Sahih al-Bukhari 3667, 3668

Isma‘il ibn ‘Abd Allah reported to us: Sulayman ibn Bilal reported to us, from Hisham ibn ‘Urwah, from ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, from ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) died while Abu Bakr was at al-Sunh—Isma‘il said, meaning in al-‘Aliyah. ‘Umar stood up, saying, ‘By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has not died!’ She said: ‘Umar said, “By Allah, nothing occurred to my mind except that Allah would surely raise him, and he would surely cut off the hands and feet of some men.” Abu Bakr came, uncovered the Messenger of Allah’s face, and kissed him. He said, “May my father and mother be your ransom. You were good in life and in death. By Him in whose hand is my soul, Allah will never make you taste death twice.” Then he went out and said, “O you who swore, be calm.” When Abu Bakr spoke, ‘Umar sat down. Abu Bakr praised Allah and extolled Him, then said: ‘Now then, whoever worshipped Muhammad, Muhammad has indeed died; but whoever worships Allah, Allah is Living and does not die.’ He said: ‘You are surely to die, and they too are surely to die.’ And he said: ‘Muhammad is only a Messenger; messengers have passed away before him. If he dies or is killed, will you turn back on your heels? Whoever turns back on his heels will not harm Allah in the least, and Allah will reward the grateful.’ The people sobbed and wept.

The Ansar gathered around Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubadah in the portico of Banu Sa‘idah and said, ‘A leader from us and a leader from you.’ Abu Bakr, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, and Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah went to them. ‘Umar began to speak, but Abu Bakr stopped him. ‘Umar used to say: ‘By Allah, I intended only to say something that had occurred to me and pleased me, and I feared that Abu Bakr would not reach it.’ Then Abu Bakr spoke, and he was the most eloquent of people. Among what he said was: ‘We are the leaders and you are the ministers.’ Hubab ibn al-Mundhir said, ‘No, by Allah, we will not do that. A leader from us and a leader from you.’ Abu Bakr said, ‘No, rather we are the leaders and you are the ministers. They are the most central of the Arabs in their homes and the noblest in lineage, so pledge allegiance to ‘Umar or Abu ‘Ubaydah.’ ‘Umar said, ‘Rather, we pledge allegiance to you. You are our master, the best of us, and the most beloved of us to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).’ ‘Umar took his hand and pledged allegiance to him, and the people pledged allegiance. Someone said, ‘You have killed Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubadah!’ ‘Umar said, ‘May Allah kill him.’