1. ABU BAKR AL-SIDDIQ (R)

Close Friend, Father-in-Law and  First Successor of Prophet(salla-Llaahu alayhi wa-sallam)     

(d. 13 A.H)

 

"If you help him (Muhammad) 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 and Abu Bakr) were in the cave, he said to his companion; "Be not afraid, surely, Allah is with us". Then Allah sent down His divine peace upon him, and strengthened him with forces (angels) which you saw not, and made the word of those who disbelived the lowermost, while it was the Word of Allah that became uppermost, and Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise". [Qur'an 9:40] 

 

In this verse from Chapter 9 (the Repentance) of the Holy Qur'an, we find three references to our hero, Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq; (i)"the second of the two" (ii)"both of them" and (iii)"he said to his companion". The  context is very revealing for the special personality of our hero. For he was the sole human support to the Prophet (SAWS) at the darkest and most dangerous moment of his life, when all the pagan Makkan were after him seeking his destruction.

The Quranic expression "Allah is with us" is reported to have been said by the Prophet (saws)  when Abu Bakr (ra) saw the pagans outside the entrance of the cave and he expressed his deepest worry for the life of the Prophet (saws)

Let us look at the story from the beginning. 'Abdullah ibn Abu Quhafah, the real name of our hero, was a well-known merchant in Makkah. He was a close friend of Muhammad (saws) even before the latter became a Messenger of Allah. This intimate relationship was responsible for the fact that he was the first man ever joining the faith of Islam. For he knew Muhammad's character too well to doubt his claim of Prophethood. From that moment and until the death of the Prophet (saws) twenty-three years later- and even after that- Abu Bakr (ra) proved to be the most loyal friend and follower of Prophet Muhammad (saws).

It was this unlimited loyalty and unfaltering faith in the Prophet that earned our hero the title AL-SIDDIQ, which means the true believing person or the person who never doubted anything reported by the Prophet (saws).

This title was given to him by Muhammad (saws) personally after the event of lsraa' and Mi'raaj ('the Night Journey of the Prophet from Makkah to Jerusalem and his Ascension to Heaven'). For when in the morning of the 27th of Rajab a couple of years before the Hijra. the Prophet (saws) told the Makkans that he had gone to Jerusalem and came back to Makkah in the same night. The Makkans were excited because they thought that they found the positive proof of the falsehood of Muhammad's reports and claims.

For how could a human being cover such a distance that took them no less than two weeks each way and be back in one single night! Rumours of the incident spread throughout Makkah, causing some novice followers of the Prophet to doubt their teacher. A few pagans went to our hero Abu Bakr (ra) and told him what they had heard the Prophet saying of that fantastic journey. They were hoping that with that they could throw doubt in the heart of Abu Bakr. What was our hero's response? He said: "Has Muhammad said that? If he has said so I believe him, for I am believing him in matters and reports he brings from the heaven, and doubt him not in such an affair.

To show his support and to convince the unbelievers of the truth of the report made by the Prophet (saws), Abu Bakr immediately went to Muhammad and said to him: "I have been to Jerusalem; could you tell us some of things you saw? Upon describing some of the sights of Jerusalem, Abu Bakr confirmed the truth of the report that he heard from Makkans. The Prophet (saws) even told the doubting Makkans of things he saw en route from Jerusalem to Makkah, which were later confirmed by the travelers upon their arrival at Makkah later.

Our hero was instrumental in bringing to the fold of Islam many an influential personality of the Makkan community. At the same time' he was also the saviour of many of the most unfortunate followers of Islam, especially the slaves among them. For Abu Bakr (ra) spent his fortune in purchasing those slaves, like the well-known Bilaal ibn Rabaah (ra) and others from their infidel masters and setting them free for the sake of Allah.

The generous nature of our hero was revealed on many occasions both before the Hijra (migration of the Prophet (saws) from Makkah to Madina), during it, and after it.

On the occasion of the Hijra, it was Abu Bakr (ra) who hired the traveller guide and bought the supplies. He even took every single penny in his house for the journey of his life in the company of Prophet Muhammad (saws), leaving his family in the protection of Almighty Allah.

This reminds us of another similar incident that occurred in Madina later, when the Prophet was collecting means for Jihad. Every member of the community brought something. 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab (ra) brought half of their property to the Prophet in donation, but for Abu Bakr nothing less than all was to be donated. When the Prophet (saws) asked him: "What have you left your family?" his response was: "Allah," meaning that he entrusted them to Allah to provide for them.

Though Abu Bakr (ra) was a very meek and soft-hearted person, he was very strict and firm in word and action when the occasion arose. Two of the most  important examples occurred at very critical junctures in the ' early history of Islam.

The first was the death of the Prophet (saws) in the third month of the year 10 after Hijra. When the news of the demise of the Prophet (saws) was announced many members of the Muslim community were in a state of shock and disbelief to the extent that a strong man like of 'Umar ibn AI- Khattab's calibre could not believe their ears. He even went as far as threatening with his sword anyone announcing the Prophet's death. The situation was a very difficult one indeed and chaos was looming. It was our hero Abu Bakr (ra) who controlled the critical moments.

He came to the masses and loudly recited the verse of the noble Qu'ran whose translation is: .

"Muhammad is no more than a Messenger; and indeed
many a messenger has passed away before him. So what if
he dies or is killed! Will you then turn back on your heels (as disbelievers)? And he who turns back on his heels will not do the least harm to Allah. And Allah will give reward to those who are grateful." (Qur'an 3: 144).


Abu Bakr (ra) continued,
"Whoever obeyed Muhammad let him know that Muhammad is dead .. Whoever worshipped Allah, he should know that Allah is alive forever." Upon hearing these words people realized that death was inevitable even for a Prophet. Everybody calmed down.

Umar ibn Al-Khattab is reported to have said: "It was as if this is the first time that I heard this verse from Abu Bakr."

The first thing the companions were worried about was selecting a successor (Caliph) to the Prophet (saws) to lead the newly emerging Muslim Ummah ('nation'). After long debates and discussions at a place called "Saqeefat Ban! Saa'idah" the unanimous decision was 'made to elect our hero, Abu Bakr AI-Siddiq for Caliph or successor to the Prophet (saws). No wonder he was chosen for that most important post and difficult task. For he was not only the oldest and closest friend of the Prophet,  he was also the senior most of the prominent Companions and the one who followed his foot-steps the closest. Besides, it was he who was personally chosen by the Prophet (saws) to lead the Muslim community in the congregational prayers in place of the Prophet and in his presence during his last illness, a hint in action that Abu Bakr (ra) was the choice of the Prophet (saws) to succeed him in leading the Muslim Ummah.

Muslim historians have argued that the Prophet (saws) did not specifically designate in words anyone to succeed him in order not to violate the important principle of SHURA ('consultation') in Islam at such an early and critical stage of the life of that young community.

The second critical situation that was saved by our hero that of the mass exodus from Islam by some novice followers of the faith, following the death of the Prophet (saws) and encouraged by a few impostors who claimed prophethood. Some wanted to stop paying the zakat ('alms-giving'), even though they did not renounce their belief in Islam. To Abu Bakr (ra), who was a faithful student and very meticulous follower of Prophet Muhammad (saws) ' these renegades had to be fought and brought to the fold of Islam.

Some companions advised against this, pointing out the danger in fighting such huge masses of people and large number of tribes. But, typical of his unfaltering faith in Allah and His Divine support, our hero insisted to go ahead even if he became alone in this attempt. Naturally, all the former companions of the Prophet (saws) went along with the decision of their Caliph, and the campaigns against apostasy were successfully accomplished.

Islam became again the religion of the Arabian Peninsula. Active preaching of the faith was carried out in the North, the regions of the Fertile Crescent under the guidance of and with instructions from our hero.

The special quality of meticulous observance of the Prophet's instructions is again exemplified in the following event.

A few days before the Prophet (saws) past away, he prepared an army under the leadership of the young Usamah Ibn Zayd (ra) to fight the Romans in the North.

When the Prophet (saws) died the army was in the outskirts of Madina, ready to move. Upon the death of the Prophet (saws) suggestions were made to the Caliph Abu Bakr to cancel the campaign and keep the army in order to face the rebels in Arabia.

The suggestion seemed logical, but to Abu Bakr there was something more important than mere logic. This was the decision made by the Prophet (saws). It had to be honoured and carried out regardless of all the odds and the difficult circumstances. Our hero's instructions were: "Send forth Usamah's army. I swear to Allah that even if the wolves attack me I would not hesitate in sending it away. For I will not change the decision made by the Messenger of Allah."

Umar ibn AI-Khattab, expressing the opinion of some of the former companions of the Prophet (saws) made the suggestion that Abu Bakr change the commander of the army, since he was too young and the army included many senior companions of the Prophet (saws). Our hero was furious. He pulled at 'Umar's beard saying, "Woe to you, 'Umar, The Prophet appoints him, and I remove him!"

So both Abu Bakr and 'Umar (ra) went forth to the army to bid it farewell. The commander-in-chief (the young Usamah) was riding, the humble Caliph, Abu Bakr (ra) walked along on his feet. Usamah ibn Zayd (ra) felt embarrassed, he wanted to dismount and asked the Caliph to mount the horse instead, but Abu Bakr insisted that neither Usamah dismount nor that he ride, "What is wrong in my walking an hour for the sake of Allah!" He then politely asked permission from the young commander to keep 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab at Madina as an advisor to him. Naturally, he could have made the decision without Usamah's permission, since he was the Caliph. But not Abu Bakr, who knew that Usamah's mission was decided by the Prophet (saws), therefore, in that respect he was not under the command of Abu Bakr (ra).

History proved the wisdom of our hero in sending forth Usamah's army to carry out its original mission. For when the rebels in Northern Arabia saw the army on its way to fight the Romans, they said to themselves, "If the seat of the government was in shambles and weak, the Caliph would not have sent this army to fight the Romans!" This was one of the causes of the quieting down of some rebellions.

By the 12th year after Hijra, the year in which Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq (ra) died, Islam was firmly established in Arabia and many of the sarrounding areas to the north and the east.

Source: "HEROES OF ISLAM" by Prof. Mahmoud Esma'il Sieny

____________________

BACK TO CONTENTS

Copyright © 2010 I Bangladesh.Life