The Messenger of Allah ﷺ died while Abu Bakr was at Sunh. The narrator mentioned the hadith, and in it, Abu Bakr came out and said, "You who are swearing oaths, take it easy."When Abu Bakr began to speak, Umar sat down. Abu Bakr praised Allah and extolled Him, then said, "Whoever used to worship Muhammad ﷺ, Muhammad has died. Whoever used to worship Allah, Allah is alive and does not die." Then he recited, "Indeed, you are to die, and indeed, they are to die" [Zumar 39:30], and he recited, "Muhammad is no more than a messenger, and messengers have passed away before him. If he were to die or be killed, would 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" [Aal Imran 3:144].The people broke down weeping.The Ansar gathered around Saad bin Ubada in the courtyard of Bani Saida and said, "Let there be a leader from among us and a leader from among you." So Abu Bakr, Umar bin Khattab, and Abu Ubayda bin Jarra went to them. Umar started to speak, but Abu Bakr silenced him.Umar later said, "By Allah, I did not intend by that anything except that I had prepared a speech that pleased me, and I feared Abu Bakr would not convey it as well."Then Abu Bakr spoke, and he spoke more eloquently than anyone. He said in his speech, "We are the leaders and you are the ministers."Hubab bin Mundhir said, "No, by Allah, we will not do that. Let there be a leader from among us and a leader from among you."Abu Bakr replied, "No, rather we are the leaders and you are the ministers. They are the most central of Arabs in their dwellings and the noblest in lineage. Pledge allegiance to Umar or to Abu Ubayda."Umar said, "Rather, we will pledge allegiance to you, for you are our master, the best of us, and the most beloved of us to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."Then Umar took his hand and pledged allegiance to him, and the people pledged allegiance as well.Someone said, "You have killed Saad bin Ubada."Umar replied, "Allah has killed him."
أن رسول الله ﷺ مات وأبو بكر بالسنح… فذكرت الحديث، وفيه: ثم خرج فقال: أيها الحالف على رسلك، فلما تكلم أبو بكر جلس عمر، فحمد الله أبو بكر وأثنى عليه، وقال: ألا من كان يعبد محمدا ﷺ فإن محمدا قد مات، ومن كان يعبد الله فإن الله حي لا يموت، وقال: {إنك ميت وإنهم ميتون}[الزمر: ٣٠] وقال: {وما محمد إلا رسول قد خلت من قبله الرسل أفإين مات أو قتل انقلبتم على أعقبكم ومن ينقلب على عقبيه فلن يضر الله شيئا وسيجزي الله الشاكرين} [آل: عمران ١٤٤] قال: فنشج الناس يبكون، قال: واجتمعت الأنصار إلى سعد بن عبادة في سقيفة بني ساعدة، فقالوا: منا أمير ومنكم أمير، فذهب إليهم أبو بكر وعمر بن الخطاب وأبو عبيدة بن الجراح، فذهب عمر يتكلم، فأسكته أبو بكر، وكان عمر يقول: والله ما أردت بذلك إلا أني قد هيأت كلاما قد أعجبني، خشيت أن لا يبلغه أبو بكر، ثم تكلم أبو بكر فتكلم أبلغ الناس، فقال في كلامه: نحن الأمراء وأنتم الوزراء، فقال حباب بن المنذر: لا والله لا نفعل، منا أمير ومنكم أمير، فقال أبو بكر: لا ولكنا الأمراء وأنتم الوزراء، هم أوسط العرب دارا، وأعربهم أحسابا، فبايعوا عمر أو أبا عبيدة، فقال عمر: بل نبايعك أنت، فأنت سيدنا، وخيرنا، وأحبنا إلى رسول الله ﷺ، فأخذ عمر بيده، فبايعه وبايعه الناس. فقال قائل: قتلتم سعد بن عبادة، فقال عمر: قتله الله.
Bukhari related it in Fadail al-Sahabah (3667, 3668) from Ismail bin Abdullah, who said, Sulayman bin Bilal narrated to us, from Hisham bin Urwa, from Urwa bin Zubayr, from Ayesha, and he recounted it.He was given the pledge of allegiance for the caliphate on the very day the Messenger of Allah ﷺ died, at Saqifat Bani Saida, and then the general pledge of allegiance was given to him on the Tuesday following that day. Saad bin Ubada, along with a group from Khazraj and a faction from Quraysh, held back from pledging to him, but they all pledged afterward except Saad. It is also said that Ali did not pledge allegiance to him until after the death of Fatimah, but even so he remained obedient to him throughout, praising him and giving him precedence.The engraving on his ring, as Zubayr bin Bakkar mentioned, read, "How excellent a Sustainer is Allah." Others said the engraving on his ring read, "A humble servant of a Majestic Lord." Hafiz bin Abdul-Barr recorded all of this in al-Istiab.He died on a Monday in Jumada Awwal in the year thirteen after the Hijrah, at the age of sixty-three.