Musnad Ahmad Hadith 5772

‘Uthman bin ‘Abdullah bin Mawhib (may Allah have mercy on him) says that a man from Egypt came for Hajj. He saw some people sitting in the Sacred Mosque and asked: “Who are these people?” He was told they were from Quraysh. He asked: “Who is the eldest among them?” The people said: “Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both).” He came to him and said: “O Ibn ‘Umar! I ask you by the sanctity of this House of Allah, do you know that ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) fled on the day of the Battle of Uhud?” He replied: “Yes!” Then he asked: “Do you also know that he did not participate in the Battle of Badr?” He replied: “Yes!” He said: “Do you also know that he was not present at the pledge of Ridwan?” He replied: “Yes!” The Egyptian became very happy at this and raised the slogan of Takbir. Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: “Now come, I will inform you of the reality of all those things about which you have asked me. As for fleeing on the day of Uhud, I testify that Allah has pardoned and forgiven them. As for not participating in the Battle of Badr, the reason is that the daughter of the Prophet (ﷺ), (Sayyidah Ruqayyah, may Allah be pleased with her), who was married to ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), was ill at that time. The Prophet (ﷺ) told him: (You stay here and nurse her), you will get the same reward as those who participated in Badr and a share of the spoils of war as well. As for his absence from the pledge of Ridwan, if there had been anyone more honorable than ‘Uthman in the valley of Makkah, the Prophet (ﷺ) would have sent him. The Prophet (ﷺ) himself sent ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) to Makkah, and the pledge of Ridwan took place after he had gone, and the Prophet (ﷺ) struck his hand on his other hand and said: ‘This is the hand of ‘Uthman.’” After this, Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: “Take these things with you.”