and Abū Sufyān ibn al-Hārith ibn ʿAbd al-Muttalib and others, and rather than all the other descendants of ʿAbd Manāf, such as ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, Khālid ibn Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀs, Abān ibn Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀs, and other descendants of ʿAbd Manāf—who held the highest standing among Quraysh and were more closely related to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—is one of the greatest proofs that Muhammad is Allah’s servant and Messenger and that he was not a king. Within the caliphate that followed him, no one was given precedence by virtue of either close kinship with him or the nobility of his house; rather, precedence was based solely on faith and piety.

This also showed that Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and his community after him worship Allah and obey His command. They do not seek the supremacy on earth that others seek, nor do they even seek the kingship that some prophets were permitted to possess. For (1) Allah gave Muhammad the choice between being a servant-messenger and being a prophet-king (2), and he chose to be a servant-messenger.

The appointment of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar after him was integral to this. Had he given precedence (3) to any member of his household, it would have provided grounds for anyone to suspect * that he was a king. Likewise, had he left wealth to his heirs, it would have provided grounds for anyone to suspect * (4) that he had amassed that wealth for his heirs. Since (5) he neither appointed any member of his household as his successor nor left them any wealth, this helped make clear that he was among those furthest removed from pursuing authority and wealth—even though that was permissible—and that he was not one of the prophet-kings, but rather Allah’s servant and Messenger,