Musnad Abi Ya'la 504 — I was present with Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan

Hudayn bin al-Mundhir al-Raqashi (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates: I was present with Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) when al-Walid bin Uqbah (may Allah be pleased with him) was brought, who had led the people of Kufah in four rak'ahs of the Fajr prayer and had then asked: "Shall I give you more?" Humran (may Allah have mercy on him) and another man testified against him: one of them testified that he had seen him drinking wine, and the other testified that he had seen him vomiting it. So Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "He did not vomit it until he had drunk it." Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him): "Carry out the prescribed punishment (hadd) on him." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said to his son Sayyiduna al-Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him): "You carry out the punishment." Upon this Sayyiduna al-Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) said (excusing himself): "Let the heat of this (matter) be borne by the one who has taken charge of its comfort and coolness (that is, the office of the caliphate)." Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said to his nephew Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him): "You carry out the punishment." So he took a whip and lashed him, while Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was counting. When forty lashes were completed, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Stop." And he said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave forty lashes, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) also gave forty, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) gave eighty. All of these are Sunnah, but this (giving forty lashes) is more beloved to me."