Othman immediately announced himself a believer.
His conversion enraged his family. Mter all, his clan, the aristocratic
Umayyads, was the most rabidly anti-Muslim faction of the Quraysh tribe.
Othman's uncle Abu Sufyan would soon emerge as the leader of the anti-
Muslim forces. Othman's stepfather had once attacked Mohammed in an
alley and would have strangled him if Abu Bakr had not intervened. Oth-
man's two wives reviled him for embracing Mohammed's faith. They
would not convert, so Othman divorced them and married the Prophet's
famously beautiful daughter Ruqayya. When she died, Othman married
another daughter of Mohammed's, Urn Kulthum.
The Muslims were no doubt glad to have a rich man in their ranks, and
Othman was glad to help his fellow Muslims any way he could, but the
main way he could think of was to provide money. Once, when abuse of
Muslims was peaking in Mecca, Mohammed decided that a group of his
followers should emigrate to Abyssinia, and Othman helped finance that.
He himself emigrated with the group as well and in Abyssinia forged fruit-
ful business connections that made him even richer than before. A few
years later he returned to Mecca, where his Abyssinian connections-
yes-served him so well he grew even richer.
For most Muslims, the Hijra meant losing everything they owned. They
knew nothing about farming, the main occupation in Medina, so the move
impoverished them. But not Othman. Although he emigrated with the oth-
ers, he never quite severed his ties to business associates back home, and with
those associates looking after his properties and business interests, Othman
continued to prosper, even in Medina. There was never any suggestion that
he carne by his wealth dishonestly: quite the opposite. Some people simply
have the golden touch, and Othman was such a man. Nor was he a miser.