Lesson 2 : Abu bakr As-Siddiq ( R )

It was Abubakr Assiddiq (r ) , who led the Islamic state after the Prophet (s) . He was the first man to accept Islam
when Muhammad (s) came with Divine message. He was an intimate friend of the prophet (s) since his childhood
. Abubakr(r) married his daughter ‘Aaisha (r ) to the prophet (s) due to his closeness to the prophet (s).

Before embracing Islam , his name was ‘Abdul Ka’aba ( The slave of Ka’aba). After his acceptance of Islam, the
prophet (s) changed his name to ‘Abdullah. He is popularly known by the name Abubakr , which means ‘The one who
came earlier’, as he was the first man who believed in the Prophet’s (s) message. As he doubtlessly testified the news
of Israa , and Mi’raaj , (the overnight journey of the prophet (s ), and his ascending to the heavens,, Abubakr ( r) got
the title ‘Assiddiq’ .

Abubakr(r ) is a shining personality in Islamic history. He endured many sacrifices and sufferings , and worked very
hard for the welfare of the people. He was an ideal figure in the fields of worship, and public welfare activities.
He was a shelter for the poor. Abubakr (r ) led a very simple life even when he was the head of the Islamic state.

“Oh , Abubakr, A man like you should not leave his homeland , nor should he be driven out”
Abubakr (r) was a very popular and much beloved person among his people before and after his embracing Islam.
Still he had to face many oppressions , as he worked for Islam. At last , when the tortures became unbearable, he
Decided to migrate to Abyssinia as instructed by the holy prophet(s). On his way to Abyssinia, Ibn ud Dugna, the chief
the area met him. He asked , “ Abubakr, where are you going to ?”. “My people turned me out . So I want to wander on
the earth and worship my Lord “, Abubakr (r ) replied. Hearing this, Ibnu Ddugna said, “ O Abubakr, a man like you
should not leave his homeland , nor should he be driven out because you help the destitute earn their livings , keep
good elations with your kith and kin, help the poor and weak, entertain guests generously, and help calamity – stricken
people. Therefore I guarantee you security. Go back and worship your Lord in your own town. “. Thus Abubakr (r )
returned home and Ibn ud Dugna acco0mpanied him. See! , Why did Ibnuddugna, a non muslim take the responsibility
of Abu baker's protection ? ! Areal believer is always in the service of the people , and people love such personalities.

Hijra with the Prophet (s) :

It became impossible for the Muslims to lead their free Islamic life in Makkah. Allah Almighty commanded them to
migrate to Yathrib where the situation was more free and favorable for them to live according to their faith . ‘Yathrib’
is the old name of the place which began to be known as ‘Madina’ , after the migration of the prophet(s) to there.
After almost all Muslims had migrated, the prophet(s) decided to migrate with Abubakr ( r) . What a luck is there than
getting a chance to accompanying Allah’s Messenger(s) in his Hijra!

During their migration to Yathrib, both of them hid in a cave ’Thaur’ for some days in order to escape from falling into
the eyes of the enemies. Abubakr (r ) was very vigilant about the safety and protection of the prophet(s). Though he
had sealed all the holes in the cave, a snake bit on Abubakr’s leg. As the prophet was sleeping , and Abubakr did not like
to disturb him (s) , he struggled himself to swallow the pain of the snake-bite. Still , a ear drop of Abubakr fell on the
cheek of the holy prophet (s) , and the prophet woke up to see Abubakr in a very disturbed situation. When the prophet
enquired , Abubakr (r ) told him what had happened. He examined the wound of Abubakr (r ) , then applied some saliva
on it , and prayed for his cure. Allah Almighty gave him immediate relief .

Both of them left ‘Thaur’ and continued their journey to Yathrib. Abubakr (r ) was very anxious throughout the journey
about the safety of the prophet(s). So, Abubakr constantly changed his position to the right, then to the left, front and
back of the prophet(s) in order to safeguard him. After arriving Yathrib, the Prophet (s) renamed the place as ‘Al Madina’,
and made it the capital of the Islamic state. Abubakr (r ) at the forefront with the prophet (s) in all the activities.
 Abubakr (r ) gave all his wealth for the cause of Islam. During the Battle of Tabuk, the whole Madinah was
suffering from famine. The Prophet (s) called upon the Sahabah (r ) to donate as much as they could for war
preparations. All required, all the Sahabis reached Prophet’s Masjid with their shares for the war fund. “ I
should overtake Abubaker in terms of charity this time “ , with this thought in mind ‘Umar (r ) donated half of
his total wealth to the fund. After a while, Abubakr (r ) reached with his share and submitted to Allah’s
Messenger. On receiving it, the Prophet (s) enquired, “ What is remaining with you at home ?” . “Allah and His
Rasool (s) “ , replied Abubakr (r ) . On hearing this response, ‘Umar (r ) accepted his defeat with a smile.

Who can defeat this great personality in virtue and charity ! Allah’s Messenger once said : “ No other person’s wealth has
benefitted me than that of Abubakr.”

Abubakr (r ) was very brave as well as he was generous. At the time of the demise of our beloved Prophet(s), even prominent
Sahabis like ‘Umar (r ) staggered , but Abubaker(r ) explained the matters to the people with a controlled, unshaken mind.

The First Khalifa :

We have already discussed about the circumstances under which Abubakr(r ) was chosen as the Caliph. He deserved that
post in all levels. The Prophet (s) used to appoint him as the leader in so many important matters. As the Prophet did not
participate in the Hajj in the 9th year H, the year just before his demise, Abubakr (r ) was appointed as the Ameer (Leader) of
Hajj. It was him whom the Prophet had entrusted to lead the ‘Salah’ in the Prophet’s(s) Masjid when he (s) was in his sick bed.
It was due to these reasons that the Sahabah declared their Bai’ah to Abubakr(r) as the Khalifa.

Declaration of Policy :

If we go through the Policy declaration of the first khalifa, we can see that there has never been a policy
similar to this in world history :
“Oh people, I have been appointed over you, but I am not he best among you. If I do well ,support me;
and if I act wrongly, then correct me. The weak among you is strong with me until I return what rightfully
his; And the strong among you is held weak with me until I take from him the right of others that he took
wrongly , in shaa Allah. Obey me as long as I obey Allah and His messenger. If I disobey Allah and His
Messenger, I don’t have the right to be obeyed.
Administrative Procedures
A period of two years from 11 H. to 13 H. was the reign of Abubakr(r ). It was a period of so many challenges for the Islamic
State. The Khalifa could suppress the riots that broke out in various parts of the country, following the demise of the Prophet(s).
To secure the power and strength of the state was first task of the Khalifa. Deniers of ‘Zakat’ were the first ones who raised a
challenge . They argued that the Zakat is not to be paid to the government, as Allah’s Messenger had left this world. On hearing
this, Abubakr(r) declared, “If they refuse to give even a head band of the camel to me, I will fight against them”.
Upon this statement all the deniers surrendered.

Against the False Prophets

Some false prophets had appeared during the life time the Prophet(s) itself. These types of aspirants dared to claim publicly
to be the messengers of Allah. The hypocrites (‫ )المنافقون‬and those of weak faith believed their claim to be true. Khalifa felt that it
should not be neglected. When they realized that there would be military action against them some of them gave up their
claim of prophet hood, Some others surrendered , and some of them absconded.
But Musalima, ( known as ‘Musailma ,the Liar- ‫ ) مسيلمة الكذاب‬one of the claimants to be the messenger of Allah , declared war
against the Khalifa. He raised a huge army consisting of forty thousand soldiers against the Khalifa. Abubakr (r ) arranged an
army to fight against them as Khalid bin Al Waleed as its commander.
Both the armies met at Yamama, and Musailima was killed in the battle, putting an end to that threat.

People’s Leader , Their Servant

A helpless blind old lady lived in a hut in the outskirts of Madina. She lived there alone, and there were
nobody to help her in her needs. Abubaker(r ) used to go to the hut before dawn and do whatever she was in
need of , like cleaning, bringing water, cooking etc. When ‘Umar (r) came to know about the distress of the lady,
he decided to help her. He went to there early in the morning , but he was surprised to find that already done
all that she needed.
The same thing was repeated for several days. Finally, ‘Umar(r) reached there at midnight, waiting to find out
who the person came there everyday. When the person reached closer to ‘Umar, he was surprised to realize
that it was Abubakr(r ) .
 Compilation of the Qur’ an
Holy Qur’an was not complies into a book during the life time of the Prophet (s), but there were so many sahabis who had
fully memorized exactly in the form and order as taught by the Prophet(s). As instructed by the Prophet(s) , some of the sahabis
had kept the Qur’anic verses in writing in various places such as bones, leather, stones etc. So many of the Sahabis who had
memorized it were martyred in the battle of Yamama, which was fought against the false prophet Musailma. “How can be the
Qur’an handed over safely to the generations if the number of Hafidhs dwindles like this!”, ‘Umar (r ) expressed his concern in
the matter. Considering this concern seriously, Abubakr(r ) started efforts to compile the Qur’an into a Book. The Khalifa
appointed Zayd bin Thabit(r ), the Prophet’s clerk , tor this purpose Thus a group of eminent Sahabis supervised by Zayd (r)
worked hard and got the Qur’an into a Book. This first Book of the Qur’an is known as ‘Mus-haf Siddiqi’ (‫) مصحف صديقي‬.
Another major challenge to Madina was that from the Roman- Persian Empires. Abubakr(r ) succeeded in in defeating both
these powers and saving the people from their cruelties. By this the message of began to spread to far areas of the world.
Many groups of Sahaba travelled to various parts of the world to propagate the message of Islam.

Military Policy
Abubakr’s (r ) advice to the Muslim soldiers going for war is unique in history:

* Do not commit Treachery.

* Do not Steel or commit Fraud.
* Do not mutilate anybody.
* Do not harm the women, Children, or Old people of the enemy soldiers.
* Do not Cut off Fruitful trees.
* Do not slaughter cattle except for food.
* Do not Disturb or Harass the worshippers in their places of worship.

Abubakr(r), who led a very simple life , was very keen to understand the problems of the people directly by himself. He cared the
sick, and the senior citizens. He delivered food to those who struggled without it, consoled all types of laborers When he heard
somebody prasing him, he would bow his head with shame and say, ”Oh Allah, Make better than they think, and Forgive me what
they do not know, Do not catch me for what say “ (‫ وال تؤاخذني بما يقولون‬, ‫ و اغفرلي ما ال يعلمون‬, ‫ )اللهم اجعلني خيرا مما يظنون‬.
 Following the demise of Allah's Messenger and the activities of some subversive groups, the Muslim society would have
collapsed , but Abubakr(r) could manage the situation and bring up them to a part of a tight knight community under a
government based in Madina. He was blessed with the support of a well disciplined team of sahaba. . Over all, he had help and
blessings Allah Almighty in this .
He feared that whatever has been built would be collapsed , if a proper was not there after him. So, he suggested the name
of “Umar (r ) as the next Khalifa, and discussed the matter with the senor Sahabis and got their approval. Then the people also
accepted it.
Abubakr(r) left this world on 22 Rabi’ul Akhir ,13 H at the age of 63. He was buried beside the Qabr of Allah’s Messenger(s).

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