it is not permissible to suppose of him(1) that his aim was to appoint Uthmān out of favoritism toward him and to exclude Alī out of hostility toward him. Had that been his intention, he would have appointed Uthmān from the outset, and not even two goats would have butted heads over the matter. How could that be, when those who survived him gave precedence to Uthmān without Umar having designated him? Had [Umar](2) designated him, they would have been even more ready to follow(3) and obey him—whether they were, as the believers say, people of religion, goodness, and justice, or whether they were as the hypocrites who impugn them claim: that their aim was injustice and evil.

Moreover, Umar feared no one during his lifetime, while the Rāfidah call him “the Pharaoh of this ummah.” If, during his lifetime, he was not afraid to put Abū Bakr forward—when the matter was still at its beginning, people had not yet become accustomed(4) to obeying any particular person after the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and Umar himself held no authority—then how could he have feared to put Uthmān forward at the time of his death, when all the people obeyed him and had been trained(5) to do so?

It is therefore clear that, had he wished to give precedence to Uthmān, he would have done so and would not have needed such a long, circuitous route(6).

Then what motive could Umar—may Allah be pleased with him—have had for favoring Uthmān over Alī? The ties linking him to Uthmān were no greater than those linking him to Alī, whether in terms of tribal affiliation or otherwise.