Abu Bakr was a well-respected and rich merchant of Makkah, belonging to the Quraysh tribe. When Muhammad, was bestowed prophethood, Abu Bakr was away in Yemen on business. When he came back, people gave him the astounding news that Muhammad, , claimed to receive revelation from Allaah.
Right away, he went to see the Prophet, and asked him about the religion he was preaching. Having been the Prophet’s friend since early youth (born in Makkah in 573 C.E., he was just three years younger), Abu Bakr was all too aware of his sincerity and truthfulness to have any misgivings. He accepted Islam without second thoughts. This is why he was called “As-Siddeeq (the upright)” by the Prophet, . He was the first male who embraced Islam.
Abu Bakr’s father, ‘Uthmaan, (better known as Abu Qahaafah) and his mother, Salma, had named him Abdul Ka’bah, meaning “the servant of the Ka’bah”. The Prophet, changed this pagan name to ‘Abdullaah and gave him the nickname Abu Bakr.
Having accepted Islam, he began to spread the message in his own social circle. As a result, some prominent people accepted Islam, such as: ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, Zubayr ibn Al-Awwaam, Abdur Rahmaan ibn ‘Auf, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqaas, Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn Al-Jarraah, Khaalid ibn Sa’eed .
The Prophet, , chose him to accompany him when he migrated from Makkah to Madeenah, and due to his self-sacrificing friendship, his name was immortalized in the Quran as{The second of the two}. [Quran 9:40]
After the Muslims migrated to Madeenah, the Quraysh waged many battles to uproot the Muslims from the city. Abu Bakr accompanied the Prophet, , on all his campaigns and participated in all the battles.
Tabook was the last expedition of the Prophet, , and he asked people to give generously to aid it. Abu Bakr was the only person to give all he had to the cause of Islam. The Prophet, , asked him whether he had anything left for his family, and he replied that Allaah and His Apostle were enough for them.
After Makkah was conquered, the Prophet, , sent Abu Bakr in 631 C.E. to lead the Hajj.
The Prophet, , used to lead the prayer in Madeenah himself. However, during his last illness he became so weak that he could not come to the mosque. Instead, he asked Abu Bakr to lead the Muslims in prayer.
‘Aa’ishah who was Abu Bakr’s daughter and the wife of the Prophet, , requested him to assign this responsibility to someone else fearing for her tender-hearted father. However, the Prophet, did not change his mind.
Thus, Abu Bakr came to fill the highest office in the Prophet’s lifetime. After the Prophet’s death in 632 C.E., ‘Umar and the other Companions, nominated him as the head of the community and he was appointed Caliph (the successor of the Prophet) by the people’s consent.
In the early days of his caliphate, a number of Arab tribes revolted. Most of them had embraced Islam after the conquest of Makkah in 8 A.H. and refused to comply with Islamic injunctions such as Zakat (obligatory charity) and Jihad.
Abu Bakr appointed Khalid ibn al Walid to suppress all revolts. He brought all the Arab tribes under the control of Islam in less than a year. Later, he sent Khalid and other able generals on a campaign against Persia and Byzantine.
Thus, Abu Bakr successfully united the Muslim community. During his short rule, the Muslim army saw several victories and Al-Hira in Persia was conquered in 633 C.E.
Soon after, Abu Bakr took ill in 13 A.H. On his deathbed, he nominated Umar as his successor, with the approval of the senior Companions.
Abu Bakr was buried beside the Prophet, and was shrouded in the same old clothes in which he had died.
Although his rule lasted only for two years, three months and ten days, he made many great contributions, the most important of which is the collection and collation of the Quran in written form.
Source: IslamWeb
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