Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Remi Adeleye, Power and Diplomacy 

in Northern Nigeria, 1804–1906: The Sokoto Caliphate 

and Its Enemies (New York: Humanities Press, 1971); 

Mervyn Hiskett, The Sword of Truth: The Life and Times 

of the Shehu Usman Dan Fodio, 2d ed. (Evanston, Ill.: 

Northwestern University Press, 1994); Murray Last, The 

Sokoto Caliphate (London: Humanities Press, 1967).

Uthman ibn Affan

 

(ca. 580–656)  third 

Muslim caliph

Uthman ibn Affan was the third of the four Sunni 

“rightly guided” caliphs, or Rashidun, along with 

a

bU

  b

akr

 (r. 632–634), U

mar

 

ibn

 

al

-k

hattab

 (r. 

634–644), and a

li

 

ibn

  a

bi

  t

alib

 (r. 656–661). 

A member of the Umayyad clan of the q

Uraysh

tribe of m

ecca

, he inherited his father’s business 

and became a wealthy trader before converting to 

i

slam

. After his conversion, he became Muham-

mad’s son-in-law. On the death of Umar ibn al-

Khattab, the committee charged with electing a 

successor named Uthman 

caliph

. This angered 

the supporters of Ali, who was both Muhammad’s 

son-in-law and his cousin and was thus a blood 

relative of the Prophet.

As caliph, Uthman continued the expansion of 

the empire begun by Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-

Khattab. He also defeated attempts by the Byzan-

tines to recover some of their lost territory. Uthman 

centralized the administration of the 

caliphate

,

dividing it into 12 provinces, each with a gover-

nor, chief judge, and tax collector. Some of these 

administrative positions, including the governor-

ships of four provinces, were given to members 

of Uthman’s own Umayyad family. Many saw this 

as nepotism. Objections were also raised to one of 

Uthman’s other projects: compiling the definitive 

text of the q

Uran

. Until that time, the Quran had 

been an oral text, memorized and recited by follow-

ers of Muhammad. Uthman formed a committee to 

collect all versions of the Quran, both oral and 

written, and to prepare a definitive written version 

of the text. Some of Uthman’s opponents saw this 

as religious innovation and an attempt to control 

the text of the Quran. Combined with economic 

difficulties resulting from mismanagement of the 

empire’s finances, these issues led to widespread 

discontent. In 656 Uthman was assassinated in his 

K  700  

Usman Dan Fodio

---

home. A civil war erupted over who should suc-

ceed him as caliph. Thus, Uthman’s death marked 

an important turning point in Islamic history, as it 

signalled the beginning of open conflict within the 

Islamic community.

See also c

ompanions

 

oF

 

the

 p

rophet

.

Kate O’Halloran