Uthman Ibn Affan: Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate from 644 to 656
Uthman ibn Affan (Arabic: عثمان بن عفان) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and third caliph in the succession of early leaders, who reigned from 644 to 656.
Uthman belonged to a noble family of the Umayyads, branch of the Quraish in Makkah. Uthman was one of the very few who was literate. When he became older, he started a business in cloth, which made him very rich.
| Uthman | |
|---|---|
 | |
Islamic Empire During The Reign  | |
| The Generous (Al Ghani) | |
| Full Name | ʻUthmān ibn ʻAffān (عثمان بن عفان) |
| Reign | 11 November 644 – 17 July 656 |
| Born | c. 576 |
| Birthplace | Taif, Arabia |
| Died | 17 July 656 (aged 79-80) |
| Deathplace | Medina, Arabia |
| Place of Burial | Jannat al-Baqi, Madinah |
| Predecessor | Umar |
| Successor | Ali |
| Father | Affan ibn Abu al-As |
| Mother | Urwa bint Kariz |
| Sister(s) | Amna |
| Spouse(s) | • Ruqayyah • Umm Kulthum |
| Son(s) | • Amro (عمرو) • Umar (عمر) • Khalid (خالد) • Aban (أبان) • Abdullah Al-Asghar (عبد الله الأصغر) • Al-Walid (الوليد) • Saeed (سعيد) • Abdulmalik (عبدالملك) |
| Daughter(s) | • Maryam (مريم) • Umm Uthman (أم عثمان) • Ayesha (عائشة) • Umm Amr (أم عمرو) • Umm Aban Al-Kabri (أم أبان الکبرى) • Aurvi (أروى) • Umm Khalid (أم خالد) • Umm Aban Al-Sagri (أم أبان الصغرى) |
| Other Titles | • Al Ghani الغنى ("The Generous") • Zun Noorain ("Possessor of Two Lights") |
Biography
He was born in about the year 576 and was ruler for 12 years. During his time as ruler he conquered Khurasan and the regions of the west of the Arabian Peninsula. He also united the Muslim upon one uniform version of the Quran. He was well known for marrying two of Muhammad's daughters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum, both at different times. For this, he became known as Dhu al-Nurayn, the "Possessor of Two Lights". He participated in both immigrations, first to Ethiopia and then to Medina.
Death
He was attacked while in his house, although he did not defend himself out of fear of further trouble. He was killed while reading the Qur'an by Sudaan ibn Hamran on Friday, June 17, 656. He died aged 79-80 years.
Originating in the aftermath of Uthman's assassination in 656, the political Uthmaniyya (Arabic: عُثْمَانيَّة), or shi'at Uthman (party of Uthman) as they were called, asserted that Uthman's successor Ali (r. 656–661) was an illegitimate caliph, as he was involved in the murder of Uthman and had not been elected by a shura (consultation), hence a new caliph had to be elected.
References
This short article about a person or group of people can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.This article uses material from the Wikipedia Simple English article Uthman ibn Affan, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license ("CC BY-SA 3.0"); additional terms may apply (view authors). Content is available under CC BY-SA 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
®Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wiki Foundation, Inc. Wiki Simple English (DUHOCTRUNGQUOC.VN) is an independent company and has no affiliation with Wiki Foundation.