HAZRAT ABU BAKAR SIDDIQUE (R.

A)
Muhammad said, "There will be different gates of paradise to which my Ummah will be called and enter through it." Abu Bakr said, "O Messenger of Allah!" Would anyone be called from all the gates? Prophet Muhammad said, Yes! And O Abu Bakar I hope it would be you
Lineage and Title Name: Abd Allah. Title: Atiqe (He was known by this title before Islam). Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) confirmed this title later when he said that Abu Bakr is the 'Atiqe' (the one saved from hell fire by God) Siddique: The Prophet called him Al-Siddiq (the truthful) after he believed him in the event of Isra and Miraj when other people did not. Early Life Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A) was born in Mecca in 573 AD, to a rich family in the Banu Thaim clan of the Quraysh tribe. Father's name: Usman Abu Quhafa Mothers name: Salma Umm-ul-Khair.
In 591 at the age of 18, Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A) went into trade and adopted the profession of cloth merchant, which was the family's business. In the coming years, Abu Bakr traveled extensively with caravans. Business trips took him to Yemen Syria, and elsewhere. These travels brought him wealth and added to his experience. His business flourished and he rose in the scale of social importance.

Abu Bakr (R.A)s tribe was assigned the office of awarding blood money in cases of
murder.

He had a very good memory and had a good knowledge of the genealogy of the stories and politics of Arab tribes.

Life After Accepting Islam His conversion brought the most benefit to Islam. Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A) brought many people to Islam. He persuaded his intimate friends to convert to Islam and presented Islam to others in such a way that many of his friends accepted Islam. His wife, Um-e-Ruman embraced Islam after getting inspired. Some people who converted to Islam after getting invitation to embrace Islam from Hazrat Abu Bakr are as follows:

 Usman Ibn Affan Talha Ibn Ubyad Allah. Abdur Rahman Bin Awf Saad ibn Abi Waqas Abu Ubaidah Ibn Al-Jarrah Abu Salma Khalid Ibn Said RAZI ALLAHU ANHUM WA RADU ANH Hazrat Abu Bakr's acceptance proved to be a milestone in Muhammad's mission. Slavery was common in Mecca, and many slaves accepted Islam. When an ordinary free man accepted Islam, despite opposition, he would enjoy the protection of his tribe. For slaves however, there was no such protection and they commonly experienced persecution. Abu Bakr felt compassion for slaves, so he purchased slaves and then freed them, paying 40,000 Dinar for their freedom

Some Slaves Were Bilal Ibn Ribah Amir Ibn Yasir Abu Fukaiha Most of the slaves liberated by Hazrat Abu Bakr were either women or old and frail men. His father asked him that why doesn't he liberate strong and young slaves who could be a source of strength for him, Hazrat Abu Bakr replied that he was freeing the slaves for the sake of Allah, and not for his own sake. These verses were revealed due to this. Those who spend their wealth for increase in self-purification; And have in their minds no favor from any one For which a reward is expected in return, But only the desire to seek the Countenance, Of their Lord, Most High; And soon they shall attain complete satisfaction {92:8-21}.

Persecution By Quresh 614 AD For three years after the advent of Islam, Muslims kept secret their faith, and prayed in secret. In 614, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) decided to call people to Islam openly. One day Prophet Muhammad was reciting some verses of Holy Quran in Haram. The Quresh got violent and started persecuting Prophet Muhammad. When Abu Bakr came to know about the incident He rushed to Haram, tried to defend His friend, and was badly injured.

Migrations to Ethiopia Quresh tortured Hazrat Abu Bakar so He asked permission from Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to go to Ethiopia. The permission was granted and Hazrat Abu Bakr set off on his journey. However, on the way he met Ibn-ud-Daghinna. He promised to give Him protection. Under Ibn-ud-Daghinna's protection, He soon came back to Makah. It was a relief for him, but soon due to the pressure of Quraysh, Dughna was forced to renounce his protection. Once again, the Quraysh were free to persecute Abu.

Last Years in Mecca Hazrat Abu Bakr's daughter Aisha was engaged to Muhammad, however it was decided that the actual marriage ceremony would be held later. In 620, Hazrat Abu Bakr was the first person to testify to Muhammad's Isra and Miraj (night Journey).

Migration to Medina In 624 AD, on the invitation of the Muslims of Medina, Prophet Muhammad ordered Muslims to migrate to Medina. The migration began in batches. Meanwhile Hazrat Abu Bakr accompanied Muhammad in his migration for Medina. Due to the danger of the Quraysh, they did not take the road to Medina. They moved in the opposite direction, and took refuge in a cave in Jabal-e-Thawr five miles south. Hazrat Abdullah ibn-e-Abu Bakar the son of Hazrat Abu Bakr would listen to the plans and talks of the Quraysh, and at night, he would carry the news to the fugitives in the cave. Hazrat Asma bint Abu Bakar the daughter of Hazrat Abu Bakr, brought them meals every day. Hazrat Aamir Bin Fuhaira, a servant of Abu Bakr, would bring a flock of goats to the mouth of the cave every night where they were milked. His all family served Islam. The Quraysh sent search parties in all directions. One party came close to the entrance to the cave, but was unable to sight them. Due to this the following verse of the Qur'an was revealed:
If you help him (Muhammad ) not (it does not matter), for Allah did indeed help him when the disbelievers drove him out, the second of two, when they (Muhammad and Abu Bakr ) were in the cave, and he () said to his companion (Abu Bakr ): "Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allah is with us." Then Allah sent down His Sakinah (calmness, tranquility, peace, etc.) upon him, and strengthened him with forces (angels) which you saw not, and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowermost, while it was the Word of Allah that became the uppermost, and Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise. (9:40)

Interpreting this verse Hazrat Ayesha (R.A) and Ibn Abbas said Hazrat Abu Bakr was the one who stayed with the Prophet in that cave It is narrated from Hazrat AlBarra' ibn 'Azib, he said, Once Abu Bakr bought a ride from 'Azib for 10 Dirham, then Abu Bakr said to 'Azib, "Tell your son the Barra to deliver that beast." Then 'Azib said, "No, until you tell us about your journeys with the Messenger of Allah when he

went out of Makkah while the Mushrikeen were busy looking for you." Hazrat Abu Bakr said, "We set out from Makkah, walking day and night, until it came the time of Zuhr, so I was looking for a place so that we can rest under it, it came to be that I saw a big rock. Therefore, I came to it and there was the place, so I spread a cloth for the Prophet, then I said to him, "Rest O' Prophet of Allah." So he rested, while I surveyed the area around me, are there people looking for us coming here to spy... Suddenly I saw there was a shepherd herding his sheep to the direction of the place under the rock wanting to shade him like us, so I asked, "Who is your master O' slave?" He answered, "Slave of the fulan, someone of the Quraish." He mentioned the name of his master and I knew him, then I asked, "Does your sheep have milk?" He answered, "Yes!" So he took one of the sheep, after that I ordered him to clean the breasts of the sheep first from dirt and dust, then I ordered him to blow his hand from dust, so he pat his two hands and he started milking, while I prepared a vessel with its mouth wrapped with cloth to contain the milk. So, I poured the milk that was milked to the vessel and I waited until the bottom was cold, then I brought to the Prophet and it was that he had waken up, instantly I told him, "Drink O' Messenger of Allah." Therefore, he started to drink until I saw that He was full, and then I told him, "Are we not going to continue walking O' Messenger of Allah?" He answered, "Yes!" At last, we continued the journey while the mushrikeen kept looking for us. Not that could pursue us except Suraqah ibn Malik ibn Ju'sham who rode his horse, so I said to the Messenger of Allah, "This man has succeeded in pursuing us O' Messenger of Allah," but he answered, "Do not worry, verily Allah is with us. It is narrated from Hazrat Anas (R.A) from Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A) He said, I said to the Prophet when we were in the cave, "If only they had looked under their feet we would assuredly be seen" The Messenger answered, What do you think O' Abu Bakr about two people if Allah is the third of them. After staying at the cave for three days and three nights, Abu Bakr and Muhammad preceded to Medina, staying for some time at Quba.

Life in Medina
In Medina, Prophet Muhammad decided to construct a mosque. A piece of land was chosen which belonged to two orphans Sahal and Suhail and Hazrat Abu Bakr paid the price of the land. Muslims constructed Al-Masjid al-Nabawi at the site and Hazrat Abu Bakr took part in construction. Hazrat Abu Bakr's daughter Ayesha (R.A), who was already engaged to Prophet Muhammad, was handed over to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a simple marriage ceremony, and this further strengthened the relation between Hazrat Abu Bakr and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Military Campaigns under Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

Battle of Badr and Uhud

In 626 AD Hazrat Abu Bakr participated in the first battle between the Muslims and the Quraysh of Mecca, known as Battle of Badr In 627 AD, he participated in the Battle of Uhud. In 629 AD, He participated in the Battle of the Trench and in the Invasion of Banu Qurayza.] In 630 AD, He participated in Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and was made one of the witnesses over the pact. In 631 AD, He was a part of the Muslim campaign to Khaybar.
Military campaigns during final years of Muhammad

In 632 AD, when Muslim armies rushed for the Conquest of Mecca, Hazrat Abu Bakr was a part of the army. Before the conquest of Mecca His father, Abu Quhafa converted to Islam. In 632 AD, He was part of Battle of Hunayn and Siege of Ta'if. He was part of the Muslim army in the Ghazwa-e-Tabuk under Prophet Muhammad's command. He gave everything for the Ghazwa-e-Tabuk, when Prophet asked, O Abu Bakar what have you left for your family? He said, Allah and His Messenger are enough for me In 631, Muhammad sent a delegation of three hundred Muslims from Medina to perform the Hajj according to the new Islamic way. Hazrat Abu Bakr was appointed as the leader of the delegates. Thus, Hazrat Abu Bakar had the honor of being the first Amir-ul-Hajj in the history of Islam. In 633 AD, Abu Bakr followed Muhammad to Mecca for the farewell Hajj.

Death of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

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 Allah he said

"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." Hazrat Abu Bakr wept profusely and said, "Be our fathers and mothers 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 Messenger 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 that Prophet Muhammad himself was that servant, as Hazrat Abu Bakr later told the companions. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) 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. When Prophet Muhammad died, Muslims gathered in Al-Masjid al-Nabawi and there were suppressed sobs and sighs. Hazrat Abu Bakr came from His house 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 Ayesha (R.A). He went straight to Prophet Muhammad who was covered with a kind of Yemenite cloth. He then uncovered Prophets face, bowed over him, 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 (R.A) was saying, By Allah, the Messenger of Allah will come back and whoever will say that Prophet of Allah is dead I will kill Him Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A) arrived and said, "Sit down, O 'Umar!" But 'Umar (R.A) refused to sit down. Hazrat 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 does harm to Allah in the least and Allah will reward the grateful." (3.144) Hazrat 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 the Prophet had passed away."

Other Ahadith on Virtues of Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A)

Many ahadith mention the virtues and special position of Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A): Hazrat Abu Huraira (R.A) reported that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, "There is not anyone who may have been kind to us, or helped us without my returning to him (his favor) except Abu Bakr. The kindness that he has shown us, only Allah will reward him for that on the Day of Resurrection. No one's property has been of benefit to me as much as Abu Bakrs has. Moreover, if I were to take a Khaleel (close friend from my companions) then I would take Abu Bakr as one but you must know that I am Allah's Khaleel.

Hazrat Jubayr ibn Mut'im (R.A) reported that a woman came and spoke to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) 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?" Hazrat Jubayr ibn Mut'im said that it seemed that she meant He may not be alive when she came back. Prophet said, "If you do not find me then go to Abu Bakr.

Hazrat Ibn Umar (R.A) said that one day; Prophet Muhammad came out and entered the Mosque, Hazrat Abu Bakr and Umar with him, to his right and left. Prophet Muhammad had held their hands and He said, "The three of us will be raised on the Day of Resurrection in this way.

Election of Abu Bakr to Caliphate

Caliph Abu Bakr's empire at its peak in August 634.

The Ansar, the leaders of the tribes of Medina, met in house called saqifah, to discuss whom they would support as their new leader. When Hazrat Abu Bakr was informed of the meeting, He, Hazrat Umar, Hazrat 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 Hazrat Umar declared that Abu Bakr should be the new leader, and declared his allegiance to Hazrat Abu Bakr, followed by Hazrat Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, and thus Hazrat Abu Bakr became the first Muslim caliph, who was given the title, Khalifa-tul-Rasool (Successor of messenger of Allah)

Reign as a Caliph
After assuming the office of Caliphate Hazrat 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.

Hazrat Abu Bakr's Caliphate lasted for 27 months, during which he crushed the rebellion of the Arab tribes throughout Arabia in the successful campaign against the false-prophet hood. In the last months of his rule, he launched campaigns against Pre-Islamic Persian Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) and thus set in motion a historical trajectory.

Campaigns:

Self-proclamation of false Prophet Hood:

Musailmyah Kazzab Tulaiha Sajah The centre of self-proclaimed prophet Musaylimah was in Al-Yamama while the other centers were to the south and east in Bahrain, Oman etc. Hazrat Abu Bakr planned his strategy accordingly. Hazrat Khalid Bin Waleed used to fight the most powerful of the rebel forces. Hazrat Abu Bakr's plan was first to clear the area of west and central Arabia (the area nearest Medina), then tackle Malik Ibn Nuwairah, and finally concentrate against the most dangerous enemy Musaylimah. After series of successful campaigns, Hazrat Khalid ibn al-Walid finally defeated Musaylimah and his tribe, (the Banu Hanifa), in the Battle of Yamama.

Zakat Evader: Hazrat Abu Bakar said, Whoever gave an offspring of goat in the time of Prophet Muhammad and will not give it now, I will fight against Him The Qur'an preservation
Hazrat Umar (R.A) requested the Caliph Abu Bakr (R.A) to authorize the compilation and preservation of the Holy Quran in written format. After initial hesitation, Hazrat Abu Bakr made a committee headed by Hazrat Zaid Bin Thabit, which included the memorizers (Hufaaz) of the Qur'an Hazrat Umar to collect all verses of the Holy Quran. After collecting all Qur'anic verses from texts in the possession of various Sahaba, Hazrat Zaid Bin Thabit and members of His committee verified the reading by comparing with those who had memorized the Qur'an. After they were satisfied that they had not missed out any verse or made any mistakes in reading or writing it down, the text was written down as one single manuscript and presented in a book form to the Caliph Abu Bakr (R.A). This process happened within one year of the death of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) when most of His (companions) were still alive.

Prior to His death, Hazrat Abu Bakr gave this authorized copy of the Qur'an to Hazrat Umar The second Caliph. It remained with Him throughout his tenure as Caliph (10 years). Prior to His death, Hazrat Umar gave this Book to his daughter Hazrat Hafsa Binte Umar (R.A), who was one of the wives of Prophet Muhammad.
Military expansion

Once the rebellions had been put down, Hazrat Abu Bakr began a war of conquest. He began with Iraq, the richest province of Persian Empire. He sent His most brilliant general Hazrat Khalid ibn al-Walid to invade the Sassanid Empire.
Conquest of Sassanid (Pre-Islamic Persian Empire)

Hazrat Abu Bakr started with the invasion of Iraq. The problems faced were that the Arabs feared the Persians with a deep, unreasoning fear which ran in the tribal consciousness as a racial complex and was the result of centuries of Persian power and glory. In return, the Persian regarded the Arab with contempt. It was important not to suffer a defeat, for that would confirm and strengthen this instinctive fear. To make certain of victory, Hazrat Khalid set out from AlYamama with an army of 10,000. The tribal chiefs, with 2,000 warriors each, joined Hazrat Khalid; Thus, Hazrat Khalid entered the Persian Empire with 18,000 troops. After entering Iraq with his army of 18,000, Khalid won decisive victories in four consecutive battles: Battle of chains. Battle of River Battle of Walaja. Battle of Ullais. By now the Persian court already disturbed by the internal problems, was down and out. Hazrat Khalid devised a brilliant plan to destroy the Persian forces. He divided His army in three units, and attacked the Persian forces in brilliantly coordinated attacks from three different sides at night, starting from the Battle of Muzieh, then the Battle of Sanni, and finally the Battle of Zumail. These devastating defeats ended Persian control over Iraq, and left the Persian capital Ctesiphon (35 km far from present Baghdad) unguarded and vulnerable for Muslims attack and thus it came under the state of Muslims.
Invasion of Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire

With a successful invasion of Sassanid Persian province of Iraq, Hazrat Abu Bakrs confidence grew. He concentrated four large corps and sent them to Roman Syria. Each corps were assigned its own commander and its own target. The leaders of the different corps received intelligence of a concentration of large Byzantine armies at Ajnadayn while on the march. The army stopped its

advance and the leaders wrote to the Caliph for help. Since the Muslim position in Iraq was stable by now, the Caliph accordingly wrote to Hazrat Khalid to take half of his forces of Iraq to Syria and to assume command of all Muslim armies in Byzantine Syria. The Byzantine province of Syria in those days consisted of modern day Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and southern Turkey. Hazrat Khalid selected, a short and unconventional route to Syria, passing though the Syrian Desert. Hazrat Khalid entered Syria and quickly captured the border forts. Then He moved to Damascus and then to Basra, the capital of Ghassanid kingdom, a vassal of Eastern Roman empire. He had ordered other Muslim commanders to concentrate their armies at Basra, which were still near the Syrian-Arabia border
Meanwhile Hazrat Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah, the supreme commander of Muslim armies in Syria had ordered Hazrat Shurhabil ibn Hasana to attack Basra. The later laid siege of Basra with His small army of 4000. Here Hazrat Khalid (R.A) took over the command of Muslim armies in Syria from Hazrat Abu Ubaidah, as per the instructions of Caliph. The massive Byzantine armies were concentrating at Ajnadayn to push the invading armies back to desert Syria. According to the instructions of Hazrat Khalid all Muslim corps concentrated at Ajnadayn, where they fought a decisive battle against Byzantine. Defeat at the Battle of Ajnadayn, left Syria vulnerable to the Muslim invaders. Hazrat Khalid decided to capture Damascus, the Byzantine stronghold. At Damascus Thomas, son in law of Emperor Heraculis was in charge. Receiving the intelligence of Hazrat Khalid's march towards Damascus he prepared for the defense of Damascus. He wrote to Emperor Heraculis for reinforcement. Moreover, Thomas, in order to get more time for preparation of a siege, sent the armies to delay or if possible halt Hazrat Khalid's march to Damascus. These armies fought and delayed Hazrat Khalids advance and gave Thomas enough time to prepare for siege. Meanwhile Heraculis's reinforcement had reached the city, which he had dispatched after the bad news of Ajnadyn. Before Heraculis's another regiment could reach Damascus, Hazrat Khalid had finally reached Damascus. Hazrat Khalid reached Damascus and besieged the city. Hazrat Khalid finally attacked and conquered Damascus on after a 30-day siege. Heraculis, having received the news of the fall of Damascus, ran away.

Death
On 23 August 634, Abu Bakr fell sick and did not recover due to his old age. He appointed Hazrat Umar as 2nd Caliph after discussing with some companions. People said, Be afraid of Allah you know well about the tough nature of Umar (R.A). He replied, I will tell Allah that I choose the best person on your earth as Caliph, after me He asked Hazrat Ayesha what is the day today. She replied Monday He replied Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) died on this day, I wish to die on Monday too. Therefore, Allah granted His wish and On Monday Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A) First Caliph, Prophet Muhammads best friend died. Hazrat Umar led the funeral prayer. He was buried in the side of Prophet Muhammads grave in Hazrat Aishas house.

Non-Muslim views

Edward Gibbon wrote about Abu Bakr as: The moderation and the veracity of Abu Bakr confirmed the new religion, and furnished an example for invitation. William Muir states that: Abu Bakr's judgment was sound and impartial; his conversation agreeable and his demeanor affable and much sought after by the Quraysh and he was popular throughout the city.... The faith of Abu Bakr was the greatest guarantee of Muhammad's sincerity in the beginning of his career, and indeed, in a modified sense, throughout his life. To have such a person as a staunch adherent of his claim, was for Prophet Muhammad a most important step. William Montgomery Watt writes: From 622 to 632 he (Abu Bakr) was Mohammed's chief adviser, but had no prominent public functions except that he conducted the pilgrimage to Mecca in 631, and led the public prayers in Medina during Mohammed's last illness.

Hadith transmitted by him

Hazrat Abu Bakr related, "I said to the Prophet: 'O Messenger of Allah! Teach me a supplication which I may make in prayer.' He replied, 'Say, Oh Allah! I have done my soul a great harm and no one can forgive sins except you; so grant me forgiveness with Your Pleasure, and have Pity on me. You are Al-Ghaffur, Ar-Rahim.'" (Sahih Bukhari & Sahih Muslim) It has been reported from Abu Bakr that Muhammad said, "Stick to speaking the truth because truth is a companion of birr (righteousness) and both these are in Paradise; and abstain from lying because it is a companion of fujur (sin) and both these are in Hell." (Sahih Bukhari, Ibn Majah, Musnad Ahmad) Hazrat Abu Bakr said, "O people! You recite the verse (5:105): 'O you who believe! Guard your own souls; if you follow (right) guidance, no hurt can come to you from those who stray', but you misinterpret it and do not know what it means. I once heard the Messenger of Allah say, 'If people see someone practicing injustice and do not set him right, Allah will almost certainly visit them all with severe punishment." (Abu Dawod, Musnad Ahmad, Tirmidhi)