Hazrat Ali (RA)
Al-Hasan reported: Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “After the passing of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, we looked for what we were commanded and we found the Prophet had given preference to Abu Bakr for leading the prayer. So, we were pleased for our religion and we preferred Abu Bakr, may Allah have mercy on him.”
عَنِ الْحَسَنِ قَالَ قَالَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ لَمَّا قُبِضَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَظَرْنَا فِي أَمْرِنَا فَوَجَدْنَا النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَدَّمَ أَبَا بَكْرٍ فِي الصَّلَاةِ فَرَضِينَا لِدُنْيَانَا مَا رَضِيَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِدِينِنَا فَقَدَّمْنَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ
Ponder This Quote
Ali explains that after the Prophet ﷺ passed away, the Companions looked to what the Prophet had clearly established and found that he had given precedence to Abu Bakr by appointing him to lead the prayer. On that basis, they were content to give him leadership.
Notably, Ali does not cite any divinely mandated Imamate, private designation, or inherited authority for himself. He presents leadership as grounded in the Prophet’s public actions, not in hidden appointment.
If Imamate were a divinely fixed institution, why does Ali justify leadership through prayer precedence and express satisfaction with another being preferred, without appealing to any divine right of his own?