The Holy Prophet’s (sa) Immense Love for him
Hazrat Ibn Abbas (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (sa) was passing by a place and noticed Hazrat Uthman (ra) sat there and was crying out of sorrow upon the demise of Hazrat Umm Kulthum (ra). The narrator of the tradition states that at the time, both of his companions, i.e. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hazrat Umar (ra), were with the Holy Prophet (sa). The Holy Prophet (sa) asked, “O Uthman, why are you crying?” Hazrat Uthman (ra) submitted, “O Messenger (sa) of Allah, the reason I am crying is because my relationship with you as a son-in-law has now ended” as both daughters had passed away.
The Holy Prophet (sa) stated, “Do not cry. I swear by Him in Whose hands is my life that even if I had a 100 daughters, I would marry all of them to you, one after the other until not a single one of them would remain.”
(Kanz al-Ummal, Vol. 13, p. 21, Bab Fadha‘il al-Sahabah, Fadha‘il Dhun-Nurain Uthman (ra) bin Affan, Hadith 36201, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2004)
In any case, this was an expression of their mutual love. Hazrat Uthman (ra) was worried but the Holy Prophet (sa) granted him assurance that this relationship of theirs would continue and remain established.