CALIPH UTHM
CALIPH UTHM A A N N b. b.
‘AFFĀN (644 – 656
‘AFFĀN (644 – 656 C.E.;24–36 A.H.
C.E.;24–36 A.H.
Uthman ibn Affan born in the year 573CE. Uthman was born into the
Umayyad clan of Mecca, a powerfull family of the Quraish tribe. Uthman's father, Affan, died young while
travelling abroad but left a large inheritance to Uthman. Uthman
followed the same profession as his father, and his business flourished, making him one of the richest men among the Qurayshi tribe.
‘Uthman was one of the Meccans who accepted Islam at its early days . Abu Bakr was the first person who carried message of Islam to Uthman on his return journey from Syria.
‘Uthman’s Migration to Abyssinia.
Uthman and his wife Ruqayya
migrated to Abyssinia in 614–615,
along with 11 men and 11 women, all Muslims.
After two years the news had spread among the Muslims in Abyssinia that the Quraysh of Mecca had accepted Islam, and
that persuaded Uthman, Ruqayya and some other Muslims to
return.
In 622, Uthman and his wife, Ruqayya, migrated to Medina.
Election of Uthman as caliph:Umar, on his deathbed formed a
committee of six people to choose the next Caliph from amongst
themselves. This committee was:
1.Ali b. Abi Talib 2. Usman b. Affan 3.Abdurrahman b. Awf 4. Sa’d b.
Abi Waqqas. 5. Talha b. Ubeydullah 6. Zubayr b. Awwam.
Abdur Rahman bin Awf withdrew his eligibility to be appointed as Caliph in order to act as a
moderator. On the fourth day after the death of Umar, 11
November 644, 5 Muharrem 24 h.
Uthman was elected as the third Caliph, with the title ‘Amir al-
Muminin’
Uthman’s Reign:
Uthman ruled over the Muslim empire for twelve years. During his reign, the empire expanded in Asia and Africa. The first half of his reign was peaceful but the second half was turbulent.
He made a lot of conquests and recorded land mark victories. During his reign, he
constructed a huge dam to protect Madinah against flood and to regulate the supply of water to the city. He built many roads and bridges, Mosques and guest houses in
different parts of the empire. He also
expanded the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.
He established Arab navy and was the first.
A remarkable work of his was the redaction of the Holy Qur’ān.
The second and latter part of
Uthman’s reign was full of strife.
Troubles broke out in the empire particularly in Egypt and Iraq.
According to Abu Ja`far (al-Tabari): In this year (h.35), `Uthman b. `Affan was killed.
We have mentioned many of the reasons that his
murderers cited as an excuse for killing him, and we have avoided mentioning many others that should not be included here. We
will now describe how he was killed, how and through whom it began, and who was the first to treat him audaciously before he
was murdered.
