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What is Ibn Kathīr's Uthman ibn Affan?
Uthman ibn Affan is Ibn Kathīr's account of the third caliphate. Ibn Kathīr was a 14th-century historian and Qurʾan commentator, known for his history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, and this book opens in the year twenty-four, three days after Umar is buried, with the consultation Umar left behind: six men in a house in Medina, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf giving up his own claim so that he can ask the whole city whom it wants. He finds no two people who disagree. The chapters then move year by year through the expeditions to Ifriqiya and al-Andalus, the battle of Gregory and the Berbers, and the conquest of Cyprus.
The 88 chapters record how Yazdegerd, the last Chosroes of Persia, was killed, and the notable people who died in each year — al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari. Then the year thirty-five: the coming of the factions from Egypt and elsewhere, the siege of the Commander of the Faithful, Talha at the window, the plot of the mosque and the well of Ruma, the last day before the killing, the manner of his killing, the regret of the killers, and the length of the siege. A section asks why the Companions did not prevent it, and another records the elegies composed for him.
The second half of the book gathers the hadiths transmitted concerning his merits: the one before whom the angels are shy, the shirt God will clothe him in, 'this veiled man will be killed wrongfully', and the pledge the Prophet received on his behalf. It closes with something of his conduct, his addresses, small marks of his character, the gathering of the people on one reading of the Qurʾān, his wives, sons and daughters, and 'the mill of Islam turns for thirty-five years'. On Joyful Muslims it is also available in the Arabic original.
Is there an English audiobook of Uthman ibn Affan?
Yes. Joyful Muslims publishes the complete Uthman ibn Affan as an English audiobook (about five and a half hours), translated from the Arabic, with a word-synced bilingual transcript. It is Ibn Kathīr's account of the third caliphate in 88 chapters, from the consultation of six in the year twenty-four to the siege and killing of Uthman in the year thirty-five, and the hadiths on his merits.
Is it free to listen?
The whole library is open to everyone. Every member gets five hours of listening free each month; Joyful+ removes the time limit.
What does it cover?
Eighty-eight chapters on the caliphate of Uthman: the consultation of six, the first Muslim fleet, Cyprus, Ifriqiya and al-Andalus, the killing of Yazdegerd, the dead of each year, the factions and the forty-day siege, the manner of his killing and the regret of the killers, the elegies, the hadiths on his merits, one reading of the Qurʾān for every province, and his family.
Last updated 2026-09-11
Inside the book.
Chapters
Word-synced with the narrator.
The first three minutes are transcribed here. In the app, the Living Manuscript scrolls through the entire book in rhythm with the audio — Arabic alongside English.
Living Manuscript
Listen to the full book in the app for the complete Living Manuscript.
The full, word-synced transcript in Arabic and English is in the app.
