ʿAbdur-Rahman bin ‘Awf met al-Waleed bin ʿUqbah Al-Waleed said to him: Why do I see you keeping away from Ameer al-Muʿmineen ʿUthman ؓ ? ʿAbdurRahman said to him. Tell him that I did not flee on the day of ʿAinain - ʿ Asim said: The day of Uhud - and I did not stay behind on the day of Badr, and I did not turn away from the way of ‘Umar ؓ . So he went and told that to ʿUthman ؓ , who said: As for his saying that he did not flee on the day of ʿAinain, how could he shame me for a fault for which Allah has pardoned me and said: ʿThose of you who turned back on the day the two hosts met (i.e. the battle of Uhud), it was Shaitan (Satan) who caused them to backslide (run away from the battlefield) because of some (sins) they had earned. But Allah, indeed, has forgiven them.ʿ [Al ‘Imran 3:155]? As for his saying that I stayed behind on the day of Badr, I was tending Ruqayyah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when she was dying, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ allocated to me a share (of the booty), and whoever was allocated a share by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was present.... and he quoted the hadeeth at length to the end.
لَهُ الْوَلِيدُ مَا لِي أَرَاكَ قَدْ جَفَوْتَ أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عُثْمَانَ؟ قَالَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ أَبْلِغْهُ فَذَكَرَ الْحَدِيثَ وَأَمَّا قَوْلُهُ إِنِّي تَخَلَّفْتُ يَوْمَ بَدْرٍ فَإِنِّي كُنْتُ أُمَرِّضُ رُقَيَّةَ بِنْتَ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ حَتَّى مَاتَتْ وَقَدْ ضَرَبَ لِي رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ بِسَهْمٍ وَمَنْضَرَبَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ بِسَهْمٍ فَقَدْ شَهِدَ فَذَكَرَ الْحَدِيثَ بِطُولِهِ إِلَى آخِرِهِ