devoted to prayer, he will be called from the Gate of Prayer; if he was among those devoted to jihad, he will be called from the Gate of Jihad; and if he was among those devoted to charity, he will be called from the Gate of Charity.”

Abū Bakr said, “O Messenger of Allah, one who is called from all those gates would have no cause for concern. But will anyone be called from all of them?”

He replied, “Yes, and I hope that you will be one of them.” (1)

This was not said of anyone other than Abū Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him.

It is also related in the two Sahih collections that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“While a man was driving a cow on which he had placed a load, it turned toward him (2) and said, ‘I was not created for this; I was created only for plowing.’

“The people exclaimed, ‘Glory be to Allah! A cow is speaking!’ The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: *‘I believe it, as do Abū Bakr and Umar,’ although [neither] of them was present.” (3)

Abū Hurayrah said:

And the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said* (4):

“While a shepherd was among his flock, a wolf attacked it and seized a sheep. The shepherd pursued the wolf until he recovered the sheep from it. The wolf turned toward him and said, ‘Who will care for her on the day of the wild beasts, when there is no shepherd [for her] (5) other than me?’

“The people exclaimed, ‘Glory be to Allah!’ The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, ‘I believe that, as do Abū Bakr and Umar,’ and both of them were present.” (6)