After the death of Umm Kulthum; Uthman once again became a victim of despair and disconsolation. Touched by the sadness of Uthman, the Holy Prophet asked the people:
"Give your daughters in marriage to Uthman. If I had a third daughter, I would assuredly give her in marriage to him. I have never wedded any daughter to him save under inspiration."
Ibn Asakir records on the authority of Ali that the Holy Prophet said to Uthman: "If I had forty daughters, I would have wedded them with you one after the other, until no one of them was left".
Thereafter Uthman married a number of wives, but the memories of his union with Ruqayya and Umm Kulthum always remained fresh in his mind. He felt sorry that he could not enjoy the company of the daughters of the Holy Prophet for long, and he had been deprived of the honor of being the son-in-law of the Holy Prophet.
