Sayyiduna Ka'b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I gave the pledge to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the night of al-Aqabah, when we pledged allegiance to him (peace and blessings be upon him) upon Islam. I could not take part in Badr, and I would not like to have had participation in Badr in exchange for it, even though Badr is mentioned more among people. That was an expedition for which Allah did not blame anyone who stayed behind from it, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had only set out intending the trade caravan, until Allah brought about a meeting between him (peace and blessings be upon him) and his (peace and blessings be upon him) enemy without any appointment. And whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to go in some direction, we would conceal it, until the expedition of Tabuk took place, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) undertook it (this is how it is in the narration of Zayd). Then (the narrator) went on to narrate the whole incident.
Hadith Referenceالمعجم الكبير للطبراني / باب الكاف / 16148