Assalamu'alaikum wr wb,
Minggu lalu ketika sedang menunggu di ruang tunggu sebuah Bank, iseng2 saya mengambil majalah tempo dirak majalah (sepertinya masih terbitan baru2 ini) dan secara tidak sengaja terbaca artikle catatan pinggir Gunawan Muhamad. Karena waktu saya singkat saya tidak sempat membaca keseluruhan isi artikle tersebut hanya ada satu bagian yang "menggangu" pikiran saya yaitu pada beberapa statemet tentang Khalifah Usman Bin Affan Ra yang jika saya tidak salah tangkap (saya membaca dengan terburu-buru) mengambarkan sepertinya sang khalifah adalah seorang pemimpin yang lalim yang tidak mau mendengar tuntutan rakyatnya. Diceritakan pula ketika para "demostran"membongkar brangkas rumahnya ditemukan harta yang jumlahnya jutaan dinnar. Hal ini sangat menggangu pikiran saya karena kita semua tahu bahwa beliau adalah salah satu sahabat utama Rasul dan telah diberitakan menjadi satu dari sedikit (kalo tidak salah 30orang ?) yang pasti masuk surga. Tidaklah mungkin Rasul salah dalam menilai pribadi Usman. Sebagai muslim kita harus percaya Rasul tidak mungkin keliru. Hanya saja saya mempunyai keterbatasan ilmu tentang apa yang terjadi dalam masa kekalifahan Usman. Untuk itu saya berhasil mendapatkan artikle yang cukup lengkap tentang masa-masa pemerinatahan Usman Bin Affan Ra yang mungkin bisa membantu jadi bahan bantahan atas artike tempo tersebut. Dibawah ini ada bagian dari artikle tersebut yang bisa menggambarkan bahwa Usman mempunyai pribadi yang agung jauh dari "tuduhan" yang dilontarkan oleh tempo. Semoga artikle ini bisa membantu buat sodara seiman yang juga merasa "terganggu" dengan artikle tempo tersebut. Jika ada yang bisa menambahkan komentar dan/atau bahasan tentang msalah ini, saya sangat berterima kasih. Wa'alaikum salam wr wb There had been two Caliphs before Usman. Their swords fought the enemies of Islam. They never led an army against the Muslims. Here were Muslims up in arms against Usman. Should he draw his sword against them? He could easily do this. The rioters were no more than three thousand in number. Medina had beaten back much larger armies. If only Usman had drawn his sword, there must have been hundreds of swords to fight for him. In fact, he could have obtained troops from Syria well in time to crush any number of rioters. But nothing could induce Usman to make use of the sword. That would have made him the first Caliph of Islam to shed the blood of Muslims. The sword once out would always be there. And Usman was the last person to let loose a curse that would hanve over the Muslims for ever. It was far easier for him to lay down his life. So he chose the easier course. He gave his life so that his people might be saved the terrible curse of the sword. "Usman is the most modest of my Companions," once said the Holy Prophet. His modesty did not leave Usman even after he was the ruler of a big empire. He was generous and soft-hearted. He was always inclined to overlook people's faults. High virtues indeed! But as the head of a big State, Usman needed to be something more. He needed to be strong, firm and prompt. However, Usman's heart would not allow him to follow the course of firmness. He knew full well where the path of love was going to lead and gladly paid the price with his life. CONFIDENTIAL NOTE: The information contained in this email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please immediately notify the sender and delete the mail. Thank you. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
