At-Tirmidhi narrated, and he declared it hasan, and al-Hakim, and lie declared it sahih, that Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Follow the lead of the two who come after me, Abu Bakr and cUmar.’ At-Tabarani narrated it from a hadith of Abu’d-Darda’ and al-Hakim in a hadith of Ibn Mascud. may Allah be pleased with him.

Abu’l-Qasim al-Baghawi narrated with a good isnad that ' Abdullah ibn cUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying, ‘There will be twelve khalifahs after me; Abu Bakr will only last for a little.’ There is unanimous agreement on the authenticity of the first part of this hadith, as it is narrated by many different paths. Its explanation has been given earlier in the introduction of the book. In the two sahih books in the preceding hadith there is l hat he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he gave a khutbah close to his death, said, ‘There is a slave whom Allah has given a choice ...’ and in the end of which there is, ‘And let not a door remain but that it is closed except for the door of Abu Bakr.’ And in a wording of the two of them (al-Bukhari and Muslim), ‘Let there not remain in the mosque a passageway except the passageway of Abu Bakr.’ The men of knowledge say, ‘This is an indication of the khilafah because he would go out by it (the door and passageway) to take the lead in the prayer for the Muslims.’ This has been narrated of a hadith of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, and its wording is, ‘Close these doors which open into the mosque except for the door of Abu Bakr.’ It is narrated by Ibn cAdi. And it is recorded in hadith ofcA’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, which at-Tirmidhi and others narrated, and in a hadith of Ibn cAbbas in Zawa’id al-Musnad, and in a hadith of Mucawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan which at-Tabarani narrated, and in a hadith of Anas narrated by al-Bazzar.

The two Shaykhs narrated that Jubayr ibn Mutcim, may Allah be pleased with him, related from his father that he said: A woman came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he told her to come back to him later. She said, ‘What do you think if I come and don’t find you?’ as if she were saying, ‘Death.’ He said, ‘If you don’t find me then come to Abu Bakr.’ Al-Hakim narrated, and he declared it sahih, that Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Banu Mustaliq sent me to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, (saying), ‘Ask him, “To whom should we pay our sadaqat {zakat) after you?”’ So I came to him and asked him and he said, ‘To Abu Bakr.’ Ibn cAsakir narrated that Ibn cAbbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, said: A woman came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to ask him about something. He said to her, ‘Return (another time).’ She said, ‘Messenger of Allah, if I return and I don’t find you?’ (referring to his death). He said, ‘If you come and don’t find me, then come to Abu Bakr, for he is the khalifah after me.’ Muslim narrated that CA’ ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him pcace, said to her, ‘Call your father (Abu Bakr) and your brother *10 (hat I can write something, for I fear that some desirous person will covet, and someone will say, “I am more worthy,” and Allah uikI the believers refuse all except Abu Bakr.’ A li mad and others narrated it by various routes from her in some of which she said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to me in his sickness in which he died, ‘Call cAbd arllahman ibn Abi Bakr and I will write a testament for Abu Bakr so that no-one will disagree about him after me.’ Then later he said, 'Leave it. I seek refuge with Allah that the believers should disagree about Abu Bakr.’ Muslim narrated that cA’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, was asked, ‘Who would the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, have left as khalifah if he had left a khalifahV She said, ‘Abu Bakr.’ It was said to her, ‘Then who after Abu Bakr?’ She said, ‘cUmar.’ It was said to her, ‘Who after cUmar?’ She said, ‘Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah.’ Ihe two Shaykhs narrated that Abu Musa al-Ashcari, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, became ill and his illness became severe. So he said, ‘Command Abu Bakr and let him lead the people in prayer.’ 1 A’ishah said, ‘Messenger of Allah, he is a man who has a tender heart.

If he stands in your place he will not be able to lead the people in prayer.’ He said, ‘Command Abu Bakr and let him lead the people in prayer.’ She repeated what she had said and so he said, ‘Command Abu Bakr and let him lead the people in prayer; truly you are the female companions of Yusuf.’ So the messenger came to him (Abu Bakr) and he led the people in prayer in the lifetime of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. This hadith is mutaivatir and it is also narrated in hadith of cA’ishah, Ibn Mascud, Ibn cAbbas, Ibn cUmar, cAbdullah ibn Zamcah, Abu Sacid, cAli ibn Abi Talib and Hafsah, may Allah be pleased with her, and I have classified their routes of transmission among the mutawatir hadith. In some of the versions of the hadith of cA’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, she said, ‘I persisted in that with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. All that carried me to do that was that it did not occur to me in my heart that people could ever love a man who stood in his position after him. It was only that I was of the view that never would anyone stand in his position but that people would take a bad omen from it, and so I wished that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, might turn from Abu Bakr.’ Ibn Zamcah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered them to perform the prayer and Abu Bakr was not there, so that cUmar stepped forward and he prayed (as imam). The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘No! No! No! Allah and the Muslims refuse any but Abu Bakr. Let Abu Bakr lead the people in prayer.’ Ibn cUmar said: cUmar said, 'Allahu Akbar.’ The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, heard his Allahu Akbar, raised his head in anger and said, ‘Where is Ibn Abi Quhafah?’ The men of knowledge say: In this hadith there is the clearest of proofs that as-Siddiq was absolutely the best of the Companions, and the one having most right to the khilafah, and the most worthy of them for leadership.

Al-Ashcari said: It is known of necessity that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered as-Siddiq that he should lead the people in prayer in the presence of the Muhajirun and the Ansar. Along with his saying, ‘He must lead the people who is the best read of them in the Book of Allah,’ it proves that he (Abu Bakr) was the best read of them, i.e. the most knowledgeable of them in the Qur’an.

The Companions themselves sought to prove by this that he was the one with the most right to the khilafah, among them cUmar - and his words will follow in the section on the act of pledging allegiance - and among them cAli.

Ibn lAsakir narrated that he [cAli] said: Truly the Prophet ordered Aim Bakr to lead the people in prayer and indeed I was present, HIkI I was not absent and was not ill; and we were pleased for our Worldly affairs with the one whom the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was pleased with for our deen.

I he men of knowledge say that Abu Bakr was recognised for his lil ness for the imamah during the time of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Ahmad, Abu Dawud and others narrated that Sahl ibn Sacd said:

I here was fighting among Bani cAmr ibn cAwf and it reached the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, so he came to them after the midday prayer in order to make peace between them. He said to Bilal, ‘If it is the time of the prayer, and I don’t come, then order Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer.’ When it was time for the afternoon prayer Bilal announced the prayer (with the iqamah) and then ordered Abu Bakr, so he led the prayer.

Abu Bakr ash-Shafici narrated, in al-Ghaylaniyyat, and Ibn cAsakir I hat Hafsah, may Allah be pleased with her, said to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ‘When you were ill you gave precedence to Abu Bakr.’ He said, ‘I am not the one who gives precedence to him, but it is Allah Who gives him precedence.’ Ad-Daraqutni narrated, in al-Afradal-Khateeb and Ibn cAsakir that cAli, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to me, ‘I asked Allah to give precedence to you three times, but He refused me save to give precedence to Abu Bakr.’ Ibn Sacd narrated that al-Hasan said: Abu Bakr said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I still see myself (in dream) treading in people’s courtyards.’ He said, ‘You will be, among men, on a way {sabeel)! He said, ‘And I saw on my breast something like two small dark marks.’ He said, ‘Two years.’ Ibn cAsakir narrated that Abu Bakrah said: I came to cUmar, and there were people with him eating. He threw a look among the hindmost of the people to a man and said, ‘What do you find in what you read of the books from before you?’ He said, ‘The khalifah of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is his Siddiq.’ Ibn cAsakir narrated that Muhammad ibn az-Zubayr said: cUmar ibn cAbd al-cAziz sent me to al-Hasan al-Basri to ask him some things. So I came to him and said, ‘Satisfy me regarding that about which people disagree. Did the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, appoint Abu Bakr as khalifahV So al-Hasan who was seated drew himself up and said, ‘Is it in any doubt? You have no father (a proverbial Arabic expression)! By Allah, the One Whom there is no god but Him, he definitely appointed him as khalifah. He was certainly more knowing of Allah, and more fearfully obedient of Him, and more strongly fearful of Him than that he should die upon it without making him take the command.’ Ibn cAdi narrated that Abu Bakr ibn cAyyash said: Ar-Rashid said to me, Abu Bakr, how did the people appoint Abu Bakr as khalifah?’ I said, ‘Amir al-Mu’minin, Allah was silent, and His Messenger was silent and the mu’minun were silent.’ He said, ‘By Allah, you have only increased me in confusion.’ He said, Amir al-Mu’minin, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was sick for eight days and Bilal entered upon him and said, “Messenger of Allah, who should lead the people in prayer?” He said, “Order Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer.” So Abu Bakr led the people in prayer for eight days while the revelation was still descending. So the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was silent because of the silence of Allah, and the mu’minun were silent because of the silence of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.’ So he (Ibn cAyyash) astonished him (ar-Rashid), and he said, ‘May Allah bless you.’ A group of the men of knowledge deduced the khilafah of as-Siddiq from ayat of the Qur’an. Al-Hasan al-Basri said, concerning His words, exalted is He, ‘O you who believe, whoever of you reneges on his deen then Allah will bring a people whom He loves and who love I Uni, ..! (Qur’an 5: 54) — ‘It means Abu Bakr and his companions, lor, when the Arabs reneged on their Islam, Abu Bakr and his t ompanions waged jihad against them until they made them return to Islam.’ Yunus ibn Bukayr narrated that Qatadah said, ‘When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died, the Arabs reneged (on their Islam).’ Then he mentioned Abu Bakr’s fighting them until lie said, ‘We used to say that this ayah was revealed about Abu Bakr unci his companions, “Then Allah will bring a people whom He loves and who love Him!’ ()’ Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that Juwaybir said, concerning His words, exalted is He, ‘Say to those who were left behind of the desert Arabs, "You will be called to (fight) a people of great power ...’” (Qur’an 48:

16), ‘They were Banu Hanifah.’ Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Qutaybah said, ‘This ayah is a proof of the khilafah of as-Siddiq, because he was the one who called people to fight them.’ Ihe Shaykh Abu’l-Hasan al-Ashcari said: I heard Abu’l-cAbbas Ibn Shurayh saying, ‘The khilafah of as-Siddiq is in the Qur’an in this ayah (above).’ He said, ‘Because the people of knowledge unanimously agree that after its revelation there was not any fight which they were called to except for Abu Bakr’s calling them, and the people, to fight those who reneged (on their Islam) and refused the zakat! He said, ‘That indicates the necessity of the khilafah of Abu Bakr and the obligation of obedience to him, since Allah informs us that the one who turns away from that will be punished painfully.’ Ibn Kathir said: And whoever explains the ‘people of great power’ as being the Persians and the Byzantines then as-Siddiq is the one who equipped and prepared the armies to go against them, and the completion of their affair was left to cUmar and cUthman who are two branches of as-Siddiq. And Allah, exalted is He, says, 'Allah has promised the ones who believe and do right actions that He will definitely appoint them as khulafa’ in the land, ..! (Qur’an 24:

55) up to the conclusion of the ayah. This ayah fits the khilafah of as-Siddiq.

Ibn Abi Hatim narrated in his tafsir that cAbd ar-Rahman ibn cAbd al-Hamid al-Mahdi said: The granting of authority to Abu Bakr and cUmar is in the Book of Allah. Allah, exalted is He, says, Allah has promised the ones who believe and do right actions that He will definitely appoint them as khulafa’ in the land, ...’ up to the conclusion of the ayah.

Al-Khateeb narrated that Abu Bakr ibn cAyyash said: Abu Bakr as-Siddiq is the khalifah of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the Qur’an, because Allah, exalted is He, says, ‘For the poor emigrants who were expelled from their homes and their properties seeking bounty from Allah and contentment, and they help Allah and His Messenger. Those they are the truthful’ (Qur’an 59: 8). The ones Allah named ‘truthful (siddiquri)' are not liars, and they said, ‘Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah.’ Ibn Kathir said: A good deduction.

Al-Bayhaqi narrated from az-Zacfarani that ash-Shafici said: People are unanimously agreed on the khilafah of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. That is because people were hard pressed after the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, but they did not find under the expanse of the sky one better than Abu Bakr, so they gave him authority over them.

Asad as-Sunnah narrated in his Fada’il that Mucawiyah ibn Qurrah said: The Companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, never doubted that Abu Bakr was the khalifah of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and they would not call him anything but the khalifah of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and they never agreed unanimously on a mistake or a misguidance.

Al-Hakim narrated, and he declared it sahih, that Ibn Mascud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: What the Muslims view as good is willi Allah good. And what the Muslims view as bad is with Allah had. The Companions all held the view that they should appoint Aim Bakr as the khalifah.

Al-Hakim narrated, and adh-Dhahabi declared it sahih, that Murrah at-Tayyib said: Abu Sufyan ibn Harb came to cAli and mid, ‘What is it with this authority that it is among the very least of Quraysh and the humblest of them?’ meaning Abu Bakr, ‘By Allah, If I had wished I would have filled it against him with horses and men.’ He said that cAli said, ‘How long you have been at enmity with Islam and its people, Abu Sufyan, and that did not hurt it at ull. We found Abu Bakr worthy of it (the khilafah)!