Uthman ibn Affan

عثمان بن عفان

Updated on 19 April 2026 at 10:59 PM

📖 21 min read

Biography of Uthman ibn Affan

Othman bin Affan bin Abi Al-Aas bin Umayyah bin Abd Shams bin Abd Manaf Al-Qurashi Al-Umayyad. He and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ share the common ancestor Abd Manaf. He was known by the kunya Abu Abdullah; another report gives Abu Amr. His first kunya came from his son Abdullah, whose mother was Ruqayyah, daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He was later known by a kunya derived from his son Amr. Othman's mother was Arwa bint Kariz bin Rabi'ah bin Habib bin Abdul Shams, making him a maternal cousin of Abdullah bin Amer. Arwa's mother was Al-Bayda, daughter of Abdul Muttalib and paternal aunt of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He was known as Dhu al-Nurayn, "the Possessor of Two Lights," and as Commander of the Faithful. He embraced Islam at an early stage, after Abu Bakr invited him to the faith. He used to say, "I was the fourth of four to embrace Islam."

Reported by Abu Ja`far, on the authority of Ibn Ishaq, who said: "When Abu Bakr converted to Islam and demonstrated his conversion, he called people to Allah and His Messenger, and Abu Bakr was approachable, gentle, and well loved by his people. He knew Quraysh's lineages better than anyone and understood both its virtues and its faults, and the men of Quraysh regularly sought his company because of his knowledge, experience, and agreeable companionship, so he began to call to Islam whomever he trusted among his people, who would accompany him and sit with him, so I converted to Islam at his hands, as I was informed of: Al-Zubair bin Al-Awam, Othman bin Affan, Talha bin Ubaid Allah. He mentioned others, so they set off with Abu Bakr until they came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He presented Islam to them, read the Qur'an to them, and informed them of the truth of Islam, so they believed. They began to acknowledge the truth of Islam. These eight were among the earliest to embrace Islam, pray, and believe, and after Othman embraced Islam, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave him his daughter Ruqayyah in marriage. They both immigrated to the land of Abyssinia.

Then he returned to Mecca and migrated to Medina. When he came to it, he stayed with Aws bin Thabit, brother of Hassan bin Thabet, and that is why Hassan loved Othman and elegized him after his murder. Ibn Ishaq said this. After Ruqayyah, he married Umm Kulthum, daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. When she died, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said: "If we had a third, we would marry you." Ahmad bin Uthman bin Abi Ali told us. He said: Abu told us.

Rashid Abdul Karim bin Ahmed bin Mansour, Abu Masoud Suleiman bin Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin Suleiman told us, Abu Bakr bin Mardawayh, the Hafiz, Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Ahmed bin Ishaq, the commentator and reciter, informed us, Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Mardawayh told us, Ali bin Ahmad bin Bastam told us, Sahl bin Uthman told us, Al-Nadr bin Mansour Al-Anazi, Abu Al-Junub Uqba bin Alqamah told me, saying: I heard Ali bin Abi Talib, saying: He heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, say: "If I had forty daughters, I would marry Uthman one after the other, until not a single one of them would remain." Uthman had a son born to Ruqayya, named Abdullah. He reached the age of six and died in the year four of the Hijra. Othman did not witness Badr himself, because his wife, Ruqayyah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, was terminally ill, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered him to stay with her, so he did.

She died on the day the news came that the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims were defeated by the polytheists, but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, struck him with his share and reward, so he is like one who witnessed it. He is one of the ten for whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, testified that they would go to Paradise. Reported by Al-Khatib Abu Al-Fadl Abdullah bin Abi Nasr, on the authority of Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari, who said: I was with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, in the garden of Bani So-and-so. And the door was closed to us, when a man opened it, and the Prophet ﷺ said: "O Abdullah bin Qais, arise and open the door for him, and give him good tidings of Paradise." So I got up and opened the door. I saw Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq. I told him what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said. He thanked Allah and entered, greeted him and sat down. Then I closed the door, and the Prophet ﷺ began to stick a stick on the ground.

Then he opened another one and said: "O Abdullah bin Qais, get up and open the door for him." And give him good tidings of Paradise." So I got up and opened the door. It was Omar Ibn Al-Khattab. I told him what the Prophet ﷺ had said. He thanked Allah and entered and greeted him. He sat down. I closed the door, and the Prophet ﷺ began to break that stick in the ground, when the third opened the door, and the Prophet ﷺ said: "O Abdullah bin Qais, get up and open the door for him, and give him good tidings of Paradise despite the calamity that will happen." So I got up and opened the door and saw Uthman bin Affan. So I told him what he, peace be upon him, said. He said: Allah is the one to be helped, and on Him we can rely. Then he entered, greeted him, and sat down.

Reported by Abu Mansour bin Makarim, on the authority of Al-Hurr bin Al-Sabbah, who said: I heard Ubayd Allah ibn al-Akhnas say: Sa`id ibn Zaid, who is the son of Amr ibn Nufayl, came and said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said: "Abu Bakr in Paradise, Omar is in Paradise, Othman is in Paradise, Ali is in Paradise, Talha is in Paradise, Al-Zubayr is in Paradise, and Abd al-Rahman bin Awf is in Paradise. Paradise, and Sa`d in Paradise, and the other, if you wish, you can name it." Then he named himself and said: Al-Mu'afā ibn Imran narrated to us, Sufyan narrated to us, on the authority of Mansour, on the authority of Hilal ibn Yasaf, on the authority of Abu Talib, on the authority of Saeed. Ibn Zaid, that a man said to him: I loved Ali with a love that I had never loved before. He said: Well done. I loved a man from the people of Paradise. He said: And I hated Othman with a hatred I had never hated before!

He said: You have done evil, you have hated a man from the people of Paradise. Then he started narrating and said: While the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, was on Hira', and with him Abu Bakr, And Omar, and Uthman, and Ali, and Talha, and Al-Zubayr, he said: "Stay firm, Hira'.

There is no one upon you except a prophet, or a truthful, or a martyr." Ahmad ibn Othman bin Abi Ali, Abu Rashid Abdul Karim bin Ahmed bin Mansour informed us, Abu Masoud Suleiman bin Ibrahim bin Muhammad ibn Sulayman, Abu Bakr ibn Mardawayh informed us, Ahmad ibn Abdullah ibn Ahmad informed us, Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ahmad informed us, Al-Hasan, Bishr bin Musa narrated to us, Saeed bin Mansour narrated to us, Abu Al-Ahwas narrated to us, on the authority of Abu Ibrahim Al-Asadi, on the authority of Al-Awza'i, on the authority of Hassan bin Attiyah said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said: "May Allah forgive you, O Uthman, for what you have put forward and what you have delayed, what you have concealed, what you have declared, and what is He will exist until the Day of Resurrection." Abu Al-Faraj Yahya bin Mahmoud Al-Thaqafi informed us, Al-Hasan bin Ahmed informed us. I am present and listening, Ahmad bin Abdullah Al-Hafiz told us, Abu Bakr bin Khallad told us, Al-Harith bin Abi Usama told us.

Reported by H Abu Nu`aym said: Abdullah bin Al-Hasan bin Bundar, on the authority of Anas, who said: the Prophet ﷺ ascended Uhud, and with him were Abu Bakr, Omar, and Othman, and the mountain shook, so he said: "Stand still." "One, for upon you is only a prophet, a truthful, and two witnesses. Reported by " Abu al-Barakat al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Hibat Allah al-Shafi'i al-Dimashqi, on the authority of Ibn Abbas, who said: "And We removed whatever hatred was from their breasts." He said: "It was revealed about ten: Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali.

And Talha, and Al-Zubayr, and Sa'd, and Abd al-Rahman bin Awf, and Sa'id bin Zayd, and Abdullah bin Masoud." Abu Muhammad al-Hasan told us Ibn Ali Ibn Abi Al-Qasim Al-Hussein Ibn Al-Hassan Al-Asadi, my grandfather Abu Al-Qasim told us, he said: I read to Abi Al-Qasim Ali Ibn Muhammad Al-Masisi, Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Harun ibn Musa ibn Abdullah al-Ghassani informed us. Abu al-Hasan Khaythamah ibn Sulayman informed us. Bin Haidara, Hilal bin Al-Ala' told us, Ubayy and Abdullah bin Ja'far told us, they said: Ubayd Allah bin Amr told us, on the authority of Zaid bin Abi Unaysa, on the authority of Ismail bin Abi Khalid, on the authority of Qais bin Abi Hazim, who said: Abu Sahlah, the servant of Uthman, narrated to us, he said: I said to Uthman on the day Al-Dar: Fight, O Commander of the Faithful! Abdullah said: Fight, O Commander of the Faithful! He said: "No, by Allah, I will not fight.

the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, promised me something, so I will fulfill it. Reported by " He said: Hilal, on the authority of Al-Nazzal ibn Sabrah Al-Hilali, who said: We said to Ali: O Commander of the Faithful, so narrate to us Othman bin Affan. He said: "That is a man who is called in the highest society Dhul-Noorin. the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, circumcised his two daughters. He was guaranteed a house for him in Paradise »Ismail bin Ubaid, Ibrahim bin Muhammad, and others informed us, with their chain of transmission back to Muhammad bin Isa. He said: Abu Hisham Al-Rifai, Yahya bin Al-Yaman told us, on the authority of a sheikh from Banu Zahra, on the authority of Al-Harith bin Abdul Rahman bin Abi Dhabab, Antalha Ibn Ubayd Allah said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said: "Every prophet has a companion, and my companion, meaning in Paradise, is Othman.

Reported by " He said: Muhammad Ibn Issa, on the authority of Anas bin Malik, who said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ With the pledge of allegiance to Al-Ridwan, Othman bin Affan was the messenger of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, to the people of Mecca. He said: So the people pledged allegiance. He said: So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: May Allah's prayers and peace be upon him: "Othman is in the need of Allah and the need of His Messenger." So he struck with one of his hands over the other, and the hand of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, was better for Othman than Their hands to themselves Article: Muhammad bin Issa told us, Muhammad bin Bashar told us, Abd al-Wahhab al-Thaqafi told us, Ayoub told us, on the authority of Abu Qilaba, on the authority of Abu al-Ash'ath al-San'ani: that preachers arose in the Levant, and among them were men.

Among the companions of the Prophet ﷺ the last of them stood up, a man called Murrah ibn Ka'b. He said: Were it not for a hadith I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I would not have risen. He mentioned He approached it, and a masked man in a garment passed by and said: This is the day upon guidance. So I stood up to him, and behold, it was Uthman ibn Affan. So I turned to him and said: This? He said: Yes. He narrated something like this on the authority of Ibn Umarqal: Muhammad ibn Issa narrated to us, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Dawraqi narrated to us, Al-Alaa ibn Abd narrated to us. Al-Jabbar Al-Attar, Al-Harith bin Umair narrated to us, on the authority of Ubayd Allah bin Umar, on the authority of Nafi', on the authority of Ibn Umar, he said: We used to say, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Hayy: "Abu Bakr, Omar and Uthman. Another report states: in preference; according to another report, in caliphate.

Reported by " Abu Yasser, on the authority of Abu Salama bin Abdul Rahman, who said: Othman looked out from the palace, while he was besieged, and said: I seek refuge in Allah from the one who heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, on the day of Hira' when the mountain shook and he kicked it. With his foot. He then said: "Stay in Hira', there is no one upon you except a prophet, a truthful, or a martyr." And I was with him, so some men chanted for him. He then said: I chant. By Allah, whoever witnessed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, on the day of the Pledge of Ridwan, when he sent me to the polytheists, to the people of Mecca, he said: "This is my hand and this is my hand." Othman," so he pledged his allegiance to me, and some men called for him. He said: I seek by Allah the one who witnessed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, saying: "Who will expand this house for us in Is the mosque a home in Paradise?

So I bought it with my own money and took it to the mosque, and Harijal chanted for it. Then he said: And I seek refuge in Allah from the one who witnessed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, on the Day of Judgment. The Army of Hardship, he said: "Who spends an acceptable amount today? "So I prepared half the army with my own money, and some men sought out for him." He said: "And I seek the help of Allah from those who witnessed a Roman whose water was sold by wayfarers. So I bought it from my own money and made it available to the wayfarer, and some men sought out for him. Reported by Abdullah, on the authority of Salim ibn Abi al-Ja'd, who said: Uthman summoned some of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Ammar bin Yasser. He said: I am asking you. I would like you to believe me.

I implore you by Allah, do you know that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, used to give preference to the Quraysh over all the other people, and to Bani Hashim over the rest of the Quraysh? The people remained silent, then Othman said: If I had the keys of Paradise in my hand, I would give them to the Umayyads so that they could enter from the last of them. So he sent for Talha. And Al-Zubair. Uthman said: Shall I not tell you about him, meaning Ammar? I went with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He took my hand. We walked in Al-Batha' until... He came to see his father and mother being tortured, and Abu Ammar said: O Messenger of Allah, has it been like this for a while?

So the Prophet ﷺ said to him: "Be patient," then he said: "O Allah, forgive the family of Yasser," and Some reports state: My father told us, Hajjaj told us, Laith told us, Aqeel told us, on the authority of Ibn Shihab, on the authority of Yahya bin Saeed bin Al-Aas, that Saeed bin Al-Aas told him that Aisha was the wife of the Prophet ﷺ. Uthman told him that Abu Bakr asked permission to come to the Prophet ﷺ while he was lying on his bed, wearing Aisha's robe, so he permitted him while he was Likewise, he fulfilled his need and then left. Then Omar asked for permission. He gave him permission. While he was in that state, he fulfilled his need and then left. He said: Othman: Then I asked him for permission. He sat down and said to Aisha: "Put your clothes on you." So I relieved him and then left.

Aisha said: Oh Messenger of Allah, I have not seen you frighten Abu Bakr or Omar as you frightened Uthman? the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said: "Othman is a modest man, and if you fear that if you allow him permission in that state, he will not be able to meet his need." Al-Layth said: A group of people said: "Am I not ashamed of the one of whom the angels are ashamed?" His succession. Mismar bin Amr bin Al-Uwais and Abu Faraj Muhammad bin told us. Abd al-Rahman al-Wasiti, and more than one person, said by attributing their chain of transmission to Muhammad ibn Ismail, he said: Musa ibn Ismail narrated to us, Abu Awanah, on the authority of Husayn, on the authority of Amr ibn Maymun, who said: "I saw Omar a few days before he was injured in Medina. He stopped by Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman. And Othman bin Hanif. He said: How did you do? Are you afraid that you will burden the earth with something that it cannot bear?

They said: We made it bearable for her. He mentioned the story of the killing of Omar, peace be upon him. He said: So they said to him: Recommend, O Commander of the Faithful, take your place. He said: What? I find someone more deserving of this matter than this group, or the group with whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, died and he was satisfied with them. He named Ali and Uthman. Al-Zubayr, Talha, Sa'd, and Abdul-Rahman. He said: Abdullah bin Omar is your witness. He does not have anything to do with the matter, such as offering condolences to him, so if the woman befalls Saad, then that is it. Otherwise, let any of you seek help from him as he is commanded. For I did not remove him due to his inability or betrayal. He said: I advise the Caliph after me regarding the first emigrants, to recognize their rights and protect them.

It is sacred to them. I enjoin him to be good to the Ansar, those who lived in the land and the faith before them, that he accept from their doers of good, and that he overlook Their abuser. I advise him to be good to the people of the countries, for they are the repugnance of Islam, the collectors of money, and the wrath of the enemy, and nothing should be taken from them except He favored them beyond their satisfaction. I enjoined him to be kind to the Bedouins, for they are the origin of the Arabs and the foundation of Islam. He should take from their wealth and return it. upon their poor. I command him, under the protection of Allah and the protection of His Messenger, to fulfill his covenant with them, and to fight behind them. They are not entrusted with anything except They were able to do so. When he was finished, we left with him and started walking.

Abdullah bin Omar greeted him and said, "May Omar bin Al-Khattab ask for permission." She said: I mean. Aisha: They brought him in. He was brought in and placed there with his two companions. When he finished burying him, these people gathered, and Abd al-Rahman said: Make Your command is given to three of you. Al-Zubair said: I have given my command to Ali. Talha said: I have given my command to Uthman. Saad said: I have given my command. To Abd al-Rahman, and Abd al-Rahman said: Which of you disavows this matter, we will assign him to him, and may Allah and peace be upon him, so that they may consider. He was the best of them in himself, so the two sheikhs remained silent, and Abdul Rahman said: Will you assign him to me, and by Allah, I must not turn away from the best of you?

They said: Yes. He took one of them by the hand and said: You are related to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and you are old in Islam as I know, so Allah is upon you if I command you. You will be just, and if I command Uthman, you will listen and obey. Then he was alone with the other man and said to him like that. When he took the covenant, he said: Raise your hand. O Uthman, so he pledged allegiance to him and Ali pledged allegiance to him, and the people of the house entered and pledged allegiance to him." Uthman pledged allegiance to the caliphate on Saturday, the first of Muharram in the year twenty-four, three days after the burial of Omar ibn al-Khattab. Abu Omar said this. His killing: Othman, peace be upon him, was killed in Medina on Friday the eighteenth or seventeenth of Dhul-Hijjah in the year thirty-five of the Hijra, according to Nafi'. Abu Uthman al-Nahdi said: He was killed in the middle of the days of al-Tashreeq.

Ibn Ishaq said: Othman was killed on the eve of eleven years, eleven months, and twenty-two days after the killing of Omar ibn al-Khattab, and on the eve of the death of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Al-Waqidi said: He was killed on Friday, eight nights before Dhu al-Hijjah, the Day of al-Tarwiyah, in the year thirty-five. According to another account, He was killed on Friday for the remaining two nights of Dhul-Hijjah. Al-Waqidi said: They restricted him for forty-nine days, and Al-Zubayr said: They restricted him for two months and twenty days. Reported by Abd al-Wahhab ibn Hibat Allah, on the authority of Abu Ma'shar, who said: Uthman was killed. On Friday, the eighteenth of Dhul-Hijjah, the year thirty-five, and his caliphate was twelve years minus twelve days; in another account, It was eleven years, eleven months, and fourteen days. Reported by And Abdullah, on the authority of Abu Sa`id, who said: I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

Yesterday in a dream, I saw Abu Bakr and Omar. They said to me: Be patient, for you are breaking your fast with the midwife. Then he called for a Qur'an and spread it in his hands. So he was killed while he was in front of him. Reported by Ibrahim bin Muhammad and more than one person, on the authority of Aisha, who said: "O Uthman, perhaps Allah will put a shirt on you, but if they want you to take it off, then do not You take it off for them. Reported by " Ahmad bin Uthman bin Abi Ali, on the authority of Ibn Abbas, who said: "You will be killed while you are oppressed, and a drop of your blood will be dripped on "Allah will suffice you for them." » He said: It is the hour in the Qur'an, when Othman was besieged and besieged for a long time, and those who besieged him were from the people of Egypt, Basra, and Kufa, and with them were some of the people of Medina.

They wanted him to remove himself from the caliphate, but he did not do so. They feared that armies would come to him from the Levant, Basra and elsewhere, and Al-Hajjaj would come and be destroyed. So they rebelled against him and killed him, peace be upon him, and we have mentioned how he was killed, his caliphate, all his conquests and conditions, and what they took revenge on him to the point of confining him. Who is the one who incited the people to revolt against him in Al-Kamil's book on history? We do not think we should mention him at length here. When he was killed, he was buried at night, and Jubayr bin Mut'im prayed over him; some reports state instead: Hakim bin Hazam; according to another report, Al-Miswar bin Makhramah; in another account, No one prayed for him, they were prevented from doing so. He was buried in Hash Kawkab in Al-Baqi', and Othman had bought it and increased it in Al-Baqi', and Abdullah bin Al-Zubayr attended.

Also present were his two wives, Umm al-Banin bint Uyaynah bin Hisn al-Fazariyah and Na'ila bint al-Farafsa al-Kalbiyyah. When they lowered him into the grave,

Frequently asked questions - Uthman ibn Affan

Who is Uthman ibn Affan?

Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) was the third of the Rashidun caliphs, known as Dhu al-Nurayn (the Possessor of Two Lights) for marrying two of the Prophet's ﷺ daughters, Ruqayya and Umm Kulthum.

What were Uthman ibn Affan's greatest achievements?

He ordered the compilation of the Holy Qur'an into a single unified mushaf and its distribution across the provinces — the Uthmanic mushaf relied upon to this day.

How long was Uthman's caliphate?

His caliphate lasted 12 years, from 23 to 35 AH — the longest among the Rashidun caliphs.

Spelling variants of Uthman ibn Affan

The name Uthman ibn Affan is also written in the following spellings:

  • 'Uthman ibn 'Affan
  • 'Uthman bin 'Affan
  • 'Uthman ben 'Affan
  • 'Uthman b. 'Affan
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