Abdur Rahman b Auf was one of the six persons who had been nominated by Umar to choose the Caliph from among themselves. Abdur Rahman withdrew his candidature, and played the part of a truthful arbitrator in resolving the dispute. Abdur Rahman gave his verdict in favor of Uthman, and Uthman was according1y elected as the Caliph.
Some of the accounts that have come down to us tend to give the impression that in the later part of the caliphate of Uthman some differences developed between Uthman and Abdur Rahman b Auf, and Abdur Rahman even regretted his choice of Uthman as the Caliph. It is related that some camels were assigned to the Baitul Mal as Zakat, and Uthman distributed these camels among his relatives. It is alleged that when Abdur Rahman came to know of such distribution, he made the persons to whom these camels had been given to return them to the Baitul Mall