A man from the people of Egypt came to perform the pilgrimage to the House. He saw a group of people sitting and asked, "Who are these people?"They said, "These are Quraysh."He asked, "Who is the elder among them?"They said, "Abdullah bin Umar."He said, "Ibn Umar, I am going to ask you about something, so tell me. Do you know that Uthman fled on the day of Uhud?"Ibn Umar replied, "Yes."The man said, "Do you know that he was absent from Badr and did not witness it?"He replied, "Yes."The man said, "Do you know that he was absent from the Pledge of Ridwan and did not witness it?"He replied, "Yes."The man exclaimed, "Allahu Akbar!"Ibn Umar said, "Come, let me explain it to you. As for his fleeing on the day of Uhud, I bear witness that Allah has pardoned him and forgiven him for that. As for his absence from Badr, he was married to the daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and she was ill. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him, 'You will have the reward of a man who witnessed Badr and his share of the spoils.' As for his absence from the Pledge of Ridwan, if there had been anyone in the heart of Mecca more honored than Uthman, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would have sent him in his place. So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent Uthman. The Pledge of Ridwan took place after Uthman had departed for Mecca. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ held out his right hand and said, 'This is the hand of Uthman,' and struck it upon his other hand, saying, 'This is on behalf of Uthman.'"Then Ibn Umar said to him, "Now take that with you."
جاء رجل من أهل مصر حج البيت، فرأى قوما جلوسا، فقال: من هؤلاء القوم؟ فقالوا: هؤلاء قريش. قال: فمن الشيخ فيهم؟ قالوا: عبد الله بن عمر. قال: يا ابن عمر، إني سائلك عن شيء فحدثني، هل تعلم أن عثمان فر يوم أحد؟ قال: نعم. قال: تعلم أنه تغيب عن بدر ولم يشهد؟ قال: نعم. قال: تعلم أنه تغيب عن بيعة الرضوان فلم يشهدها؟ قال: نعم. قال: الله أكبر. قال ابن عمر: تعال أبين لك، أما فراره يوم أحد فأشهد أن الله عفا عنه وغفر له، وأما تغيبه عن بدر فإنه كانت تحته بنت رسول الله ﷺ وكانت مريضة، فقال له رسول الله ﷺ: إن لك أجر رجل ممن شهد بدرا وسهمه. وأما تغيبه عن بيعة الرضوان فلو كان أحد أعز ببطن مكة من عثمان لبعثه مكانه، فبعث رسول الله ﷺ عثمان، وكانت بيعة الرضوان بعد ما ذهب إلى مكة فقال رسول الله ﷺ بيده اليمنى: هذه يد عثمان فضرب بها على يده، فقال: هذه لعثمان. فقال له ابن عمر: اذهب بها الآن معك.
Bukhari related it in the Virtues of the Companions (3698) from Musa bin Ismail, who said, Abu Awana narrated to us, who said, Uthman bin Mawhab narrated to us, and he mentioned it.It is narrated from Anas bin Malik, who said, "When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded the Pledge of Ridwan, Uthman bin Affan was the messenger of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to the people of Makkah." He said, "So the people gave the pledge." He said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said, 'Uthman is engaged in the service of Allah and the service of His Messenger,' and he struck one of his hands upon the other." So the hand of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on behalf of Uthman was better for him than their own hands were for themselves.Tirmidhi related it (3702) from Abu Zura, who said, Hasan bin Bishr narrated to us, who said, Hakam bin Abdul-Malik narrated to us, from Qatada, from Anas bin Malik, and he mentioned it.Hakam bin Abdul-Malik is daif according to the people of knowledge.