Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf

Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf (born c. 580 CE in Mecca; died c. 652-654 CE / 32 AH in Medina) was an early Companion (sahabi) of the Prophet Muhammad and one of the most prominent merchants of the first Muslim community. He belonged to the Banu Zuhra clan of the Quraysh tribe. Tradition holds that his original name was Abd Amr and that the Prophet renamed him Abd al-Rahman ("servant of the Most Merciful"); Islamic sources count him among the earliest converts to Islam.

Sira (biographical) and maghazi reports state that he joined the early Muslim emigration to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) to escape persecution, and later emigrated to Medina. He is reported to have fought at the Battle of Badr (624 CE) and to have stood firm at Uhud (625 CE), where he was wounded. In Sunni tradition he is one of the "ten given glad tidings of paradise" (al-ashara al-mubashshara), a status not recognized in Shia tradition, which rejects the list as part of its broader rejection of the first three caliphs.

He became famously wealthy through trade and is remembered for large acts of charity (the specific figures given in later sources are likely embellished). When the dying Caliph Umar appointed a six-member council (shura) in 644 CE to choose his successor, Abd al-Rahman withdrew his own candidacy and acted as arbiter, ultimately pledging allegiance to Uthman. Shia tradition views this council and outcome critically, regarding Ali ibn Abi Talib as the rightful successor. He died in Medina and was buried in the al-Baqi cemetery; some early reports give 31 AH rather than 32 AH.