A fine representative of Islamic moral values throughout his life and a
close friend of our Prophet (saas), Hazrat Abu Bakr was born in Mecca in 571.
He was the first Caliph of the era in Islamic history known as the “Period
of the Four Caliphs.” With the Qur’anic moral values he exhibited under all
circumstances, he was an exemplary Muslim on whom great successes were
bestowed.
Hazrat Abu Bakr embraced Islam at a time when it
was not yet being preached openly.
From the moment he became a Muslim, he lived by Islamic moral values in the
most scrupulous manner.
He provided great material assistance and personal support to our Prophet
(saas) in his preaching work. With his devotion to, and deep love of Allah, he
was instrumental in many people becoming acquainted with the moral values of
Islam.
HAZRAT ABU
BAKR’S CHARACTER
Hazrat Abu Bakr was known for his honesty even
before embracing Islam. He was a leading member of the Quraysh and took part in
meetings on important matters.
Hazrat Abu Bakr looked after blood money
and debts, which were under the control of people with elevated virtues chosen
by the tribes, who in turn determined the sums to be paid.
The Quraysh abided by his decisions on blood money and gladly paid the sums
determined by him.
Hazrat Abu Bakr spent his youth exhibiting highly
superior moral values, and was a close friend of the Prophet Muhammad (saas)
even before he received the prophethood. Since he was one of the first people
to heed the Prophet Muhammad’s (saas) call after he received the prophethood,
the Prophet (saas) said to him:
"Abu Bakr heeded my call without any
hesitation." (A Great History of Islam from Its Birth to Present, Vol: 2 p:
31)
After
embracing Islam, Hazrat Abu Bakr obeyed everything the Prophet (saas)
said and always maintained the bounds set by Allah. Because of his honesty,
loyalty and chastity our Prophet (saas) referred to him as ‘Al-Siddiq’, meaning
the Truthful One. With his broad learning, profound knowledge of religious
matters, sure opinions and noble behavior, Hazrat Abu Bakr was an exemplary
Companion.
When his son Abdurrahman joined the pagans at the battle of Badr, he
fought against his son, and thus showed how he held earning Allah’s approval
above all else.
HAZRAT ABU
BAKR’S EXEMPLARY SPENDING OF HIS FORTUNE
Hazrat Abu Bakr spent his whole fortune in the
cause of Allah. By paying large sums of money to slave owners, he was
instrumental in the freeing of many Muslims taken captive by the Quraysh who
wanted to force them to return to pagan beliefs.
Hazrat Abu Bakr was active in commerce and Allah
bestowed great wealth and assets upon him. Since he spent his entire fortune on
spreading Islamic moral values, causing our Prophet (saas) to say this about
him;
"Abu Bakr is the leading figure when
it comes to sacrificing all his possessions. What an excellent friend Abu Bakr
is. There is Islamic love and brotherhood between us." (Bukhari, 8/Salat, 80)
Another account referring to how Hazrat Abu Bakr
spent all he had on Allah’s path goes:
Urwa says:
"Aisha (as) told me: When he died, he
left behind neither a dirhem nor a dinar." (Nawawi, Tahdhib
al-Asma wal Lugat, II,189 Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, al-Isaba fi tamyiz al-Sahaba
IV, 279)
THE JOURNEY OF OUR PROPHET (SAAS) AND HAZRAT ABU BAKR (AS)
Our Prophet(saas) left his home on the night of the 27th Safar in the 14th year
of his prophethood and went to the home of Hazrat Abu Bakr. He and Hazrat Abu
Bakr then left Mecca. Traveling south they came to Mount Thawr and hid in a
cave there. That cave in Mount Thawr was known as "Athal." At that
point, the pagans came right up to the cave mouth. But our Prophet (saas) was
in complete submission to the destiny appointed for them by Allah.
If you do not help him, Allah did help him when the disbelievers drove
him out and there were two of them in the Cave.* He said to his companion, ‘Do
not be despondent, Allah is with us.’ (Surat at-Tawba, 40)
When the pagans saw that a spider has spun a web over the mouth of the
cave, and that pigeons had built a nest and laid eggs there, they assumed
nobody was inside and left.
Hazrat Abu Bakr was the devoted friend who
sheltered in that cave alongside our Prophet (saas). He thus
enjoyed the honor of witnessing that miraculous event.
THE
CALIPHATE OF HAZRAT ABU BAKR
Hazrat Abu Bakr never abandoned the Prophet
Muhammad (saas) after the migration, and carried the standard at the battle of
Tabuk.
In the ninth year of the migration the Prophet (saas) charged him with leading
the Hajj caravan.
When our Prophet (saas) fell ill, he appointed him as his representative to
lead the Companions in prayer. And after the Prophet’s (saas) death, Hazrat Abu
Bakr was chosen as Caliph. After assuming the post of Caliph, Hazrat Abu Bakr
addressed the people in these important words:
"O People! I have become your ruler.
Yet I am not the best of you. If I do good things, help me. If I do wrong
things, show me the true. Honesty is certitude, but lying is betrayal. Even the
weakest of you is strong alongside me, so I will protect his rights. But even
the strongest of you is weak alongside me, so I will draw others’ rights from
him." (Hazrat Muhammad and His Life, DIB Press, Ankara, 1996, p. 435)
With these words, Hazrat Abu Bakr summarized in the finest possible
manner the virtues that a ruler possessed of Islamic moral values must have. He
achieved much success throughout his brief caliphate of two years:
·
Disputes began arising at intervals after the death of our Prophet
(saas), but he re-established the authority of the State by bringing Muslims
together again.
·
He initiated work on the collection and preservation of the Holy
Qur’an.
·
He was instrumental in Islamic moral values spreading beyond the Arabian
Peninsula for the first time, to Syria, Palestine and Iraq.
·
He strove against false prophets and movements that had no place in
religious moral values. He thus ensured that Islamic moral values remained as
they were in the time of our Prophet (saas).
HAZRAT ABU BAKR TREATED THE PEOPLE OF THE
BOOK WITH AFFECTION AND COMPASSION
Hazrat Abu Bakr said that the People of
the Book should be treated well, even in times of war. This moral value is very
clear in an address he made to his army:
"Do
not betray your cause. Do not abandon mercy even in war. Do not kill or
persecute children, women or the elderly, and do not cut down date and other
fruit trees or kill sheep, goats and other animals except in order to eat them.
If you encounter people who are praying in churches, leave them to their
worship. If you are offered food and drink, do not eat and drink without saying
’In the Name of Allah’.” (Ibn al-Athir, Al-Kâmil fi at-Tarikh II,
139)
THE SUPERIOR MORAL VALUES OF HAZRAT ABU
BAKR IN THE WORDS OF OUR PROPHET (SAAS)
·
In a hadith from Abu-d Darda related by
Bukhari, Prophet Muhammad (saas) says:
"It is certain that Allah sent me to you as a prophet, but some people did
not believe. But Abu Bakr said ‘You have spoken the truth!’ and helped me with
his life and possessions. You will now leave this dear friend to me with this
virtue, will you not?” (Prophet Muhammad (saas) said this twice). (Political, Religious, Cultural and
Social Islam, Vol: 1 p: 269-270)
In another hadith related
by Abu Huraira, the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: "Apart from Abu Bakr,
there are none whose goodness we have not repaid. He has done such good things
for us that Almighty Allah will repay him on the Day of Reckoning... (A
History of Political, Religious, Cultural and Social Islam, Kayihan Press,
Hasan Ibrahim Hasan, Ziya Kazic, Ismail Yigit, Abdulkerim Ozaydin, Idris
Bostan, Fehamettin Basar Vol: 1, p: 270)
