Aban narrates from Sulaym who said: “I went to Abu Dhar when he was ill during the caliphate of Umar. Umar came to visit Abu Dhar when Amirul Mumineen (AS) was sitting with Abu Dhar. Salman and Miqdad were also there. At that time Abu Dhar made his will to Amirul Mumineen (AS), it was written down and witnessed. When Umar went away, a man from the relatives of Abu Dhar, who was one of his paternal cousins and from Bani Gaffar, asked Abu Dhar: “Who stopped you from making your will to Amirul Mumineen Umar?”
He replied: “I have made my will to the true, true Amirul Mumineen. When we were forty men from Arab and forty men from Ajam, at that time the Holy Prophet (SAW) had ordered us and we saluted Ali (AS) saying AMIRUL MUMINEEN and among us was also this man who just went and to whom you said Amirul Mumineed. Nobody from either the Arab of Ajam or Mawali dared ask the Holy Prophet (SAW), except him and his companion who made him caliph: “Is this true from Allah and Rasulullah?” At that time the Holy Prophet (SAW) became very annoyed and replied: “O Allah, YES. This is true from Allah and His Rasul. Allah had commanded me about this so I commanded you.”
Sulaym continued: “I asked: O Abul Hasan you, and O Salman you, and O
Miqdad you – are you all saying what Abu Dhar said?” They all replied: “Yes, Abu Dhar has said truth.”
Sulaym said: “I said: there are four just people. If only one of these had narrated this hadith to me even then I would not doubt its truth, but there are four here! This is more than enough for me and for increase in my faith.”
He said: “May Allah keep you sage, can you tell me the names of the eighty men who were from Arab and Ajam.”
Salman named one by one. So Ali (AS), Abu Dhar and Miqdad said:: “Salman has said truth, May Allah have Mercy on him and forgive him and all of them.”
“So the men who were named included Abu Bakr, Umar, Abu Ubeydah, Ma’az, Saalim and those five of the Shura, Ammar ibn Yasar, and Sa’ad ibn Ibaadah, and the remaing from Aqba and Ubay ibn Qa’ab, Abu Dhar himself, Miqdad and the remaining from Ahle-Badr and from them mostly were from Ansar and within them Abul Haytham ibn Tayhhan and Khalid ibn Zayd, Abu Ayyub, Usayd ibn Hudhayr and Bashir ibn Sa’ad.”
Sulaym continued to say: “I think that I met all of these people and I asked each one of them privately so some of them kept quiet and did not answer at all and hid it from me. Some of them informed me and then said: “We were surrounded be fitnah, our eyes and ears were overpowered and this was at the time when Abu Bakr claimed that he had heard the Holy Prophet (SAW) saying: “We Ahlulbayt are those whom Allah has blessed with reputation and has chosen the Hereafter for instead of this world for us and He does not want that for us Ahlulbayt He joins Nubuwat and Imamat.” and this is the argument that Abu Bakr used against Ali (AS) when he was brought to pay allegiance. So he confirmed it and four people who in our eyes were good and had done nothing wrong stood as witnesses – Abu Ubeydah, Saalim, Umar and Ma’az and we thought that they had said truth.
So when Ali (AS) had paid allegiance then we came to know that the Holy Prophet (SAW) had said what Ali (AS) said, and said that those five were the ones who had written a book (sahifa) and had decided and agreed in the shade of Ka’abah that if Muhammad (SAW) passed away or got killed, then these people will overpower Ali (AS) and will remove this caliphate from him. Then Ali (AS) made four people witness it – Salman, Abu Dhar,
Miqdad and Zubayr and these people witnessed it at that time when the cursed and misguiding allegiance of Abu Bakr had become compulsory on us. At that time we became aware that Ali (AS) is not someone who would say a wrong narration from the Holy Prophet (SAW) and this also was witnessed by the good people among the companions of the Holy Prophet (SAW).”
So all those that said this, and most of them said: “After this we thought carefully. At that time we remembered what the Holy Prophet (SAW) had said: “Surely Allah keeps four from my companions as His friends and has commanded me that I also love them and Heaven is waiting for all of them.” So we asked him: “O Messenger of Allah, who are these four?” Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Alihi Wassalam replied: “My brother, my vizier, my inheritor and my caliph in my Ummah and after me, the guardian of all Mumineen, my brother Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Salman, Abu Dhar and Miqdad ibn Aswad.” and we are turning in repentance to Allah and are seeking His forgiveness for everything that we have don’t.
We heard the Holy Prophet (SAW) saying about a matter, the meaning of which we could not understand, except that it was good. He said: “Surely , Surely, some people from my companions will come to me at the Fountain and they had some status and degrees, until they stand in their places and will see me and mistakenly will come close to me, and they will be made to stand on the left. So I will say “O Allah, these are my companions, my companions.” So I will be told: “You do not know what they have done after you. Since you separated from these people, they became apostates and remained apostates.”
By our lives, if we all, at the time of the demise of the Holy Prophet (SAW) had handed over the caliphate to Ali (AS) and obeyed him and followed him, and paid allegiance to him, then we would have found the right path, would have been guided and god Devine guidance, but Allah wanted that there be dispute, separation and problems. So it is necessary that that happens which Allah knows and what is in fate and destiny.”