Grading: (1) Its narrators are acceptable (la ba'sa bihim), but there is disagreement about whether Bilal bin Yahya (al-'Absi, the scribe) heard from Hudhayfah bin al-Yaman. Ibn Ma'in stated decisively that his narration from him is mursal. Ibn Abi Hatim said: I found him saying "balaghani 'an Hudhayfah" (it reached me from Hudhayfah). Ibn al-Qattan al-Fasi said: al-Tirmidhi declared his hadith from him sahih, so his view is that he heard from Hudhayfah. We say: In Ibn Shabbah's "Tarikh al-Madinah" 4/ 1249 it is narrated from Abu Ahmad al-Zubayri, from Sa'd bin Aws, from Bilal bin Yahya, that "it reached him that when 'Uthman was killed, people came to Hudhayfah while he was on his deathbed and said to him: O Abu 'Abd Allah, what do you command us? ..." and he advised them to keep to Abu al-Yaqzan, meaning 'Ammar bin Yasir, because of a hadith he had heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
Technical note / Defect ('illah): It appears that the words "qala lana" (he said to us) in the author's narration are an error (wahm), or follow the usage of one who, by saying "he said to us", "he addressed us" or the like, means the people of his region or town who were present at his death. And Allah the Exalted knows best.