حَدَّثَنَا هَاشِمُ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ حَدَّثَنَا لَيْثٌ حَدَّثَنَا زُهْرَةُ بْنُ مَعْبَدٍ الْقُرَشِيُّ عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ مَوْلَى عُثْمَانَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ عُثْمَانَ يَقُولُ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي كَتَمْتُكُمْ حَدِيثًا سَمِعْتُهُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَرَاهِيَةَ تَفَرُّقِكُمْ عَنِّي ثُمَّ بَدَا لِي أَنْ أُحَدِّثَكُمُوهُ لِيَخْتَارَ امْرُؤٌ لِنَفْسِهِ مَا بَدَا لَهُ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ رِبَاطُ يَوْمٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ يَوْمٍ فِيمَا سِوَاهُ مِنْ الْمَنَازِلِ
مسند امام احمد بن حنبل · Hadith 558
It was narrated that Abu Salih, the freed slave of 'Uthman bin 'Affan (RA) said: i heard 'Uthman (RA) say on the m inbar : O people, I concealed from you a hadeeth that i heard from the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) for fear that you would scatter away from me, then I thought that i should tell it to you, and let each one choose for himself what he thinks is best. i heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: "Guarding the border for one day for the sake of Allah is better than a thousand other days doing other deeds.”
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020