Narrated Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) daughter Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) sent someone to Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) demanding her inheritance from the property which Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) had been granted by Allah in Medina and Fadak, and from the remaining fifth of the spoils of Khaybar. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) replied that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had said,“We, the Prophets, do not leave inheritance; whatever we leave behind is charity. However, the family of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) will eat from this property. By Allah, I will not change anything in the charity left by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It will remain as it was during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and I will act regarding its distribution as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did in his lifetime.”Thus, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) did not give anything to Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her). Upon this, Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) became upset with Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and stopped meeting him, and she did not speak to him until her death. Lady Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) lived for six months after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When she passed away, her husband Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) buried her at night and did not inform Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and he himself led her funeral prayer. As long as Lady Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) was alive, people paid great attention to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), but after her death, he noticed that people’s faces had turned away from him. At that time, he wished to reconcile with Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and to pledge allegiance to him. For six months prior, he had not pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Then he sent for Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and requested that he come alone and not bring anyone with him; he did not want Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) to come with him. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him),“By Allah! Do not go to them alone.”Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“Why? What will they do to me? By Allah, I will surely go to them.”So he went to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) called Allah as witness and then said,“We acknowledge your virtue and excellence and all that Allah has granted you. We have not competed with you in any of the goodness and distinction that Allah has given you. But you have wronged us (by not consulting us in the matter of the caliphate). Because of our close relationship with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), we considered ourselves entitled (to be consulted).”Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was overcome with tears at these words, and when he was able to speak, he said,“By Him in Whose hand is my soul, maintaining the ties of kinship with the relatives of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is dearer to me than with my own relatives. But regarding the property over which there was a difference between me and you, I have not deviated from the truth and goodness, and in this matter, I have followed the path I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) take.”After this, Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him),“I will pledge allegiance to you after midday.”So, after finishing the Zuhr prayer, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the pulpit, and after delivering a sermon, he mentioned the matter of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and his delay in pledging allegiance, and he also mentioned the excuse Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) had presented. Then Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), after seeking forgiveness and bearing witness, acknowledged the right and greatness of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and said,“What I did was not out of envy for Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), nor was it to deny the excellence and virtue that Allah has granted him. It was only that we considered ourselves entitled to be consulted in the matter of the caliphate, and it was this omission that caused us grief.”The Muslims were very pleased with this event and said,“You have spoken rightly.”When Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) adopted this appropriate course in the matter, the Muslims were pleased with him and began to love Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) even more when they saw that he had chosen the right path.