Mujbir says: Those who had besieged the house of Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) looked down at them from above his house and greeted them with salam, but those people did not reply to his salam. Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) asked, "Is Sayyiduna Talha (may Allah be pleased with him) among you?" Sayyiduna Talha (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Yes." Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. I am greeting the people with salam, while you are among them, and you are not replying to the salam? How regrettable this is." Sayyiduna Talha (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Yes, I have replied." Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Talha! This is not the way to reply. You are hearing my voice, but I am not hearing your voice. Well, Talha! I ask you by Allah, did you hear the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say that except in three cases, it is not permissible to shed the blood of a Muslim: apostasy after faith, that is, becoming a murtadd; committing adultery after being married; or killing someone, in which case the killer is killed in retaliation?" Sayyiduna Talha (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Allah is witness that I heard this hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Allahu Akbar, since I have recognized Allah, I have never denied Him, nor did I commit adultery in the time of ignorance, nor after accepting Islam. Even before Islam, I considered it extremely detestable, and after Islam, while avoiding sin, I never committed it. And I have never killed any soul for which I should be killed in retaliation."

It is narrated from Aslam, he says: During the days when ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) was besieged, I was at the place where funeral prayers are offered, and the crowd of people was such that if a stone were thrown, it would hit someone’s head. I saw that ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) looked out from the hole in his house which is adjacent to the place of Jibril (peace be upon him). He said: O people! Is Talhah among you? The people remained silent. He said again: O people! Is Talhah among you? The people remained silent. Sayyiduna ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said for the third time: O people! Is Talhah among you? Finally, Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up. Sayyiduna ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: Do I not see you among these people? I did not think that you would be among a group and I would call you three times and you would not answer? Talhah! Now I ask you by Allah, do you remember that one day you and I were at such-and-such a place with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and besides you and me, there was no other companion with him? Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Yes. Sayyiduna ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to you: Talhah! Every Prophet will have a companion from his Ummah in Paradise who will be that Prophet’s companion, and this ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan will be my companion in Paradise. Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Allah is my witness, I remember. After that, Sayyiduna ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) went back down.