Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Munzir Thawri narrates that we were sitting with Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah when someone spoke ill of Hazrat Uthman. Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah said, "Wait." So we said, "Your respected father (Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him) used to speak ill of him." He replied, "He never spoke ill of Hazrat Uthman. If he had spoken ill, he would have done so on the day when I came to him while the collectors of charity had come to him. Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, 'The best book is the Book of Allah; take it and give it to Hazrat Uthman.' So I took it and presented it to Hazrat Uthman, but he said, 'I have no need of it.' So I returned to Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, and informed him of Hazrat Uthman's statement. Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, 'Put it back in its place.' If Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, had criticized or reproached him, he would have done so on that day."