and grant him peace—said, ‘Do not answer him.’ He then said three times, ‘Is Ibn Abī Quhāfah among the people? Is Ibn Abī Quhāfah among the people?’ The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, ‘Do not answer him.’ He then said three times, ‘Is Ibn al-Khattāb among the people? Is Ibn al-Khattāb among the people?’ The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, ‘Do not answer him.’ Abū Sufyān then said to his companions, ‘As for these men, you have been rid of them.’ Umar could not restrain himself and said, ‘You are lying, enemy of Allah! Those whom you named are indeed alive, and there yet remains for you what will distress you.’” The remainder of the hadith has already been cited. It was narrated by al-Bukhārī and others (1).

Thus, the leader of the unbelievers at that time asked only about the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—Abū Bakr, and Umar, because he knew—as did the elite and common people alike—that these three were the leading figures in this cause and that its strength rested upon them. This indicates that it was evident even to the unbelievers (2) that the latter two were his chief aides, that through them his mission attained completion, that they were the people closest to him, and that their efforts to make Islam prevail were unmatched by anyone else.

This was (3) known even to the unbelievers, let alone the Muslims, and numerous hadiths to this effect are mass-transmitted. Thus, in the two Sahih collections, Ibn Abbās said:

“Umar was laid upon his bier, and the people gathered around him, supplicating for him, speaking well (of him) (4), and praying over him before he was carried away. I was among them when, suddenly, a man took hold of my shoulder from behind. I turned around and saw that it was Alī. He invoked Allah’s mercy upon Umar and said, ‘You have left behind (5) no one