this is what the prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) did in the situation that arose between abu bakr and ‘umar, may allaah be pleased with them. al-bukhaari (may allaah have mercy on him) reported in his saheeh, kitaab al-tafseer, that abu’l-darda’ said: “there was a dispute between abu bakr and ‘umar. abu bakr made ‘umar angry, so he went away angry, and abu bakr followed him, asking him to seek forgiveness for him, but he did not do that, and he shut his door in his face. abu bakr turned around and went to the messenger of allaah (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him), and we were sitting with him. the messenger of allaah (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) said:

‘this companion of yours has gotten involved in a dispute.’ then ‘umar regretted what he had done, so he came, gave the greeting of salaam, and sat down by the prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him). he told the messenger of allaah (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) what had happened. the messenger of allaah (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) got angry, and abu bakr started to say, ‘by allaah, o messenger of allaah, i am more wrong.’ the messenger of allaah (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) said, ‘are you going to leave my companion alone? are you going to leave my companion alone? i have told the people: i am the messenger of allaah to all of you, and you (all) said, “you are a liar,” but abu bakr said, “you are telling the truth.” ’ ” (fath 4640).

al-bukhaari also narrated this story in kitaab al-manaaqib (the book of virtues) in his saheeh, from abu’l-darda’, who said: “i was sitting with the prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) when abu bakr came along, holding the hem of his garment up in such a way that his knees could be seen. the prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) said:

‘your companion has gotten involved in a dispute.’ [abu bakr] gave the greeting of salaam, then said: ‘there is something between me and the son of al-khattaab. i upset him, then i regretted it, and i asked him to forgive me, but he refused, so i have come to you.’ he said, ‘may allaah forgive you, o abu bakr,’ three times. then ‘umar regretted (what he had done), so he came to abu bakr’s house, asking, ‘is abu bakr there?’ they said, ‘no.’ so he came to the prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) and signs of anger were so visible on the prophet’s face that abu bakr felt sorry. he knelt down and said. ‘o messenger of allaah, by allaah, i was more wrong,’ twice. the prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) said, ‘allaah sent me to all of you, and you (all) said, “he is a liar,” but abu bakr said, “he is telling the truth”, and helped me with his self and with his wealth. are you going to leave my companion alone?’ he said this twice, and abu bakr was never hurt after that.” (fath, no. 3661).