Uthman ibn Affan (Arabic: عثمان بن عفان‎, strict transliteration: ʻUthmān ibn ʻAffān; also known in English by the Turkish and Persian rendering Osman; 576 – 17 June 656) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the third of the Sunni Rashidun or "Rightly Guided Caliphs". Born into a prominent Meccan clan of the Quraysh tribe, he played a major role in early Islamic history, succeeding Umar ibn al-Khattab as caliph at age 65.