Sahih al-Bukhari 3872

It is related that 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Adi ibn al-Khiyar reported, "Al-Miswar ibn Makhrama and 'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn al-Aswad ibn 'Abdu Yaghuth said, 'What prevents you from speaking to 'Uthman about his brother, al-Walid when people have spoken a lot about what he has done?' 'Ubaydullah said, 'I therefore went to 'Uthman when he came out for the prayer and said, 'I have something I need to say to you. It is good advice for you.' He said, 'O man, I seek refuge with Allah from you!' So I left and when I finished the prayer, I sat beside al-Miswar and Ibn 'Abdu Yaghuth and I told what I said to 'Uthman and what he had said to me. They said, 'You have done what you must.' While I was sitting between them, when the messenger of 'Uthman came. They said to me, 'Allah has put you to the test.' I went until I entered where he was and he said, ''What is your advice which you mentioned earlier?'" He said, 'I said the shahada and then said, 'Allah sent Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with the truth and sent down the Book on him, and you were one of those who responded to Allah and His Messenger. You made made two emigrations and you kept the company of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and you saw his guidance. The people are speaking a lot about the business of al-Walid ibn 'Uqba, and you must impose the hadd on him.' He said to me, 'O nephew, did you listen directly the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace?' I said, 'No, but some of his knowledge reached me as it reached the virgin in her tent.' "'Uthman said the shahada and then said, 'Allah sent Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with the Truth and I was one of those who responded to Allah and His Messenger and I believed in what Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was sent with. I made the first two emigrations as you said. I kept the company of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and I gave him allegiance. By Allah, I did not disobey him nor cheat him until Allah took him. Then Allah made Abu Bakr khalif, and by Allah, I did not disobey him nor cheat him. Then 'Umar became khalif, and by Allah, I did not disobey him nor cheat him.. Then I succeeded. Do I not have the same rights over you as they had over me?' He said, 'Yes, indeed.' He said, 'So what are these reports which you convey to me from you lot? As for what you mentioned about the business of al-Walid ibn 'Uqba, we will punish for it by what is right, Allah willing.'" He said, "He had al-Walid flogged with a hundred lashes and ordered 'Ali to flog him, and it was he who flogged him," It is related from az-Zuhri, "Do I not have the same right over you as they had?" Abu 'Abdullah said, "A trial from your Lord," (2:49; 7:141) is that with which you are tested in the way of hardship and in a situation. Bala' means ibtila' (test) and tamhîs (examination). It comes from testing it and examining it, i.e. to extract what is in it, so to "try" to to gain information from. "He will test you" (2:249) is to examine you. "A terrible trial" is blessing, and it is from testing the thing, and that is part of His test.

‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Ju‘fi related to us: Hisham related to us: Ma‘mar informed us, on the authority of az-Zuhri [who said]: ‘Urwah ibn az-Zubayr related to us that ‘Ubayd Allah ibn ‘Adi ibn Khiyar informed him that al-Miswar ibn Makhramah and ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn ‘Abd Yaghuth said to him: What preventeth thee from speaking unto thy uncle ‘Uthman about his brother, Al-Walid ibn ‘Uqbah?—[For] the people were bitterly against the latter on account of what he had done. ‘Ubayd Allah continued: And so I waited for ‘Uthman when he was going out for prayer and said unto him: Behold, I have to speak to thee , and it is a good advice [I have to give]—But ‘Uthman said: man! I take my refuge with Allah from thee!—So I went away. And when I finished my prayer I sat down by the side of al-Miswar and Ibn ‘Abd Yaghuth and related to them what I had said to ‘Uthman and what he had said to me. Then the two said: Well, thou hast done thy duty —While I was thus sitting with them. a messenger from ‘Uthman came to me; and the two [friends] said unto me: This is a trial which Allah inflicteth upon thee!—Then I proceeded, and went in unto ‘Uthman; and he said: What is this good advice of thine which thou didst mention a little while ago?—I recited the Creed and said: Behold, Allah hath sent Muhammad and hath revealed the Book unto him. And thou wert of those who responded to the call of Allah and His Messenger and hadst faith in him; and thou hast taken part early in both migrations, and wert a companion of the Messenger of Allah, and hast seen his mode of life. Now, the people are bitterly against Al-Walid ibn ‘Uqbah, and it is thy duty to impose upon him the lawful penalty.—Thereupon [‘Uthman] said unto me: O my brother’s son! Didst thou ever meet the Messenger of Allah?—I answered: Nay, but knowledge of him hath reached me as it hath even reached the virgin in her seclusion.— Then ‘Uthman recited the Creed and said: Behold, Allah hath sent Muhammad with the Truth, and hath revealed unto him the Book. And I was of those who responded to the call of Allah and His Messenger, and I had faith in Muhammad’s Mission; I took part early in both migrations, as thou saidst, and I was a companion of the Messenger of Allah and had sworn allegiance to him: and, by Allah! never was I disobedient to him and never did I deceive him until Allah caused him to die. Then Allah made Abu Bakr Caliph: and, by Allah! never was I disobedient to him nor did I deceive him. Thereafter ‘Umar became Caliph: and, by Allah! never was I disobedient to him nor did I deceive him. Then I became Caliph [myself] Have I, then, not the same [right] over you as they had over me?—I answered: Yea, indeed.—He said: What, then, doth mean this your talking? As to what thou hast said about al-Walid ibn ‘Uqbah, we shall apply to him the Law, if Allah so willeth. Then he sentenced al-Walid to forty stripes, and bade ‘Ali flog him; and the latter did as he was bidden. Yunus and the nephew of az-Zuhri used [in the course of the above Tradition] the eexpression “….Have I, then, not the same right over you as they had?”