It is reported about Sayyiduna Mughirah bin Shu'bah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he came to Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) when he had been besieged, and he said: You are the ruler, and you see the situation that has befallen you. I put three proposals before you; choose one of them. Either you go out and fight these people, for you have numbers and strength (of men) with you, and you are upon the truth while these people (i.e. the rebels) are upon falsehood; or you have another door made, other than the door in front of which these people are, and mount your riding animal and go to Makkah, for while you are in Makkah these (rebels) will not be able to harm you; or you go to Syria, for the people of Syria are there and Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) is also among them. Sayyiduna Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If I go out and fight them, I would not want to be the first person who began shedding blood in the Ummah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after him. As for my going out to Makkah, on the ground that these people will not harm me there, I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'A man from Quraysh will commit ilhad (desecration) in Makkah, and upon him will be half the punishment of the whole world.' So I do not want to be that person. As for my going to Syria, where the people of Syria are and Mu'awiyah is among them, I do not want to part from the abode of my emigration and the neighbourhood of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy), except Muhammad bin Abd al-Malik bin Marwan: I have not found that he heard from Sayyiduna Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with him). (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: This hadith has various chains, which have passed in the Book of Hajj, in the chapter on the virtue of Makkah.
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الفتن - أعاذنا الله منها / 12001
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ منقطع
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه احمد فى المسند (481) ، أخرجه مسند أحمد برقم: 483»