Abu Bakr As-Siddiq 
The First Among Men to Enter Islam

--by Br. Hamzah Qassem

 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 aroundthe
 Prophet's neck. Thereupon the enemiesof Islam 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 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

 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 wascalled
 As-Siddiq, by the Prophet. His greapersonality 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.