We were guarding The door of ‘Uthman (رضي الله عنه) for the first ten days of [Dhul-Hijjah].

Az-Zubair offered the funeral prayer for `Uthman (رضي الله عنه) and buried him in accordance with his instructions.

`Uthman (رضي الله عنه) was killed in 35 AH and the fitnah (turmoil) lasted forfive years including four months of al-Hasan`s rule.

We were guarding the door of `Uthman (رضي الله عنه) for the first ten days of [Dhul-Hijjah].

I saw `Uthman (رضي الله عنه) on the day he was besieged in the place where funerals were held; if a stone were to be thrown it would not have landed anywhere but on a man`s head. And I saw `Uthman (رضي الله عنه) look out of the window beside the place where Jibreel (عليه السلام) once stood, and he said: O people, is Talhah among you? They kept quiet. Then he said: O people, is Talhah among you? They kept quiet. Then he said: O people, is Talhah among you? Talhah bin `Ubaidullah stood up and ‘Uthman (رضي الله عنه) said to him: Are you there? I did not think that you would be in a group of people, hearing me call you three times and not answering me. I adjure you by Allah, O Talhah, do you remember the day when you and I were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in such and such a place, and none of his Companions were with him except you and I. He said: Yes, [`Uthman said:] And the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to you: `O Talhah, there is no Prophet but he had a companion from among his ummah who will be with him in Paradise, and this `Uthman bin `Affan (رضي الله عنه)` - meaning me - `is that companion who will be with me in Paradise.” Talhah said: By Allah, yes [I remember that]. Then he went away.

It was narrated from Humran bin Aban that He saw `Uthman (رضي الله عنه) do wudoo` one day; he rinsed his mouth and his nose, and he washed his face three times... and he narrated a hadeeth from the Prophet (ﷺ) similar to the hadeeth of Ibn Ja`far from Sa’eed.

I was standing with ‘Uthman bin `Affan (رضي الله عنه) and he said: Shall I not tell you how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did wudoo`? We said: Yes indeed. He called for water and washed his face three times, rinsed his mouth and nose three times, then he washed his hands up to the elbow three times, then he wiped his head and his ears, and washed his feet three times. Then he said: This is how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did wudoo`.

I was present at the house (of `Uthman) on the day `Uthman (رضي الله عنه) was killed. He looked out at them and said: Call for me your two companions who incited you against me. They were called for him and he said: I adjure you by Allah, do you know that when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to Madinah, the mosque got too crowded for its people and he said: “Who will buy this piece of land with his own wealth and use it like the rest of the Muslims (i.e., donate it to the Muslims and share it with them) and he will have something better than it in Paradise?” So I bought it with my own wealth and donated it to the Muslims, but now you are preventing me from praying two rak’ahs in it! Then he said: I adjure you by Allah, do you know that when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to Madinah, there was no well good for drinking from except (the well of) Roomah. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `Who will buy it with his own wealth and his bucket will be like that of the Muslims (i.e., donate the well to the Muslims and share it with them) and he will have something better than it in Paradise.” So I bought it with my own wealth, but now you are preventing me from drinking from it. Then he said: Do you know that I am the one who equipped the army of hardship (i.e., the army that went on the campaign of Tabook)? They said: By Allah, yes.

`Abdur-Rahman bin ‘Awf met al-Waleed bin `Uqbah Al-Waleed said to him: Why do I see you keeping away from Ameer al-Mu`mineen `Uthman (رضي الله عنه)? `AbdurRahman said to him. Tell him that I did not flee on the day of `Ainain - ` Asim said: The day of Uhud - and I did not stay behind on the day of Badr, and I did not turn away from the way of ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه). So he went and told that to `Uthman (رضي الله عنه), who said: As for his saying that he did not flee on the day of `Ainain, how could he shame me for a fault for which Allah has pardoned me and said: `Those of you who turned back on the day the two hosts met (i.e. the battle of Uhud), it was Shaitan (Satan) who caused them to backslide (run away from the battlefield) because of some (sins) they had earned. But Allah, indeed, has forgiven them.` [Al ‘Imran 3:155]? As for his saying that I stayed behind on the day of Badr, I was tending Ruqayyah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), when she was dying, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) allocated to me a share (of the booty), and whoever was allocated a share by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was present.... and he quoted the hadeeth at length to the end.

I said to ‘AbdurRahman bin ‘Awf: How could you swear allegiance to ‘Uthman (رضي الله عنه) and not to `Ali (رضي الله عنه)? He said: It is not my fault. I started with `Ali and said: I swear allegiance to you in accordance with the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, and the way of Abu Bakr and ʼUmar (رضي الله عنهما) . He said: As much as I can. Then I offered it to `Uthman (رضي الله عنه) and he accepted it.

I heard `Uthman (رضي الله عنه) say on the minbar: O people, I concealed from you a hadeeth that I heard from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for fear that you would scatter away from me, then I thought that I should tell it to you, and let each one choose for himself what he thinks is best. I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: `Guarding the border for one day for the sake of Allah is better than a thousand other days doing other deeds.”`Abdullah bin ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Abi Dhubab narrated... A similar hadeeth]

I heard ‘Uthman (رضي الله عنه) delivering a khutbah from the minbar. He said: I used to buy dates from one of the Jewish clans who were called Banu Qainuqa`, and sell them at a profit. News of that reached the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who said: `O `Uthman, when you buy, take your dues with nothing extra, and when you sell, give (the other party`s) dues with nothing less.`

Verily Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, sent Muhammad (ﷺ) with the truth and I was one of those who responded to (the call of) Allah and His Messenger, and I believed in that with which Muhammad (ﷺ) was sent. Then I migrated twice, and I also attained the honour of becoming the son-in-law of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ); I swore allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and by Allah, I never disobeyed him or betrayed him until Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, took his soul in death.