‘Ali’s Pledge of Allegiance to Abu Bakr

Question

Hazrat ‘Ali ﵁, some time later, pledged allegiance (bay‘a) to Hazrat Abu Bakr ﵁ in the mosque and said: “It is you who deserve to be the first caliph,” and he affirmed that Hazrat Abu Bakr ﵁ had been in the right in not giving him the income of Fadak and not giving him the inheritance: “I have no grievance against Hazrat Abu Bakr ﵁.”

Answer

The pledge that he made in the mosque some time later was a second pledge, made openly and publicly, so that no one would be left with the doubt that he had not pledged allegiance; otherwise, he had originally pledged allegiance long before that.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.