Editing Uthman (section)

== Assessment and legacy ==
Uthman is said to have been the first caliph to adopt the title {{Transliteration|ar|khalifat Allah}} ("deputy of God").{{Sfn|Crone|Hinds|1986|pp=5–6}} The general opinion of the Sunni Muslim community and Sunni historians regarding Uthman's rule were positive, particularly regarding his leniency; in their view, the kinsmen he appointed, such as [[Muawiya]] and [[Abdullah ibn Aamir]], proved to be effective in both military and political management. Historians like Muhammad Zaki accused Uthman of corruption, particularly in the case of [[Waleed ibn Uqba]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=-YanAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA234&dq=uthman+rule+expansion#q=uthman%20rule%20expansion ''History of Muslim Rule – The Prophet and The Early Rulers''] by Dr. Muhammad Zaki, Google Books.</ref>

<blockquote>Perhaps the most significant act of Uthman was allowing Muawiya and Abd Allah ibn Sa'd, governors respectively of Syria and Northern Africa, to form the first integrated Muslim navy in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], rivalling the maritime domination of the [[Byzantine Empire]].<ref name="autogenerated6">''A Chronology Of Islamic History 570–1000 CE'', by H.U. Rahman 1999, pages 48–49</ref><ref name="Hugh Kennedy page 326">''The Great Arab Conquests By Hugh Kennedy'', page 326</ref> Ibn Saad's conquest of the southeast coast of Spain, his stunning victory at the [[Battle of the Masts]] in [[Lycia]], and expansion to other coasts of the Mediterranean Sea are generally overlooked. These achievements gave birth to the first Muslim standing navy, thus enabling the first Muslim maritime conquest of [[Cyprus]]<ref name="autogenerated6" /><ref name="Hugh Kennedy page 326" /> and [[Rhodes]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Treadgold |first=Warren |author-link=Warren Treadgold |title=A History of the Byzantine State and Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nYbnr5XVbzUC |location=Stanford, California |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |date=1997 |isbn=978-0-8047-2630-6 |page=313}}</ref><ref name="WT">Warren Treadgold, ''A history of the Byzantine State and Society'', [[Stanford University Press]], 1997, p. 314 {{ISBN|0-8047-2630-2}}</ref> This subsequently paved the way for the establishment of several Muslim states in the Mediterranean Sea during the later [[Umayyad]] and [[Abbasid]] eras,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cbfORLWv1HkC&pg=PA639 |last1=Khadra Jayyusi |first1=Salma |last2=Marín |first2=Manuela |date=1992 |title=The Legacy of Muslim Spain |page=649 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=978-9004095991}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vJZTAAAAcAAJ&q=uthman+nafi+spain+abdullah+sa%27d&pg=PA383 |author=Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. Muḥammad Maqqarī |date=1848 |title=History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain Oriental translation Fund |page=383}}</ref> which came in the form of the [[Emirate of Sicily]]<ref name="stan">{{cite news |url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/mountpolizzo/HandbookTOC.htm |publisher=Archaeology.Stanford.edu |title=Brief history of Sicily |date=24 November 2008 |format=PDF |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508130031/http://www.stanford.edu/group/mountpolizzo/HandbookTOC.htm |archive-date=8 May 2009}}</ref> and its minor vassal the [[Emirate of Bari]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Kreutz |first=Barbara M. |title=Before the Normans - Southern Italy in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries |location=Philadelphia |publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]] |date=1991 |isbn=0-8122-1587-7}}</ref><ref name="kreutz1">Kreutz citation of Baladhuri, 38.</ref> as well as the [[Emirate of Crete]]<ref name="Makrypoulias 2000, pp. 347–348">Makrypoulias (2000), pp. 347–348</ref> and the [[Aghlabids|Aglabid Dynasty]].<ref name="gold79">{{cite book |last=Goldschmidt |first=Arthur |title=A Concise History of the Middle East |date=2002 |publisher=[[Westview Press]] |location=Boulder, Colorado |isbn=978-0-8133-3885-9 |page=79 |url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00gold/page/79}}</ref> The significance of Uthman's naval development and its political legacy was agreed upon by Muhammad M.Ag, author of ''Islamic Fiscal and Monetary Policy''<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yyXYAAAAMAAJ&q=khalifah+usman+bizantium |author=Muhammad |publisher=Salemba Empat |orig-date=2002 |date=2009 |title=Kebijakan fiskal dan moneter dalam ekonomi Islami |isbn=9789796911189}}</ref> and further strengthened by Hassan Khalileh referencing ''Tarikh al Bahriyya wal Islamiyya fii Misr wal Sham'' ("History of the Seas and Islam in Egypt and [[Levant]]") by Ahmad Abaddy and Esayyed Salem.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LaV-IGZ8VKIC&q=uthman+affan+navy&pg=PA558 |title=Navy |editor-last=Meri |editor-first=Josef |editor2-last=Bacharach |editor2-first=Jere L. |first=Hassan |last=Khalileh |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |date=2006 |page=558 |isbn=978-0-415-96692-4 |encyclopedia=Medieval Islamic Civilization - An Encyclopedia (Volume 2)}}</ref></blockquote>

From an expansionist perspective, Uthman is regarded as skilled in conflict management, as is evident from how he dealt with the heated and troubled early Muslim conquered territories, such as Kufa and Basra, by directing the hot-headed Arab settlers to new military campaigns and expansions.<ref>Shaban, M. A.; (1979), ''The Abbāsid Revolution'', p. 17–18.</ref> This not only resulted in settling the internal conflicts in those settlements but also further expanded Rashidun territory to as far west as southern Iberia<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oALIyvjV0fEC&pg=PA22 |last=Stephen Humphreys |first=R. |date=1990 |title=translation The History of al-Tabari, Vol. 15 |page=22 |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |isbn=9780791401545}}</ref> and as far east as [[Sindh]], Pakistan.<ref>Tabri vol. 4, page 180–181</ref>

=== Lasting Religious Impact ===
Uthman is credited with bringing unity to the current version of the Quran.<ref name="tabatabai5" /> Prior to Uthman's reign, the Qur'an did not formally exist as a fixed text but was written in fragmentary form and as a spoken, recited work.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bl.uk/sacred-texts/articles/the-quran#:~:text=During%20the%20rule%20of%20one,centres%20of%20the%20Islamic%20Empire |title=British Library |access-date=6 June 2023 |archive-date=1 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001165421/https://www.bl.uk/sacred-texts/articles/the-quran#:~:text=During%20the%20rule%20of%20one,centres%20of%20the%20Islamic%20Empire |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Search Results - palmed stalks, thin white stones and also from the men who knew it by heart (page 1) - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) |url=https://sunnah.com/search?q=palmed+stalks,+thin+white+stones+and+also+from+the+men+who+knew+it+by+heart |access-date=27 August 2023 |website=sunnah.com}}</ref> Uthman observed this brought with it some challenges. For example, even men of the same tribe would at times disagree over how the Quran would be recited.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Search Results - jump over him during his prayer, but I controlled my temper (page 1) - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) |url=https://sunnah.com/search?q=jump+over+him+during+his+prayer,+but+I+controlled+my+temper |access-date=27 August 2023 |website=sunnah.com}}</ref> Although some of the companions of Mohammed had attempted to bring together collections of the Quran, it had not yet been standardized.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Search Results - Therefore I (Umar) suggest, you (Abu Bakr) order that the Qur'an be collected (page 1) - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) |url=https://sunnah.com/search?q=Therefore+I+(Umar)+suggest,+you+(Abu+Bakr)+order+that+the+Qur%27an+be+collected |access-date=27 August 2023 |website=sunnah.com}}</ref> [[Anas ibn Malik|Anas bin Malik]] reported "Hudhaifa was afraid of their (the people of Sham and Iraq) differences in the recitation of the Qur'an, so he said to Uthman, "O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book ... So Uthman sent a message to [[Hafsa bint Umar|Hafsa]] saying, "Send us the manuscripts of the Qur'an so that we may compile the Qur'anic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you". Hafsa sent it to Uthman. Uthman then ordered [[Zayd ibn Thabit|Zaid bin Thabit]], [[Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr|Abdullah bin Az-Zubair]], Sa'id bin Al-As and Abdur-Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts..."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sahih al-Bukhari 4987 - Virtues of the Qur'an - كتاب فضائل القرآن - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) |url=https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4987 |access-date=27 August 2023 |website=sunnah.com}}</ref> This caliphate order made by Uthman gave the final form of the Quran we have today, and although a few small variants do exist in some areas, most of the variant readings and recitations have been lost or destroyed.<ref>{{cite web 
|url=https://topicsfromquran.com/2021/03/01/the-preservation-of-al-quran-hafs-vs-warsh-other-recitations/#:~:text=They%20have%20minor%20differences%20with%20each%20other |title=The Preservation of Al-Quran (Hafs vs Warsh/Other recitations) |date=March 2021}}</ref>