Uthman ibn Affan: The Compiler of the Quran

The Man of Modesty and Generosity

Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) stands among the most beloved of the Companions — a man of extraordinary personal piety, inexhaustible generosity, and the unique distinction of being the only person in history to marry two daughters of a prophet. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave him Ruqayyah (may Allah be pleased with her) in marriage, and when she died, gave him Umm Kulthum (may Allah be pleased with her). This is why Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) is called Dhul-Nurayn — the Possessor of Two Lights.

He accepted Islam very early, among the first dozen believers, and his conversion was costly — his family pressured and punished him severely for abandoning the religion of Quraysh. He emigrated twice for the sake of his faith: first to Abyssinia, where the just Christian king Negus provided protection to early Muslims, and later to Madinah. His wealth — which was considerable, as he was among the most successful merchants of Quraysh — he placed at the disposal of the Muslim community without hesitation. When the early Muslims needed a well in Madinah and the owner refused to sell it, Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) purchased it and made it a charitable endowment. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) called for contributions to equip the army for the difficult expedition of Tabuk, Uthman contributed so enormously that the Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed: "Nothing Uthman does after today can harm him" (Tirmidhi).

His Station Among the Companions

The Prophet (peace be upon him) expressed deep affection and respect for Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) in multiple narrations. He was known for his modesty — to such a degree that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said he was a man even the angels feel shy before. This is not a metaphor; scholars have understood it as a statement about the spiritual luminosity and propriety of Uthman's character. The Angel Jibril (peace be upon him) himself is described in hadith as feeling hayaa' (modesty) in the presence of this Companion.

Among his lasting contributions during the Prophet's lifetime was his role in the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) sent Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) as his personal envoy to the Quraysh in Makkah — a sign of the trust he placed in him. When rumors reached the Muslim camp that Uthman had been killed, the Prophet (peace be upon him) took the Bay'at al-Ridwan (Pledge of the Tree) — placing his own hand in place of Uthman's hand, declaring that Uthman was engaged in the service of Allah and His Messenger. The Quran records Allah's pleasure with those who gave this pledge (Quran 48:18), and Uthman was counted among them by the Prophet's proxy action.

The Compilation of the Quran

The defining achievement of Uthman's (may Allah be pleased with him) Caliphate — which lasted from 644 to 656 CE — and the one for which he is most remembered, was the standardization and distribution of the Quran into a single authoritative written text. By his time, Islam had spread to regions whose peoples had learned the Quran from different teachers, with minor variations in recitation that were creating confusion and, in some reported cases, arguments about which reading was correct.

Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) commissioned a committee of senior Companions, led by Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), to produce a definitive written compilation based on the master copy preserved by Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) — one of the Prophet's wives and daughter of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Multiple copies were produced and distributed to the main centers of the Muslim world, with instructions to use these as the standard. All other written collections were burned to prevent confusion. This act — controversial to some at the time, but affirmed by the scholarly consensus — ensured that the Quran Muslims recite today is identical to what the Prophet (peace be upon him) taught. Every Mushaf in the world traces back to Uthman's (may Allah be pleased with him) compilation. He was killed unjustly in 656 CE while reading the very Quran he had preserved — his blood fell on the page of the Quran before him, and he became one of the great martyrs of the early Muslim community.