Reports on the virtues of Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), the other caliphs and others

Sayyiduna Nafi' bin Abd al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I went out with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he entered a garden. He said: "Look after the door." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came in, sat on the edge of the well and let both his legs hang down into the well. There was a knock at the door. I asked: "Who is it?" The man said: "Abu Bakr." I said: "O Messenger of Allah! Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) has come." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Give him permission and give him the glad tidings." The narrator says: that is, give him the glad tidings of Paradise. The narrator says: I gave him permission and gave him the glad tidings of Paradise. The narrator states: He came in and sat on the edge of the well with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he too let his legs hang down into the well. Then there was a knock at the door. I asked: "Who is it?" The man said: "Umar." I said: "O Messenger of Allah! Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) has come." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Give him permission and give him the glad tidings of Paradise." The narrator says: I gave him permission and gave him the glad tidings of Paradise. The narrator states: He too came in and sat on the edge of the well with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he too let both his legs hang down into the well. The narrator says: Then there was a knock at the door. I asked: "Who is it?" He said: "Uthman." I said: "O Messenger of Allah! Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) has come." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Give him permission and give him the glad tidings of Paradise, and he will also face a trial." I gave him permission to come in and gave him the glad tidings of Paradise. He too sat on the edge of the well with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he too let both his legs hang down into the well. (Allamah Haythami) says: I say: Abu Dawud recorded part of this narration.
Ahmad recorded it, and Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat in abridged form. The narrators of Ahmad are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stopped at al-Aswaf, and Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) was with him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) let both his legs hang down into the well and uncovered his thighs. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came and asked permission. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Bilal! Give him permission and give him the glad tidings of Paradise." Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came in and sat down on the right side of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He too let his legs hang down into the well and uncovered his thighs. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came and asked permission, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Bilal! Give him permission and give him the glad tidings of Paradise." He came in, sat down on the left side of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he too let his legs hang down into the well and uncovered his thighs. Then Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) came and asked permission. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Give him permission, give him the glad tidings of Paradise, and tell him that he will have to face a trial." Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) came in and sat down facing the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He too let both his legs hang down into the well and uncovered his thighs.
Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. Its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, except for Tabarani's teacher Ali bin Sa'id, who is hasan al-hadith (good in hadith).

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went to visit Sayyiduna Sa'd bin al-Rabi' al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him). His house was in al-Aswaf. His wife spread out a mat for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) beneath a cluster of date palms. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat down, and we sat with him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Just now a man from the people of Paradise will come before you." Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A man from the people of Paradise will come before you." Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A man from the people of Paradise will come before you." Then Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) came.
Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. Its narrators have been declared thiqat (trustworthy), though there is disagreement about some of them.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "From beneath this cluster of trees a man will come before you who is from the people of Paradise." The narrator says: Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) appeared, and we congratulated him in accordance with what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had said. Then, after a little while, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "From beneath this cluster a man will come before you; he is from the people of Paradise." Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) appeared, and we congratulated him in accordance with what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had said. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "From beneath this cluster a man will come before you who is from the people of Paradise. O Allah! If You will, make him Ali." He said this three times. The narrator says: Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) appeared.

In one narration the words are: "O Allah! Make him Ali" (that is, may Allah grant that it be Ali).

In one narration the words are: I walked with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to a woman from the Ansar, and she slaughtered a goat for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). After that the narrator mentioned the hadith as before.
Ahmad recorded it, Tabarani recorded something similar in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and al-Bazzar recorded it in abridged form. The narrators of one of Ahmad's chains have been declared thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: One day the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went into a garden, and then he said: "Just now a man from the people of Paradise will come to you." Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Just now a man from the people of Paradise will come to you people." Then Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Just now a man from the people of Paradise will come to you people. O Allah! Make him Ali." Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived.
Tabarani recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Sa'id bin Abd al-Karim, who is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is a tree in Paradise" (here the narrator Ibn Jamil was in doubt; perhaps the words are:) "Every tree there is in Paradise, on each of its leaves is written: There is no god but Allah, Sayyiduna Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Umar al-Faruq, Uthman Dhu al-Nurayn."
Tabarani recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Ali bin Jamil al-Raqqi, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: On the day of the Battle of Badr, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me and to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him): "With one of you two is Jibril, and with the other is Mika'il, and Israfil, who is a mighty angel, is taking part in the battle" (the narrator is in doubt; perhaps the words are:) "he is present in the ranks."
Abu Ya'la and al-Bazzar recorded it, and Ahmad recorded something similar. The narrators of Ahmad and al-Bazzar are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: During the blessed lifetime of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) we used to say that the most excellent individuals of this Ummah after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Umar and Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would hear this and would not object to it. To our knowledge, Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) never committed any major sin, nor did he kill any soul unjustly. The real issue is only this wealth: if he gave this wealth to you, you would be pleased, and if he gives it to Quraysh, you become angry. You people want to become like the people of Persia and the people of Rome, who did not spare any of their rulers but had him killed. (Allamah Haythami says:) I say: the opening part of this narration is mentioned in the Sahih.
Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir he recorded something similar in abridged form; however, he recorded these words: "Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Umar and Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them) (are the most excellent of this Ummah), and after that all the people are equal. This reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he did not object to us about it." Abu Ya'la recorded something similar to the narration recorded in Tabarani's Mu'jam. Its narrators have been declared thiqat (trustworthy), and there is disagreement about them.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: One day, in the morning after the sun had risen, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to us. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A little before true dawn I saw as though I had been given the maqalid and the mawazin. As for the maqalid, it means the keys; and as for the mawazin, it means that by which things are weighed. I was placed in one pan and my Ummah was placed in the other pan, and I was heavier than all of them, and my pan was weighed down. Then Abu Bakr was brought and weighed against these people, and he was heavier. Then Umar was brought and weighed against these people, and he was heavier. Then Uthman was brought and weighed against these people. Then that scale was lifted away."
Ahmad and Tabarani recorded it; however, in it the words are: "He was heavier than all of them," and these are the words throughout the narration. It also contains these words: "Then Uthman was brought and placed in one pan, and my Ummah was placed in the other pan, and Uthman was heavier than all of them; then that pan was lifted away." The narrators of this narration are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I entered Paradise and heard someone's footsteps ahead of me. I asked: 'Who is it?' They said: 'This is Bilal.' I went on, and the majority of the people of Paradise were the poor among the Muhajirun and the children of the Muslims, and I found the fewest there to be the wealthy and the women. It was said to me: 'As for the wealthy, they have been held back there; they will be taken to account and examined. As for the women, the two red things, gold and silk, distracted them.'" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then we went out through one of the eight gates of Paradise. When I reached the gate, a scale was brought to me. I was placed in one pan, and my Ummah was placed in the other pan, and I was heavier than all of them. Then Abu Bakr was brought and placed in one pan, and my whole Ummah was brought and placed in the other pan, and Abu Bakr was heavier. Then Umar was brought and placed in one pan, and my whole Ummah was brought and placed, and Umar's pan was heavier. Then my Ummah was presented before me one individual at a time, and they kept passing by. Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) was late in coming; he came after some time. I said: 'Abd al-Rahman (what happened)?' He replied: 'O Messenger of Allah! May my father and mother be ransomed for you. By the One who sent you with the truth, I have only reached you at a time when I had come to think that I would never be able to reach you, except after I had grown old.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: 'What was the reason for that?' He said: 'The abundance of my wealth (was the reason); I was being taken to account and examined.'"
Ahmad recorded it, and Tabarani recorded something similar in abridged form. The chains of both their narrations contain a narrator Mutarrih bin Ziyad and a narrator Ali bin Yazid al-Alhani, and there is agreement that both of them are da'if (weak). What indicates the weakness of this narration is that Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) is counted among those who took part in the Battle of Badr and in al-Hudaybiyah; he is one of the ten given the glad tidings of Paradise, and among the most excellent of the Companions. And all praise belongs to Allah Almighty alone.

Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I saw in a dream that I was placed in one pan and my Ummah was placed in the other pan, and I counterbalanced them. Then Abu Bakr was placed in one pan and my Ummah was placed in the other pan, and Abu Bakr counterbalanced them. Then Umar was placed in one pan and my Ummah was placed in the other pan, and he counterbalanced them. Then Uthman was placed in one pan and my Ummah was placed in the other pan, and he counterbalanced them. Then the scale was lifted away."
Tabarani recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Amr bin Waqid, who is matruk (abandoned); the majority declared him da'if (weak), while Muhammad bin al-Mubarak al-Suri said: "He was saduq (truthful)." The remaining narrators of this narration are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Arfajah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in the Fajr prayer, and then he said: "Last night my Companions were weighed. Abu Bakr was weighed, and he was heavy; Umar was weighed, and he was heavy; then Uthman was weighed, and he was heavy."
Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. Its chain contains a narrator, Abd al-A'la bin Abi al-Musawir, who is matruk (abandoned); according to one report Yahya bin Ma'in declared him thiqah (trustworthy), and according to other reports he called him da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Usamah bin Sharik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: One day the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Last night my Companions were weighed: Abu Bakr was weighed, then Umar was weighed, then Uthman was weighed."
Tabarani recorded it and said: Yazid bin Harun narrated it like this, and Sa'dawayh narrated it from Abd al-A'la bin Abi al-Musawir, from Ziyad bin Ilaqah, from Qutbah bin Malik, from Sayyiduna Arfajah (may Allah be pleased with him). (Allamah Haythami says:) I say: the chain of this narration also contains a narrator named Abd al-A'la bin Abi al-Musawir, whose weakness has been discussed before this hadith.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The oldest of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) were Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Suhayl bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him).
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good). (Allamah Haythami says:) I say: some hadiths about the virtue of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and others will come in the chapter on the virtues of a group of the Companions, which will come after the virtue of the ten given the glad tidings of Paradise, if Allah wills.