Uthman Ibn Affan: His Life and Times

Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi is a Libyan Islamic historian, scholar, and public figure widely known across the Arab world for his accessible multi-volume biographies of the Prophetic Companions, the Rashidun Caliphs, and the major rulers of Islamic history. Born in Benghazi in 1383 AH / 1963 CE, he pursued his Islamic studies abroad, earning his bachelor's degree from the Islamic University of Madinah, his master's in Quranic Studies from Omdurman Islamic University in Sudan, and his PhD in Islamic Studies from the same institution.

Al-Sallabi's distinctive contribution is his series of accessible, narrative-driven biographies that synthesize classical sources for general Arabic-reading audiences: separate volumes on Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Hasan ibn Ali, Mu'awiya, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, and the Ottoman Sultans, alongside volumes on the Almoravids, Almohads, and the Andalusi caliphate. Many of these have been translated into English by IIPH and Darussalam and have become staple reference works in Islamic bookstores worldwide. He has also written extensively on the broader history of Islamic civilization, on the role of the Companions in shaping early Muslim society, and on contemporary Islamic intellectual questions.

Al-Sallabi divides his time between Libya and Qatar. His historical writing — characterized by extensive primary-source citation, clear narrative structure, and explicit ethical framing — continues to draw a wide Arabic-speaking and English-speaking readership, with his translated works among the most consistently stocked Companion and Caliph biographies in English-language Islamic bookstores worldwide.