Arabic (Original)
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، أَنْبَأَنَا ابْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سُوقَةَ، عَنْ مُنْذِرٍ الثَّوْرِيِّ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ جَاءَ إِلَى عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ نَاسٌ مِنْ النَّاسِ فَشَكَوْا سُعَاةَ عُثْمَانَ قَالَ فَقَالَ لِي أَبِي اذْهَبْ بِهَذَا الْكِتَابِ إِلَى عُثْمَانَ فَقُلْ لَهُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ شَكَوْا سُعَاتَكَ وَهَذَا أَمْرُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الصَّدَقَةِ فَمُرْهُمْ فَلْيَأْخُذُوا بِهِ قَالَ فَأَتَيْتُ عُثْمَانَ فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لَهُ قَالَ فَلَوْ كَانَ ذَاكِرًا عُثْمَانَ بِشَيْءٍ لَذَكَرَهُ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَعْنِي بِسُوءٍ.
English Translation
It was narrated that Muhammad bin Hadrat 'Ali said: Some people came to `Hadrat Ali (may Allah be well pleased with him) and complained about `Hadrat Uthman`s tax collector. My father said to me: take this letter to `Hadrat Uthman (may Allah be well pleased with him) and tell him: The people are complaining about your tax collector, and this is the instruction of the Beloved Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about collecting zakah, tell them to follow it. So I went to `Hadrat Uthman and told him about that, He (the narrator) said: If he had wanted to say anything about `Hadrat Uthman, he would have said it on that occasion - i.e., saying something bad.