Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq (May Allah be pleased with him)

His name was Abd-Allah ibn Uthmaan ibn Aamir (May Allah be pleased with him) and he was the companion who accompanied the Prophet peace be upon him when he emigrated from Mecca to Medina. The two of them hid together in a cave from the mushrikeen who pursued them. Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) was also the first Khalifa of the Muslims after the death of the Prophet peace be upon him.

 

HOW HE EMBRACED ISLAM

 

Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) was a well-loved and very influential man in the tribe of the Qurasih before the advent of Islam so much so that disputes concerning blood money were returned to him for decision. In addition, if he said something, all of the Quaraish would believe him and give their full support to him as well as anyone who stood with him. However, those who disagreed with Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) would not be believed and would not be supported.

 

Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq (May Allah be pleased with him) was the first male adult to embrace Islam and many many people accepted Islam on his hands, five of whom were from the companions of the Prophet peace be upon him who were given the glad tidings of Paradise during their lifetimes.

 

Abu Bakr's migration from Mecca to Medina with the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him and the story of how the two of them hid in a cave in order to escape the mushrikeen who pursued them:

 

Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) emigrated from Mecca to Medina with the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him. The Mushrikeen earnestly pursued the two of them so when they came to (the mouth of) a cave on Mount Thowr Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) said to the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him: "Stay here O Messenger of Allah until I make sure that the cave is safe." So Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) entered the cave and checked it to make sure that it was safe. Then he remembered that he did not check a hole or an animal den inside the cave so he said again: "Stay here until I make sure everything is safe." Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) re-entered the cave, checked again, and then said: "Come inside the cave O Messenger of Allah." So the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him entered the cave.

 

The Quaraish went out searching in every direction hoping to catch the Prophet peace be upon him. During their search they came to Mount Thowr and the cave that the Prophet peace be upon him had entered. The search party came so close that they were actually standing on the mountain just above the mouth of the cave and Allah's Messenger peace be upon him and Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) heard their voices. Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) became very anxious, afraid and sad. He said: "O Messenger of Allah if any one of them looked at his feet surely he would see us! " The Prophet replied: "O Abu Bakr! What do you think of two people with Allah as their third!" A verse in the Qur'an was revealed describing this incident. Allah the Most High says:

 

{If you help him (Muhammad r) not (it does not matter), for Allah did indeed help him when the disbelievers drove him out, the second of the two; when they (Muhammad r and Abu Bakr t) were in the cave, he peace be upon him said to his companion (Abu Bakr t): "Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allah is with us."}

 

So Allah protected His Prophet from all harm while he peace be upon him was in the cave. After three days, the Mushrikeen called off the search and the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him and Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) left the cave heading for Medina.

 

Abu Bakr fought in the Battle of Badr as well as other battles:

 

Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) fought in the Battle of Badr, and the Battle of Uhud, and the Battle of The Ditch, and the Battle of Al-Hudaybiyah. Abu Bakr fought all of these battles with the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him and he defended the Prophet (u) in the Battle of Tabuk against terrible odds. In addition, he was amongst those who stood firm in the Battle of Uhud and in the Battle of Hunayn when many of the others retreated.

 

THE VIRTUES OF ABU BAKR (May Allah be pleased with him)

 

In an authentic hadith narrated upon the authority of Jundub (May Allah be pleased with him) who said: "I heard the messenger of Allah say five days before he died:

 

'I stand acquitted before Allah that I took anyone of you as a friend, for Allah has taken me as His friend, as he took Ibraheem as His friend. Had I taken any one of my Ummah as a friend, I would have taken Abu Bakr as a friend. Beware of those who preceded you and used to take the graves of their prophets and righteous men as places of worship, but you must not take graves as mosques; I forbid you to do that.'"

 

And in another hadith narrated upon the authority of Abd-ur-Rahman ibn 'Awf (May Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said:

 

"Abu Bakr is in Paradise, and Umar is in Paradise, and Uthman is in Paradise, and Ali is in Paradise, and Talha is in Paradise, and Az-Zubair is in Paradise, and Abd-ur-Rahman ibn 'Awf is in Paradise, and Sa'd ibn Abee Waqqaas is in Paradise, and Sa'eed ibn Zaid is in Paradise, and Abu Ubaidah ibn Al-Jarraah is in Paradise."

 

Az-Zubair embraced Islam on the hands of Abu Bakr and so did Uthman, and Abd-ur-Rahman ibn 'Awf, and Talha (y). In addition, Abu Bakr freed seven slaves who were tortured (by the mushrikeen) because they had embraced Islam. From these seven were Bilal and 'Aamir ibn Fuhairah. The Messenger of Allah peace be upon him loved Abu Bakr very much and he peace be upon him was very certain of Abu Bakr's belief in Allah and His Messenger and the religion of Islam. In a hadith narrated by 'Umar ibn Al-'Aas (May Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him sent him as the leader of the army that fought in the battle of As-Sulaasil. He (the narrator of the hadith) said: "I went to him (the Messenger of Allah r) and asked: 'Who do you love the most?' He peace be upon him replied: 'Aisha.' I said: '(Who do you love the most) from amongst the men?' He peace be upon him replied: 'Her father.' I asked: '(Who do you love the most) after him?' He peace be upon him replied: 'Umar ibn Al-Khattaab.' And then he peace be upon him named some other men as well." In another authentic hadith narrated upon the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said:

 

"Who from amongst you is fasting today?" Abu Bakr replied: "I am." He (the Messenger of Allah r) then said: "Who from amongst you has followed a funeral procession today?" Abu Bakr replied (May Allah be pleased with him): "I have." He (the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him) said: "Who from amongst you has fed a poor person today?" Abu Bakr replied: "I have." He (the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him) said: "Who from amongst you has visited a sick person today?" Abu Bakr replied: "I have." He (the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him) said: "Whoever has combined all of these deeds together in one day will enter Paradise." In a different narration of the same hadith the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said: "Whoever has combined all of these deeds together in one day will have his sins forgiven."

 

The Messenger of Allah peace be upon him sought the advice of Abu Bakr on many occasions and singled him out for many special favors. Perhaps the most glaring example of this is the fact that only Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) accompanied the Prophet peace be upon him during his migration from Mecca to Medina. Additionally there are many ahadith authentically narrated upon the Prophet peace be upon him that clearly indicate that Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) was designated to be the first Khalifa after the death of the Prophet peace be upon him and the Muslim nation agreed that he should be leader. Perhaps the clearest evidence of this is the fact that the Prophet peace be upon him entrusted Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) to lead the prayer during his final illness. Also, in an authentic hadith narrated upon the authority of Abu Saeed Al-Khudree (May Allah be pleased with him) who said:

 

"The Messenger of Allah peace be upon him addressed the people saying: "Allah has given option to a slave to choose this world or what is with Him. The slave has chosen what is with Allah." Abu Bakr wept and we were astonished at his weeping because of what the Prophet peace be upon him mentioned about a slave who had been given a choice, (we learned later on) that the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him himself was the person who was given the choice, and that Abu Bakr knew best of all of us. The Messenger of Allah peace be upon him then said: "The person who has favored me most of all both with his company and wealth, is Abu Bakr. If I were to take a Khalil other than my Lord, I would have taken Abu Bakr as such, but (what relates us) is the Islamic brotherhood and friendliness. All the gates of the Mosque should be closed except the gate of Abu Bakr."

 

In another authentic hadith narrated upon the authority of Anas ibn Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) who said:

 

"The Prophet once climbed the mountain of Uhud with Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman. The mountain shook with them. The Prophet peace be upon him said (to the mountain): "Be firm, O Uhud! For on top of you there is only a Prophet, a Siddeeq and two martyrs."

 

Also, in an authentic hadith narrated upon the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Prophet peace be upon him said: "If I were to have taken a Khalil, I would have taken Abu Bakr, but He is my brother and my companion (in Islam)."

 

And in another authentic hadith narrated upon the authority of Anas ibn Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) who said: "While the Muslims were offering the Fajr prayer on Monday and Abu Bakr was leading them in prayer, suddenly the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him lifted the curtain of Aisha's dwelling and looked at them while they were in the rows of the prayers and smiled. Abu Bakr retreated to join the row, thinking that the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him wanted to come out for the prayer. The Muslims were about to be put to trial in their prayer (i.e. were about to give up praying) because of being overjoyed at seeing the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him. But the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him beckoned them with his hand to complete their prayer and then entered the dwelling and let fall the curtain."

 

THE KHILAAFA OF ABU BAKR AS-SIDDEEQ(May Allah be pleased with him)

 

In a hadith narrated by Imam At-Tirmidhi upon the authority of Abd-Allah ibn Mas'ood (May Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said: "Follow those who come after me: Abu Bakr and Umar."

 

In another hadith narrated by Imam At-Tirmidhi upon the authority of Aisha (May Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said: "If Abu Bakr is amongst a people, then it is inappropriate for anyone else to lead them."

 

And Alee ibn Abee Taalib (May Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of Allah designated Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer so he lead them in prayer while I was present and in good health. If he (the Messenger of Allah r) had wanted to designate me (to lead the people in prayer) then he would have done so. We are pleased with those in this world who Allah and his Messenger are pleased with."

 

In another hadith narrated upon the authority of Aisha (May Allah be pleased with him) who said that when the Prophet's peace be upon him illness became severe, Bilaal came to him for the prayer. He peace be upon him said: "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer." I said: "My father is a soft hearted man and if he stands in your place, he would not be able to make the people hear him. Will you order Umar (to lead the prayer)?" He (the Messenger of Allah r) said: "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer." Then I said to Hafsa: "Tell him (the Messenger of Allah r) that Abu Bakr is a soft hearted man and if he stands in your place, he would not be able to make the people to hear him. Would you order 'Umar (to lead the prayer)?" Hafsa did so and the Prophet peace be upon him replied: "Verily you are the companions of Joseph. Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer." So Abu Bakr stood for the prayer. In the meantime the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him felt better nd came out with the help of to persons and both of his legs were dragging on the ground till he entered the mosque. When Abu Bakr heard him coming, he tried to retreat but the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him beckoned him to carry on. The Prophet sat on his left side. Abu Bakr was praying while standing and the Messenger of Allah was leading the prayer while sitting. Abu Bakr was following the Prophet peace be upon him and the people were following Abu Bakr (in the prayer).

 

After the death of the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him Abu Bakr went out and some of the Muhaajireen gathered around him. Abu Bakr said: "Go to our brothers from the Ansar because they have an important role to play in making this decision." So they departed and returned with the Ansar. After some discussion about who should lead the Muslims, 'Umar stood up and took Abu Bakr by the hand and said: "Who was Allah referring to in the Qur'an when He said:

 

When they were in the cave, he (May Allah be pleased with him) said to his companion: "Be not sad (or afraid) surely Allah is with us."
[Qur'aan : ]

 

'Umar then held out the hand of Abu Bakr and addressed the people saying: "Acknowledge Abu Bakr as leader of the Muslims." So the people acknowledged Abu Bakr as leader of the Muslims with the best acknowledgement.

 

THE DEATH OF ABU BAKR(May Allah be pleased with him)

 

Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) died on a Friday near the end of the month of Jumaad At-Thaanee in the year 13H and 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) led the funeral prayer.

 

Abu Bakr was the first Khalifa of the Muslims and he was the first leader to conduct the rights of Hajj with the people since the Messenger of Allah (May Allah be pleased with him) conquered Mecca in the year 8H and Abu Bakr led the people in the performance of the rights of Hajj in the year 9H. He (May Allah be pleased with him) was also the first one to order that the Qur'an be written down in its entirety. When Abu Bakr died, 'Umar ibn Al-Khattaab (May Allah be pleased with him) assumed the Khilaafa after him.