-- "Muhammad is no more than an Apostle and indeed many Apostles have passed away before him.." (3.144)

I asked my father (`Ali bin Abi Talib), "Who are the best people after Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) ?" He said, "Abu Bakr." I asked, "Who then?" He said, "Then `Umar. " I was afraid he would say "Uthman, so I said, "Then you?" He said, "I am only an ordinary person.

We went out with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) on one of his journeys till we reached Al-Baida or Dhatul-Jaish where my necklace got broken (and lost). Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) stopped to search for it and the people too stopped with him. There was no water at that place and they had no water with them. So they went to Abu Bakr and said, "Don't you see what `Aisha has done? She has made Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and the people stop where there is no water and they have no water with them. Abu Bakr came while Allah's Apostle was sleeping with his head on my thigh and said, "You detained Allah Apostle and the people where there is no water and they have no water." He then admonished me and said what Allah wished and pinched me at my flanks with his hands, but I did not move because the head of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was on my thigh . Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) kept on sleeping till be got up in the morning and found no water. Then Allah revealed the Divine Verse of Tayammum, and the people performed Tayammum. Usaid bin AlHudair said. "O family of Abu Bakr! This is not the first blessings of yours." We urged the camel on which I was sitting to get up from its place and the necklace was found under it.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Do not abuse my companions for if any one of you spent gold equal to Uhud (in Allah's Cause) it would not be equal to a Mud or even a half Mud spent by one of them."

I performed ablution in my house and then went out and said, "Today I shall stick to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and stay with him all this day of mine (in his service)." I went to the Mosque and asked about the Prophet . They said, "He had gone in this direction." So I followed his way, asking about him till he entered a place called Bir Aris. I sat at its gate that was made of date-palm leaves till the Prophet (ﷺ) finished answering the call of nature and performed ablution. Then I went up to him to see him sitting at the well of Aris at the middle of its edge with his legs uncovered, hanging in the well. I greeted him and went back and sat at the gate. I said, "Today I will be the gatekeeper of the Prophet." Abu Bakr came and pushed the gate. I asked, "Who is it?" He said, "Abu Bakr." I told him to wait, went in and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Abu Bakr asks for permission to enter." He said, "Admit him and give him the glad tidings that he will be in Paradise." So I went out and said to Abu Bakr, "Come in, and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) gives you the glad tidings that you will be in Paradise" Abu Bakr entered and sat on the right side of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) on the built edge of the well and hung his legs n the well as the Prophet (ﷺ) did and uncovered his legs. I then returned and sat (at the gate). I had left my brother performing ablution and he intended to follow me. So I said (to myself). "If Allah wants good for so-and-so (i.e. my brother) He will bring him here." Suddenly somebody moved the door. I asked, "Who is it?" He said, "`Umar bin Al-Khattab." I asked him to wait, went to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), greeted him and said, `Umar bin Al-Khattab asks the permission to enter." He said, "Admit him, and give him the glad tidings that he will be in Paradise." I went to "`Umar and said "Come in, and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), gives you the glad tidings that you will be in Paradise." So he entered and sat beside Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) on the built edge of the well on the left side and hung his legs in the well. I returned and sat (at the gate) and said, (to myself), "If Allah wants good for so-and-so, He will bring him here." Somebody came and moved the door. I asked "Who is it?" He replied, "Uthman bin `Affan." I asked him to wait and went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and informed him. He said, "Admit him, and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise, I asked him to wait and went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and informed him. He said, "Adult him, and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise after a calamity that will befall him." So I went up to him and said to him, "Come in; Allah's Apostle gives you the glad tidings of entering Paradise after a calamity that will befall you. "Uthman then came in and found that the built edge of the well was occupied, so he sat opposite to the Prophet (ﷺ) on the other side. Sa`id bin Al-Musaiyab said, "I interpret this (narration) in terms of their graves."

The Prophet (ﷺ) once climbed the mountain of Uhud with Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthman. The mountain shook with them. The Prophet (ﷺ) said (to the mountain), "Be firm, O Uhud! For on you there are no more than a Prophet, a Siddiq and two martyrs.

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said. "While (in a dream), I was standing by a well, drawing water from it. Abu Bakr and `Umar came to me. Abu Bakr took the bucket (from me) and drew one or two buckets of water, and there was some weakness in his drawing. May Allah forgive him. Then Ibn Al-Khattab took the bucket from Abu Bakr, and the bucket turned into a very large one in his hands. I had never seen such a mighty person amongst the people as him in performing such hard work. He drew so much water that the people drank to their satisfaction and watered their camels." (Wahab, a sub-narrator said, "till their camels drank and knelt down.")

While I was standing amongst the people who were invoking Allah for `Umar bin Al-Khattab who was lying (dead) on his bed, a man behind me rested his elbows on my shoulder and said, "(O `Umar!) May Allah bestow His Mercy on you. I always hoped that Allah will keep you with your two companions, for I often heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, "I, Abu Bakr and `Umar were (somewhere). I, Abu Bakr and `Umar did (something). I, Abu Bakr and `Umar set out.' So I hoped that Allah will keep you with both of them." I turned back to see that the speaker was `Ali bin Abi Talib.

I asked `Abdullah bin `Amr, "What was the worst thing the pagans did to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)?" He said, "I saw `Uqba bin Abi Mu'ait coming to the Prophet (ﷺ) while he was praying.' `Uqba put his sheet round the Prophet's neck and squeezed it very severely. Abu Bakr came and pulled `Uqba away from the Prophet and said, "Do you intend to kill a man just because he says: 'My Lord is Allah, and he has brought forth to you the Evident Signs from your Lord?"

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "I saw myself (in a dream) entering Paradise, and behold! I saw Ar-Rumaisa', Abu Talha's wife. I heard footsteps. I asked, Who is it? Somebody said, 'It is Bilal ' Then I saw a palace and a lady sitting in its courtyard. I asked, 'For whom is this palace?' Somebody replied, 'It is for `Umar.' I intended to enter it and see it, but I thought of your (`Umar's) Ghira (and gave up the attempt)." `Umar said, "Let my parents be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! How dare I think of my Ghira (self-respect) being offended by you?

While we were with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) he said, "While I was sleeping, I saw myself in Paradise, and suddenly I saw a woman performing ablution beside a palace. I asked, 'For whom is this palace?' They replied, 'It is for `Umar.' Then I remembered `Umar's Ghira (self-respect) and went away quickly." `Umar wept and said, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! How dare I think of my ghira (self-respect) being offended by you?

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "While I was sleeping, I saw myself drinking (i.e. milk), and I was so contented that I saw the milk flowing through my nails. Then I gave (the milk) to `Umar." They (i.e. the companions of the Prophet) asked, "What do you interpret it?" He said, "Knowledge."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "In a dream I saw myself drawing water from a well with a bucket. Abu Bakr came and drew a bucket or two weakly. May Allah forgive him. Then `Umar bin Al-Khattab came and the bucket turned into a very large one in his hands. I had never seen such a mighty person as he in doing such hard work till all the people drank to their satisfaction and watered their camels that knelt down there.

`Umar bin Al-Khattab asked the permission of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) to see him while some Quraishi women were sitting with him, talking to him and asking him for more expenses, raising their voices above the voice of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). When `Umar asked for the permission to enter, the women quickly put on their veils. Allah'sf Apostle allowed him to enter and `Umar came in while Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was smiling, `Umar said "O Allah's Apostle! May Allah always keep you smiling." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "These women who have been here, roused my wonder, for as soon as they heard your voice, they quickly put on their veils. "`Umar said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! You have more right to be feared by them than I." Then `Umar addressed the women saying, "O enemies of yourselves! You fear me more than you do Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) ?" They said, "Yes, for you are harsher and sterner than Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)." Then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "O Ibn Al-Khattab! By Him in Whose Hands my life is! Never does Satan find you going on a way, but he takes another way other than yours."

We have been powerful since `Umar embraced Islam.

When (the dead body of) `Umar was put on his deathbed, the people gathered around him and invoked (Allah) and prayed for him before the body was taken away, and I was amongst them. Suddenly I felt somebody taking hold of my shoulder and found out that he was `Ali bin Abi Talib. `Ali invoked Allah's Mercy for `Umar and said, "O `Umar! You have not left behind you a person whose deeds I like to imitate and meet Allah with more than I like your deeds. By Allah! I always thought that Allah would keep you with your two companions, for very often I used to hear the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, 'I, Abu Bakr and `Umar went (somewhere); I, Abu Bakr and `Umar entered (somewhere); and I, Abu Bakr and `Umar went out."'

The Prophet (ﷺ) ascended the mountain of Uhud and he was accompanied by Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthman. The mountain shook beneath them. The Prophet (ﷺ) hit it with his foot and said, "O Uhud ! Be firm, for on you there is none but a Prophet, a Siddiq and a martyr (i.e. and two martyrs).

Ibn `Umar asked me about some matters concerning `Umar. He said, "Since Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) died. I have never seen anybody more serious, hard working and generous than `Umar bin Al-Khattab (till the end of his life."

A man asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about the Hour (i.e. Day of Judgment) saying, "When will the Hour be?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "What have you prepared for it?" The man said, "Nothing, except that I love Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "You will be with those whom you love." We had never been so glad as we were on hearing that saying of the Prophet (i.e., "You will be with those whom you love.") Therefore, I love the Prophet, Abu Bakr and `Umar, and I hope that I will be with them because of my love for them though my deeds are not similar to theirs.

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Among the nations before you there used to be people who were inspired (though they were not prophets). And if there is any of such a persons amongst my followers, it is 'Umar."

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Among the nation of Bani Israel who lived before you, there were men who used to be inspired with guidance though they were not prophets, and if there is any of such persons amongst my followers, it is 'Umar."