Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Hawalah (may Allah be pleased with him) states: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was in the shade of a tree, and with him was a scribe to whom he was dictating. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ibn Hawalah! Shall I not have something written for you?" I said: "I do not know; whatever Allah and His Messenger choose for me, that will be best for me." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away. The narrator Isma'il once narrated these words: Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began dictating to that man. Then he asked: "O Ibn Hawalah! Shall I not have something written for you?" I said: "I do not know; whatever Allah and His Messenger choose for me, that will be right." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from me and kept dictating to the person writing beside him. The narrator says: I looked, and in that writing there was a mention of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and I realised that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) would only be mentioned in connection with good. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "O Ibn Hawalah! Shall I not have something written for you?" I said: "Yes." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ibn Hawalah! What will you do in the time of trials, when they emerge from the corners of the earth like the horns of cattle?" I said: "I do not know! Whatever Allah and His Messenger choose for me (that will be right)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What will you do then, when another trial comes after the first one, and compared to that second trial the first will be as though a rabbit had leapt?" I said: "I do not know; whatever Allah and His Messenger choose for me (that will be right)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Follow this man." At that moment a man was walking away from there. I ran after him, took hold of his shoulder, and turning his face towards the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), I asked: "This one?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: "Yes!" And that man was Sayyiduna Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him).
Ahmad and al-Tabarani recorded it, and the narrators of both are the narrators of the Sahih.
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب المناقب / 14536