Abu Bakr as-Siddiq

Early Life & Acceptance of Islam

Abu Bakr was of the Banu Taym clan of Quraysh and among the foremost of the Muhajirun. He was the very first of the Ummah to believe in the Prophet ﷺ — a fact Ali ibn Abi Talib affirmed at his death: “By Allah, you believed first of all in the entire Ummah,” adding that Allah Himself named him as-Siddiq, the Truthful, in His Book. 1 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 316 — Ali's eulogy: Abu Bakr was the first of the Ummah to believe and is named as-Siddiq in the Qur'an. His closeness to the Prophet ﷺ was unmatched: he was his chosen companion on the Hijra, sheltering with him in the Cave — the distinction Umar invoked when proposing him for the caliphate, “He has been the Companion of the Prophet ﷺ in the cave… none is entitled to the caliphate in the presence of Abu Bakr.” 2 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 275 — Umar cites Abu Bakr as the Prophet's companion in the Cave when proposing him as Caliph.

Becoming the First Caliph

When the Prophet ﷺ passed away, the Ansar gathered at Saqifah Banu Sa’idah to choose a leader, and dispute flared between them and the Muhajirun. Abu Bakr left the Prophet’s burial arrangements to Ali and others, hastened to the gathering with Umar and Abu Ubayda, and calmed it — arguing that leadership should rest with the Muhajirun of Quraysh while the Ansar would be their trusted advisors. 3 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 273–275 — The assembly at Saqifah Banu Sa'idah and Abu Bakr's intervention. Selflessly he offered the people Umar or Abu Ubayda instead, but Umar declared none more worthy and pledged allegiance to him first, followed by the congregation; the next day Ali too gave his allegiance before a great gathering in the Prophet’s Mosque. 4 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 274–276 — The pledge (bai'ah) to Abu Bakr; Ali's allegiance the following day. Shibli Nomani devotes a full chapter of Al-Farooq to this gathering at the Saqifah and the securing of Abu Bakr’s caliphate. 5 Al-Farooq · pp. 88–98 — Shibli Nomani — Chapter V, 'The Saqifah Bani Sa'idah: Caliphate of Abu Bakr', corroborating the accession.

Major Contributions

Usama’s expedition. Against the counsel of Companions who feared leaving Madinah exposed amid the rising apostasy, Abu Bakr insisted on dispatching the army the Prophet ﷺ had ordered under the young Usama ibn Zayd, declaring that even if wild beasts were to seize him he would not hold back what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had commanded. He walked on foot beside Usama’s mount to see the army off and famously gave it a ten-point code of war — forbidding treachery, mutilation, and the killing of women, children and the aged, and the felling of fruit-bearing trees. 6 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 277–279 — Abu Bakr's resolve to send Usama's army and the ten-point code of conduct in war.

The Ridda (apostasy). Across Arabia, tribes that withheld the zakah and false claimants to prophethood — Tulayha al-Asadi and Musailamah the Liar — rose against the young state. Abu Bakr met them with firmness, and at the decisive Battle of Yamamah (Dhul-Hijjah 11 AH) Musailamah was slain by Wahshi (the same who had killed Hamza). The victory cost a thousand Muslim lives, among them many memorisers of the Qur’an — a loss that would soon move the Companions to gather the Qur’an into one collection. 7 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 279, 290–292 — The apostasy, the false prophets, and the Battle of Yamamah; the martyrdom of many Qur'an-memorisers.

Scrupulous Piety

Abu Bakr was famously cautious about what entered his body. Once his servant brought him food, and after he had taken a morsel he learned it had been earned through soothsaying in the days of ignorance. Though his stomach was empty from hunger, he forced the morsel back up with water, saying he had heard the Prophet ﷺ warn that flesh nourished by what is unlawful is destined for the Fire. 8 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 82–83 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Abu Bakr makes himself vomit food acquired through soothsaying, citing the Prophet's warning about haraam nourishment.

Virtues in the Hadith

The Prophet ﷺ reserved for Abu Bakr a closeness of friendship he granted no other man:

وَلَوْ كُنْتُ مُتَّخِذًا مِنْ أُمَّتِي خَلِيلاً لاَتَّخَذْتُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ وَلَكِنْ أَخِي وَصَاحِبِي

”If I were to take a khalil (intimate friend) from my nation, I would have taken Abu Bakr, but he is my brother and my companion.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 3656 · Book 62 (Virtues of the Companions), Hadith 8 · USC-MSA: Vol. 5, Book 57, Hadith 8 · narrated by Ibn Abbas (also Sahih Muslim 2383)

He ordered that every gate opening into the mosque be shut — leaving only the gate of Abu Bakr:

”…All the gates of the mosque should be closed except the gate of Abu Bakr.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 3654 · Book 62 (Virtues of the Companions), Hadith 6 · USC-MSA: Vol. 5, Book 57, Hadith 6 · narrated by Abu Sa’id al-Khudri

And asked whom he loved most, the Prophet ﷺ named Aisha, and among men, “her father” — Abu Bakr:

Sahih al-Bukhari 3662 · Book 62 (Virtues of the Companions), Hadith 14 · USC-MSA: Vol. 5, Book 57, Hadith 14 · narrated by Amr ibn al-As

His generosity was unmatched. When the Prophet ﷺ called for charity, Umar brought half his wealth, but Abu Bakr brought all of it:

أَمَرَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَوْمًا أَنْ نَتَصَدَّقَ فَوَافَقَ ذَلِكَ مَالاً عِنْدِي

Asked what he had left for his family, Abu Bakr answered: “I left for them Allah and His Messenger.” Umar said he would never again try to outdo him.

Sunan Abi Dawud 1678 · Book 9, Hadith 123 · narrated by Umar ibn al-Khattab · graded Hasan (al-Albani)

Death & Legacy

In his final illness Abu Bakr nominated Umar ibn al-Khattab as his successor — stressing he did so not for kinship but after consulting men of sound judgment — and the people affirmed it. He left Umar a moving counsel to fear Allah and hold fast to the Qur’an. 9 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 314 — Abu Bakr's nomination of Umar after consultation, and his parting counsel. He breathed his last on the night of 22–23 Jumada al-Akhira, 13 AH (634 CE) and was buried that night; his caliphate had spanned about two and a half years. 10 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 314 — Date of death and the length of his caliphate. When the news spread, Ali wept and eulogised him as the first to believe, the truest in conviction, the most generous, and the closest of all to the Prophet ﷺ in character and guidance. 11 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 315–316 — Ali's eulogy of Abu Bakr.