After the Prophet’s passing, when al‑‘Abbas and Abu Sufyan offered him allegiance, he addressed the people and told them to cut through the waves of trial with the ships of salvation, to turn away from the paths of division, and to remove the crowns of pride. He said that true success is for the one who rises with responsibility and burden, or else leaves the seat of power to others so that people may be safe from turmoil. Seeking the caliphate at that moment, he likened to drinking muddied water and to a morsel that will choke the one who swallows it, or to plucking unripe fruit on someone else’s land. If he speaks, people accuse him of loving worldly rule; if he stays silent, they say he fears death, although the son of Abu Talib, he swears, is more intimate with death than a child is with its mother’s breast. He adds that there is a hidden knowledge folded within his chest that, if he were to unveil it, would make people writhe like ropes trembling in a deep well.