Abdul-Rahman bin Awf met Walid bin Uqba, and Walid said to him, "Why do I see that you have grown distant from the Commander of the Faithful, Uthman?"Abdul-Rahman replied, "Tell him from me that I did not flee on the day of Aynayn." Asim said, "He meant the day of Uhud." "And I did not stay behind on the day of Badr, and I did not abandon the practice of Umar."So Walid went and reported that to Uthman.Uthman said, "As for his saying that he did not flee on the day of Aynayn, how can he reproach me for a sin that Allah has already pardoned? For Allah said, 'Indeed, those of you who turned back on the day the two armies met, it was Satan who caused them to slip because of some of what they had earned. But Allah has already pardoned them.' [Al Imran 3:155]As for his saying that I stayed behind on the day of Badr, I was nursing Ruqayyah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, during her illness until she died, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had assigned me my share of the spoils. Whoever the Messenger of Allah ﷺ assigned a share to was counted among those who were present at the battle.As for his saying that I did not abandon the practice of Umar, I cannot bear it, and neither can he. So go and tell him that."
لقي عبد الرحمن بن عوف الوليد بن عقبة، فقال له الوليد: ما لي أراك قد جفوت أمير المؤمنين عثمان؟ فقال له عبد الرحمن: أبلغه أني لم أفر يوم عينين- قال عاصم: يقول يوم أحد، ولم أتخلف يوم بدر، ولم أترك سنة عمر، قال: فانطلق فخبر ذلك عثمان، قال: فقال: أما قوله: إني لم أفر يوم عينين، فكيف يعيرني بذنب وقد عفا الله عنه، فقال: {إن الذين تولوا منكم يوم التقى الجمعان إنما استزلهم الشيطان ببعض ما كسبوا ولقد عفا الله عنهم} [آل عمران: ١٥٥] وأما قوله: إني تخلفت يوم بدر، فإني كنت أمرض رقية بنت رسول الله ﷺ حتى ماتت وقد ضرب لي رسول الله ﷺ بسهمي، ومن ضرب له رسول الله ﷺ بسهمه فقد شهد، وأما قوله: إني لم أترك سنة عمر، فإني لا أطيقها ولا هو، فأته فحدثه بذلك.
Ahmad (490), Bazzar - Kashf Astar (2512), and Tabarani in Al-Kabir (1/45) all narrated it, all of them through the hadith of Asim bin Abu Najud, from Shaqiq bin Salama, who said, then he narrated it. Its chain is hasan because of Asim bin Abu Najud, for he is hasan in his narration. Haythami likewise graded it hasan in Al-Majmaa (226/7, 84/9).Walid bin Uqba is the son of Abu Muayt Qurashi Umawi, brother of Uthman on his mother's side, who had companionship with the Prophet. His father was killed on the day of Badr as a captive, and he was the wretched one who threw the afterbirth of a slaughtered animal onto the back of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was praying at the House of Allah.As for his saying "the day of Aynayn", Aynan is a hill of Mount Uhud in Madinah. It is also said to be two hills near Uhud.As for his saying "the way of Umar", meaning Umar in his asceticism and his fairness toward the wronged, and his striking of the wrongdoers and corrupters, for Allah the Exalted granted him strength and awesomeness, so that I cannot bear it, so go to him and tell him of that.It appears that their excuse for fleeing was because of what had been rumored, that the Prophet ﷺ had been killed, so why fight then? So Allah pardoned them and accepted their excuse.The first to bring the good news of the Messenger of Allah's ﷺ survival was Kaab bin Malik, as in the hadith that follows.