It was narrated that Abu Wa`il said: I said to ‘AbdurRahman bin ‘Awf: How could you swear allegiance to ‘Uthman (رضي الله عنه) and not to `Ali (رضي الله عنه)? He said: It is not my fault. I started with `Ali 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 (رضي الله عنهما) . He said: As much as I can. Then I offered it to `Uthman (رضي الله عنه) and he accepted it.