147 - ‘Abd Allāh narrated to us: Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ayyūb narrated to us: Abū Bakr—meaning Ibn ‘Ayyāsh—narrated to us, from ‘Amr ibn Maymūn, from his father, who reported that ‘Umar said to Abū Bakr, “Hold out your hand so that we may pledge allegiance to you.”

He replied, “On what grounds do you pledge allegiance to me? By Allah, I am neither the most God-fearing nor the strongest among you. The most God-fearing of us is Sālim—meaning the freedman of Abū Hudhayfah—and the strongest of us is ‘Umar.”

‘Umar said, “Hold out your hand,” and recited:

“When the two were in the cave, when he said to his companion, ‘Do not grieve; indeed, Allah is with us.’” [al-Tawbah: 40]

He said: They pledged allegiance to him and allotted him two thousand dirhams. He said, “Give me more, for you have prevented me from trading, and I have a family to support.” So they gave him another five hundred dirhams. They also allotted him a sheep each day to feed the Muslims. He said, “Let my family have its head and trotters.” So they did.