Is Ali ibn Abi Talib superior to Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab, and why did the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, refuse to marry Fatimah to Abu Bakr and Umar but accept to marry her to Ali? And has it been narrated that if the faith of Umar were weighed against the faith of all the people on earth, except for the prophets and Abu Bakr, it would outweigh it?

Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Umar ibn al-Khattab—may Allah be pleased with them both—are the best of the Companions. This is by agreement of the Muslim imams renowned for their knowledge and piety. Ali—may Allah be pleased with him—himself acknowledged their superiority, even to the extent of flogging anyone who preferred him over them. Numerous hadiths have been transmitted frequently from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—regarding the virtues of Abu Bakr and Umar, among them his saying: "Follow those who come after me: Abu Bakr and Umar." And his saying: "Command Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer." As for the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—marrying Fatimah to Ali—may Allah be pleased with him—instead of the two Sheikhs, it was due to her young age and Ali's closer age to hers, not because of Ali's superiority over them. No authentic hadith has been reported to the effect that if Umar's faith were weighed against that of all the people on earth, except for the prophets and Abu Bakr, his scale would outweigh theirs. However, there is a hadith in Musnad Imam Ahmad which mentions that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—was weighed against the Ummah and outweighed it, then Abu Bakr was weighed and outweighed, then Umar was weighed and outweighed, then Uthman was weighed, and then it was lifted.