Regarding the story of his staying behind from the expedition to Tabuk, in the lengthy hadith, he said, "When I greeted the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, his face was radiant with joy. Whenever the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was pleased, his face would shine until it seemed like a piece of the moon, and we recognized this in him."
- في قصة تخلفه عن غزوة تبوك الحديث الطويل- فلما سلمت على رسول الله ﷺ وهو يبرق وجهه من السرور، وكان رسول الله ﷺ إذا سراستنار وجهه حتى كأنه قطعة قمر، وكنا نعرف ذلك منه.
Bukhari narrated it in Manaqib (3556) and Muslim in Tawbah (53:2769), both through Ibn Shihab Zuhri, from Abdul-Rahman bin Abdullah bin Kaab, that Abdullah bin Kaab said, I heard Kaab bin Malik narrate about when he stayed behind from Tabuk, and he mentioned it.