# Affan ibn Abi al-As

ʿAffān ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ (Arabic: عفان بن أبي العاص) was a famous 6th-century Arab merchant, a contemporary of the young Muhammad (c. 570–632) and the father of Uthman ibn Affan, the third Rashidun caliph (r. 644–656).
His father was Abu al-As ibn Umayya. His nephew was Marwan ibn al-Hakam. His sister was Safiyya bint Abi al-As, who was the mother of Ramla bint Abi Sufyan (a wife of Muhammad).
Affan married Arwa bint Kurayz, who was the daughter of Kurayz ibn Rabi'ah and Umm Hakim bint Abd Al-Muttalib ibn Hashim. She was also a cousin of Muhammad.
His son Uthman was born in Ta'if. The exact date is disputed: both 576 and 583 are indicated.$^{:57}$ He is listed as one of the 22 Meccans "at the dawn of Islam" who knew how to write.
Affan died at a young age while travelling abroad, leaving Uthman with a large inheritance. He became a merchant like his father, and his business flourished, making him one of the richest men among the Quraysh.

## Some of his important relatives and the family tree

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Quraysh tribe | Quraysh tribe | Quraysh tribe | Quraysh tribe | Quraysh tribe | Quraysh tribe |
| | | | | | | Waqida bint Amr | Waqida bint Amr | Waqida bint Amr | Waqida bint Amr | Waqida bint Amr | Waqida bint Amr | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Abd Manaf ibn Qusai | Abd Manaf ibn Qusai | Abd Manaf ibn Qusai | Abd Manaf ibn Qusai | Abd Manaf ibn Qusai | Abd Manaf ibn Qusai | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ātikah bint Murrah | Ātikah bint Murrah | Ātikah bint Murrah | Ātikah bint Murrah | Ātikah bint Murrah | Ātikah bint Murrah |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Nawfal ibn Abd Manaf | Nawfal ibn Abd Manaf | Nawfal ibn Abd Manaf | Nawfal ibn Abd Manaf | Nawfal ibn Abd Manaf | Nawfal ibn Abd Manaf | | | ‘Abd Shams | ‘Abd Shams | ‘Abd Shams | ‘Abd Shams | ‘Abd Shams | ‘Abd Shams | | | Barra | Barra | Barra | Barra | Barra | Barra | | | Hala | Hala | Hala | Hala | Hala | Hala | | | Muṭṭalib ibn Abd Manaf | Muṭṭalib ibn Abd Manaf | Muṭṭalib ibn Abd Manaf | Muṭṭalib ibn Abd Manaf | Muṭṭalib ibn Abd Manaf | Muṭṭalib ibn Abd Manaf | | | Hashim | Hashim | Hashim | Hashim | Hashim | Hashim | | | Salma bint Amr | Salma bint Amr | Salma bint Amr | Salma bint Amr | Salma bint Amr | Salma bint Amr |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Umayya ibn Abd Shams | Umayya ibn Abd Shams | Umayya ibn Abd Shams | Umayya ibn Abd Shams | Umayya ibn Abd Shams | Umayya ibn Abd Shams | | | | | | | ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib | ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib | ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib | ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib | ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib | ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib |
| Harb | Harb | Harb | Harb | Harb | Harb | | | | | | | | | | | Abū al-ʿĀs | Abū al-ʿĀs | Abū al-ʿĀs | Abū al-ʿĀs | Abū al-ʿĀs | Abū al-ʿĀs | | | ʿĀminah | ʿĀminah | ʿĀminah | ʿĀminah | ʿĀminah | ʿĀminah | | | ʿAbdallāh | ʿAbdallāh | ʿAbdallāh | ʿAbdallāh | ʿAbdallāh | ʿAbdallāh | | | Hamza | Hamza | Hamza | Hamza | Hamza | Hamza | | | Abī Ṭālib | Abī Ṭālib | Abī Ṭālib | Abī Ṭālib | Abī Ṭālib | Abī Ṭālib | | | Az-Zubayr | Az-Zubayr | Az-Zubayr | Az-Zubayr | Az-Zubayr | Az-Zubayr | | | al-ʿAbbās | al-ʿAbbās | al-ʿAbbās | al-ʿAbbās | al-ʿAbbās | al-ʿAbbās | Abū Lahab | Abū Lahab | Abū Lahab | Abū Lahab | Abū Lahab | Abū Lahab |
| ʾAbī Sufyān ibn Harb | ʾAbī Sufyān ibn Harb | ʾAbī Sufyān ibn Harb | ʾAbī Sufyān ibn Harb | ʾAbī Sufyān ibn Harb | ʾAbī Sufyān ibn Harb | al-Ḥakam | al-Ḥakam | al-Ḥakam | al-Ḥakam | al-Ḥakam | al-Ḥakam | ʿUthmān | ʿUthmān | ʿUthmān | ʿUthmān | ʿUthmān | ʿUthmān | | | ʿAffān | ʿAffān | ʿAffān | ʿAffān | ʿAffān | ʿAffān | | | MUHAMMAD (Family tree) | MUHAMMAD (Family tree) | MUHAMMAD (Family tree) | MUHAMMAD (Family tree) | MUHAMMAD (Family tree) | MUHAMMAD (Family tree) | | | Khadija bint Khuwaylid | Khadija bint Khuwaylid | Khadija bint Khuwaylid | Khadija bint Khuwaylid | Khadija bint Khuwaylid | Khadija bint Khuwaylid | | | | | | | ʿAlī (Family tree) | ʿAlī (Family tree) | ʿAlī (Family tree) | ʿAlī (Family tree) | ʿAlī (Family tree) | ʿAlī (Family tree) | | | Khawlah bint Ja'far | Khawlah bint Ja'far | Khawlah bint Ja'far | Khawlah bint Ja'far | Khawlah bint Ja'far | Khawlah bint Ja'far | | | Ibn Abbas | Ibn Abbas | Ibn Abbas | Ibn Abbas | Ibn Abbas | Ibn Abbas |
| Muʿāwiyah I | Muʿāwiyah I | Muʿāwiyah I | Muʿāwiyah I | Muʿāwiyah I | Muʿāwiyah I | Marwān I | Marwān I | Marwān I | Marwān I | Marwān I | Marwān I | | | | | | | | | ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān | ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān | ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān | ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān | ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān | ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān | | | Ruqayya | Ruqayya | Ruqayya | Ruqayya | Ruqayya | Ruqayya | | | Fatimah | Fatimah | Fatimah | Fatimah | Fatimah | Fatimah | | | | | | | | | | | Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah | Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah | Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah | Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah | Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah | Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah | | | | | | | ʿAli ibn ʿAbdallāh | ʿAli ibn ʿAbdallāh | ʿAli ibn ʿAbdallāh | ʿAli ibn ʿAbdallāh | ʿAli ibn ʿAbdallāh | ʿAli ibn ʿAbdallāh | | |
| Sufyanids | Sufyanids | Sufyanids | Sufyanids | Sufyanids | Sufyanids | Marwanids | Marwanids | Marwanids | Marwanids | Marwanids | Marwanids | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | al-Ḥasan | al-Ḥasan | al-Ḥasan | al-Ḥasan | al-Ḥasan | al-Ḥasan | | | al-Ḥusayn (Family tree) | al-Ḥusayn (Family tree) | al-Ḥusayn (Family tree) | al-Ḥusayn (Family tree) | al-Ḥusayn (Family tree) | al-Ḥusayn (Family tree) | | | Abu Hasim (Imām of al-Mukhtār and Hashimiyya) | Abu Hasim (Imām of al-Mukhtār and Hashimiyya) | Abu Hasim (Imām of al-Mukhtār and Hashimiyya) | Abu Hasim (Imām of al-Mukhtār and Hashimiyya) | Abu Hasim (Imām of al-Mukhtār and Hashimiyya) | Abu Hasim (Imām of al-Mukhtār and Hashimiyya) | | | | | | | Muhammad "al-Imām" (Abbasids) | Muhammad "al-Imām" (Abbasids) | Muhammad "al-Imām" (Abbasids) | Muhammad "al-Imām" (Abbasids) | Muhammad "al-Imām" (Abbasids) | Muhammad "al-Imām" (Abbasids) |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ibrāhim "al-Imām" | Ibrāhim "al-Imām" | Ibrāhim "al-Imām" | Ibrāhim "al-Imām" | Ibrāhim "al-Imām" | Ibrāhim "al-Imām" | | | al-Saffāḥ | al-Saffāḥ | al-Saffāḥ | al-Saffāḥ | al-Saffāḥ | al-Saffāḥ | al-Mansur | al-Mansur | al-Mansur | al-Mansur | al-Mansur | al-Mansur |
Uthman (aka Uthman ibn Affan) is known as the Possessor of Two Lights. This is because he was greatly loved by Muhammad and was married to two of his daughters. He was first married to Ruqayyah bint Muhammad (Muhammad's second eldest daughter), and when she died, Hafsa bint Umar came to be the wife of Muhammad, while Umm Kulthum came to be the wife of Uthman.
Umm Kulthum, the third daughter of Muhammad, was married to Uthman after the death of her older sister Ruqayyah. Muhammad had four daughters: Zaynab bint Muhammad, who married Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi'; Ruqqayah bint Muhammad, who married Uthman ibn Affan; Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad, who also married Uthman ibn Affan; and Fatimah al-Zahrah (Fatima bint Muhammad), who married Ali ibn Abu Talib.