Muṣʿab ibn Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ related: ʿUthmān once addressed the people and said, “People, it has been only a dozen-odd years since the passing of your Prophet, yet you are already disputing about the Qur’an. One of you says, ‘This is Ubayy’s reading,’ another says, ‘This is ʿAbd Allāh’s reading,’ and a man will swear, ‘By Allah, your recitation is wrong.’ Therefore, I command every man who possesses anything of the Book of Allah to bring it.” People began to bring the parchment sheets and pieces of adīm (tanned leather) on which portions of the Qur’an had been written, until a large quantity was collected. ʿUthmān then entered, called them in one by one, and adjured each of them: “Did you hear this from the Messenger of Allah, and did he dictate it to you?” Each answered, “Yes.” When he had finished he asked, “Who is the most skilled scribe among the people?” They replied, “The scribe of the Messenger of Allah, Zayd ibn Thābit.” He asked, “And who is the most eloquent in Arabic?” They said, “Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ.” ʿUthmān said, “Then let Saʿīd dictate and let Zayd write.” They produced the codices, and he distributed them among the people.

A man reported from Suwayd ibn Ghaflah that ʿAlī, speaking about the codices, said, “Had ʿUthmān not done it, I would have done it.”

Abū Hilāl said: I heard al-Ḥasan say, “ʿUthmān ruled for twelve years, and during that time the people found nothing to criticize in his governance.”

Saʿīd ibn Jumhān narrated—from Safīnah—that the Messenger of Allah said, “The Caliphate after me will last thirty years; after that it will be kingship.”