19 HAZRAT USMAN (RAD.A) (644 - 656 A.D./24 - 35 A.H.) EARLY LIFE Hazrat Usman (Rad.A) belonged to a noble family of Quraysh. His ancestral pedigree joins with that of the Holy Prophet in the fifth generation. He was from the ”Umayyah” family of Quraysh, which was a well reputed and honourable family of Makkah during the pre-Islamic days. In the famous battle of ”Fujjar” the commander- in-chief of the Quraysh’s army, Harb bin Umayyah was from the same family. The descendants of this family are known as ”Banu Umayyah” or ”Umawwin”.
Hazrat Usman (Rad.A) was born in 573 A.D. His patronymic name was ”Abu Amr” and father’s name was ”Affan bin Abul A’s”. He was known by the name ”Usman ibn Affan”. Hazrat Usman was one of the few persons of Makkah who knew reading and writing. When he grew up, he started business in cloth which made him very rich. He used his money in good ways and always helped the poor. Usman (Rad.A) was a soft natured and kind hearted man. He did not hesitate to spend any amount of money on seeing a man in trouble in order to remove his misery. For his noble qualities the Makkhans had great respect for him.
