عثمان بن عفان

'Uthman (RA)

'Uthman ibn 'Affan

Also known as: Uthman, Dhu al-Nurayn

c. 47 BH – 35 AH · c. 576–656 CE

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The third caliph, Dhu al-Nurayn, who standardised the written Quran.

A wealthy and generous merchant of the Umayyad clan, 'Uthman was among the earliest converts. He married two daughters of the Prophet ﷺ, Ruqayyah and then Umm Kulthum, which earned him the title Dhu al-Nurayn, 'possessor of the two lights'. He bought the well of Rumah for the Muslims and equipped much of the army for Tabuk.

As the third caliph (23–35 AH), he had standard copies of the Quran prepared from the compilation made under Abu Bakr and sent to the main cities. The text in use today descends from these copies. He was killed in his house in Madinah while reading the Quran.

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