He then praised Abū Bakr’s merit and precedence, adding that nothing he had done was motivated by any jealousy toward Abū Bakr. After this, he rose, approached Abū Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—and pledged allegiance to him.

The people turned toward ʿAlī, saying, “You have done well.” They now felt close to him once he had returned to the commonly accepted course. This narration is likewise reported by al-Bukhārī (1), Muslim (2), Abū Dāwūd (3), and al-Nasāʾī (4) through several chains from al-Zuhrī, from ʿUrwah, from ʿĀʾishah, with similar wording.

Accordingly, the pledge that ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him—gave to Abū Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—after the death of Fāṭimah—may Allah be pleased with her—was merely a reaffirmation of the reconciliation already achieved between them. It constituted a second pledge, following the one we mentioned earlier on the Day of Saqīfah, as related by Ibn Khuzaymah and authenticated by Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj. During those six months ʿAlī had not kept away from Abū Bakr; he prayed behind him, attended his council for consultation, and even accompanied him to Dhī al-Qaṣṣah, as will be detailed later.

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (6) also records that, a few nights after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away, Abū Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—led the ʿaṣr prayer. Leaving the mosque, he saw al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī playing with the youngsters. He hoisted the child onto his shoulders and began to chant:

By my life, the boy is the image of the Prophet—
He bears no likeness to ʿAlī!

ʿAlī laughed at these words.

Because of this second pledge, some narrators imagined that ʿAlī had not pledged allegiance earlier and therefore denied the first pledge; yet, as established, an affirmative report is given precedence over a negating one. Allah knows best.

As for Fāṭimah’s—may Allah be pleased with her—resentment toward Abū Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—I do not know its rationale. If it arose from his refusal to grant her the inheritance she requested, he had already offered her an excuse that must be accepted: he had reported from her father, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, that he said, “We prophets are not inherited from; whatever we leave behind is charity.”

She was someone who readily submitted to an explicit text from the Lawgiver, which had been unknown to her before she asked about the inheritance—just as it had been unknown to the Prophet’s wives ﷺ until ʿĀʾishah informed them and they concurred. It is unthinkable that Fāṭimah—may Allah be pleased with her—would suspect the Truthful One (al-Ṣiddīq)—may Allah be pleased with him—of misreporting what he heard; far be it from both of them. How could that be when this ḥadīth was corroborated by ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbaydillāh, al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām, and Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ,