Fatimah, peace be upon her, the daughter of the Prophet ﷺ, sent word to Abu Bakr asking him for her inheritance from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from what Allah had granted him as spoils in Medina and Fadak, and what remained of the one-fifth share of Khaybar.Abu Bakr replied, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'We are not inherited from. Whatever we leave behind is charity. The family of Muhammad ﷺ may only eat from this wealth.' By Allah, I will not change anything about the charity of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from the state it was in during the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and I will manage it in the same way the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did."So Abu Bakr refused to give Fatimah anything from it. Fatimah was upset with Abu Bakr over this and avoided him, not speaking to him until she died. She lived for six months after the Prophet ﷺ. When she died, her husband Ali buried her at night without informing Abu Bakr, and Ali performed the funeral prayer over her.Ali had enjoyed a respected standing among the people during Fatimah's lifetime, but when she died, he sensed a change in the people's attitude toward him. So he sought reconciliation with Abu Bakr and to give him the pledge of allegiance, for he had not pledged allegiance during those months.Ali sent word to Abu Bakr saying, "Come to us, and let no one come with you," because he disliked the presence of Umar.Umar said, "No, by Allah, you will not go in to them alone."Abu Bakr said, "What do you suppose they would do to me? By Allah, I will go to them."Abu Bakr went in to them, and Ali pronounced the testimony of faith, then said, "We acknowledge your merit and what Allah has bestowed upon you, and we do not begrudge you any good that Allah has driven your way. But you acted unilaterally with regard to the matter, and we felt we had a share in it because of our kinship to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."Abu Bakr's eyes welled up with tears. When he spoke, he said, "By the One in whose hand my soul is, the kinship of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is dearer to me to maintain than my own kin. As for the dispute that arose between me and you regarding this wealth, I did not fall short of what is good in it, and I did not abandon any practice I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ doing with it without doing it myself."Ali said to Abu Bakr, "Your appointment with us for the pledge of allegiance is this evening."After Abu Bakr prayed Zuhr, he ascended the pulpit, pronounced the testimony of faith, and mentioned Ali's situation and his delay in giving the pledge, along with the excuse Ali had offered him. Then he sought forgiveness from Allah.Ali then pronounced the testimony of faith and emphasized the right of Abu Bakr, explaining that what he had done was not out of envy of Abu Bakr nor a denial of the merit Allah had granted him. He said, "But we felt we had a share in this matter, and he acted unilaterally regarding it, so we felt some resentment within ourselves."The Muslims were pleased with this and said, "You have done right." The Muslims drew close to Ali again when he returned to the proper course.
حدثنا يحيى بن بكير حدثنا الليث عن عقيل عن ابن شهاب عن عروة
أن فاطمة عليها السلام بنت النبي ﷺ أرسلت إلى أبي بكر تسأله ميراثها من رسول الله ﷺ مما أفاء الله عليه بالمدينة وفدك وما بقي من خمس خيبر فقال أبو بكر إن رسول الله ﷺ قال لا نورث ما تركنا صدقة إنما يأكل آل محمد ﷺ في هذا المال وإني والله لا أغير شيئا من صدقة رسول الله ﷺ عن حالها التي كان عليها في عهد رسول الله ﷺ ولأعملن فيها بما عمل به رسول الله ﷺ فأبى أبو بكر أن يدفع إلى فاطمة منها شيئا فوجدت فاطمة على أبي بكر في ذلك فهجرته فلم تكلمه حتى توفيت وعاشت بعد النبي ﷺ ستة أشهر فلما توفيت دفنها زوجها علي ليلا ولم يؤذن بها أبا بكر وصلى عليها وكان لعلي من الناس وجه حياة فاطمة فلما توفيت استنكر علي وجوه الناس فالتمس مصالحة أبي بكر ومبايعته ولم يكن يبايع تلك الأشهر فأرسل إلى أبي بكر أن ائتنا ولا يأتنا أحد معك كراهية لمحضر عمر فقال عمر لا والله لا تدخل عليهم وحدك فقال أبو بكر وما عسيتهم أن يفعلوا بي والله لآتينهم فدخل عليهم أبو بكر فتشهد علي فقال إنا قد عرفنا فضلك وما أعطاك الله ولم ننفس عليك خيرا ساقه الله إليك ولكنك استبددت علينا بالأمر وكنا نرى لقرابتنا من رسول الله ﷺ نصيبا حتى فاضت عينا أبي بكر فلما تكلم أبو بكر قال والذي نفسي بيده لقرابة رسول الله ﷺ أحب إلي أن أصل من قرابتي وأما الذي شجر بيني وبينكم من هذه الأموال فلم آل فيها عن الخير ولم أترك أمرا رأيت رسول الله ﷺ يصنعه فيها إلا صنعته فقال علي لأبي بكر موعدك العشية للبيعة فلما صلى أبو بكر الظهر رقي على المنبر فتشهد وذكر شأن علي وتخلفه عن البيعة وعذره بالذي اعتذر إليه ثم استغفر وتشهد علي فعظم حق أبي بكر وحدث أنه لم يحمله على الذي صنع نفاسة على أبي بكر ولا إنكارا للذي فضله الله به ولكنا نرى لنا في هذا الأمر نصيبا فاستبد علينا فوجدنا في أنفسنا فسر بذلك المسلمون وقالوا أصبت وكان المسلمون إلى علي قريبا حين راجع الأمر المعروف