When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away, Abu Bakr was with his wife, the daughter of Kharijah, in al-Awali. People began saying that the Prophet ﷺ had not died, but that this was only one of the states that used to come over him when revelation descended.Abu Bakr came, uncovered the Prophet's face, kissed him between the eyes, and said, "You are too dear to Allah for Him to make you die twice. By Allah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has indeed died."Umar, meanwhile, was in a corner of the mosque saying, "By Allah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has not died, and he will not die until he cuts off the hands and feet of many of the hypocrites."Then Abu Bakr stood, ascended the pulpit, and said, "Whoever used to worship Allah, Allah is alive and does not die. Whoever used to worship Muhammad, Muhammad has indeed died." Then he recited, "Muhammad is no more than a messenger, and messengers have passed away before him. If then he dies or is killed, will you turn back on your heels? And whoever turns back on his heels will not harm Allah in the least, and Allah will reward the grateful" [Al Imran 3:144].Umar said, "It was as if I had never read this verse until that day."
حدثنا علي بن محمد حدثنا أبو معاوية عن عبد الرحمن بن أبي بكر عن ابن أبي مليكة
لما قبض رسول الله ﷺ وأبو بكر عند امرأته ابنة خارجة بالعوالي فجعلوا يقولون لم يمت النبي ﷺ إنما هو بعض ما كان يأخذه عند الوحي فجاء أبو بكر فكشف عن وجهه وقبل بين عينيه وقال أنت أكرم على الله من أن يميتك مرتين قد والله مات رسول الله ﷺ وعمر في ناحية المسجد يقول والله ما مات رسول الله ﷺ ولا يموت حتى يقطع أيدي أناس من المنافقين كثير وأرجلهم فقام أبو بكر فصعد المنبر فقال من كان يعبد الله فإن الله حي لم يمت ومن كان يعبد محمدا فإن محمدا قد مات {وما محمد إلا رسول قد خلت من قبله الرسل أفإن مات أو قتل انقلبتم على أعقابكم ومن ينقلب على عقبيه فلن يضر الله شيئا وسيجزي الله الشاكرين} قال عمر فلكأني لم أقرأها إلا يومئذ
No references are available.
[Its chain is daif]. See hadith 1558 for its defect, but the essence of the hadith is sahih. Bukhari narrated it, hadith 1241 and 1242, and others narrated it as well, from the hadith of Abu Salama from Ayesha with similar wording, with slight differences.