1453 — Abū Bakr Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Wāsitī narrated to us. He said: Muhammad ibn Rizq Allah al-Kalwadhānī narrated to us. He said: Bishr ibn Shuayb ibn Abī Hamzah narrated to us. He said: My father narrated to me. He said: al-Zuhrī informed me. He said: Sālim ibn Abd Allah ibn Umar informed me. He said: Abd Allah ibn Umar said:

During the caliphate of Uthmān ibn Affān—may Allah be pleased with him—a man came to me ⦗1975⦘ and spoke to me at length, seeking through his words to induce me to find fault with Uthmān. He was a man whose speech was labored, and he could scarcely bring his words to an end promptly. When he had finished speaking, I said:

“While the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—was alive, we used to say: ‘The best of the Messenger of Allah’s community after him is Abū Bakr, then Umar, then Uthmān.’ By Allah, we do not know Uthmān to have killed anyone unlawfully or committed any grave sin. It is merely a matter of this wealth: if he gives it to you, you are pleased, but if he gives it to his relatives, you become angry. You merely want to be like the Persians and the Romans, who never have a ruler without killing him.”

His eyes then shed four tears, and he said, “O Allah, we do not desire that.”