Sayyiduna Ibrahim bin Abd al-Rahman bin Awf narrates from his father that Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Awf was with Umar bin al-Khattab, and that Muhammad bin Maslamah had broken the sword of al-Zubayr. Then Abu Bakr stood up, addressed the people and, offering them his excuse, said: "By Allah, I was never eager for leadership, neither by day nor by night, nor did I desire it, nor did I ever ask Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, for it, secretly or openly. But I feared discord (fitnah). There is no comfort for me in leadership; rather, a great responsibility has been placed upon me for which I have neither the capacity nor the strength, except that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, grants strength. I wished that the one most capable of bearing it were in my place today." So the Muhajirun accepted what he said and his excuse, and Ali and al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "We were only upset because we were kept back from the consultation. We regard Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) as the most deserving of people for this leadership after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Indeed, he is the companion of the cave and 'the second of the two' [Surah al-Tawbah: 40] . We know his honour and his seniority, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to lead the people in prayer during his lifetime." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs, but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away and the Ansar said, "One leader will be from us and one leader from you (the Muhajirun)," Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to them and said: "O company of the Ansar, do you not know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) to lead the people in prayer? So which of you would be content to put himself ahead of Abu Bakr?" At this the Ansar said: "We seek refuge in Allah from putting ourselves ahead of Abu Bakr." This hadith has an authentic chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the polytheists beat the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) so much that he (peace and blessings be upon him) fainted. Then Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and began calling out: "Woe to you! 'Do you kill a man because he says: My Lord is Allah?' [Surah Ghafir: 28] " The people asked: "Who is this?" The reply came: "This is the madman son of Abu Quhafah." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

The nephew of Suraqah bin Ju'shum narrates from his father that he heard Suraqah bin Ju'shum say: "The messengers of the disbelievers of Quraysh came to us and fixed a reward equal to one blood-money (one hundred camels) for (each of) the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr, for whoever killed them or took them captive." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Qays al-Kharifi that he said: I heard Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) say: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went ahead of all (in excellence), Abu Bakr came second, and Umar came third. After that, a trial (fitnah) engulfed us, and Allah forgives whomever He wills." This hadith has an authentic chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when the blessed body of Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was placed on his bed, the people gathered around him and began praying for him, and I was among them. Then Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) came and said: "It was my belief that Allah Almighty would keep you with your two companions (the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr). The reason for this is that I often used to hear the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'I, Abu Bakr and Umar went; I, Abu Bakr and Umar entered; I, Abu Bakr and Umar came out.' And indeed it was my belief that Allah would keep you with the two of them." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs, but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the mosque with one of his hands in the hand of Abu Bakr and the other in the hand of Umar. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is how we will be raised on the Day of Resurrection."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The earth will split open first from over me, then from Abu Bakr, then from Umar. Then I will come to the people of al-Baqi', and the earth will split open from them, and I will be raised among them." This hadith has an authentic chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me and to Abu Bakr: "With one of you is Jibril and with the other is Mika'il, and Israfil is a mighty angel who is present in battle and stands in the ranks." This hadith has an authentic chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Muhammad bin Jubayr bin Mut'im that he heard Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) addressing the people; he said: "While I was drawing water from a well on the day of Badr, suddenly a strong wind came, the like of which I had never seen, then it went away. Then another strong wind came, the like of which I had never seen, except for the one that had come before it. The first wind was Jibril (peace be upon him), who descended with a thousand angels to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); the second wind was Mika'il (peace be upon him), who descended with a thousand angels on the right side of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and Abu Bakr was on his right; and the third wind was Israfil (peace be upon him), who descended with a thousand angels on the left side of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), while I was on the left side. Then, when Allah defeated His enemies, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) mounted me on his horse. It galloped off with me and I fell back on my heels. Then I supplicated to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and He held me firm. When I sat upright on it, I struck at the enemy with spear-thrusts from this hand of mine until this part of me (he pointed to his armpit) was dyed with blood." This hadith is sahih (authentic) in its chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.