and went to the Prophet ﷺ, pressing him on the matter, saying, “How can we accept humiliation in our religion? How can we bind ourselves to a condition whereby if anyone of them comes to us as a Muslim we must return him to them, while if anyone of us goes to them they are not obliged to send him back? This is too burdensome!” But the Prophet ﷺ replied, “I am the Messenger of Allah; I will never disobey Him, and He is my Helper.”

ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) then went to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), hoping to enlist his support in convincing the Messenger ﷺ. He spoke to Abu Bakr, who answered him with exactly the same words: “He is the Messenger of Allah; he will not disobey Him, and He is his Helper.” Abu Bakr then held tightly to him—meaning, do not harbor any doubt about the matter. This is the first incident. So who was granted success in reaching what was correct? It was Abu Bakr, without question.

A second incident occurred at the time of the Prophet’s death. When the news spread in Madinah that the Prophet ﷺ had passed away, ʿUmar addressed the people, declaring that he had not died but had only been taken up and that Allah would surely return him; he even threatened to cut off the hands and feet of anyone who asserted otherwise, flatly denying that the Prophet had died. On that very day Abu Bakr had gone to an orchard outside the city. When he returned and found that the Prophet ﷺ had indeed passed away, he went to the mosque, ascended the pulpit, and delivered his famed address—words worthy of being written in gold:

“Now then, O people, whoever used to worship Muhammad, Muhammad has died; but whoever worships Allah, Allah is Ever-Living and never dies.” He then recited Allah’s words: “Indeed, you are to die, and indeed they are to die” and His words: “Muhammad is but a messenger; messengers have passed on before him. So if he dies or is killed, will you turn back on your heels?”