Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that while I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)! These two are the leaders of the elders of Paradise, except for the Prophets. So do not inform them of this.

Hazrat Rubayyi’ bin Hirash (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We were sitting with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace be upon him) said: Surely, I do not know how long I will remain among you. After me, you should follow these two, and he (peace be upon him) pointed towards Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him).

Hazrat Abu Ja'far (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Hazrat Rabi' (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It was written in the first book: The example of Abu Bakr is like that of a raindrop. Wherever it falls, it brings benefit.

Hazrat Suhail’s (may Allah have mercy on him) father (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Abu Bakr is a good man. Umar is a good man. Amr bin Jamuh is a good man. And Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah is a good man.

Hazrat Ibn Hanafiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that I asked my father, Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): Who was the best person among the people after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He replied: Abu Bakr was. I asked: Then who? He replied: Umar was. I asked: And you? He replied: Your father was an ordinary man among the Muslims.

Hazrat Sadaqah bin Mathna (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that I heard my grandfather, Hazrat Riyah bin Harith (may Allah have mercy on him), saying: I was present with Hazrat Mughirah bin Shu’bah (may Allah be pleased with him). At that time, he (may Allah be pleased with him) was in a large mosque of Kufa, and all the people were gathered around him on his right and left. Until a person from the people of Madinah arrived, who was being called by the name Sa’eed bin Zaid bin Amr bin Nufail. So Hazrat Mughirah bin Shu’bah (may Allah have mercy on him) welcomed him and seated him on the throne near his legs. While they were in this state, a person from the people of Kufa, who was being called by the name Qais bin Alqamah, entered. So Hazrat Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with him) welcomed him as well, but he started abusing, and that person also started abusing. So the man from Madinah said to him: O Mughirah bin Shu’bah! Whom was this abuser cursing? Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: He was cursing Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)! The man from Madinah said to him twice: O Mughirah bin Shu’bah! O Mughirah bin Shu’bah! Beware, I am hearing that the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) are being reviled in your presence, and you are neither astonished nor do you feel any honor! I bear witness upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding this matter, that my two ears heard and my heart preserved it: Surely, I do not narrate after their passing away out of fear of lying. For they will ask me when I meet them. Because he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Abu Bakr is in Paradise, and Umar is in Paradise, Uthman is in Paradise, Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is in Paradise, Talhah is in Paradise, Zubair is in Paradise, Abdur Rahman bin Awf is in Paradise, and Sa’d is in Paradise. And as for the ninth, if I wish to name him, I can name him. The narrator says: Then the people of the mosque came out, asking him with oaths: O companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Who was the ninth? He said: You have made me swear, and Allah is very great. I am the ninth among the believers. And the Prophet of Allah is the tenth. Then after that he stated: By Allah, the rank in which a man from among the companions spent a day in the path of Allah with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), where his face became dusty, is better than the deeds of each one of you, even if he were given the lifespan of Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him).

Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Surely, in Paradise there will be a bird like a Khurasani camel. A man will come and eat it. Then the bird will go away as if nothing has been diminished from it. So Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)! Surely, that bird will be very fat? The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: And the person who eats from it will be even more prosperous. You will be among those who eat from it.

Hazrat Abdullah bin Zalim (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Saeed bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I bear witness regarding nine people that surely they are in Paradise, and if I bear witness regarding the tenth, then surely I will be truthful. The narrator says: I asked, who is he? So he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was on the mountain of Hira, and Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Talha, Zubair, Sa’d bin Malik, and Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with them) were also with him. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Hira! Remain still, for there is none upon you except a Prophet, a Siddiq, or a Martyr. The narrator says: I asked, who was the tenth person? He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It was I.

Hazrat Ismail bin Abi Khalid (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) looked towards the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O leader of the Arabs!" Upon this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I am the leader of all the children of Adam, and I do not take pride in this. And your father will be the leader of the elders of Paradise."

Hazrat Abu Hujayfah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: After the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the best person of this Ummah is Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and after Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), it is Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and if I wish to mention the third person, I can do so.