It is narrated from Habib bin Habib; he said: I was present with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Hassan bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him): "Have you said anything about Abu Bakr? Recite it so that I may hear." He said: (I have composed these verses:) "He was the second of the two in the lofty cave, while the enemy, having climbed the mountain, was circling around it; and he was the beloved of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); people know well that among all creation he (peace and blessings be upon him) held no one equal to him."

It is narrated from Murrah al-Tayyib; he said: Abu Sufyan bin Harb came to Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "What is the matter that this affair (the caliphate) has gone to the smallest and weakest clan of Quraysh (meaning Abu Bakr)? By Allah, if I wished, I would fill this place against him with horses and men." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Abu Sufyan, for a long time you have been hostile to Islam and its people, yet that has not harmed Islam in the least. Indeed, we have found Abu Bakr worthy of it (the caliphate)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both); he said: We were sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when the delegation of Abd al-Qays came to him (peace and blessings be upon him). Some of them said things that were idle and pointless. the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "O Abu Bakr, did you hear what they said?" He said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah, and I have understood it too." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then answer them." The narrator said: Abu Bakr answered them, and gave an excellent answer. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abu Bakr, Allah has granted you al-Ridwan al-Akbar (the greatest good pleasure)." One of the people said: "O Messenger of Allah, what is al-Ridwan al-Akbar?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In the Hereafter, Allah Almighty will manifest Himself to all His servants in general, but He will manifest Himself to Abu Bakr in particular."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that if the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had been going to appoint a successor, he would have appointed Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) as successors. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it!

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that whatever the Muslims consider good is good with Allah as well, and whatever they consider bad is bad with Allah as well; and it was the unanimous view of all his (peace and blessings be upon him) Companions that we should make Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) the caliph. This hadith is sahih (authentic) in its chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it. It has a supporting narration (shahid) that is more authentic than it, except that there is irsal (a missing link in the chain) in it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him); he said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, the Muhajirun and the Ansar gathered at the Saqifah of Banu Sa'idah to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). So I went to the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), and told her that the people had pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Abu Wa'il that it was said to Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him): "Will you not appoint a successor (khalifah)?" He said: "the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not appoint a successor, that I should do so. However, if Allah Almighty intends good for the people, He will unite them after me upon the best of them, just as He united them after their Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) upon the best of them." This hadith is sahih (authentic) in its chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it. (Mention of the authentic narrations from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) that state their consensus on the caliphate of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) and their addressing him as "Ya Khalifata Rasulillah" (O Successor of the Messenger of Allah).)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with them both); he said: Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) became our ruler, and he proved to be the best successor (khalifah) of Allah, the most merciful to us and the most tender towards us. This hadith is sahih (authentic) in its chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him); he said: We were going around the upper room in which Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was staying during the illness in which he passed away. He looked out at us and asked: "Are you pleased with the decision I have made?" We said: "Yes, O Successor of the Messenger of Allah!" This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sa'id bin al-Musayyib that when Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) dispatched the armies towards Sham (Syria), among them Yazid bin Abi Sufyan, Amr bin al-As and Shurahbil bin Hasanah, he walked on foot with them as far as Thaniyyat al-Wada'. They said: "O Successor of the Messenger of Allah, you are walking while we are riding?!" This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.