Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 34215 — Reports on the virtue of Uthman bin

Abdullah bin Qays (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna al-Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) sent him with a letter to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and he handed the letter to her. Then Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Shall I not narrate to you a hadith that I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? I said: Why not! Please do narrate it. She said: One day Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) and I were with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) began to say: If only there were a man with us who would talk with us. I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), shall I not send a message to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) so that he may come and talk with us? He (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent. Then Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), shall I not send a message to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) so that he may talk with us? He (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent. She said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) called a man and whispered to him away from us, and then he left. Then Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) came, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned his face towards him. Then I heard him (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: O Uthman, perhaps Allah Almighty will clothe you in a shirt. If some people want you to take it off, do not ever take it off. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said this three times. The narrator said: I said: O Mother of the Believers, why did you not narrate this hadith before? She said: I had been made to forget it, as if I had never heard it.