al-Siddīq had (1) virtues that distinguished him from everyone else, by which the Muslims knew that he was the one among them most entitled to the caliphate, and that (2) no special designation was needed in this matter.

This is as (3) the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said when he intended to write a document concerning Abū Bakr. [He said to Aisha:

“Call your father and your brother to me so that I may write a document concerning Abū Bakr. I fear that someone may aspire to it and another may say, ‘I have a better claim,’ whereas Allah and the believers will accept none but Abū Bakr.”

It was recorded by al-Bukhārī and Muslim in their two Sahih collections.

In al-Bukhārī:

“I had intended to send for Abū Bakr and his son and make a formal designation, lest some people make claims or aspirants harbor aspirations; but Allah would thwart this, and the believers would refuse.” (4)

The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—thus explained that he intended to write a document out of fear. He then knew that the matter was plain and evident and was not one open to dispute. The community was still close in time to its Prophet; they were “the best community ever raised for humanity” and the best of this community’s generations. They would therefore not dispute this plain and evident matter. Dispute arises only because the truth is unclear or because of corrupt intent, and both causes were absent: Abū Bakr’s merit was clearly known, while corrupt intent would not be found among the great majority of the community, who were the best of its generations.] (5)

For this reason, he said (6):

“Allah and the believers will accept none but Abū Bakr.”

He therefore refrained from doing so because he knew that [the manifest nature of] (7)