Abu Bakr the First Among Men to Enter Islām
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 sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. He was indeed the first adult male to accept Islām.
The Holy Prophet told Abu Bakr what had happened at Mount Hira', he told him that Allāh subhanahu
wa ta'ala has revealed to him and made him His Messenger. When Abu Bakr heard this from the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam, he did not stop to think, he at once became a Muslim. He submitted to Islām with such determination that once the
Holy Prophet himself remarked, "I called people to Islām, everybody thought over it, at least for a while, but this was
not the case with Abu Bakr, the moment I put Islām 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 Islām to others. Among those who accepted Abu Bakr's invitation to Islām were; Uthman, Zubair, Talha, Abdul
Rahman bin Auf, Saadi bin Waqqas and others who later became the pillars of Islām.
Abu Bakr's love of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam 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 sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam 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 aroundthe Prophet's neck. Thereupon the enemiesof
Islām came down upon Abu Bakr and beat him unnerafully, 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 Allāh, 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
Islām was growing rapidly in Mecca, the enemies of Islām were getting frustrated by this rapid growth.
The Chiefs of Mecca found that it is necessary for them to get rid of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam before Islām
can cause a real threat to them, so they planned to kill the Prophet. Allāh subhanahu wa ta'ala 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 sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam remained calm and said to Abu Bakr "do not fear, certainly Allāh
is with us". Such words quickly calmed down Abu Bakr and brought back tranquility to his heart.
Participation in Battles
Abu Bakr, being the closest of Companions to the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, 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 Islām were so great that at Badr, one
of his sons, who had not yet embraced Islām 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 "Allāh 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 Islām.
The Successor of the Prophet
The first Hajj under Islām was in the ninth year of Hijra. The Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam
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 sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam 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 Islām (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 Allāh 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 Allāh, 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 Allāh, there have
been Messengers before him. What then, will you turn back from Islām 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 Islām. But the former were the first to accept Islām, they were always
very close to the Messenger of Allāh. 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 Islām.
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 sallallaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam in the Thawr cave. You led prayers in his place, during his last illness. Prayer is the foremost thing in Islām. 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 Allāh
subhanahu wa ta'ala and His Messenger.
Ali radiallaahu 'anhu 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 Islām 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' Allāh in the next issue we will talk about his qualities as a leader and his success as a Caliph.