[Section: The Rāfidī’s tenth claim—that he did not appoint Abū Bakr to any office but appointed others over him—and its refutation]

(Section)

The Rāfidī said (1):

“Tenth: He did not appoint (2) Abū Bakr to any office, but appointed others over him” (3).

The response has several aspects:

First: This is false. Indeed, no one shared with Abū Bakr the authority entrusted to him over the pilgrimage. He also appointed him to other duties.

Second: The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—appointed men who, by the agreement of both Ahl al-Sunnah and the Shia, were of lesser merit than Abū Bakr in his estimation, such as ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀs, al-Walīd ibn ʿUqba, and Khālid ibn al-Walīd. Thus, it is clear that his refraining from appointing Abū Bakr was not because Abū Bakr was inferior to these men.

Third: Not appointing him to office does not indicate any deficiency in him. Rather, he might refrain from appointing him because he is more useful to him at his side than in (4) that office. His need for him to remain at his side and render service to the Muslims is greater than his need for him in that office, for Abū Bakr and ʿUmar were like two ministers to him.

He would often say, “Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, and I entered,” and “Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, and I went out.” Abū Bakr would spend most of the night conversing with him.