And in Sahīh al-Bukhārī (1), it is reported that he said to ‘Alī, “Erase ‘Messenger of Allah.’” He replied, “No, by Allah, I will never erase your name.” The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—then took the document, although he did not know how to write (2), and wrote: “This is what Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh has agreed to.”

Sahl ibn Hunayf said, “Had I been able to reject the command of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—I would have rejected it.” ‘Umar argued with the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—saying, “If we are in the right and our enemy is in the wrong, our slain are in Paradise and theirs are in the Fire, and you are truly the Messenger of Allah, why should we accept humiliation in our religion?” He later retracted this and performed good deeds to make amends for it (3).

Abū Bakr was the most obedient of them to Allah and His Messenger (4); he never opposed them in anything whatsoever. Indeed, when ‘Umar argued with him after arguing with the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—Abū Bakr gave him the same answer that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—had given, without having heard the answer of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

This is among the clearest indications of his agreement with the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—his affinity with him, and his special closeness to him in speech, deeds, knowledge and disposition. His words were of the same kind as the Prophet’s words, and his deeds of the same kind as his deeds. In those situations where his superiority over others in these respects became apparent, how could their standing compare with his?! One man argues with him to turn him away from