when a man of Bakr ibn Wa'il said: “Quraysh must desist, or Allah will place this authority among the masses of Arabs and others.” ‘Amr ibn al-‘As replied: “You lie. I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say...” Then he cited it.
This chain of transmission is authentic. Ahmad (4/203) and Ibn Abi ‘Asim in al-Sunnah (1009–1011, in my edition) also recorded it through this route. Al-Tirmidhi said: “A good, singular, authentic hadith.”
It has a supporting narration with the wording: “Quraysh are the governors of this authority: the righteous among the people follow their righteous, and their wicked follow their wicked.”
1156 — “Quraysh are the governors of this authority: the righteous among the people follow their righteous, and their wicked follow their wicked.”
It is reported from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubadah, and includes an account narrated by Humayd ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, died while Abu Bakr was in a quarter of Medina. He came, uncovered his face, and kissed him, saying: “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you. How sweet you are, both alive and dead! Muhammad has died, by the Lord of the Ka‘bah.” Then he related the hadith.
He said: Abu Bakr and ‘Umar then went together until they came to them. Abu Bakr spoke, mentioning everything that had been revealed concerning the Ansar and everything the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, had said regarding them. He said: “You certainly know that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘If the people were to follow one valley and the Ansar another, I would follow the valley of the Ansar.’ And I know, Sa‘d, while you were seated, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said...” Then he cited the hadith. Sa‘d replied: “You have spoken the truth. We are the ministers, and you are the rulers.”
Ahmad recorded it (vol. 1, no. 18). Its narrators are trustworthy, except that Humayd ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman did not meet Abu Bakr, as stated in al-Majma‘ (5/191). The hadith also has a supporting narration from Jabir, and another from Abu Hurayrah, which will appear with the wording: “The people follow Quraysh.”
Note: In al-Jami‘, al-Suyuti attributed this hadith to Ahmad on the authority of Abu Bakr and Sa‘d. He mentioned Sa‘d without qualification, thereby giving the impression that he meant Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, as his commentator al-Manawi likewise specified. But this is not so; rather, he is Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubadah, for he is the subject of the account, as is evident from the historical record.