Abdullah, and he was given the title of "As Siddique" or "Testifier to
the Truth." His father, 'Uthman, was known as Abu Quhafah and his
mother, Salma, was known as Ummul Khair. He was two and a half years
younger than Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam).
He was the first among the Sahaba to accept Islam. He accompanied
Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) during the Hijrah
to Madinatul Munawwarah. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu) was a
merchant. He freed many slaves, including Sayyiduna Bilal (radi Allahu
anhu) and Sayyiduna Umayyah bin Qahaf (radi Allahu anhu) . He
participated in all the battles in which Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal
laahu alaihi wasallam) had to fight the Kuffar.
Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu) loved his faith more than
anything else. At the Battle of Badr, his son, Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman
(radi Allahu anhu) , was fighting on the side of the Kuffar. After
accepting Islam, Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman (radi Allahu anhu) said to his
father, "O Father, at Badr, you were twice under my sword, but my love
for you held my hand back." To this, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu
anhu) replied, "Son, if I had you only once under my sword, you would
have been no more." He was so uncompromising in his faith.
At the time of the Battle of Tabuk, he donated all his wealth to the
war effort, and when Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi
wasallam) asked him, "What have you left for your family,?" he
replied, "Allah and His Rasool (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam)."
AS A CALIPH After his election as the Caliph, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi
Allahu anhu) addressed the Muslims with these words:
"O People! I have been chosen by you as your leader, although I am
nobetter than any of you. IfI do any wrong, set me right. Listen,
truth is honesty and untruth is dishonesty. The weak among you are the
powerful in my eyes, as long as I do not give them their dues. The
powerful among you areweak in my eyes, as longas I do not take away
from them what is due to others.
"Listen carefully, if people give up striving for the Cause of
AlmightyAllah, He will send down disgrace upon them. If people become
evil-doers, Almighty Allah will send down calamities upon them.
"Obey me as long as I obey Allah and His Rasul (sallal laahu alaihi
wasallam). If I disobey Allah and His Rasul (sallallaahu alaihi
wasallam), you are free to disobey me."
Such was the first Caliph of Islam. Indeed, the world would be a
better place to live in, if we hadleaders like Sayyiduna Abu Bakr
(radi Allahu anhu).
Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu) now sent Sayyiduna Usamah (radi
Allahu anhu) on the expedition to Syria to fight the Romans, even
though he had to attendto all the internal problems of the Islamic
State.
The news that SayyidunaRasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) had
passed away, made some new Muslims think that the Islamic State would
crumble and they refused to pay the Zakaah. These new Muslims could
not yet get used to their faith and its requirements until then.
Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) declared, "By Allah! Even if a
single thread is due from a man, he must give it. If he refuses, I
will declare war against him."
RENEGADES AND IMPOSTERS Some others became imposters and renegades.
Tulaiha, Musailimah, Maalik bin Nuwairah, Aswad Ansi and a woman named
Sajah claimed that they were prophets and caused a great deal of
confusion. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) was quick to take
action against these imposters.
Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (radi Allahu anhu) was sent to deal with
Tulaiha who fled to Syriaand later became a Muslim. Maalik bin Nuwarah
was killed. Sayyiduna Ikramah (radi Allahu anhu) and Sayyiduna
Surahbil (radi Allahu anhu) were sent to take action against
Musailimah, but they were defeated. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radiAllahu
anhu) sent Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (radi Allahu anhu) to tackle the
notorious Musailamah who married Sajah. In the fight that followed,
Sayyiduna Wahshi (radi Allahu anhu) killed Musailamah. Musailamahand
Aswad Ansi also claimed to be prophets while Sayyiduna Rasulullah
(sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) was alive. Aswad was killed by the
Muslims of Yemen.
Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu's) swift and bold steps saved the
Islamic State from the serious danger of chaos and confusion. He could
now attend to other urgent problems.
ERA OF CONQUESTS During his Khilaafat, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radiAllahu
anhu) had to take action against the Iranian Empire. The Emperor of
Iran, KhusrouParvez, was killed by his son, Shirooya, and the whole
empire fell into chaos and disorder. Hurmuz, the Persian governor of
Iraq, was very hostile to the Arabs and he was also cruel to the
Muslims living in thatarea.
Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu) sent Sayyiduna Muthamia (radi
Allahu anhu) to take action against the Iranians in Iraq. His forces
were not enough and Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (radi Allahu anhu) was
then sent with reinforcements. The Muslim army captured vast areas of
the Iranian Empire in several battles.
Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu) then turnedhis attention to the
Romans who were causing trouble in the North-West frontier. Sayyiduna
Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu) sent 4 separate armies under Sayyiduna
Ubaidah bin Jarrah, Sayyiduna Amr Ibnul As, Sayyiduna Yazidbin Abu
Sufyaan and Sayyiduna Surahbil bin Hasnal ( radi Allahu anhumul
ajma'in) to dealwith the Roman power.
The four armies joined into one unit to face the Romans more
effectively.The Romans had amassed 150 000 soldiers, but the total
Muslim army was only 24000. Reinforcements were requested. Sayyiduna
Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu) asked Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (radi
Allahu anhu) to take charge of the Iraqi front and Sayyiduna Muthanna
(radi Allahu anhu) to rush to the Syrian front to help fight the huge
Roman army. The armies met in Yarmuk after Sayyiduna Abu Bakr
(radiAllahu anhu) passed away. In this battle, the Romans were totally
defeated.
PASSES AWAY Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu) fell ill at thistime
and passed away on the 21st of Jamadi-ul-Aakhir 13 A.H. (22 August
634). His rule lasted 2 years and 3 months. He was 63 years old.
One of the many contributions of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu)
was the collection and compilation of the Holy Quran.
PERSONAL LIFE He lived a very simple, pious and upright life. He was a
true servant of Almighty Allah and a meticulous follower of Sayyiduna
Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam).
He wore ordinary clothes and his meals were very simple. He attended
to house-hold work and would go out at night and seek the poor and
destitute. Humility and modesty were the keynotes of hischaracter. He
felt embarrassed when people showered praiseson him or showed him
immense respect. He often fasted during the day and spent the
wholenight in Salaah and meditation. He was a great orator and a
master of genealogy (one who can trace a person's family line). In
personal life, he was a Saint. He used all his powers to promote the
interest of Islam and the good of people.
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