Mustadrak al-Hakim — Hadith 5824

It is narrated from Usayr bin Jabir that whenever reinforcements came from Yemen to the Commander of the Faithful, Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), he would ask them: "Is Uways bin Amir among you?" Until (one time) Uways himself came to him. He asked: Are you Uways bin Amir? He replied: Yes. He asked: From the tribe of Murad, and then from its branch Qaran? He said: Yes. He asked: Did you have leprosy (white patches) which was all cured except for a spot the size of a dirham? He said: Yes. He asked: Is your mother alive? He said: Yes. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Uways bin Amir will come to you with the reinforcements of the people of Yemen, from Murad and then from Qaran. He had leprosy which was cured except for a spot the size of a dirham. He has a mother to whom he is most dutiful. If he were to swear an oath by Allah, Allah would certainly fulfil it. So if you are able to have him ask forgiveness for you, then do so." (Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)) said: So ask forgiveness for me. So he prayed for him. Then Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Where do you intend to go now? He said: To Kufa. He said: Shall I not write a letter of recommendation for you to its governors so that they treat you well? He submitted: "Living among the obscure common people is dearer to me." Then when the following year came, one of the nobles of Kufa performed Hajj. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked him about Uways: In what state did you leave him? He submitted: I left him in a state where his house was in a poor condition and his belongings were very meagre. Then he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Uways bin Amir will come to you with the reinforcements of the people of Yemen" (and he repeated the same words). So when that man returned (from Hajj), he came to Sayyiduna Uways and said: Ask forgiveness for me. Uways said: You have just returned from a righteous journey; you ask forgiveness for me. He insisted again, so Uways asked: Did you meet Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him)? He said: Yes. Then Uways asked forgiveness for him. The narrator says: Then the people came to know of his greatness, so he left from there (for the sake of obscurity) and went elsewhere. Usayr says: I had given him a cloak (burd) to wear, and whenever anyone saw him wearing that cloak, he would say (in astonishment): Where did Uways get this fine cloak from?
This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it with this wording!