Abu Sa'id Aban ibn Uthman ibn Affan al-Umawi (; died 105 AH/723 CE) was a Muslim historian and traditionalist. He also served a seven-year stint as governor of Medina in 695–702, during the reign of the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

caliph Abd al-Malik ().

Biography

Aban was a son of

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, played a major role ...

(), the third

Rashidun The Rashidun () are the first four caliphs () who led the Muslim community following the death of Muhammad: Abu Bakr (), Umar (), Uthman (), and Ali (). The reign of these caliphs, called the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), is considered i ...

caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

. His mother was Umm Amr bint Jundab ibn Amr al-Dawsiyya of the

Azd The Azd (Arabic: أَزْد), or Al-Azd (Arabic: ٱلْأَزْد), is an ancient Tribes of Arabia, Arabian tribe. The lands of Azd occupied an area west of Bisha and Al Bahah in what is today Saudi Arabia. Land of Azd Pre-Islamic Arabia Pre- ...

tribe of Yemen. During the

First Fitna The First Fitna () was the first civil war in the Islamic community. It led to the overthrow of the Rashidun and the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate. The civil war involved three main battles between the fourth Rashidun caliph, Ali, an ...

, which occurred in the wake of his father's assassination, Aban fought alongside the forces of A'isha and his

kinsmen against the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali () at the

Battle of the Camel The Battle of the Camel, also known as The Battle of Basra () took place outside of Basra, Iraq, in 36 AH (656 CE). The battle was fought between the army of the fourth caliph Ali (), on one side, and the rebel army led by Aisha, Talha and ...

in November 656. As A'isha's supporters were on the verge of defeat, Aban fled the battle. Later, the

caliph Abd al-Malik () appointed Aban governor of

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

in 695 and he continued in the post until being replaced by

Hisham ibn Isma'il al-Makhzumi Hisham ibn Isma'il al-Makhzumi () was an 8th-century official of the Umayyad Caliphate, and the maternal grandfather of Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. He served as the governor of Medina from 701 to 706. Family Hisham was a member of the Banu Ma ...

in 702. During his term, he led the funeral prayers, as was customary of the governor, for

Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya (, , 15–81 AH) was a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was the fourth caliph in Sunni Islam () and the first imam in Shia Islam. Ibn al-Hanafiyya was an effective lieutenant for his father Ali during his caliphate. Aft ...

, a son of Ali and leader of the Alid family. He became incapacitated in 722/23 and died in Medina the following year, in 723/24, during the reign of Caliph

Yazid II Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (; — 26 January 724), commonly known as Yazid II, was the ninth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 720 until his death in 724. Although he lacked administrative or military experience, he derived prestige from his ...

. Aban does not appear to have been a major political operative of the Umayyads and owes most of his fame for his knowledge of Islamic tradition. He is credited by a number of scholars for authoring the (biography) of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, though the historians

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography con ...

and Ahmad al-Tusi credit this work to a certain Aban ibn Uthman ibn Yahya.

Descendants

Aban had at least two wives. His first, Umm Sa'id bint Abd al-Rahman, a granddaughter of al-Harith ibn Hisham, belonged to the

Banu Makhzum The Banu Makhzum () was one of the wealthy clans of the Quraysh (tribe), Quraysh. They are regarded as being among the three most powerful and influential clans in Mecca before the advent of Islam, the other two being the Banu Hashim (the tribe of ...

clan. She mothered two of Aban's sons, his eldest Sa'id and Abd al-Rahman, and a daughter. His second wife, Umm Kulthum bint Abd Allah was a granddaughter of

Ja'far ibn Abi Talib Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib ( September 629), also known as ''Jaʿfar aṭ-Ṭayyār'' (), was a companion and cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and an elder brother of Ali. Early life Ja'far was the third son of Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Mutt ...

. The names of the descendants of Aban have been recorded in the historical record up to at least 1375 in Egypt, where some of his descendants moved. Others are recorded in the sources in

al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

, including his grandson Uthman ibn Marwan and the latter's great-grandson Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aban, ibn Uthman ibn Affan 723 deaths Hadith scholars Children of Rashidun caliphs Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Umayyad governors of Medina Umayyad dynasty 7th-century Arab people 8th-century Arab people Tabi‘un hadith narrators 8th-century historians of the medieval Islamic world Sons of caliphs Date of birth unknown Tabi‘un