1444 — Abū al-Qāsim Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Baghawī narrated to us. He said: ⦗1968⦘ Abd Allah ibn Umar al-Kūfī narrated to us. He said: Abū Muāwiyah narrated to us. He said: Al-Amash narrated to us, from Abū Sālih, from Abū Hurayrah, who said:

I entered upon Uthmān—may Allah be pleased with him—during the siege of his house and said, “O Commander of the Faithful, the time has come to fight.” He replied, “Abū Hurayrah, would it please you if all the people were killed, with me among them?” I said, “No.” He said, “By Allah, if you kill a single man, it is as though you had killed all mankind.” So I withdrew and did not fight.

Al-Amash said: Whenever Abū Sālih mentioned what had been done to Uthmān, he would weep. Al-Amash said: It is as though I can hear him saying, “Ah! Ah!”