2673 — ʿAbd al-Wahhab ibn ʿAli ibn Nasr narrated to us; he said: Yusuf ibn ʿUmar narrated to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Muqriʾ narrated to us; he said: I heard al-Hasan ibn Hubab ibn Makhlad say: I heard al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Sabbah say: I heard al-Shafiʿi say:

“The people were unanimous concerning the caliphate of Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr then appointed ʿUmar. After that, ʿUmar placed the matter in the hands of six men, instructing them to invest one of themselves with authority, and they entrusted it to ʿUthman.

Al-Shafiʿi went on to say: ‘This came about because, after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the people found themselves in urgent need, and under the canopy of heaven they could find no one better than Abu Bakr, so they submitted their necks to him.’”