The Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), narrates: "By the One by whom I swear! Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was the closest of people to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) (at the time of his passing). We came in the morning to visit the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in his illness, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) was asking again and again: 'Has Ali come? Has Ali come?' Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: 'It is as though you have sent him on some errand?' The narrator (Umm Salamah) says: After that he came. Sayyidah Umm Salamah says: I sensed that he (peace and blessings be upon him) had something important to say to him, so we went out of the house and sat by the door, and I was the closest of them to the door. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) leaned over him and began to whisper and speak privately with him. Then the soul of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was taken that very day. So Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was the closest of people to him (peace and blessings be upon him) at the time of his passing." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.