[Another Chain]
Imam Aḥmad (1) said: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad (2) narrated to us; al-Qāsim—meaning Ibn al-Faḍl (3)—narrated to us; ʿAmr ibn Murrah narrated to us, from Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd, who said:
ʿUthmān summoned a number of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, among them ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir, and said, “I am going to ask you something, and I want you to tell me the truth. I adjure you (4) by Allah: do you know that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to prefer Quraysh over the rest of mankind, and that he preferred Banū Hāshim over the other clans of Quraysh?” The group remained silent.
He went on, “If the keys to Paradise were in my hand, I would give them to Banū Umayyah so that the last of them could enter.” He then sent for Ṭalḥah and al-Zubayr and ʿUthmān said, “Shall I not relate something to you about him—meaning ʿAmmār? I once came along with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; he took me by the hand and we walked together across the open ground until we came upon his father and mother while they were being tortured. Abū ʿAmmār said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, is it always going to be like this?’ The Prophet ﷺ replied, ‘Be patient,’ and then he said, ‘O Allah, forgive the family of Yāsir,’ and He has indeed done so.” This report is unique to Aḥmad; none of the authors of the major compilations recorded it.
[Another Chain]
Imam Aḥmad (5) said: Isḥāq ibn Sulaymān narrated to us; I heard Mughīrah ibn Muslim Abū Salamah (6) relate from Maṭar, from Nāfiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar that ʿUthmān looked out to his companions while he was under siege and said:
“Why do you seek to kill me? I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
‘The blood of a Muslim is not lawful to shed except in one of three cases: a married person who commits adultery—he is to be stoned; one who kills intentionally—legal retribution (7) is due against him; or one who apostatizes after accepting Islam—he is to be killed.’
By Allah, I have never fornicated, neither in the pre-Islamic period nor after Islam; I have not killed anyone for whom I must now surrender myself in retaliation (8); nor have I ever apostatized since I embraced Islam. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger.”
Al-Nasāʾī (9) transmitted it from Aḥmad ibn al-Azhar, from Isḥāq ibn Sulaymān, with this same chain.