Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), in the explanation of the verse of the Holy Qur'an { ہَلْ یَسْتَوِی ہُوَ وَمَنْ یَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَہُوَ عَلَی صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِیمٍ }, states that it refers to Hazrat Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him).

Hazrat Abu Wa'il (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) was writing the will of Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) when he (Abu Bakr) fell unconscious. So Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) quickly wrote the name of Hazrat Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). When Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) regained consciousness, he asked him: Whose name did you write? He replied: Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). He (Abu Bakr) said: You wrote exactly what I wanted, and I intended to instruct you to write his name. And if you had written your own name, you too were worthy of this position.

Hazrat Habib bin Abi Mulaikah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that a man asked Hazrat Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) about Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him): Was he present at the Battle of Badr? He (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: No. Then he asked: Was he present at the Pledge of Ridwan? He (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: No! He asked: Did he turn his back and flee on the day when the two armies faced each other (the Battle of Uhud)? He (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: Yes! The narrator says: Then that man left, so it was said to Hazrat Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): Surely this man thinks that you have mentioned a fault of Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Call him back to me. So that man was brought back. Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: What I have told you, did you understand it? He said: Yes! He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You asked me whether Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) participated in the Battle of Badr? So I told you he did not. Because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Allah! Surely Uthman is engaged in Your and Your Messenger’s need. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) allotted him a share in the spoils of war. And you asked me whether Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) was present at the Pledge of Ridwan? So I told you he was not. Because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him to the polytheists so that they might make peace with us, but they refused. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took the pledge on his behalf. And he said: O Allah! Surely Uthman is engaged in Your and Your Messenger’s need. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) placed one of his hands over the other and took the pledge on his behalf. And you asked me whether Hazrat Uthman turned his back and fled on the day when the two armies faced each other? So I told you: Yes! And indeed Allah, Lord of Might and Majesty, has said: (Translation: Surely those of you who turned their backs on the day when the two armies met, it was only Satan who caused them to slip because of some of what they had earned. But Allah has forgiven them.) So go and do whatever you wish against me.

Hazrat Sa’d bin Ubaidah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that a man asked Hazrat Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) about Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him): so he (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned his good deeds; then he said: Perhaps you have a bad opinion about him? The man said: Yes! He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: May Allah abase your nose with dust.

Hazrat Hilal bin Abi Humaid (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Abdullah bin Ukeem (may Allah have mercy on him) said: After the martyrdom of Hazrat Uthman, I will never assist in the killing of a caliph. The narrator says that he was asked: Did you assist in his killing? He replied: Certainly, I assisted in his blood to the extent that I used to enumerate his faults.

Yahya (may Allah have mercy on him) says that I heard Abdullah bin Amir (may Allah have mercy on him) saying that when people began to have differing opinions regarding the criticism and reproach against Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), my father stood up and performed the night prayer, then he went to sleep. The narrator says: Then it was said to him: Stand up and ask Allah to protect you from this tribulation just as He protected His righteous servants from it. The narrator says that he stood up, then he became ill. After that, he was not seen outside until he passed away.

Hazrat Abdullah bin Qais (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Nu’man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Hazrat Mu’awiyah bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) sent him with a letter to Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), so he gave her the letter. Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Shall I not narrate to you a hadith which I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? I said: Why not! Please do. She (may Allah be pleased with her) said: One day, Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with her) and I were with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: I wish there was a man with us who would talk to us. I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Should I not send for Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) so that he may come and talk with us? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent. Then Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with her) said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Should I not send for Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) so that he may come and talk with us? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent. She (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called a man and, moving away from us, whispered to him, and then he left. Then Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned his face towards him. Then I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: O Uthman, perhaps Allah will clothe you with a shirt, so if some people want you to take it off, do not ever take it off. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said this three times. The narrator says: I asked, O Mother of the Believers! Why did you not narrate this hadith before? She (may Allah be pleased with her) said: It was made to be forgotten by me, as if I had never heard it.

Hazrat Iyas bin Salamah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that his father, Hazrat Salamah (may Allah have mercy on him), said: Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took the pledge of allegiance for Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) by placing his right hand over his other hand. So the people said: Abu Abdullah is indeed fortunate that he is performing tawaf of the House of Allah in peace. Upon this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Even if he were to stay for so many and so many years, he would not perform tawaf until I had performed tawaf.

Hazrat Salim (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Indeed, you people find fault with Hazrat Uthman for certain things. If Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had done these actions, you would never have found fault with him.

Hazrat Umm Hilal bint Waqi’ reports that the wife of Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) was dozing, and when he woke up, he said: Surely my people will kill me. So I said: Never, O Commander of the Faithful! Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in a dream. The narrator says that he said: Tonight you will break your fast with us, or he said: You will break your fast with us tonight.