Abdullah bin Umar reported,

I went in to see Hafsah, and she said, "Have you heard that your father is not going to appoint a successor?"I replied, "He would not do such a thing."She said, "He certainly intends to."So I swore I would speak to him about it. But I held my tongue until morning came, and I had not spoken to him. It felt as if I were carrying a mountain in my right hand, until I returned home.Later I went in to see him, and he asked me about how the people were faring, and I informed him. Then I said to him, "I have heard the people saying something, and I have sworn to convey it to you. They claim that you are not going to appoint a successor. If you had a camel-herder or a shepherd who came to you having abandoned his flock, you would consider him to have been negligent. Tending to the people is a far weightier matter."My words struck a chord with him. He lowered his head for a while, then raised it toward me and said, "Allah will preserve His religion. If I do not appoint a successor, then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not appoint a successor. And if I do appoint a successor, then Abu Bakr did appoint a successor."By Allah, the moment he mentioned the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Abu Bakr, I knew that he would never place anyone on equal footing with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and that he was not going to appoint a successor.

حدثنا إسحق بن إبراهيم وابن أبي عمر ومحمد بن رافع وعبد بن حميد وألفاظهم متقاربة قال إسحق وعبد أخبرنا و قال الآخران حدثنا عبد الرزاق أخبرنا معمر عن الزهري أخبرني سالم

عن ابن عمر قال

دخلت على حفصة فقالت أعلمت أن أباك غير مستخلف قال قلت ما كان ليفعل قالت إنه فاعل قال فحلفت أني أكلمه في ذلك فسكت حتى غدوت ولم أكلمه قال فكنت كأنما أحمل بيميني جبلا حتى رجعت فدخلت عليه فسألني عن حال الناس وأنا أخبره قال ثم قلت له إني سمعت الناس يقولون مقالة فآليت أن أقولها لك زعموا أنك غير مستخلف وإنه لو كان لك راعي إبل أو راعي غنم ثم جاءك وتركها رأيت أن قد ضيع فرعاية الناس أشد قال فوافقه قولي فوضع رأسه ساعة ثم رفعه إلي فقال إن الله عز وجل يحفظ دينه وإني لئن لا أستخلف فإن رسول الله ﷺ لم يستخلف وإن أستخلف فإن أبا بكر قد استخلف قال فوالله ما هو إلا أن ذكر رسول الله ﷺ وأبا بكر فعلمت أنه لم يكن ليعدل برسول الله ﷺ أحدا وأنه غير مستخلف