وَنُحِبُّ أَصْحَابَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَا نُفْرِطُ فِي حُبِّ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ
We love the Companions of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ and do not go to excess in love for any one of them.
وَنُثْبِتُ الْخِلَافَةَ بَعْدَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَوَّلًا لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ تَفْضِيلًا لَهُ وَتَقْدِيمًا عَلَى جَمِيعِ الْأُمَّةِ
We affirm the caliphate after the Prophet ﷺ first for Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, giving him preference and precedence over the entire community.
How the passages fit: Love for the Companions forms part of Sunni creed, while the recognized succession begins with Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq. Affection and the order of succession have their respective grounds.
Application: Affection must avoid excess and preserve respectful speech about the Companions. Stating the caliphal order is not a license to disparage others.
Limit of inference: The order of succession does not justify unsupported personal judgments about every Companion.