Another ḥadīth

Imām Aḥmad (1) said: Ḥajjāj narrated to us; al-Layth narrated to us; ʿUqayl related to me, from Ibn Shihāb, from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ, who said that Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ informed him that ʿĀʾishah, the Prophet’s wife, and ʿUthmān both recounted:

Abū Bakr sought permission to enter upon the Prophet ﷺ while he was lying on his bed, wrapped in ʿĀʾishah’s marṭ (2). He allowed Abū Bakr in as he was, attended to his need, and Abū Bakr departed. Then ʿUmar asked permission; he likewise admitted him while still in that state, saw to his need, and he left.

ʿUthmān said: “Then I asked permission to enter. He sat up and said, ‘Draw your clothes around you.’ I attended to my matter with him and then withdrew.”

ʿĀʾishah remarked, “O Messenger of Allah, why did I not see you show the same concern for Abū Bakr and ʿUmar that you showed for ʿUthmān?”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, “ʿUthmān is a very modest man, and I feared that if I let him in while I was in that state he would not convey to me his need.”

(al-Layth) said: The people also relate that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to ʿĀʾishah, “Shall I not feel shy before one before whom the angels of the All-Merciful feel shy?” Muslim (3) recorded it through the isnād of al-Layth ibn Saʿd, and through Ṣāliḥ ibn Kaysān from al-Zuhrī. Muslim (4) likewise transmitted it from Muḥammad ibn Abī Ḥarmla, from ʿAṭāʾ and Sulaymān ibn Yasār, from Abū Salamah, from ʿĀʾishah. Abū Yaʿlā al-Mawṣilī reported it from Sahl, from his father, from ʿĀʾishah, and it was also narrated from her by Jubayr ibn Nufayr and ʿĀʾishah bint Ṭalḥah.

Imām Aḥmad (4) further said: Marwān narrated to us; ʿAbdullāh ibn Siyyār (5) narrated to us: I heard ʿĀʾishah bint Ṭalḥah relate from ʿĀʾishah, Mother of the Believers:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was sitting with his thigh uncovered when Abū Bakr asked permission and he admitted him while remaining as he was. Then ʿUmar sought permission and he admitted him while still in that state. When ʿUthmān asked permission, however, he let his garment fall over himself.

When they had left, I said, “O Messenger of Allah, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar sought permission and you admitted them while you were as you were, but when ʿUthmān sought permission you covered yourself with your clothes.”

He said, “O ʿĀʾishah, should I not feel shy before a man—by Allah—the angels themselves feel shy before him?” Ahmad alone transmitted this wording through this chain.

Another route from Ḥafṣah:

It was narrated by al-Ḥasan ibn ʿArafah and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (7), from Rūḥ ibn ʿUbādah (from Ibn Jurayj), who said: Abū Khālid informed me