As for Abū Bakr, Sa'd held back from pledging allegiance to him because they had previously designated Sa'd for leadership (1), so some of what naturally lingers in human hearts remained within him. Nevertheless, may Allah be pleased with him, he did not oppose, reject what was right, or support falsehood. [Indeed, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated in the Musnad of al-Siddīq from Affān (2), from Abū Awāna (3), from Dāwūd ibn Abd Allāh al-Awdī, from Humayd ibn Abd al-Rahmān—that is, al-Himyarī—who related the account of al-Saqīfa. It states that al-Siddīq said:
“You know very well, Sa'd, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said while you were seated there:
‘Quraysh are those entrusted with authority in this matter. The righteous among the people follow the righteous of Quraysh, and the wicked among them follow the wicked of Quraysh.’”
He said: Sa'd replied, “You have spoken the truth. We are the ministers, and you are the rulers.” This is therefore a good report with a missing Companion link (4), and Humayd may have received it from one of the Companions who witnessed the event. It contains a benefit—
(1) N and M read: “*li-l-imra* (for leadership).”
(2) A and B read: “Uthmān,” which is incorrect. The correct reading is the one we have printed, as found in *al-Musnad*, vol. [0–9], hadith 18, and in Ibn Kathīr’s *al-Bidāya wa-l-Nihāya* (*The Beginning and the End*), 5/247 (Cairo, 1351/1932).
(3) A and B read: “Abū Muāwiya,” which is incorrect. The correct reading is the one we have printed, as found in *al-Musnad* and *al-Bidāya wa-l-Nihāya* at the two locations cited in the preceding note. Both texts read: “Imam Ahmad said: ‘Affān narrated to us; Abū Awāna narrated to us, from Dāwūd ibn Abd Allāh al-Awdī, from Humayd ibn Abd al-Rahmān, who said: …’ and so forth.”
(4) Ahmad Shākir, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote in his commentary on this hadith (*al-Musnad*, vol. [0–9], hadith 18, p. [0–9]64): “Its chain of transmission is weak because it is interrupted. Humayd ibn Abd al-Rahmān al-Himyarī, a trustworthy Successor, narrates from figures such as Abū Hurayra, Abū Bakra, Ibn Umar, and Ibn Abbās. Ibn Sa'd stated that he narrated from Ali ibn Abī Tālib. Here, however, he did not identify the person who related this hadith to him. It is evident that he did not witness the death of the Messenger of Allah, the events at al-Saqīfa, or the pledge of allegiance to Abū Bakr.” The hadith also appears in *Sahīh al-Jāmi al-Saghīr*. Al-Suyūtī wrote: “HM (Ahmad), from Abū Bakr and Sa'd ibn Ubāda.” Al-Albānī graded the hadith authentic.