Sahih al-Bukhari

Sahih al-Bukhari 7219

Arabic hadith text

حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مُوسَى، أَخْبَرَنَا هِشَامٌ، عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، أَخْبَرَنِي أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ خُطْبَةَ، عُمَرَ الآخِرَةَ حِينَ جَلَسَ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ، وَذَلِكَ الْغَدُ مِنْ يَوْمٍ تُوُفِّيَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَتَشَهَّدَ وَأَبُو بَكْرٍ صَامِتٌ لاَ يَتَكَلَّمُ قَالَ كُنْتُ أَرْجُو أَنْ يَعِيشَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم حَتَّى يَدْبُرَنَا ـ يُرِيدُ بِذَلِكَ أَنْ يَكُونَ آخِرَهُمْ ـ فَإِنْ يَكُ مُحَمَّدٌ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَدْ مَاتَ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَدْ جَعَلَ بَيْنَ أَظْهُرِكُمْ نُورًا تَهْتَدُونَ بِهِ بِمَا هَدَى اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدًا صلى الله عليه وسلم وَإِنَّ أَبَا بَكْرٍ صَاحِبُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ثَانِي اثْنَيْنِ، فَإِنَّهُ أَوْلَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ بِأُمُورِكُمْ، فَقُومُوا فَبَايِعُوهُ‏.‏ وَكَانَتْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ قَدْ بَايَعُوهُ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ فِي سَقِيفَةِ بَنِي سَاعِدَةَ، وَكَانَتْ بَيْعَةُ الْعَامَّةِ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ‏.‏ قَالَ الزُّهْرِيُّ عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ سَمِعْتُ عُمَرَ يَقُولُ لأَبِي بَكْرٍ يَوْمَئِذٍ اصْعَدِ الْمِنْبَرَ‏.‏ فَلَمْ يَزَلْ بِهِ حَتَّى صَعِدَ الْمِنْبَرَ، فَبَايَعَهُ النَّاسُ عَامَّةً‏.‏

Translation

Anas ibn Mālik said: I heard ʿUmar’s final sermon, delivered after he sat on the pulpit. It was the day after the Messenger of God died. ʿUmar bore witness to the faith while Abū Bakr remained silent. ʿUmar said:

“I had hoped that the Messenger of God would live to continue guiding us”—meaning, to be the last of them. “But if Muḥammad has died, God has placed among you a light by which you may be guided, just as God guided Muḥammad. Abū Bakr, the Companion of the Messenger of God and the second of the two, is the person most entitled among the Muslims to take charge of your affairs. So stand and pledge allegiance to him.”

Some people had pledged allegiance to him earlier at the portico of Banū Sāʿida, while the general pledge took place on the pulpit.

Al-Zuhrī reported from Anas ibn Mālik: I heard ʿUmar say to Abū Bakr that day, “Climb the pulpit.” ʿUmar kept urging him until he climbed the pulpit, and the people at large pledged allegiance to him.

Translation notes
  • The source includes the transmitter’s gloss that ʿUmar hoped the Prophet would “manage/guid[e] us,” meaning that he would be the last among them. This gloss is retained without further interpretation. The account distinguishes the earlier pledge at the portico of Banū Sāʿida from the general pledge on the pulpit.