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English translation
1627. It was narrated that 'Aishah said: "When the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ passed away, Abu Bakr was with his wife, the daughter of Khārijah, in villages surrounding Al-Madinah. They started to say: 'The Prophet ﷺ has not died, rather he has been overcome with what used to overcome him at the time of
Revelation.' Then Abu Bakr came and uncovered his (the Prophet's) face, kissed him between the eyes and said: 'You are too noble before Allāh for Him to cause you to die twice. By Allāh, the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ has indeed died.' 'Umar was in a corner of the mosque saying: 'By Allāh, the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ has not died and he will never die until the hands and feet of most of the hypocrites are cut off.' Then Abu Bakr stood up, ascended the pulpit and said: 'Whoever used to worship Allāh, Allāh is alive and will never die. Whoever used to worship Muhammad, Muhammad is dead. "Muhammad 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.'"[1] 'Umar said: 'It was as if I had never read (that Verse) before that day.''' (Da'if)
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Footnotes
1
[1] This Hadith is a proof against the Shī'ah claim that 'Ali ﷺ was the rightful caliph before Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthmān.
Commentary
a. Abu Bakr ﷺ regularly used to attend Allāh's Messenger ﷺ during the last days of his life. He had been taking the responsibility of leading
congregational prayer during the days of illness of Allāh's Messenger ﷺ until the Fajr prayer on Monday, which was also led by Abu Bakr ﷺ. After the Fajr prayer on Monday, Abu Bakr went to his home to do something, his home was in the outskirts of Al-Madinah at a place called Sunh, where he received the sad news of the Prophet's departure to the next life.
b. The Companions never believed that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ would not die, but in fact they were shocked because of this sudden and shocking grief.
c. This incident states the courage and high status of Abu Bakr ﷺ.
d. It was also the wisdom of Abu Bakr ﷺ that he began talking to the people rather than arguing with Umar ﷺ, which turned people's attention away from Umar, and this matter was tackled easily.
