Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba 38:45

Ibn ‘Ulayyah narrated to us, from Sa‘id ibn Yazid, from Abu Nadrah, who said: They mentioned ‘Ali, ‘Uthman, Talhah, and al-Zubayr in the presence of Abu Sa‘id. He said: They were a people who had preceding merits, and a trial befell them, so they referred their affair to Allah.