This hadith clearly shows the extraordinary scrupulousness of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Such conduct befits him, for he was the first caliph of this nation after its Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). For that reason the people of the Sunnah and the Jamaʿah maintain that Abu Bakr is the most virtuous member of this community, precisely because he was its first caliph.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also addressed the people during his final illness and said, “The person who has done me the greatest favor with his companionship and his wealth is Abu Bakr.” He then added, “If I were to take an intimate friend from among my nation, I would have taken Abu Bakr; but the brotherhood of Islam is a higher bond.” Numerous, mass-transmitted reports affirm this point. Even the Commander of the Believers ʿAlī ibn Abi Ṭālib—renowned for truthfulness, equity, and justice—used to declare from the pulpit of Kufa, and this is multiply attested from him, “The best of this community after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, then ʿUmar.”

Thus he spoke, and he also said, “If anyone is brought to me who prefers me over Abu Bakr and ʿUmar, I will flog him with the penalty for slander,” meaning the prescribed lashes for calumny and lying. Such statements reflect his humility before the truth and his commitment to speaking it.

This passage is an explicit refutation of the Rawāfiḍ, who give ʿAlī precedence over Abu Bakr and ʿUmar; some of them even claim that ʿAlī was superior to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and more entitled to the message, alleging that Gabriel betrayed the trust and diverted the revelation from ʿAlī to Muhammad. There is no doubt that they are in manifest error—may Allah protect us. We ask Allah to guide both us and them.