It is narrated from Abdullah bin Abi Huzail that when the news of the martyrdom of Hazrat Uthman came, Hazrat Hudhaifa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Today, people have come to the edge of Islam. So many stages are there that they have crossed because of this killing." Ibn Abi Huzail said: "By Allah, these people have deviated from the path of moderation to such an extent that there is such a complexity between them and it that neither will they be able to find its guidance nor will they be able to know it."

40463 - He said: Ibn Abi al-Hudhayl said: By Allah, these people have deviated from the right path to such an extent that there is a rough terrain between him and them which they cannot find a way through nor do they recognize it.

It is narrated from Khalid Absi that Hazrat Hudhaifa (may Allah be pleased with him), while mentioning Hazrat Uthman, said: O my Allah, neither did I kill nor did I order it, nor am I pleased with it.

It is narrated from Abdul Aziz bin Rafi’ that when Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) set out for the Battle of Siffin, he appointed Abu Mas’ud as deputy over the people in his absence. So, on Friday, Abu Mas’ud delivered a sermon and noticed the small number of people. Then he said,“O people! Go forth; whoever goes forth will find safety. By Allah, we are observing your inclination in this burdensome matter. Go forth; whoever goes forth will find safety. By Allah, we do not consider it well-being that the two armies clash and one avoids his companion; rather, we consider well-being to be that Allah reforms the Ummah of Muhammad and establishes love and affection among them. Shall I not tell you about Hazrat Uthman and why people became displeased with him? Shall I not tell you? People did not leave Hazrat Uthman and his mistake to Allah, that He might punish or forgive him, nor did they attain what they sought, because they envied him for what Allah had granted him. When Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived, he said to him, ‘You have said something that has reached me. O chick, your mind has gone astray.’ Hazrat Abu Mas’ud replied, ‘My mother gave me a better name than this. Has my mind gone astray, when Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) have made Paradise obligatory for me? Do you know? It is because of what remains of my mind that we used to say that every other thing is evil.’ Saying this, he left. When Abu Mas’ud appeared before the people at Sailheen or Qadisiyyah, water was dripping from his locks; people saw that he had prepared for Ihram, and when he placed his foot in the stirrup and held the saddle, people stood around him and began to say, ‘Please advise us.’ So Abu Mas’ud said, ‘Adhere to piety and adhere to the congregation, for surely Allah will not unite the Ummah of Muhammad upon misguidance.’ They again requested advice, so he again said, ‘Adhere to piety and adhere to the congregation! Surely, only the righteous find peace,’ or he said, ‘Peace is found with the wicked.’

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I did not kill (Hazrat Uthman), nor did I order the killing. He said this three times, then said: But I was overpowered.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I did not kill, that is, Hazrat Uthman, and I dislike his killers.

It is narrated from Abu Zararah and Abu Abdullah that we heard Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) saying: By Allah, neither did I participate in the killing, nor did I kill, nor did I order the killing, nor was I pleased with this killing, that is, the killing of Hazrat Uthman.

The slave woman of Zaid bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) says that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) came to visit Zaid bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) while people were sitting around him. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said to the people, "Be silent. By Allah, whatever you ask about today, I will inform you of it." Zaid bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I ask you by Allah! Tell me, are you the one who killed Uthman?" So Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) lowered his gaze for a while, then said, "By Allah, Who split the seed and sent the wind, I did not kill him, nor did I order it, nor does any blame for it fall upon me."

It is narrated from Munzir bin Ya'la (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the day the rebels intended to kill Hazrat Uthman, Marwan sent a message to Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) asking, "Will you not go to this person (Hazrat Uthman) and protect him? For he is not willing to accept anyone's decision except yours." Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, "We will certainly go to him." Then Ibn Hanafiyyah held his shoulder and intended to take responsibility for this task himself. He said, "O my father, where are you going? By Allah, those people will only increase in their fear of you." Then Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent his turban towards the rebels and told them to refrain from harming Hazrat Uthman.

It is narrated from Abu Ja'far Ansari who says: I was also among the Egyptians who attacked Hazrat Uthman. When they killed Hazrat Uthman, I ran away from there in a state of panic until I entered the mosque, where a man was sitting in one corner of the mosque with a black turban on his head. He said, "Woe to you! What happened behind you?" I said, "By Allah, that person (Hazrat Uthman) is finished." The man sitting said, "Woe to you in the end times." I looked and saw that it was Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).