Uthman ibn Affan · Islam Museum

Depth

At a glance

Roles: Companion · Caliph
Counted among: Sunni
Era: The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate
Region: Arabia
Identifiers: Wikidata
Review: Draft Completeness 3/5 · Help complete it

Contested: This record includes matters on which scholars differ. The speaker's views are labelled as his, and other views are marked where no cited source yet exists.

Life in time

Pre-Islamic Arabia · The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate · The Umayyad Period Contemporaries: Abdullah ibn Salam · Amr ibn al-As · Halima al-Sa'diyya · Salman al-Farisi · Umm Ayman (Baraka bint Tha'laba)

In space

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Scripture and its sciences Civil wars and revolts Development of law, theology and institutions

Place in the story

Convert to Islam · c. 611 CETradition
Companion · c. 611 CETradition
SuccessortowardUmar ibn al-Khattab · November 644 CE · Muharram 24 AH†Historical
RulertowardRashidun Caliphate · 644 CE · 23 AH† – 656 CE · 35 AH†Historical
Victim · 17 June 656 CE · 18 Dhu al-Hijja 35 AH†Historical

Sunni (transmitted)

How others named them

“Dhu al-Nurayn (Possessor of the Two Lights)” — Islamic tradition, for marrying two daughters of the Prophet in succession

Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.

Reading levelSprouts (4–6)Explorers (7–9)Scholars (13+)Read it in the Kids' Wing

Uthman ibn Affan (may God be pleased with him) was the third righteous caliph, known for modesty and generosity, who unified the Qur'an into one standard text.

Uthman ibn Affan (may God be pleased with him), titled Dhu al-Nurayn, was the third caliph and an early convert to Islam. Renowned for his vast generosity, he outfitted the expedition of Tabuk and bought the well of Rumah as an enduring public endowment. His most significant service as caliph was standardizing the Qur'an into a unified text distributed across the regions.

Storytellers (10–12) read the Explorers text, then cross to the Scholars text.

Abu Abd Allah Uthman ibn Affan (may God be pleased with him) (c. 47 BH – 35 AH / 576–656 CE), titled Dhu al-Nurayn (Possessor of the Two Lights), the third Rightly Guided Caliph (23–35 AH). An early convert who participated in both migrations to Abyssinia and Medina, he was famed for his immense philanthropic endowments, financing the Tabuk campaign, purchasing the well of Rumah for public use, and expanding the Prophet ﷺ's Mosque. Elected caliph following the council appointed by Umar, his era saw major territorial expansions and the creation of the first Islamic navy. His crowning historical legacy remains the authoritative compilation and distribution of the standard Uthmanic codex of the Qur'an.

Overview

Uthman ibn Affan (may God be pleased with him) was the third of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (644–656 CE). He married two daughters of the Prophet one after the other, ordered an authoritative codex of the Qur'an, and died under siege in his house in Medina at the hands of rebels.

Life

Uthman was one of the wealthy men of the Banu Umayya, and he was among the first to become Muslim through Abu Bakr. ¹ He married two daughters of the Prophet one after the other, Ruqayya and then Umm Kulthum, and so he was called “Dhu al-Nurayn” (the Possessor of Two Lights). He emigrated during the Hijra, and he was the envoy of the Muslims to Mecca at Hudaybiyya. ².

The shura council that Umar appointed chose him, and he ruled for twelve years. During his rule the conquests extended to Armenia and North Africa. In the most lasting part of his work, a committee headed by Zayd ibn Thabit produced the authoritative codex, and copies were sent to the regional capitals. ¹. In his last years, complaints grew about the appointment of his relatives and about his financial policy. In June 656 CE, groups of rebels from Egypt and Iraq besieged him and killed him in Medina, and with this the First Civil War began. ³.

Legacy

Every Qur'an codex opened today goes back to the script established by his committee. Every argument about the limits of the caliph's duty and the rights of his subjects passes through his killing.

For young visitors

Uthman gathered the scattered pages of the Qur'an into a single authoritative book, which Muslims read today. His killing began the first civil war in the community.

In the secret call (The Sealed Nectar p.76)

The book counts him among those who became Muslim through Abu Bakr during the years of the secret call, one of the eight who went before the people and formed the first vanguard and the front line of Islam. ⁴ ⁵. The book refers to him by his Umayyad lineage. ⁴.

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Opinions on the question

The question: How is Uthman ibn Affan's caliphate and his killing assessed?

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

Sunni tradition venerates Uthman as the third rightly-guided caliph: modest and generous, the preserver who gave the community one recension of the Qur'an, and a martyr killed unjustly.

More opinions (2)

Academic viewSecondary opinion

Historians record both his standardization of the Qur'an and the grievances — appointments of kinsmen, fiscal policy — that fed the revolt which killed him; the sources are early but partisan.

Shia (Twelver) viewOther opinion

Twelver Shia tradition is critical of Uthman's caliphate, seeing in it the entrenchment of the Umayyads and further sidelining of the Prophet's household.