ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān
عثمان بن عفان
- Dates
- 576–656 CE / 47 BH–35 AH
- Relation to the Prophet ﷺ
- Son-in-law twice over — married the Prophet's ﷺ daughters Ruqayyah then Umm Kulthūm
The caliph who unified the Qurʾanic script. The standard muṣḥaf used today descends directly from his committee's edition.
Life
ʿUthmān was among the wealthiest Qurayshī merchants. He bought the well of Rūmah and gave it to the Muslims of Madinah; he equipped the army of Tabūk almost single-handedly. The Prophet ﷺ said: after today, nothing will harm ʿUthmān, whatever he does.
His caliphate lasted twelve years. When regional recitations of the Qurʾan began to diverge, ʿUthmān commissioned a committee — including Zayd ibn Thābit — to produce one authoritative text. The resulting muṣḥaf is the Qurʾan every Muslim in the world now reads. He was assassinated in his own house in Madinah while reading the Qurʾan, surrounded by rebels he refused to let his guards fight. His blood fell on the page open before him — preserved in the Topkapi muṣḥaf.
Passages that mention ʿUthmān
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"I never wished for anything to happen to Uthman except it befell me, so much so that if I had wished for his killing, I might have been killed."
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"The city's judge is Fakhr al-Din Uthman, a generous and virtuous man, and the chief of the hospice there is Sheikh Shihab al-Din al-Khazrooni,"
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"I was present at the residence when Uthman appeared above them is recorded by al-Tirmidhi who said it is sound and by al-Nasai"
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"Now regarding the death of Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him. The hadith about his murder is well known"
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"Uthman continued by Allah and Islam. Do you know that I equipped the army of difficulty with my own wealth?"
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"Abdullah Ibn Salam then addressed those present during the throes of Uthman and death as he was wounded"
Also from this generation
- Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq
أبو بكر الصديق
The first man outside the Prophet's ﷺ household to accept Islam. His friendship is the single most documented companionship in Islamic history.
- ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb
عمر بن الخطاب
The Prophet ﷺ made duʿāʾ that Islam be strengthened through ʿUmar. It was answered dramatically — his conversion changed the religion's trajectory in Makkah.
- ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib
علي بن أبي طالب
The first young man to accept Islam — aged 9 or 10. The Prophet ﷺ said of him: "I am the city of knowledge, and ʿAlī is its gate."