[Machine] I entered upon Abu Bakr to visit him during his illness in which he passed away. I greeted him and asked how he was. He sat up straight and said, "I am on what you can see: in pain. You have occupied me with your concerns and I have been preoccupied with my own pain. I made a covenant for you after me, and I have chosen the best among you for myself. Each one of you will suffer because of that. You will find your homes surrounded by silk walls and the pleasant sound of tambourines. You will be hurt by the harshness of the bed sheets made of al-Azriyy fur, as if one of you is on a thorny branch. By Allah, if one of you were to be killed without any limit in retaliation, it would be better for him than indulging in the temptations of the worldly life."

Then he said, "Indeed, I only feel regret over three things that I have done, and I wish that I did not do them; and three things that I did not do, and I wish that I did them. The three things that I did, and I wish that I did not do, are: I wished that I did not uncover the house of Fatimah and leave it alone, and that the war was hastened upon me. I wished that on the day of Saqifah Bani Sa'idah, I threw the responsibility on one of the two men, either Abu 'Ubaydah or 'Umar, so that he would be the Amir al-Mu'minin and I would be the Minister. I wished that on the day of the Battle of Riddah, when I sent Khalid bin al-Walid to the apostates, I had stayed with the community, and if the Muslims had been victorious, they would have been victorious, and if they had lost, I would have been killed or captured."

"As for the three things that I did not do, and I wish that I did them, are: On the day I brought Al-Ash'ath as a captive, I wish that I had not killed him, for it seems that he would have been the worst enemy to the community. On the day I was presented with Al-Fajj ash-Sulami, I wish that I did not burn him, but rather killed him freely or released him freely. I wish that on the day I sent Khalid bin al-Walid to Ash-Sham, I sent 'Umar to Iraq, so that I would have spread my hands on my right and left in the cause of Allah."

"As for the three things that I wish I had asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about, but I did not, are: I wish that I had asked him about the matter of succession, so that its people would not have disputed about it after him. I wish that I had asked him if the Ansar had a role in this matter. I wish that I had asked him about marrying one's paternal aunt and a woman who is the daughter of a brother, as I had a need for one of them."  

دَخَلْتُ عَلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ ؓ أَعُودُهُ فِي مَرَضِهِ الَّذِي تُوُفِّيَ فِيهِ فَسَلَّمْتُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَأَلْتُهُ كَيْفَ أَصْبَحْتَ فَاسْتَوَى جَالِسًا فَقُلْتُ أَصْبَحْتَ بِحَمْدِ اللهِ بَارِئًا فَقَالَ «أَمَا إِنِّي عَلَى مَا تَرَى وَجِعٌ وَجَعَلْتُمْ لِي شُغُلًا مَعَ وَجَعِي جَعَلْتُ لَكُمْ عَهْدًا مِنْ بَعْدِي وَاخْتَرْتُ لَكُمْ خَيْرَكُمْ فِي نَفْسِي فَكُلُّكُمْ وَرِمَ لِذَلِكَ أَنْفُهُ رَجَاءَ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْأَمْرُ لَهُ وَرَأَيْتُ الدُّنْيَا قَدْ أَقْبَلَتْ وَلَمَّا تُقْبِلْ وَهِيَ جَائِيَةٌ وَسَتُنَجِّدُونَ بُيُوتَكُمْ بِسُوَرِ الْحَرِيرِ وَنَضَائِدِ الدِّيبَاجِ وَتَأْلَمُونَ ضَجَائِعَ الصُّوفِ الْأَذْرِيِّ كَأَنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ عَلَى حَسَكِ السَّعْدَانِ وَوَاللهِ لَأَنْ يَقْدَمَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَيُضْرَبَ عُنُقُهُ فِي غَيْرِ حَدٍّ خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ أَنْ يَسِيحَ فِي غَمْرَةِ الدُّنْيَا» ثُمَّ قَالَ أَمَا إِنِّي لَا آسَى عَلَى شَيْءٍ إِلَّا عَلَى ثَلَاثٍ فَعَلْتُهُنَّ وَدِدْتُ أَنِّي لَمْ أَفْعَلْهُنَّ وَثَلَاثٍ لَمْ أفْعَلْهُنَّ وَدِدْتُ أَنِّي فَعَلْتُهُنَّ وَثَلَاثٍ وَدِدْتُ أَنِّي سَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ عَنْهُنَّ فَأَمَّا الثَّلَاثُ اللَّاتِي وَدِدْتُ أَنِّي لَمْ أَفْعَلْهُنَّ فَوَدِدْتُ أَنِّي لَمْ أَكُنْ كَشَفْتُ بَيْتَ فَاطِمَةَ وَتَرَكْتُهُ وَأَنْ أَغْلِقَ عَلَيَّ الْحَرْبَ وَوَدِدْتُ أَنِّي يَوْمَ سَقِيفَةَ بَنِي سَاعِدَةَ كُنْتُ قَذَفْتُ الْأَمْرَ فِي عُنُقِ أَحَدِ الرَّجُلَيْنِ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ أَوْ عُمَرَ فَكَانَ أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَكُنْتُ وَزِيرًا وَوَدِدْتُ أَنِّي حَيْثُ كُنْتُ وَجَّهْتُ خَالِدَ بْنَ الْوَلِيدِ إِلَى أَهْلِ الرِّدَّةِ أَقَمْتُ بِذِي الْقَصَّةِ فَإِنْ ظَفِرَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ ظَفِرُوا وَإِلَّا كُنْتُ رِدْءًا أَوْ مَدَدًا وَأَمَّا اللَّاتِي وَدِدْتُ أَنِّي فَعَلْتُهَا فَوَدِدْتُ أَنِّي يَوْمَ أُتِيتُ بِالْأَشْعَثِ أَسِيرًا ضَرَبْتُ عُنُقَهُ فَإِنَّهُ يُخَيَّلُ إِلَيَّ أَنَّهُ يَكُونُ شَرَّ الْإِطَارِ إِلَيْهِ وَوَدِدْتُ أَنِّي يَوْمَ أُتِيتُ بِالْفَجَاةِ السُّلَمِيَّ لَمْ أَكُنْ أَحْرِقُهُ وَقَتَلْتُهُ سَرِيحًا أَوْ أطْلَقْتُهُ نَجِيحًا وَوَدِدْتُ أَنِّي حَيْثُ وَجَّهْتُ خَالِدَ بْنَ الْوَلِيدِ إِلَى الشَّامِ وَجَّهْتُ عُمَرَ إِلَى الْعِرَاقِ فَأَكُونُ قَدْ بَسَطْتُ يَدَيْ يَمِينِي وَشِمَالِي فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ ﷻ وَأَمَّا الثَّلَاثُ اللَّاتِي وَدِدْتُ أَنِّي سَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ عَنْهُنَّ فَوَدِدْتُ أَنِّي كُنْتُ سَأَلْتُهُ فِيمَنْ هَذَا الْأَمْرُ فَلَا يُنَازِعُهُ أَهْلُهُ وَوَدِدْتُ أَنِّي كُنْتُ سَأَلْتُهُ هَلْ لِلْأَنْصَارِ فِي هَذَا الْأَمْرِ سَبَبٌ وَوَدِدْتُ أَنِّي سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الْعَمَّةِ وَبِنْتِ الْأَخِ فَإِنَّ فِي نَفْسِي مِنْهُمَا حَاجَةً