It was narrated from `Ubaidullah bin ‘Abdullah bin `Utbah bin Masood that Ibn `Abbas told him that ‘AbdurRahman bin ‘Awf went back to where he had halted. I used to recite to ‘AbdurRahman bin ‘Awf, and he found me waiting for him. That was in Mina during the last Hajj performed by `Umar bin al-Khattab Abdur-Rahman bin `Awf said: A man came to `Umar bin al-Khattab and said: So and so is saying: If `Umar dies, I will swear allegiance to So and so. ʼUmar said: I will stand before the people today and warn them against these people who want to deprive them of their rights, `Abdur-Rahman said: I said: O Ameer al-Mu`mineen, do not do that, for the Hajj season brings together the riffraff and rabble among the people, and most of the people who gather around and listen to you will be of that type. Is you stand before the people, I am afraid that you will say something that they will spread and not understand it properly or interpret it properly. Rather wait until you come to Madinah, for it is the land of Hijrah and the Sunnah, and you will meet the most knowledgeable and noble people there, and you can say what you want to say with confidence; they wilt understand what you say and will interpret it correctly, `Umar said: If I reach Madinah safe and sound, I shall certainly talk to the people there in the first speech I deliver. When we came to Madinah at the end of Dhul-I-Iijah, it was a Friday. I set out early, ‘Umar did not care at what time he went out, because he did not pay attention to heat and cold and so on. I found Sa`eed bin Zaid at the right-hand corner of the minbar, he had got there before me. I sat down next to him, with my knee touching his knee, and it was not long before `Umar came. When I saw him, I said: He will certainly speak today on this minbar and say something that no one ever heard before. Sa`eed bin Zaid objected to that and said: What do you think he will say that no one said before?

`Umar sat on the minbar, and when the mu`dhdhin fell silent, he stood up and praised and glorified Allah as He deserves, then he said: To proceed o people, I am going to tell you something that it has been decreed I should say. I do not know, perhaps it may signal my death.¹ So whoever understands it and remembers it, let him narrate it to others wherever his mount takes him; whoever does not understand it, it is not permissible for him to tell lies about me. Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, sent Muhammad (ﷺ) with the truth and revealed the Book to him; among the things that were revealed to him was the verse of stoning [adulterers]. We read it and understood it; the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stoned [adulterers] and we stoned adulterers after him. But I fear that with the passage of time, some people will say: We do not find the verse of stoning in the Book of Allah, thus they will go astray by forsaking an obligation that Allah revealed. Stoning is the due punishment in the Book of Allah for those who commit zina, both men and women, if they have been married and if proof is established, or there is a pregnancy or a confession, And we used to recite: Do not claim to be the offspring of anyone other than your fathers, as it is disbelief (or ingratitude) on your part to claim to be the offspring of anyone other than your fathers, Verily the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `Do not praise me excessively as `Eesa, the son of Maryam, was praised; rather I am the slave of Allah, so say, the slave of Allah and His Messenger.` I have heard that some among you are saying. If `Umar dies, I shall swear allegiance to So and so. No man should hesitate from saying that the oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr was given suddenly and it was successful. There is no doubt that this is the case, but Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, saved the 2 people from its bad consequences² and there is no one among you today who has the qualities of Abu Bakr.

What happened to us when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) died was that ‘Ali, az-Zubair and those who were with them stayed behind in the house of Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and all the Ansar stayed behind and gathered in Saqeefat Banu Sa`idah,<sup>3</sup> whilst the Muhajireen gathered around Abu Bakr I said to him; O Abu Bakr, let us go to our brothers, the Ansar. So we set out, looking for them, then we were met by two righteous men who told us what the people had done, and said: where are you going, O Muhajireen? I said: We are looking for these brothers of ours, the Ansar, They said. You should not go near them; do whatever you have already decided, O Muhajireen. I said: By Allah, we will go to them. So we carried on until we came to them in Saqeefat Banu Sa`idah, where we found them gathered and among them was a man wrapped up [in a garment. I said: Who is this? They said: Sa`d bin `Ubadah. I said: What is the matter with him? They said: He is sick.

After we sat down, their spokesman stood up and praised and glorified Allah, may He glorified and exalted, as He deserves, then he said: To proceed. We are the supporters (Ansar) of Allah and the majority of the Muslim army. You, O Muhajireen, are a small group among us. Some of you came to us, wanting to deny who we are and prevent us from attaining a position of authority. When he fell silent, I wanted to present a speech that I had prepared and that I liked in front of Abu Bakr I used to avoid provoking him and he was more forbearing and more dignified than me. But Abu Bakr said: Wait a while. I did not like to make him angry, and he was more knowledgeable and more dignified than me. By Allah, he did not omit any word that I liked in the speech I had prepared but he said something like it or better, speaking spontaneously, until he finished speaking. Then he (Abu Bakr) said: To proceed. Whatever you have mentioned about your achievements and virtues, is correct. The Arabs would not acknowledge the leadership of anyone except someone from this tribe of Quraish, for they are the best of the Arabs in lineage and location. I (Abu Bakr) am pleased to suggest to you one of these two men, whichever of them you want. Then he took hold of my (Umar's) hand and the hand of Abu `Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah, and I disliked nothing of what he had said apart from this, for by Allah, I would rather have my neck struck for no sin on my part than to become the leader of people among whom was Abu Bakr unless my own self suggested something at the time of death.

One of the Ansar said: I am the post on which the camel with a skin disease scratches itself and I am like a high class palm tree [i.e., a noble]. [I suggest] a ruler from among us and a ruler from among you, O Quraish. - I, the narrator, asked Malik; What does ‘I am the post on which the camel with a skin disease scratches itself and I am like a high class palm tree` mean? He said: It is as if he is saying, I am the smart one who has the answer. - Then there was a great deal of clamour and raised voices, to such an extent that I feared there would be a conflict, so I (Umar) said: Hold out your hand, O Abu Bakr. So he held out his hand and I swore allegiance to him, and the Muhajireen swore allegiance to him, then the Ansar swore allegiance to him. Thus we surrounded Sa`d bin ‘Ubadah. One of them said: You have killed Sa`d I said: May Allah kill Sa’d! By Allah, we never encountered any problem greater than the swearing of allegiance to Abu Bakr. We were afraid that if we left the people without having sworn allegiance to anyone, they might swear allegiance after we were gone, so we would either follow in their footsteps and swear allegiance to someone we were not pleased with, or we would disagree with them and that would cause trouble. If anyone swears allegiance to a leader without consulting the Muslims, there is no allegiance for him and no allegiance to the one who swore allegiance to him, lest both of them be killed.⁴

Malik said: Ibn Shihab told me, from `Urwah bin az-Zubair, that the men whom they met were `Uwaim bin Sa`idah (Ansar) and Ma`n bin `Adiyy (Ansar). Ibn Shihab said. Sa`eed bin al-Musayyab told me that the one who said, I am the post on which the camel with a skin disease scratches itself and I am like a high class palm tree, was al-lubab bin al-Mundhir.

That he heard `Umar's second speech he delivered when he sat on the pulpit on the day following the death of the Prophet (ﷺ) `Umar recited the Tashahhud while Abu Bakr was silent. `Umar said, "I wish that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had outlived all of us, i.e., had been the last (to die). But if Muhammad is dead, Allah nevertheless has kept the light amongst you from which you can receive the same guidance as Allah guided Muhammad with that. And Abu Bakr is the companion of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) He is the second of the two in the cave. He is the most entitled person among the Muslims to manage your affairs. Therefore get up and swear allegiance to him." Some people had already taken the oath of allegiance to him in the shed of Bani Sa`ida but the oath of allegiance taken by the public was taken at the pulpit. I heard `Umar saying to Abu Bakr on that day. "Please ascend the pulpit," and kept on urging him till he ascended the pulpit whereupon, all the people swore allegiance to him.

Fatima the daughter of the Prophet (ﷺ) sent someone to Abu Bakr (when he was a caliph), asking for her inheritance of what Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had left of the property bestowed on him by Allah from the Fai (i.e. booty gained without fighting) in Medina, and Fadak, and what remained of the Khumus of the Khaibar booty. On that, Abu Bakr said, "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Our property is not inherited. Whatever we leave, is Sadaqa, but the family of (the Prophet) Muhammad can eat of this property.' By Allah, I will not make any change in the state of the Sadaqa of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and will leave it as it was during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), and will dispose of it as Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to do."

So Abu Bakr refused to give anything of that to Fatima. So she became angry with Abu Bakr and kept away from him, and did not talk to him till she died.¹ She remained alive for six months after the death of the Prophet. When she died, her husband `Ali, buried her at night without informing Abu Bakr and he said the funeral prayer by himself.<sup>2</sup> When Fatima was alive, the people used to respect `Ali much, but after her death, `Ali noticed a change in the people's attitude towards him. So `Ali sought reconciliation with Abu Bakr and gave him an oath of allegiance. `Ali had not given the oath of allegiance during those months (i.e. the period between the Prophet's death and Fatima's death).³

`Ali sent someone to Abu Bakr saying, "Come to us, but let nobody come with you," as he disliked that `Umar should come, `Umar said (to Abu Bakr), "No, by Allah, you shall not enter upon them alone " Abu Bakr said, "What do you think they will do to me? By Allah, I will go to them' So Abu Bakr entered upon them, and then `Ali uttered Tashah-hud and said (to Abu Bakr), "We know well your superiority and what Allah has given you, and we are not jealous of the good what Allah has bestowed upon you, but you did not consult us in the question of the rule and we thought that we have got a right in it because of our near relationship to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)." ³ Thereupon Abu Bakr's eyes flowed with tears. And when Abu Bakr spoke, he said, "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is to keep good relations with the relatives of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) is dearer to me than to keep good relations with my own relatives. But as for the trouble which arose between me and you about his property, I will do my best to spend it according to what is good, and will not leave any rule or regulation which I saw Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) following, in disposing of it, but I will follow."

On that `Ali said to Abu Bakr, "I promise to give you the oath of allegiance in this after noon." So when Abu Bakr had offered the Zuhr prayer, he ascended the pulpit and uttered the Tashah-hud and then mentioned the story of `Ali and his failure to give the oath of allegiance, and excused him, accepting what excuses he had offered; Then `Ali (got up) and praying (to Allah) for forgiveness, he uttered Tashah-hud, praised Abu Bakr's right, and said, that he had not done what he had done because of jealousy of Abu Bakr or as a protest of that Allah had favored him with. `Ali added, "But we used to consider that we too had some right in this affair (of rulership) and that he (i.e. Abu Bakr) did not consult us in this matter, and therefore caused us to feel sorry." ³ On that all the Muslims became happy and said, "You have done the right thing." The Muslims then became friendly with `Ali as he returned to what the people had done (i.e. giving the oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr).

We were in Yemen when we heard of the migration of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). We also set out as immigrants to him. And I was accompanied by two brothers of mine, I being the youngest of them; one of them was Abu Burda and the other one was Abu Ruhm, and there were some other persons with them. Some say they were fifty-three or fifty-two persons of my tribe. We embarked upon a boat, and the boat sailed away to the Negus of Abyssinia. There we met Ja'far b. Abu Talib and his companions. Ja'far said: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) has sent us here and has commanded us to stay here and you should also stay with us. So we stayed with him and we came back (to Medina) and met Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) when Khaibar had been conquered. He (the Holy Prophet) allocated a share to us and in the ordinary course he did not allocate the share to one who had been absent on the occasion of the conquest of Khaibar but conferred (a share) upon him only who had been present there with him. He, however, made an exception for the people of the boat, viz. for Ja'far and his companions. He allocated a share to them, and some persons from amongst the people said to us, viz. the people of the boat: We have preceded you in migration.

Asma' bint 'Umais who had migrated to Abyssinia and had come back along with them (along with immigrants) visited Hafsa, the wife of Allah's Apostle (ﷺ). (Accordingly), Umar had been sitting with her (Hafsa). As 'Umar saw Asma, he said: Who is she? She (Hafsa) said: She is Asma, daughter of 'Umais. He said: She is an Abyssinian and a sea-woman. Asma said: Yes, it is so. Thereupon 'Umar said: We preceded you in migration and so we have more right to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as compared with you. At this she (Asma' bint 'Umais) felt annoyed and said: 'Umar, you are not stating the fact; by Allah, you had the privilege of being in the company of the Messenger (ﷺ) who fed the hungry among you and instructed the ignorant amongst you, whereas we had been far (from here) in the land of Abyssinia amongst the enemies and that was all for Allah and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and, by Allah, I would never take food nor take water unless I make a mention to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) of what you have said. We remained in that country in constant trouble and dread and I shall talk about it to Allah's Messenger (way peace be upon him) and ask him (about it). By Allah, I shall not tell a lie and deviate (from the truth) and add anything to that. So, when Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) came, she said: Allah's Apostle, 'Umar says so and so. Upon this Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: His right is not more than yours, for him and his companions there is one migration, but for you, i. e. for the people of the boat, there are two migrations. She said: I saw Abu Musa and the people of the boat coming to me in groups and asking me about this hadith, because there was nothing more pleasing and more significant for them than this. Abu Burda reported that Asma said: I saw Abu Musa, asking me to repeat this hadith to him again and again.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'n-Nadr, the mawla of Umar ibn Ubaydullah that he had heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said over the martyrs of Uhud, "I testify for them." Abu Bakr as-Siddiq said, "Messenger of Allah! Are we not their brothers? We entered Islam as they entered Islam and we did jihad as they did jihad." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Yes, but I do not know what you will do after me." Abu Bakr wept profusely and said, "Are we really going to out-live you!"

“When the treasures of Persia and Rome are opened for you, what kind of people will you be?” ‘Abdur-Rahman bin ‘Awf said: “We will say what Allah has commanded us to say.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Or something other than that. You will compete with one another (for the pleasures of this world), then you will envy one another, then you will turn your backs on one another, then you will hate one another, or something like that. Then you will go to the poor (in character) among the Muhajirun and appoint some of them as leaders of others.”