This was due to their virtue (1) and righteousness. Amr had already been appointed commander because doing so would help win over (2) his people, to whom he had been sent, since they were his relatives. A person of lesser merit may be appointed when there is an overriding benefit, just as Usāma ibn Zayd was appointed commander so that he might avenge his father, Zayd ibn Hāritha, after he was killed in the Battle of Mu’ta. How, then, could such a claim stand when the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—never placed anyone in command over Abū Bakr in any matter?!

Indeed, it is established by widespread, mass-transmitted reports that no one around him was closer to him (3), enjoyed a more intimate relationship with him, or spent more time with him night and day, in private and in public, than Abū Bakr,