Sunan Abi Dawud 1963
سنن أبي داود#1963Da'ifحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْعَلاَءِ، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ، عَنْ يُونُسَ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، قَالَ لَمَّا اتَّخَذَ عُثْمَانُ الأَمْوَالَ بِالطَّائِفِ وَأَرَادَ أَنْ يُقِيمَ بِهَا صَلَّى أَرْبَعًا قَالَ ثُمَّ أَخَذَ بِهِ الأَئِمَّةُ بَعْدَهُ .
Narrated Az-Zuhri: When Uthman placed his property at at-Ta'if and intended to settle there, he prayed four rak'ahs. The rulers after him followed the same practice
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
Al-AlbaniDaif
Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul HamidDaif
Zubair Ali ZaiDaif
In-book reference: 11:243