Some men stood up to give speeches in Sham, among them were companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The last to stand was a man called Mura bin Kaab, who said, "Were it not for a hadith I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I would not have stood up."He spoke of the tribulations and described them as being near at hand. Then a man passed by, wrapped up in a garment, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "This man, on that day, will be upon guidance."So I got up and went to him, and there he was, Uthman bin Affan.He said, I turned him by his face toward me and asked, "This one?"He replied, "Yes."
أن خطباء قامت بالشام، وفيهم رجال من أصحاب رسول الله ﷺ، فقام آخرهم رجل يقال له: مرة بن كعب، فقال: لولا حديث سمعته من رسول الله ﷺ ما قمت، وذكر الفتن فقربها، فمر رجل مقنع في ثوب فقال: هذا يومئذ على الهدى، فقمت إليه فإذا هو عثمان بن عفان. قال: فأقبلت عليه بوجهه، فقلت: هذا؟ قال: نعم.
Tirmidhi (3704) and Ahmad (18068) narrated it, and Hakim declared it sahih (3/102), all of them through the route of Ayub, from Abu Qilaba, from Abu Ashath (who is Sharahil bin Adah), who said, and then he mentioned it. Its chain is sahih. Tirmidhi declared it sahih, saying, "This is a hasan sahih hadith."Ahmad (18067) also narrated it from Abdul-Rahman bin Mahdi, who said, Muawiya (who is Ibn Salih bin Hudayr Hadrami) told us, from Salim bin Amir (who is Kalai), from Jubayr bin Nufayr, who said, we were camped with Muawiya after the killing of Uthman, and Kaab bin Murrah Bahzi stood up and said, "Were it not for something I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I would not have stood in this position." When they heard mention of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the people sat down to listen, and he said, "While we were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Uthman bin Affan passed by with his hair combed. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'A trial will emerge from beneath my feet, or from between my legs, and this man will be on guidance that day, along with those who follow him.'"He said, then Ibn Hawala Azdi stood up from beside the pulpit and said, "Are you truly the one who reported this?" He said, "Yes." He said, "By Allah, I was indeed present at that gathering, and had I known that I had a confirming witness among the army, I would have been the first to speak of it."Its chain is hasan because of Muawiya bin Salih bin Hudayr, for he is hasan al-hadith.It is also reported from Kaab bin Ujra, who said, I was with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he mentioned a trial and brought it near. Then a veiled man passed by, and he said, "This man will be upon guidance on that day." So I followed him until I took hold of his upper arms, turned his face toward him, and uncovered his head, and I said, "Is it this man, O Messenger of Allah?" He said, "Yes." And it turned out to be Uthman bin Affan, may Allah be pleased with him.Ibn Majah (111) and Ahmad (18129) narrated it, both through the route of Hisham bin Hassan, from Muhammad bin Sirin, from Kaab bin Ujra, and then he mentioned it. Its chain is disconnected, for the hadith of Muhammad bin Sirin from Kaab bin Ujra is a mursal report, as Abu Hatim said. See Marasil (p. 187). Busiri also faulted it on this basis in Misbah Zujaja.