English translation
4359. Narrated Jarīr: رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ While I was at Yemen, I met two men from Yemen called Dhū-Kalā' and Dhū-'Amr, and I started telling them about Allāh's Messenger ﷺ. Dhū-'Amr said to me, "If what you are saying about your friend (i.e., the Prophet ﷺ) is true, then he has died three days ago." Then both of them accompanied me to Al-Madīna, and when we had covered some distance on the way to Al-Madīna, we saw some riders coming from Al-Madīna. We asked them and they said, "Allāh's Messenger ﷺ has died and Abū Bakr has been appointed as the caliph and the people are in a good state." Then they said, "Tell your friend (Abū Bakr) that we have come (to visit him), and if Allāh will, we will come again." So they both returned to Yemen. When I told Abū Bakr their statement, he said to me, "I wish you had brought them (to me)." Afterwards I met Dhū-'Amr, and he said to me, "O Jarīr! You have done a favour to me and I am going to tell you something. You, the nation of Arabs, will remain prosperous as long as you choose and appoint another chief whenever the former one is dead. But if authority is obtained by the power of the sword, then the rulers will become kings who will get angry, as kings get angry, and will be delighted as kings get delighted."