English translation
3668. (‘Ā’ishah added :) Abū Bakr praised and glorified Allāh and said, “No doubt! Whoever worshipped Muḥammad (ﷺ), then Muḥammad ﷺ is dead, but whoever worshipped Allāh, then Allāh is Alive and shall never die.” Then he recited Allāh’s Statement: “Verily, you (O Muḥammad ﷺ) will die, and verily, they (too) will die.” (V.39:30) He also recited: “Muḥammad (ﷺ) is no more than a Messenger, and indeed (many) Messengers have passed away before him, If he dies or is killed, will you then turn back on your heels (as disbelievers)? And he who turns back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allāh, and Allāh will give reward to those who are grateful.” (V.3:144) The people wept loudly, and the Anṣār had assembled with Sa’d bin ‘Ubāda in the shed of Banī Sā’ida. They said (to the emigrants). “There should be one ‘Amīr (ruler, leader etc.) from us and one from you.” Then Abū Bakr, ‘Umar bin Al-Khaṭṭāb and Abū ‘Ubaida bin Al-Jarrāh went to them. ‘Umar wanted to speak but Abū Bakr stopped him. ‘Umar later on used to say, “By Allāh, I intended only to say something that appealed to me and I was afraid that Abū Bakr would not speak so well.” Then Abū Bakr spoke and his speech was very eloquent. He said in his statement, “We are the rulers and you (Anṣār) are the ministers”. Ḥubāb bin Al-Mundhir said, “No, by Allāh we won’t accept this. But there must be a ruler from us and a ruler from you.” Abū Bakr said, “No, we will be the rulers and you will be the ministers, for they (i.e., Quraish) are the best family amongst the Arabs and of best origin. So you should elect either 'Umar or Abū 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrāh as your ruler." 'Umar said (to Abū Bakr), "No, but we elect you, for you are our chief and the best amongst us and the most beloved from all of us to Allāh's Messenger ﷺ." So, 'Umar took Abū Bakr's hand and gave the Bai'a (pledge), and the people too gave the Bai'a to Abū Bakr. Someone said, "You have killed Sa'd bin Ubāda." 'Umar said, "Allāh has killed him."