Support CaspianReport through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/CaspianReport In the first and second part of the History of Islam we talked about the establishment of the Caliphate by the first Caliph Abu Bakr and the expansion and implementation of reforms by the second Caliph, Umar. Before Umar’s death, a committee known as the Shura was established, with the purpose of selecting a new Caliph and also to seek the approval of the Muslim community, known as the Ummah. From the two leading candidates Uthman and Ali, Uthman was elected as the third Caliph. Even though Uthman, in his own words was “not an innovator”, he certainly was a reformer. Prior to his conversion to Islam Uthman was a wealthy merchant from an influential family known as the Umayyads. In fact his father was one of the richest people in the city of Mecca. Uthman inherited the wealth of his father at the age of twenty, who by then had passed away. But being a skillful merchant, Uthman managed to multiply his inheritance many times over and thus earned the nickname “Uthman the Wealthy.” Before his conversion to Islam, Uthman never drank nor smoked, and despite his famous good look, for which he was known as Uthman the Handsome, he didn’t chase women. When Uthman converted to Islam, it enraged his family. Over the years the Umayyad family members, under the leadership of Abu Sufyan, would turn out to be the most anti-Muslim faction within the Quraysh tribe. Uthman’s two wives denounced him for converting to Islam. So, Uthman divorced his wives and married one of Muhammad’s daughters, and later on he would take one more of the prophet’s daughter as his wife. The early Muslim community was pleased to have such a wealthy man in their ranks and Uthman helped his fellow Muslims in any way he could. Usually, this meant through financial support. For example, Uthman financed the emigration of a group for Muslims to Abyssinia. He also spent lavishly on public facilities, such as expanding the mosque in Medina and donating wells to the public. Enormous wealth, good looks, and married to two of the prophet’s daughters, Uthman had it all. It was because of his good fortune that Uthman was a man driven by a sense of guilt. He spent much of his time fasting, praying and reading the Quran. “Every day is doomsday”, Uthman once said. This God fearing and guilt driven man would become the third Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. Sountrack: Decisions Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Be sure to follow CaspianReport on the social media. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caspianreport Twitter: https://twitter.com/caspianreport LiveLeak: http://www.liveleak.com/c/caspianreport

• published: 05 Jul 2015
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