Thus, in the two Sahīh collections, Sahl ibn Saʿd reported:
“Fighting broke out among Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf. News of this reached the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, so he went to reconcile them after the noon prayer. He said to Bilāl:
‘If the time for prayer comes and I have not returned to you, tell Abū Bakr to lead the people in prayer.’”
He then related the hadith. When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, arrived, he gestured to Abū Bakr to complete the prayer as their imam. Abū Bakr acted out of respect for him, understanding that his instruction was intended to honour him, not to impose an obligation. He therefore stepped back out of deference to him, not in disobedience to his command. If, while healthy and present, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, approved of Abū Bakr completing the prayer he had begun leading for the Muslims, and would himself, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, pray behind him—just as he prayed the dawn prayer behind ʿAbd al-Rahmān ibn ʿAwf during the expedition to Tabūk, joining him for one of its two units and making up the other—how could anyone suppose that, during his illness, having authorized Abū Bakr to lead the people in prayer, he would come out to prevent him from doing so?!
This and similar evidence demonstrate that al-Siddīq’s standing with Allah, His Messenger and the believers is utterly contrary to his standing in the eyes of these lying, fabricating Rāfidīs, who support the hypocrites and are brothers to the apostates and disbelievers who ally themselves with Allah’s enemies and oppose His allies.
There is no doubt that Abū Bakr and his supporters strove more vigorously than anyone else in the Muslim community against the disbelievers, hypocrites and apostates. They are those of whom Allah said:
“Allah will bring forth a people He will love and who will love Him, humble toward the believers, mighty against the disbelievers, striving in the cause of Allah and fearing no blame from any critic. That is Allah’s favour, which He bestows upon whom He wills.”
[Surah al-Mā’idah: 54]
His supporters and allies are therefore the best and most excellent of the Muslim community. This is well known among the early generations