1. UTHMAN BIN AFFAN R The Third Rightly Guided Khalifah

2. Hadith Rasulullah SAW said, “Every prophet has an assistant, and my assistant will be Uthman.”

3. Background Uthman R was born seven years after Rasulullah SAW. He was born to a wealthy tribe, the Omayyad branch of the Quraish tribe. He could read and write and was a successful merchant. He was brought to Islam by Abu Bakr R, who was his close friend. He married Rasulullah SAW’s second daughter, Ruqayya R. When she became sick, he asked to be excused from the battles that were going on. She passed away because of her sickness and Uthman R was very sad. Later, he married Rasulullah SAW’s other daughter, Umm-e-Kalthum. He had the privilege of having two of Rasulullah SAW’s daughters as wives and was known as Dhun-Nurain (Possessor of the Two Lights).

4. Characteristics Uthman R was known as being truthful even before he accepted Islam. He spent a lot of his money for Muslims in the form of charity and for the Muslim armies. He got the nickname Ghani (Generous). He spent a lot of his nights in prayer, fasted often and did Hajj every year. Even though he had a lot of money, he lived very simply. He slept on the bare sand in Rasulullah SAW’s masjid. He was a Hafiz.

5. Caliphate When Umar R was on his death bed, he gave the names of six people who were out of the ten companions that Rasulullah SAW said would go to Jannah. They were Ali, Uthman, Abdur-Rahman, Saad, Al-Zubayr and Talha. Everyone withdrew their names except for Uthman and Ali. They both said they would listen to what Abdur-Rahman bin Auf said. He chose Uthman R. A navy was organized under his caliphate. There was peace and tranquility for the first six years of his caliphate. During the latter part of his caliphate, there were Jews and magicians causing rebellion. He could have sent armies to stop these rebels, but he didn’t want Muslim blood to be lost. He wanted to persuade them and reason with the rebels. He remembered that Rasulullah SAW said, “Once the sword is unsheathed among my followers, it will not be sheathed until the Last Day.”

6. Works Cited Ahmad, Kh. Jamil. "Usman." Hundred Great Muslims. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Lahore: Ferozsons, 1984. 35. Print. "The Third Caliph, Uthman (644-656 A.C.)." IISNA.com. Web. 3 Jan. 2015. "Uthman Bin Affan, Third Rightly Guided Caliph of Islam." Web. 3 Jan. 2015.