Uthman was an early convert to Islam and is said to have spent a great amount of his wealth on charity. On returning from a business trip to Syria in 611, `Uthman found out that Muhammad had declared his mission. After a discussion with his friend Abu Bakr
Uthman decided to convert to Islam, and Abu Bakr took him to Muhammad to whom he declared his faith. `Uthman thus became the fourth male to convert to Islam, after Ali, Zayd and Abu Bakr.
His conversion to Islam angered his clan, the Banu Ummayyah, who strongly opposed Muhammad’s teachings.[4] The only two people who supported `Uthman’s decision were Saadi,
one of his maternal aunts, and Umm Kulthum, who was his stepsister and who had also converted to Islam. Because of his conversion to Islam, Uthman’s wives deserted him, and he subsequently divorced them. Muhammad then asked `Uthman to marry his daughter Ruqayyah bint Muhammad.
