It has also been related by ʿAlī ibn ʿĀṣim, from al-Jurayrī, from Abū Naḍrah, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, with wording similar to that cited above. This chain of transmission is sound and well preserved, coming from Abū Naḍrah al-Mundhir ibn Mālik ibn Qiṭʿah through Abū Saʿīd Saʿd ibn Mālik ibn Sinān al-Khudrī. From it we learn an important point: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib pledged allegiance either on the very first day, or at most the second day, after the Prophet’s death. This is indeed correct, for ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib never left al-Ṣiddīq’s side at any time, nor did he ever discontinue praying behind him, as we shall mention. He even accompanied him to Dhū al-Qaṣṣah when al-Ṣiddīq set out with his sword drawn to fight the apostates, as will be explained shortly.

However, Fāṭimah—may Allah be pleased with her—harbored some grievance against al-Ṣiddīq because she assumed that she was entitled to inherit from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. She did not know the statement he had conveyed from the Prophet: “We, the Prophets, are not to be inherited from; whatever we leave behind is charity.” On the strength of that explicit text, Abū Bakr withheld the estate from her, from the rest of the wives, and from the Prophet’s uncle, as will be clarified in its proper place. She then asked that her husband ʿAlī be allowed to manage the charitable lands at Khaybar and Fadak, but Abū Bakr refused, believing it his duty to administer everything the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had overseen. Al-Ṣiddīq—truthful, upright and rightly guided, may Allah be pleased with him—therefore acted as he did. Because of this, and because she was a human being not endowed with infallibility, Fāṭimah became upset and angry, and she did not speak to al-Ṣiddīq until she passed away, may Allah be pleased with her. ʿAlī deferred to her feelings for a while, but when she died—six months after her father ﷺ—he deemed it proper to renew his pledge to Abū Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, as we shall recount later, God willing, from the two Ṣaḥīḥs and other sources. This was in addition to the pledge he had already given before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was buried.

Further confirmation comes from what Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah records in his Maghāzī: Saʿd ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying, “My father told me that his father, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, was with ʿUmar, and that Muḥammad ibn Maslamah broke al-Zubayr’s sword. After that Abū Bakr addressed the people and apologized, saying, ‘Never for a single day or night was I eager for authority, nor did I ever seek it openly or secretly.’ The Muhājirūn accepted his words.

ʿAlī and al-Zubayr said, ‘Our only annoyance was that we were not consulted. Even so, we consider Abū Bakr the person most entitled to it. He is the Companion of the Cave, and we know his honor and his virtue. Indeed, while still alive, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ appointed him to lead the people in prayer.’”

Its chain of transmission is good; all praise and bounty belong to Allah.