and Abū Bakr,” it is a fabricated lie. Certainly, Abū Bakr al-Siddīq—may Allah be pleased with him—was the closest of all people to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had the strongest claim to his companionship, and understood best what he intended concerning the matters about which people questioned him. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would speak in Arabic that the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—understood, while al-Siddīq would gain an additional understanding that agreed with theirs and went beyond it without contradicting it.

An example is the report in the two Sahīh collections from Abū Saʿīd:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, addressed the people and said, ‘Allah gave a servant a choice between this world and the Hereafter, and that servant chose what is with Allah.’ Abū Bakr wept and said, ‘Rather, we would ransom you with our lives and wealth!’ Some people were astonished and said, ‘How remarkable that this old man should weep because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, mentioned a servant whom Allah gave a choice between this world and the Hereafter!’”

Abū Saʿīd said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the one given the choice, and Abū Bakr understood him better than any of us.”

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, mentioned a servant without specifying who he was. This was plain Arabic speech containing no riddle. Because of his profound knowledge of the Prophet’s intentions, al-Siddīq understood that the Prophet himself was the servant given the choice. Knowing that the unspecified servant was this particular person went beyond what the wording itself indicated, but agreed with it and did not contradict it. This is why Abū Saʿīd said, “Abū Bakr understood him better than any of us.”

Another example is that when al-Siddīq—may Allah be pleased with him—resolved to fight