When Umar lay on his death bed, the question that vexed him was whether he should or should not nominate his successor. If he did not nominate a successor he would be following the precedent set by the Holy Prophet. On the other hand if he nominated a successor he would be following the precedent of Abu Bakr.

As he weighed the claims of various persons around him he could not make up his mind to nominate any of them as his successor. He sighed and said whom should he nominate as his successor. He thought that if Abu Ubaidah had been alive, he could have nominated him as his successor, for the Holy Prophet had regarded him as the trustee of the Muslim community. In the alternative if Salam the liberated slave of Abu Hudhaifa had been alive he would have appointed him as his successor, for according to the assessment of the Holy Prophet, among the Muslims he loved Allah most.