It is narrated from al-Hakam; he said: Eighty Companions who had fought at Badr, and two hundred and fifty Companions who had given the pledge under the tree (the Pledge of Ridwan), were present with Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) at (the Battle of) Siffin.

Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ya'qub informed us; al-Khadir bin Aban al-Hashimi narrated to us; Ali bin Qadim narrated to us; Abu Isra'il narrated to us from al-Hakam; he said: "They were present with Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) at Siffin" (the complete text is the same as hadith number 4609).

It is narrated from Rib'i bin Hirash; he said: I went to Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) in al-Mada'in in the days when people had set out (for strife and disorder) against Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). He asked: "O my son! What have your people done?" I said: "About which of their conditions are you asking?" He said: "Which of them has gone out (in rebellion) against this man (Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him))?" So I named to him a man who had gone out (towards Madinah), and he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever leaves the Jama'ah (the main body of the Muslims) and holds leadership (authority and command) in contempt will meet Allah in a state where he has no excuse or argument (in his defence) before Allah."

It is narrated from Maymun bin Mihran that Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It would not please me at all to have raised my sword in the killing of Uthman, even if in exchange I were given this entire world and all that is in it.

Harun bin Antarah narrates from his father; he said: I saw Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) at al-Khawarnaq. He was seated on a couch, and with him was sitting Aban bin Uthman (the son of Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him)). He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I hope that I and your father (Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him)) will be among those about whom Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has said: "And We shall remove whatever rancour is in their hearts; as brothers, on couches facing one another." [Surah al-Hijr: 47]

Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar narrates from his shaykhs that Sayyidah Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with her), the honoured wife of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), sent a messenger to Abdullah bin Abi Rabi'ah (the brother of Ayyash bin Abi Rabi'ah) to inform him of the martyrdom of Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), and she also sent him the shirt and garments that were stained with his blood. When the messenger reached him, he went out to the people, climbed the pulpit and informed them of the martyrdom. He spread the shirt out on the pulpit, and he wept and the people wept with him. Then he recited these verses: "News has come to me in which there is great grief for the people, and long weeping for the eyes; in it is the humiliation of life's comforts, and in it is the cutting off of noses from the root. It is the calamity and shock of the martyrdom of the Commander of the Faithful, at which the lofty mountains would almost move from their places. In Madinah a band gathered against him, of two factions: one a killer and the other a betrayer. I shall mourn Abu Amr with every Indian sword and gleaming weapon whose clash rings out among the mail-clad warriors. And sleep is now forbidden until the chests of this people are pierced with spears, and the thirst of the heart is quenched from the misguided people. As long as I live, I will not stay in this town trailing my garment while you lie slain." The narrator says: Then he set out with his companions to support Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), but when he drew near to Makkah he fell from his mount and died.

It is narrated from Imam al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him); he said: Among the verses of mourning composed for Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), I have not heard anything better than these verses of Ka'b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him): "So he withheld his hands and shut his door, and he was certain that Allah is not unaware. And he said to the people of his house: Do not kill them; may Allah pardon every man who did not fight. So you saw how Allah poured enmity and hatred among them after their close ties, and you saw how, after him, good turned its back on the people just as the swift winds turn their backs."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he was asked about Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him): what was engraved on the stone of his ring? He said: Because of the sincerity of his intention, these words were inscribed on the stone of his ring: 'Allahumma ahyini sa'idan wa amitni shahidan' (O Allah, grant me a life of felicity and grant me the death of a martyr). So by Allah! He lived with felicity and died the death of a martyr.

It is narrated from Husayn al-Harithi; he said: Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) came to visit Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) in his illness, while some people were present there. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Sit calmly and keep quiet; by Allah! Whatever you ask me about, I will (surely) tell you." Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I ask you by Allah, did you kill Uthman?" At this Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) lowered his head for a while, then said: "By the One who split the seed and created the soul, I neither killed him nor ordered his killing."

Harun says: Abu Usamah narrated to us from Zuhayr, from Kinanah; he said: I saw Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) being carried out wounded from the house of Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him).