I said to ‘AbdurRahman bin ‘Awf: How could you swear allegiance to ‘Uthman ؓ and not to ʿAli ؓ ? He said: It is not my fault. I started with ʿAli and said: I swear allegiance to you in accordance with the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, and the way of Abu Bakr and ʼUmar ؓ . He said: As much as I can. Then I offered it to ʿUthman ؓ and he accepted it.
مَا ذَنْبِي؟ قَدْ بَدَأْتُ بِعَلِيٍّ فَقُلْتُ أُبَايِعُكَ عَلَى كِتَابِ اللهِ وَسُنَّةِ رَسُولِهِ وَسِيرَةِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ قَالَ فَقَالَ فِيمَا اسْتَطَعْتُ قَالَ ثُمَّ عَرَضْتُهَا عَلَى عُثْمَانَ فَقَبِلَهَا