As Amir ul Hajj and some more interesting

Abu Bakr as Amir-ul-Hajj

In 631 AD, Muhammad sent from Medina a delegation of three hundred Muslims to perform the Hajj according to the new Islamic way. Abu Bakr was appointed as the leader of the delegates. Abu Bakr had thus the honor of being the First Amir-ul-Hajj in the history of Islam.

Some time after Abu Bakr and his party had left for Hajj, Muhammad received a revelation about the regulation of the Hajj, and the ordering of relationships with the infidels. It is related that when this revelation came, some one suggested to Muhammad that he should send news of it to Abu Bakr. Muhammad said that only a man of his house could proclaim the revelation.

Muhammad summoned Ali, and asked him to proclaim the revealed verses to the people on the day of sacrifice when they assembled at Mina. Ali went forth on Muhammad's slit-eared camel, and overtook Abu Bakr. When Ali joined the party, Abu Bakr wanted to know whether he had come to give orders or to convey them. Ali said that he had not come to replace Abu Bakr as Amir-ul-Hajj, and that his only mission was to convey a special message to the people on behalf of Muhammad.

At Mecca, Abu Bakr presided at the Hajj ceremony, and Ali read the proclamation on behalf of Muhammad. The main points of the proclamation were:

1.     Henceforward the non-Muslims were not to be allowed to visit the Kaaba or perform the pilgrimage.

2.     No one should circumambulate the Kaaba naked.

3.     Polytheism was not to be tolerated. Where the Muslims had any agreement with the polytheists such agreements would be honored for the stipulated periods. Where there were no agreements a grace period of four months was provided and thereafter no quarter was to be given to the polytheists.

From the day this proclamation was made a new era dawned in Arabia. Henceforward Islam alone was to be supreme in Arabia.

In some quarters an argument is advanced that as on this occasion the proclamation was read by Ali on behalf of Muhammad, this establishes the precedence of Ali over Abu Bakr, and that therefore when after the death of Muhammad, Abu Bakr became the Caliph in disregard of the claims of Ali, he was a usurper.

On this occasion Ali did not replace Abu Bakr as Amir-ul-Hajj. Ali was merely assigned a special mission to read the proclamation as according to Muhammad only a man from his own house could commentate the revelation. We can thus say that on this occasion Abu Bakr represented the temporal side, while Ali represented the spiritual side. After the death of Muhammad there was no longer the question of any spiritual representation; the issue was only temporal representation, and for this Abu Bakr was the best choice as he had thus represented Muhammad even in his lifetime.

Expedition of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq

Abu Bakr also led one military campaign as commander, known as Expedition of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, which took place in Nejd, in July 628 AD, 3rd Month 7AH, of the Islamic Calendar Abu Bakr led a large platoon in Nejd on the order of Muhammad. Many were killed and taken as prisoner. The Sunni Hadith collection, Sunan Abu Dawud mentions the event.

Death of Muhammad

A short time after returning from the farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad became ill. In his fatal illness, Muhammad came out with a piece of cloth tied around his head and sat on the pulpit. After thanking and praising God he said,ﺇ ﻥ ﺍ ﷲ ﺧﻴﺮ ﻋﺒﺪﺍ ﺑﻴﻦ ﺍﻟﺪ ﻧﻴﺎ ﻭ ﺑﻴﻦ ﻣﺎ ﻋﻨﺪ ﻩ ﻓﺎ ﺧﺘﺎ ﺭ ﺫ ﻟﻚ ﺍﻟﻌﺒﺪ ﻣﺎ ﻋﻨﺪ ﺍﷲ "Allah has given one of His Slaves the choice of receiving the splendor and luxury of the worldly life whatever he likes or to accept the good which is with Allah. So he has chosen that good which is with Allah."

Abu Bakr wept profusely and said, "Our fathers and mothers be sacrificed for you." The companions were astonished by this (they wondered why Abu Bakr wept), and the people said, "Look at this old man! Allah's Apostle talks about a Slave of Allah to whom He has given the option to choose either the splendor of this worldly life or the good which is with Him, while he says "our fathers and mothers be sacrificed for you". It turned out Muhammad himself was that servant, as Abu Bakr later told the companions.

Muhammad continued:

No doubt, I am indebted to Abu Bakr more than to anybody else regarding both his companionship and his wealth. And if I had to take a Khalil from my followers, I would certainly have taken Abu Bakr, but the fraternity of Islam is sufficient. Let no Door of the Mosque remain open, except the door of Abu Bakr.

The good referred in the first part means the good in the hereafter. Khalil means intimate friend. The door referred to here is the door to the mosque of Muhammad. When the fever developed he directed Abu Bakr to go to the war following Usama who was 18. WhenMuhammad died Muslims gathered in Al-Masjid al-Nabawi and there were suppressed sobs and sighs. Abu Bakr came from his house at As-Sunh (a village) on a horse where he had been with his new wife. He dismounted and entered the Prophet's Mosque, but did not speak to anyone until he entered upon 'Aa'isha. He went straight to Muhammad who was covered with Hibra cloth (a kind of Yemenite cloth). He then uncovered Muhammad's face and bowed over him and kissed him and wept, saying, "Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you. By Allah, Allah will never cause you to die twice. As for the death which was written for you, has come upon you." 'Umar was making a sermon to the people saying, "By Allah, he is not dead but has gone to his Lord as Musa ibn Imran went and remained hidden from his people for forty days. Musa returned after it was said that he had died. By Allah, the Messenger of Allah will come back and he will cut off the hands and legs of those who claim his death."

Abu Bakr arrived and said, "Sit down, O 'Umar!" But 'Umar refused to sit down. So the people came to Abu Bakr and left Umar. Abu Bakr said, "To proceed, if anyone amongst you used to worship Muhammad, then Muhammad has passed away, but if (anyone of) you used to worship Allah, then Allah is Alive and shall never die. Allah said, "And Muhammad is but a messenger; the messengers have come before him; if then he dies or is killed will you turn back upon your heels? And whoever turns back upon his heels, he will by no means do harm to Allah in the least and Allah will reward the grateful." (3.144)

'Umar said, "By Allah, when I heard Abu Bakr reciting it, my legs could not support me and I fell down at the very moment of hearing him reciting it, declaring that Muhammad had passed away."

Other Ahadith on the Virtues of Abu Bakr

There are many ahadith that mention the virtues and special position of Abu Bakr:

Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 8, Number 455: Narrated by Abu Said Al-Khudri

The Prophet delivered a sermon and said, "Allah gave a choice to one of (His) slaves either to choose this world or what is with Him in the Hereafter. He chose the latter." Abu Bakr wept. I said lo myself, "Why is this Sheikh weeping, if Allah gave choice to one (of His) slaves either to choose this world or what is with Him in the Here after and he chose the latter?" And that slave was Allah's Apostle himself. Abu Bakr knew more than us. The Prophet said, "O Abu Bakr! Don't weep. The Prophet added: Abu- Bakr has favored me much with his property and company. If I were to take a Khalil from mankind I would certainly have taken Abu Bakr but the Islamic brotherhood and friendship is sufficient. Close all the gates in the mosque except that of Abu Bakr.

Ayshah reported that Muhammad said, "It does not behoove a people who have Abu Bakr among them to have anybody other than him as their imam."

Ayshah also reported that Muhammad said to her: "Call your father (Abu Bakr) and brother [`Abd al-Rahman] here so I will put something down in writing, for truly I fear lest someone forward a claim or form some ambition, and Allah and the believers refuse anyone other than Abu Bakr." from Sahih Muslim

Jubayr ibn Mut'im reported that a woman came and spoke to Muhammad about a matter. He asked her to come back later some time. She said, "Tell me if I come later and do not find you?" Jubayr ibn Mut'im said that it seemed that she meant he may not be alive when she came back. He said, "If you do not find me then go to Abu Bakr."

Abu Hurairah reported that Muhammad said, "Jibreel came to me, held my hand and pointed out to me the gate of Paradise through which my Ummah will enter it." Abu Bakr said, "O Messenger of Allah! I wish that I had been with you and seen the gate!" So, Muhammad said, "Know, O Abu Bakr, you will be the first of my Ummah to enter Paradise."

Ibn Umar said that one day, Muhammad came out and entered the masjid, Abu Bakr and Umar with him, to his right and left. Muhammad had held their hands and he said, "The three of us will be raised on the Day of Resurrection in this way."

Abu Saeed al Khudri reported that Muhammad said: "Every prophet has two wazeer (ministers) from the dwellers of the heaven (angels) and two wazeer from the inhabitants of the earth. So, my wazeer from the dwellers of heaven are Jibrael and Mikael and my wazeer from the earthlings are Abu Bakr and Umar."

Succession to Muhammad, Hadith of the pond of Khumm, and List of Sahaba not giving bay'ah to Abu Bakr

After Muhammad's death, previously dormant tensions between the Meccan immigrants, the Muhajirun, and the Medinan converts, the Ansar, threatened to break out and split the Ummah. Other Arabic tribes also wished to revert to local leadership and split from Medina's control. In some places, people claiming prophethood started to establish leaderships to oppose Medina, e.g. Al-Aswad Al-Ansi and Musaylimah. All of which are events that led to splitting the Muslim community. The Ansar, the leaders of the tribes of Medina, met in a hall or house called saqifah, to discuss whom they would support as their new leader. When Abu Bakr was informed of the meeting, he, Umar, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah and a few others rushed to prevent the Ansar from making a premature decision. Accounts of this meeting vary greatly. All agree that during the meeting Umar declared that Abu Bakr should be the new leader, and declared his allegiance to Abu Bakr, followed by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, and thus Abu Bakr became the first Muslim caliph, who was given the title,Khalifa-tul-Rasool (Successor of messenger of Allah), a title accepted by Sunni Muslims.

Sunnis believe that all the Muslims in Medina gave their allegiance to Abu Bakr, including Ali. All Sunnis acknowledged Abu Bakr as the rightful successor to Muhammad. On account of him being one of the earliest of companions, and on account of his aiding and supporting Muhammad in his mission from the very early days of Islam, from his deep knowledge and piety from having spent so many years with Muhammad, and on account of so many indications that Muhammad gave that Abu Bakr is the right successor. Examples of these include Muhammad specifically designating Abu Bakr to lead the Muslims in prayer in his last days when he was too ill to lead the prayer. Muhammad also appointed to Abu Bakr to lead the pilgrimage to Mecca. There was also a time when a woman came to Muhammad with a question and he asked her to come back tomorrow, she then asked "What if I do not find you", and he then said "Go to Abu Bakr". According to Sunnis all of these show the virtue of Abu Bakr and his being the rightful successor.

Reign as a Caliph

After assuming the office of Caliphate Abu Bakr's first address was as follow:

I have been given the authority over you, and I am not the best of you. If I do well, help me; and if I do wrong, set me right. Sincere regard for truth is loyalty and disregard for truth is treachery. The weak amongst you shall be strong with me until I have secured his rights, if God wills; and the strong amongst you shall be weak with me until I have wrested from him the rights of others, if God wills. Obey me so long as I obey God and His Messenger. But if I disobey God and His Messenger, ye owe me no obedience. Arise for your prayer, God have mercy upon you.

Abu Bakr's Caliphate lasted for 27 months, during which he crushed the rebellion of the Arab tribes throughout the Arabian Peninsula in the successful Ridda Wars. In the last months of his rule, he launched campaigns against the Sassanid Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) and thus set in motion a historical trajectory[61](continued later on by Umar and Uthman ibn Affan) that in just a few short decades would lead to one of the largest empires in history. He had little time to pay attention to the administration of state, though state affairs remained stable during his Caliphate. On the advice of Umar and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah he agreed to have a salary from state treasury and abolish his cloth trade.