Allah be pleased with him—when he was fatally struck, “Will you appoint a successor over us?” He replied, “I will not appoint anyone. But if Allah, Mighty and Majestic, wills good for this nation, He will unite them behind the best among them, just as He united them, after their Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, behind the best among them.”

It is also reported that after allegiance had been pledged to Abū Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and Alī ibn Abī Tālib, may Allah be pleased with him, and his companions had pledged allegiance to him, Abū Bakr rose on three occasions and said, “O people, I hereby release you from your pledge of allegiance to me. Does anyone object?” Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, would be among the first to rise and say, “No, by Allah! We will neither release you nor seek release from our pledge. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, put you forward; who, then, could set you back?”

Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, also said in a lengthy report that Abd Allah ibn al-Kawwā and Qays ibn Ubād came to him after his return from fighting at the Battle of the Camel and asked, “Do you possess any directive from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him?” He replied, “As for my having any directive from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him—no, by Allah. Had I possessed a directive from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, I would never have left Abū Bakr of Taym ibn Murrah or Ibn al-Khattāb upon his pulpit, even if I had had nothing but this hand of mine. But your Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was a prophet of mercy. He did not die suddenly, nor was he slain. He was ill for nights and days, and for days and nights. Bilāl would come and notify him that it was time for prayer, and he would say, ‘Tell Abū Bakr to lead the people in prayer,’ even though he could see me there. When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, passed away, we considered our affairs and found that prayer was the strength of Islam and the mainstay of the religion. We therefore accepted for our worldly affairs the man whom the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, had accepted for our religion, and we invested Abū Bakr with authority. Abū Bakr, may Allah have mercy on him, remained among us with our word united and our leadership one. No two of us differed over him; none of us accused another of polytheism or renounced him. By Allah, I accepted what he gave me, went out to battle whenever he sent me, and with this hand of mine carried out the prescribed punishments in his presence. Then, when