Uthman ibn Affan, also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the third of the Rāshidun, or "Rightly Guided Caliphs". Born into a prominent Meccan clan, Banu Umayya of the Quraysh tribe, he played a major role in early Islamic history, and is known for having ordered the compilation of the standard version of the Quran. When Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab died in office aged 60/61 years, Uthman, aged 68–71 years, succeeded him and was the oldest to rule as Caliph.
Mu'awiya I was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashidun ('rightly-guided') caliphs. Unlike his predecessors, who had been close, early companions of Muhammad, Mu'awiya was a relatively late follower of the Islamic prophet.
The Kharijites, also called al-Shurat, were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challenger, Mu'awiya, at the Battle of Siffin in 657. They asserted that "judgment belongs to God alone", which became their motto, and that rebels such as Mu'awiya had to be fought and overcome according to Qur'anic injunctions. Ali defeated the Kharijites at the Battle of Nahrawan in 658, but their insurrection continued. Ali was assassinated in 661 by a Kharijite seeking revenge for the defeat at Nahrawan.
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib was the last Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, the successor state to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's political dominions. He is considered by Shia Muslims to be the first Imam, the rightful religious and political successor to Muhammad. The issue of succession caused a major rift between Muslims and divided them into two major branches: Shia following an appointed hereditary leadership among Ali's descendants, and Sunni following political dynasties. Ali's assassination in the Grand Mosque of Kufa by a Kharijite coincided with the rise of the Umayyad Caliphate. The Imam Ali Shrine and the city of Najaf were built around Ali's tomb and it is visited yearly by millions of devotees.
The Saqifa of the Banu Sa'ida clan refers to the location of an event in early Islam where some of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad pledged their allegiance to Abu Bakr as the first caliph and successor to Muhammad shortly after his death in 11 AH. The Saqifa meeting is among the most controversial events in early Islam, due to the exclusion of a large number of Muhammad's companions, including his immediate family and notably Ali, his cousin and son-in-law. The conflicts after Muhammad's death are considered as the roots of the current division among Muslims. Those who accepted Abu Bakr's caliphate were later labeled Sunnis, while the supporters of Ali's right to caliphate went on to form the Shia.
The Election of Uthman refers to the appointment of Uthman ibn Affan as the third caliph by a committee, which was assembled by the dying caliph Umar in 23 AH. The committee likely consisted of six early Muslims from the Quraysh tribe, including the prophet Muhammad's son-in-law Uthman and Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib. The deciding vote was given to Uthman's brother-in-law Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, who appointed the former as the next caliph after the deliberations stalled. The choice of the wealthy Uthman is often explained as intended to guard the interests of the Quraysh and to follow the practices of the first two caliphs, namely, Abu Bakr and Umar. The committee has been criticized for its bias towards Uthman and for its exclusion of the Ansar.
The succession to Muhammad is the central issue that split the Muslim community into several divisions in the first century of Islamic history, with the most prominent among these sects being the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam. Sunni Islam maintains that Abu Bakr was the legitimate successor to Muhammad on the basis of election. Shia Islam holds that Ali ibn Abi Talib was the designated successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Sunni Muslims hold Ali in high respect as one of the Ahl al-Bayt, a foremost authority on the Qur'an and Islamic law, and as one of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs. Sunnis consider Ali the fourth and final of the caliphs, unlike Shia Muslims who regard Ali as the first Imam after Muhammad due to their interpretation of the events at Ghadir Khumm.
Uqba ibn Amir al-Juhani was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the Umayyad governor of Egypt in 665–667 and died in the province.
Uthman ibn Affan, the third Rashidun caliph, was assassinated at the end of a siege upon his house in 656. Initially a protest, the siege escalated following the death of a protester. The protesters-turned-rebels had demanded a new caliph, but Uthman refused and on June 17, 656, as his house was set alight, some protestors were able to jump to the back of his house, where they found him reading the Quran. They gave him a blow over the head and pierced him through his stomach.
Administrative policies of Ali ibn Abi Talib highlights the policies of Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Ali is the first Shia Imam and was the fourth Rashidun caliph, after Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman. He was acclaimed as the caliph in 656 after the assassination of his predecessor Uthman, who was killed by Egyptian rebels amidst widespread accusations of nepotism, injustice, and corruption. Ali undertook radical changes upon accession and his strictly egalitarian policies garnered him the support of underprivileged groups while alienating the powerful Quraysh tribe, some of whom revolted against Ali under the pretext of revenge for Uthman in the Battle of the Camel (656) and the protracted Battle of Siffin (657). The latter fight ended in arbitration and led to the creation of the Kharijites, a member of whom is thought to be responsible for the assassination of Ali in 661 during the morning prayers. For some, the brief caliphate of Ali was characterized by his honesty, his unbending devotion to Islam, his equal treatment of the supporters, and his magnanimity towards his defeated enemies, while others criticize his policies for idealism and the absence of political expediency.
Sakhr ibn Harb ibn Umayya ibn Abd Shams, better known by his kunyaAbu Sufyan, was a prominent opponent turned companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the father of the first Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I and namesake of the Sufyanid line of Umayyad caliphs which ruled from 661 to 684. One of his daughters, Ramla, was married to Muhammad, but this occurred before Abu Sufyan's own conversion and without his consent.
The Umayyad dynasty or Umayyads were the ruling family of the Caliphate between 661 and 750 and later of al-Andalus between 756 and 1031. In the pre-Islamic period, they were a prominent clan of the Meccan tribe of Quraysh, descended from Umayya ibn Abd Shams. Despite staunch opposition to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the Umayyads embraced Islam before the latter's death in 632. Uthman, an early companion of Muhammad from the Umayyad clan, was the third Rashidun caliph, ruling in 644–656, while other members held various governorships. One of these governors, Mu'awiya I of Syria, opposed Caliph Ali in the First Muslim Civil War (656–661) and afterward founded the Umayyad Caliphate with its capital in Damascus. This marked the beginning of the Umayyad dynasty, the first hereditary dynasty in the history of Islam, and the only one to rule over the entire Islamic world of its time.
Qays ibn Sa'd was a prominent leader of the Muslim army who was known for his use of defensive tactics in battles. He was one of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad as well as Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Utba ibn Abi Sufyan ibn Harb was a member of the Umayyad ruling family and served as the Umayyad governor of Egypt in 664–665, during the reign of his brother, Caliph Mu'awiya I.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿada al-Fazārī was a commander from the Arab Banu Fazara tribe who fought in the service of the Umayyad caliphs Mu'awiya I and Yazid I. He also played a political role under the caliphs Marwan I and Abd al-Malik.
Dhu'l-Kala Samayfa ibn Nakur al-Himyari was a commander of the Muslim conquest of Syria in the 630s and leader of the Himyar tribe in Islamic Syria and founder of its noble household, the Dhu'l-Kala. He was based in the city of Homs where the Himyar and other Yemenite tribes dominated the Muslim garrison and heeded Samayfa over the overall governor of Syria, Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan. He fought as one of the elite commanders in the latter's army at the Battle of Siffin and his death in combat led to the Himyar's decline in Syria.
Imamate and guardianship of Ali ibn Abi Talib or Imamate and Wilayah of Ali ibn Abi Talib refers to the spiritual position of Ali and his role in teaching the religion truth and establishing Islamic Sharia after Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam. The Caliphate of Ali ibn Abi Talib from 35 to 40 AH in the official history is not the subject of this article.
The Uthmaniyya were adherents of several political and doctrinal views regarding the third caliph, Uthman, which originated in the aftermath of his assassination in 656. The earliest Uthmaniyya held that Uthman was legitimate caliph and his murder was unjust, whereas his successor, Ali, having been complicit in the act, was an illegitimate caliph who seized power without consultation. Although not all of them were Umayyad supporters, they undermined Ali's caliphate through several revolts. In the 8th century, pro-Uthman opinion gained momentum among religious scholars, who considered only Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as legitimate caliphs, but discouraged rebellion against authorities, preferring peace and unity over morally correct caliphs. They were absorbed by the Sunnis in the 9th century, when both Uthman and Ali were recognized as rightly guided caliphs. Although strongly pro-Umayyad Uthmaniyya persisted for some time, they virtually disappeared after the 10th century.
