Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 2741
sahih

Narrated Al-Aswad:

In the presence of `Aisha some people mentioned that the Prophet (ﷺ) had appointed `Ali by will as his successor. `Aisha said, "When did he appoint him by will? Verily when he died he was resting against my chest (or said: in my lap) and he asked for a wash-basin and then collapsed while in that state, and I could not even perceive that he had died, so when did he appoint him by will?"

حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ زُرَارَةَ، أَخْبَرَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَوْنٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنِ الأَسْوَدِ، قَالَ ذَكَرُوا عِنْدَ عَائِشَةَ أَنَّ عَلِيًّا ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ كَانَ وَصِيًّا‏.‏ فَقَالَتْ مَتَى أَوْصَى إِلَيْهِ وَقَدْ كُنْتُ مُسْنِدَتَهُ إِلَى صَدْرِي ـ أَوْ قَالَتْ حَجْرِي ـ فَدَعَا بِالطَّسْتِ، فَلَقَدِ انْخَنَثَ فِي حَجْرِي، فَمَا شَعَرْتُ أَنَّهُ قَدْ مَاتَ، فَمَتَى أَوْصَى إِلَيْهِ

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 55, Hadith 4
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 4, Book 51, Hadith 4 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Shiites were known for fabricating hadeeths and inauthentic reports that support their false claims, and an example of this was fabricating hadeeths suggesting that the Prophet ﷺ nominated ‘Alee ibn Aboo Taalib (may Allah be pleased with him) as his successor in his Wasiyyah. A group of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and some scholars from the following generations as well refuted such claims. In this hadeeth, the Taabi’ee (a Muslim who saw at least one of the Companions)Al-Aswad ibn Yazeed narrated that it was brought to the attention of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that some people mentioned that the Prophet ﷺhad appointed ‘Alee (as his successor) in his Wasiyyah (i.e., last will and testament). The Arabic term Wasiyyah denotes connecting the testator’s earthly life with the afterlife (i.e., by willing what should be done after his death). She (may Allah be pleased with her) exclaimed, "When did he appoint him in his Wasiyyah?” She (may Allah be pleased with her) was shocked at their claim that he ﷺ willed that ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him) should be his successor or anything else regarding his private affairs or the public affairs of Muslims. She (may Allah be pleased with her) added: “Verily, when he ﷺ died, he was resting against my chest (or she said: ‘in my lap’) and he ﷺ only asked for a wash-basin and then collapsed while in that state, and I could not even perceive that he ﷺ had died.” This means that she (may Allah be pleased with her) was with him in his last moments and he ﷺ did not will that anything in particular should be done after his death at his deathbed. It is noteworthy that she (may Allah be pleased with her) did not mean that he ﷺ generally did not will that anything in particular should be done after his death. Rather, it was authentically reported that he ﷺ willed that the polytheists should be expelled from the Arabian Peninsula, that the delegations and deputations should be (respected and) rewarded (as he ﷺ used to do), and that the Muslim army under the leadership of Usaamah (may Allah be pleased with him) should be dispatched. Rather, she (may Allah be pleased with her) merely denied that he ﷺ willed (during his fatal illness) that ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him) should be his successor. Her testimony in this regard is valid because she (may Allah be pleased with her) was with the Prophet ﷺ during his final days, did not leave his sight, and was present during that specified time. Moreover, were the Prophet ﷺ to nominate a successor after his death, such serious news would have been widely circulated, and such a Wasiyyah would have been proclaimed by people. The fact that it was not proclaimed and circulated proves that he ﷺ did not actually appoint ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him) as his successor as claimed. .
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