The Truthful Companion
Abu
Bakr was always a very close Companion of the Holy Prophet, he knew him
better than any other man. He knew how honest and upright the Prophet
was. Such knowledge of the Prophet made Abu Bakr be the first man to
follow the Message of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w). He was indeed the first
adult male to accept Islam.
The
Holy Prophet told Abu Bakr what had happened at Mount Hira', he told
him that Allah (s.w.t) has revealed to him and made him His Messenger.
When Abu Bakr heard this from the Prophet (s.a.w), he did not stop to
think, he at once became a Muslim. He submitted to Islam with such
determination that once the Holy Prophet himself remarked «I called
people to Islam, everybody thought over it, at least for a while, but
this was not the case with Abu Bakr, the moment I put Islam before him,
he accepted it without any hesitation". He was titled As-Siddiq by the
Prophet because his faith was too strong to be shaken by anything.
In
fact, Abu Bakr was more than a great believer, as soon as he became a
Muslim, he immediately began to preach Islam to others. Among those who
accepted Abu Bakr's invitation to Islam were; Uthman, Zubair, Talha,
Abdul Rahman bin Auf, Saadi bin Waqqas and others who later became the
pillars of Islam.
Abu
Bakr's love of the Prophet (s.a.w) was so great that he was willing to
sacrifice his life for the sake of protecting and comforting the Prophet
saw. Such love and sacrifice were demonstrated when one day the Holy
Prophet was saying his prayers in the Ka'ba, while some of the chiefs of
Mecca were sitting in the court yard of the Ka'ba. Seeing the Prophet
praying, 'Uqbah bin Abi Mu'eet took a long piece of cloths and put it
around the Prophet's neck and twisted it hard in an attempt to strangle
the Prophet (s.a.w) to death. At that moment Abu Bakr happened to pass
by from a distance, he saw 'Uqbah trying to strangle the Prophet to
death. Immediately Abu Bakr ran to the help of the Prophet, he pushed
'Uqbah aside and took the cloth from around the Prophet's neck.
Thereupon the enemies of Islam came down upon Abu Bakr and beat him
unmercifully, although Abu Bakr with faith like a rock did not care for
his own suffering, he was glad that he was able to save the Prophet of
Allah, even at the risk of his own life.
Abu
Bakr with the wealth he had, also had a major role in freeing some of
the Muslim slaves, who were barbarically tortured by their heartless
Mushrik masters to give up the Faith and return to their masters'
beliefs. The heartless monsters tried all kinds of torture: they made
them lie all naked on the burning desert sand, putting big stones on
their chest, as well as other kinds of torture. Here Abu Bakr's wealth
came to the rescue, as he bought the poor helpless slaves from their
inhuman masters and set them free, Bilal Al-Habashi, the slave of Umayya
bin Khalaf, was among those who were set free by Abu Bakr. Bilal became
afterwards the Mu'azzin at the Prophet's mosque.
Migration to Madinah
Islam
was growing rapidly in Mecca, the enemies of Islam were getting
frustrated by this rapid growth. The Chiefs of Mecca found that it is
necessary for them to get rid of the Prophet (s.a.w) before Islam can
cause a real threat to them, so they planned to kill the Prophet. Allah
(s.w.t) revealed to his Prophet the intentions of the non-believers and
ordered him to migrate to Madinah. So the Prophet quickly went to Abu
Bakr's house who was among the few that were left in Mecca with the
majority of Muslims having already migrated to Madinah.
The
Prophet informed Abu Bakr that he was commanded to migrate to Madinah
that night and that he has chosen him to have the honor of joining him
on his migration. Abu Bakr's heart was full of joy, "I have been looking
forward to this day for months" he exclaimed.
The
Meccans were so eager to find the Prophet they were searching for him
like mad hounds. Once they came to the mouth of the cave, Abu Bakr grew
pale with fright, he feared not for himself, but for the life of the
Holy Prophet. However, the Prophet (s.a.w) remained calm and said to Abu
Bakr "do not fear, certainly Allah is with us". Such words quickly
calmed down Abu Bakr and brought back tranquility to his heart.
Abu Bakr, being the closest of Companions to the Prophet (s.a.w), took part in all the battles that Prophet Muhammad had fought.
At
Uhud and Hunain, some members of the Muslim army showed signs of
weakness, however, Abu Bakr's faith never wavered, he always stood like a
rock by the side of the Prophet.
Abu
Bakr's faith and determination to raise the banner of Islam were so
great that at Badr, one of his sons, who had not yet embraced Islam was
fighting among the enemies, Abu Bakr was so eager to find his son in the
battle that he was searching for him amongst the enemies in order to
slay him.
Abu
Bakr's great love of the Prophet was demonstrated when peace talks at
Hudaibiya were held. During the negotiations, the spokesman of Quraish
was touching the beard of the Prophet every now and then. Abu Bakr's
love for the Prophet was so great that he could bear no more, he took
out his sword and looked angrily at the man saying "if that hand touches
the beard of the Prophet again, it will not be allowed to go back".
Tabuk
was the last expedition of the Holy Prophet. He was keen to make it a
great success, he therefore asked people to help the expedition with
whatever they could. This brought the best out of Abu Bakr who beat all
records as he took all his money and household articles and heaped them
at the Prophet's feet.
"Have
you left anything for your children?" asked the Prophet. Abu Bakr then
responded with great faith "Allah and his Messenger are enough for
them". Companions standing around were stunned they realized that
whatever they do they could not outdo Abu Bakr in the field of service
to Islam.
The
first Hajj under Islam was in the ninth year of Hijra. The Prophet
(s.a.w) was too busy at Madinah to lead the Hajj, so he sent Abu Bakr as
his agent, he was to lead the Hajj in place of the Prophet.
The
Prophet (s.a.w) led the prayers himself ever since he arrived to
Madinah. During his last illness, the Prophet could no longer lead the
prayers, he was too weak to go to the mosque, he therefore had to choose
someone to fill such high position after him. Abu Bakr was also the one
who was honored to be chosen by the Prophet for such a task.
Thus
in the lifetime of the Prophet, Abu Bakr came to fill the highest
position under Islam (leading prayers). While one day Abu Bakr was away
Omar was appointed by the Companions to lead the prayers in his absence.
Realizing the change of voice, the Prophet said "this is not Abu Bakr's
voice, no one but he should lead prayers, he is the fittest person for
this position".
When
the news of the Prophet's death came out, many Muslims were confused
and stunned. Omar himself was so overcome with emotions that he drew his
sword and declared "If anyone says that the Messenger of Allah is dead,
I will cut off his head".
Muslims
stayed in such state until Abu Bakr arrived and gave his famous
address: "O People! If anyone among you worshipped Muhammad, let him
know that Muhammad is dead. But those who worshipped Allah, let them
know that He lives and will never die. Let all of us recall the words of
the Qur'an. It says:"Muhammad is only a Messenger of Allah, there have
been Messengers before him. What then, will you turn back from Islam if
he dies or is killed?"
Suddenly Abu Bakr's words started to sink in, and in no time confusion was gone.
Having
shrugged off the shocking news of the Prophet's death, Muslims realized
that they need someone to fill the position of leadership amongst them.
The
two main groups amongst Muslims were Muhajirun (refugees from Mecca),
and Ansar (the people of Madinah). The Ansar gathered at the Thaqifa
Bani Saida their meeting place. Saad bin Abada the Ansar leader
suggested that the Caliph should be from amongst them. Although many
refused saying that the Muhajirun in right have a better claim to
Khilafah. When the news reached Abu Bakr, he quickly went to their
gathering, fearing that confusion might spread once again, and said
"Both Muhajirun and Ansar have done great service to Islam. But the
former were the first to accept Islam, they were always very close to
the Messenger of Allah. So, O Ansar, let the Caliph be from amongst
them". After a short discussion, the Ansar agreed that they should
choose the Caliph from amongst the Muhajirun, being from the tribe of
Quraish and being the first to accept Islam.
Abu
Bakr then asked people to choose between Omar bin Al-Khattab and Abu
Ubaida Ibn A-Jarrah. Hearing this, both men jumped to their feet and
exclaimed "O Siddiq, how can that be? How can anyone else fill this
position as long as you are among us? You are the top man amongst he
Muhajirun. You were the Companion of the Prophet (s.a.w) in the Thawr
cave. You led prayers in his place, during his last illness. Prayer is
the foremost thing in Islam. With all these qualifications you are the
fittest person to be the successor of the Holy Prophet. Hold out your
hand that we may pledge loyalty to you".
But
Abu Bakr did not stretch out his hand. Omar saw that the delay might
lead to the reopening of the disagreements so he himself took Abu Bakr's
hand out and pledged loyalty to him. Others followed by example, and
Abu Bakr became the first Caliph by general consent of the Muslims.
In
the next day, Abu Bakr addressed the gathering of Muslims in the
Prophet's mosque urging them to continue their path as true Muslims and
to give him loyalty and support as long as he is obeying the Commands of
Allah (s.w.t) and His Messenger.
Ali
(r.a.a) along with some of his relatives delayed their pledge of
loyalty to Abu Bakr for six months after a difference of opinion with
the Caliph due to the right of inheritance of the Prophet's land.
Although both men respected each other, and Ali soon after the death of
his wife Fatimah gave the pledge of loyalty to Abu Bakr.
Such
was the quality of the humble and generous Companion who believed the
Prophet in everything to the extent that he was called As-Siddiq, by the
Prophet. His great personality and service to Islam and Muslims earned
him the love and respect of all Muslims, so that he was chosen as the
first Caliph after the death of the Prophet by all Muslims. Insha' Allah
in the next issue we will talk about his qualities as a leader and his
success as a Caliph.
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