Bismillah i’r Rahmaan i’r Raheem,
From the book on Hajj of the Muwatta of Imam Malik, we find in the section titled ‘Game that is Not Halal to Eat in Ihram ‘ the following Hadith:
Yahya related to me from Malik, from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr, that Abd ar-Rahman ibn Amir ibn Rabia said, “I once saw Uthman ibn Affan in ihram on a hot summer’s day at al-Arj,and he had covered his face with a red woollen cloth. Some game-meat was brought to him and he told his companions to eat. They said, ‘Will you not eat then?’, and he said, ‘I am not in the same position as you. It was hunted for my sake.’ “
The Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, represent the greatest generation of Muslims. Among the four especially distinguished Companions is the one described in this hadith, Uthman ibn Affan, may Allah be pleased with him. Taught by the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, he achieved by God’s Grace mastery in the mystical aspect of Islam. It is no wonder, then, that in the above example we find him adhering completely to the outward as well as the inward tradition of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Outwardly Hadhrat Uthman is following the shari’ah, the laws of God, by not eating the food while on pilgrimage; inwardly he is engaged in tariqa, the spiritual relationship with God, by feeding hungry companions on a hot day. This kind of harmony of the outer with the inner is Islam, and enables one to be a complete and balanced human being, and a true follower of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Alhumdoulillah.