Traditions (Ahadith) Narrated by him

With regard to the narrations of ahadith, compared to other companions, there are very few marfu‘ hadith narrated by Hazrat Uthman (ra). In total, Hazrat Uthman (ra) narrated 146 traditions, out of which three are present in both Bukhari and Muslim (i.e. Muttafaq Alayh), eight are mentioned only in Bukhari and five mentioned only in Muslim. In total, 16 ahadith narrated by him are present in the Sahihhain [Bukhari and Muslim].

The reason why he narrated such few ahadith was that Hazrat Uthman (ra) was extremely cautious with regard to stating the traditions of the Holy Prophet (sa). He would say that the thing that prevented him from relating traditions of the Holy Prophet (sa) was that he thought perhaps his memory was weaker than that of other companions. He said that this would stop him in case he narrated an incident and his recollection was not as clear as some of the other companions, in which case their statement would be more accurate. For this reason, he was very cautious with regard to mentioning narrations. However, Hazrat Uthman (ra) said, “I testify that the Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘Whosoever attributes a narration to me that I have not stated, they will prepare a place for themselves in hell due to it.’” For this reason, he would be very careful with regard to narrating ahadith.

Abdur Rahman bin Hatib narrates, “I have not seen any companion who would explain himself more clearly and unambiguously than Hazrat Uthman (ra) but he would show hesitance when it came to narrating Ahadith.”

(Sheikh Shah Moinuddin Ahmad Nadvi, Siyar al-Sahabah, Khulafa’ Rashidin (ra), Vol. 1 [Karachi, Pakistan: Dar al-Isha‘ah, 2004], p. 204)