The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came upon me while I was playing with the other boys. He greeted us, then sent me on an errand. I was late returning to my mother, and when I arrived she asked, "What kept you?"I said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent me on an errand."She asked, "What was his errand?"I said, "It is a secret."She said, "Then never disclose the secret of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to anyone."Anas said, "By Allah, if I were to tell anyone about it, I would have told you, Thabit."
أتى علي رسول الله ﷺ، وأنا ألعب مع الغلمان، قال: فسلم علينا، فبعثني إلى حاجة، فأبطأت على أمي، فلما جئت قالت: ما حبسك؟ قلت بعثني رسول الله ﷺ لحاجة، قالت: ماحاجته؟ قلت إنها سر، قالت: لا تحدثن بسر رسول الله ﷺ أحدا، قال أنس: والله لو حدثت به أحدا لحدثتك يا ثابت.
Muslim narrated it in the Virtues of the Companions (2482:145), from Abu Bakr bin Nafi, who said, Bahz told us, Hammad told us, Thabit informed us, from Anas, who said, then he related it.Ahmad (13469) and Abu Dawud (5203) also narrated it, through the route of Humayd, from Anas, in a similar manner, and in both of their versions, "So he sent me with a message and sat in the shade of a wall, or against a wall, until I returned to him." Its chain of transmission is sahih.