Uthman
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- For other uses of the name, see Uthman (name).
‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān (عثمان بن عفان) (c. 574 - June 17 656) is regarded by Sunni Muslims as the third of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs of Islam. He reigned from 644 until 656.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Family
He was married to Umm Kulthum binte Muhammad, Muhammad daughter. When she died, Uthman married her sister, Ruqayyah bint Muhammad. Ruqayyah and Uthman had a son, Abd-Allah ibn Uthman, but he died early [citation needed].
[edit] Early life
Uthman was born into the wealthy Umayyad (Banu Umayya) clan of the Quraish tribe in Mecca, a few years after Muhammad.
David Samuel Margoliouth, a 20th century non-Muslim Islamic scholar
E. A. Belyaev, a 20th century Sunni Islamic scholar
[edit] Muhammad's era (610-632)
Uthman was an early convert to Islam, and is said to have spent a great deal of his wealth on charity. His conversion angered his clan, which strongly opposed Muhammad. During the life of Muhammad, he was also part of the first Muslim emigration to the city of Axum] in Ethiopia, and the later emigration from Mecca to Medina. He frequently served as Muhammad's secretary.
He could not participate in the battle of Badr because he stayed behind in Madinah to take care of his sick wife Ruqayyah (the daughter of Muhammad), although was also given his share of war trophies of the battle<ref>http://www.islam4theworld.com/Sahabah/talhah_bn_ubaydullah_R.htm</ref>.
[edit] Abu Bakr's era (632 – 634)
Uthman held a prominent role in the succession of Abu Bakr.
[edit] Umar's era (634-644)
Uthman became caliph after caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab in 644. Prior to his death, Umar appointed a group of six men to choose his successor from among themselves. Included in this group were Uthman and Ali. The committee chose Uthman. Some accounts say that he was chosen because he promised to continue the policies of Abu Bakr and Umar, whereas Ali would make no such promise <ref>Aslan, No God But God, 2005</ref>.
[edit] Uthman's era (644–656)
Uthman reigned for twelve years, and during his rule, all of Iran, most of North Africa, the Caucasus and Cyprus were conquered and incorporated into the Islamic empire. His rule was characterized by increasingly centralized control of revenues from the provinces, aided by governors drawn largely from his kinsmen in the Umayyad clan.
[edit] Umayyad governors
Uthman appointed many of his kinsmen as governors of the new domains. The kindest explanation for this reliance on his kin is that the Muslim empire had expanded so far, so fast, that it was becoming extremely difficult to govern, and that Uthman felt that he could trust his own kin not to revolt against him. However, many Muslims did not see this as prudence; they saw it as nepotism, and an attempt to rule like a king rather than as the first among equals.
Many of his governors were accused of corruption and misrule. Some of his kinsmen were also involved in the murder of a son of Abu Bakr, the first caliph, which further alienated many influential Muslims. Abu Bakr's daughter Aisha, Muhammad's widow, was particularly vehement in her denunciations of Uthman.
[edit] Wealth
Taha Husain, a 20th century Sunni Islamic scholar
[edit] Qur'an
Uthman is perhaps best known for forming the committee which compiled the basic text of the Qur'an as it exists today. Various Muslim centers, like Kufa and Damascus, had begun to develop their own traditions for reciting and writing down the Qur'an. Uthman feared that the nascent Islamic empire would fall apart in religious controversy if everyone did not have access to the original text of Qur'an. Sometime during the end of his reign, the committee compiled the text. Uthman had it copied and sent copies to each of the Muslim cities and garrison towns, commanding that variant versions of the Qur'an be destroyed, and only the original version used.
Zayd ibn Thabit was put in charge of the operation <ref name=restatement>A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims on Al-Islam.org [2]</ref>
(Note that John Wansbrough and some Western historians believe that the Qur'an was completed later than Uthman's time; theirs is a minority opinion. See the article on the Qur'an.)
[edit] Death
Uthman died after a twenty day long siege headed by Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr <ref>Balyuzi, Hasan (1976). Muhammad and the Course of Islam. Oxford, UK: George Ronald, pp. 175-177. ISBN 0853984786.</ref> Uthman was eventually buried in Medina.
[edit] Legacy
He was succeeded by Ali, who was himself assassinated when Muawiyah I took power, Uthman's kinsman and the Umayyad governor of Syria. Some scholars therefore count Uthman as the first of the Umayyad dynasty, though the scholarly consensus is that Muawiyah is the first.
David Samuel Margoliouth, a 20th century non-Muslim Islamic scholar
E. A. Belyaev, a 20th century Sunni Islamic scholar
[edit] Sunni view of Uthman
According to the Sunni account of Uthman, he was married to two of Muhammad's daughters at separate times, earning him the name Zun-Nurayn or the "Possesor of Two Lights.". In this he was supposed to outrank Ali ibn Abu Talib, who had married only one of Muhammad's daughters.
Sunni Muslims also consider Uthman as one of the ten Sahaba (companions) for whom Prophet Muhammad had testified that they were destined for Paradise, and one of the six with whom Prophet Muhammad was pleased upon when he died.
[edit] Shi'a view of Uthman
As the Shi'a believe that Ali, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, should have been the first caliph, they regard Uthman as a usurper and an enemy of Ali (see Succession to Muhammad). They believe that he is guilty of nepotism, corruption, double-dealing, and turning the empire over to Muhammad's old enemies, the Umayyads. Shi'as believe that Uthman, like many of the other early Muslims, was seduced by the pleasures of power and wealth, and strayed from the strict path of Islam as followed by Ali. There is dispute among the Shi'a as to whether Uthman married two of the Prophet's daughters, with the vast majority maintaining that Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad were Muhammad's step-daughters. It is said Fatima was the only daughter of Muhammad.
Ali Asgher Razwy, a 20th century Shi'a Twelver Islamic scholar states:
[edit] Non-Muslims
Bernard Lewis, a 20th century non-Muslim Islamic scholar says of Uthman:
David Samuel Margoliouth, a 20th century non-Muslim Islamic scholar
E. A. Belyaev, a 20th century Sunni Islamic scholar
[edit] See also
- The first four Sunni Caliphs and the Sunnah
- Historiography of early Islam
- Uthman Qur'an
- Sahaba
- Succession to Muhammad
[edit] References
<References/>
Also:
- Levi Della Vida, G. and R.G. Khoury. "‘Uthmān b. ‘Affān." Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Eds. P.J. Bearman et. al. 12 Vols. Brill, 2004. 30 October 2005 <http://www.encislam.brill.nl/>.
- http://www.anwary-islam.com/companion/usman_bin_affan.htm
[edit] External links
Views of various Islamic historians on Uthman:
Shi'a view of Uthman:
| Preceded by: Umar | Caliph 644–656 | Succeeded by: Ali |
| Preceded by: Yazdegerd III | Ruler of Persia 651–656 |
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