Part 22

Give out charitable donations even when you are poorstricken. O Servants of Allah, think of your brethren and companions who have passed away. They are now recompensed according to the deeds they did in their lives; some enjoy bliss and others doomed to misery after death.

Verily, Allah has no partner, and between Him and any of His creatures there is no mediator that can bestow good upon them or avert from them evil save in His worship and obedience to His Commands, for verily there is no good after which comes Hell-Fire, and no evil after which comes Heaven. This is my speech to you, and I seek Allah's Forgiveness for you and me. Send peace and blessings upon your Prophet , peace and blessings be upon him. And may Allah's Peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you.

Some of His Wise Sayings: Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was of a contemplative bent of mind. He often expressed his thoughts in

words conspicuous for his wisdom. Some of his sayings have

come down to us, and these show the depths and dimensions of his thought and philosophy.

Sa*eed Ibn Mansoor in his Sunan reports on the authority of Mu‘awiyah Ibn Qurrah, that Abu Bakr As-Sideeq, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say the following Du ~aa’: "O Allah, make the best of my life its end, the best of deed is its end, and the best of days is when I stand before You."

On the authority of Hasan who says that Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, used to pray: "O Allah, I beseech You seeking the best in my life. O Allah, make the last of what You wish to give me of good things Your Pleasure and the highest ranks in Paradise." (Reported by Ahmad.)

Ibn Abi Malik narrates: "When praying for a dead man, Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say: "O Allah, people, wealth, and kith and kin have forsaken this servant of Yours. The sins he committed are so grave, but You are the Most Gracious, Most Merciful."

As far as death is concerned, Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, is reported to have said: "Have an earnestness for death, and you will have life."

While condoling the death of someone, Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say to the bereaved family: "There is no calamity in patience, and no benefit in lamentation. Death is easiest to bear than that which precedes it, and more severe than that which comes after it. Remember the death of the Prophet , peace and blessings be upon him, and your sorrow will be lessened, may Allah grant you great reward. "

Abu Bakr's Pioneering Works:

Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was the first 126

to embrace Islam; the first to collect the Glorious Quran; the first to name it Mushaf (a copy of the Quran); the first to be referred to with the title Khaleefah (caliph); and the first to become a caliph in the lifetime of his father.

*Aa'‘ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, narrates that when Abu Bakr was elected caliph, he said, "My people know that my profession does not fall short of providing substance for my family. And as I will be busy serving the Muslim nation, my family will eat from the Bayt Al-Maal (Public Treasury), and I will practice the profession of serving the Muslims."(Reported by Al-Bukhari)

Abu Bakr: the First to Collect the Quran:

Abu Bakr's collection of the Quran is regarded by many scholars as his most significant feat. ~ Ali Ibn Abi Taalib, may Allah be pleased with him, is quoted to have said: "May Allah rest the soul of Abu Bakr in peace! He is worthy of being superbly rewarded on account of his collection of the Quran. He was the first to compile the Quran in a_ single volume."(Reported by Abu Ya‘ la)

[It was in the battle of Yamamah (11/633) that a number of Muslims who had committed the Quran to memory were killed. Hence it was feared that unless a written copy of the Quran were prepared, a large part of the revelation might be lost. Therefore, Abu Bakr decided to compile the Quran in a single volume.

The following is the account in sahih Al-Bukhari: On the authority of Zayd Jbn Thaabit, may Allah be pleased with

him, who says: "Abu Bakr sent for me after the (heavy) casualities among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamamah (where a great number of Qurraa' (those who committed the Quran to memory) were killed. ~ Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said, "‘Umar has come to me and said, ‘The Muslims suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle of) Yamamah, and [ fear that there will be among the Qurraa’ at other battlefields, whereby a large part of the Quran may be lost, unless you collect it. And [ am personally of the view that you should compile the Quran into one volume.’ Abu Bakr said, "I said to *Umar, 'How can I do something which Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, did not do?' “Umar said (to me), "By Allah, it is (really) a good thing. "So “Umar kept on pressing, trying to persuade me to accept his personal, till Allah made it enter my heart, and I held the same opinion as * Umar."

Zayd Ibn Thaabit added: ~Umar was sitting with him (Abu Bakr) and was not speaking to me. Abu Bakr said, "You are a wise young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness). You used to write down the Divine Revelation (Wahy) for Allah's Messenger. Therefore, look for the Quran and collect it (in one manuscript).” Zayd said: "By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains (from its place), it would not have been harder for me than what he had commanded me concerning the collection of the Quran. T said to both of them, ‘How dare you do a thing which the Prophet did not do?' Abu Bakr said, “By Allah, it is really a good thing. So I kept on arguing with him about it till Allah made this proposal enter my heart, as it entered the hearts of Abu Bakr and * Umar. So I started locating Qur'anic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leaves of date palms and from the memories of men (who memorized it by heart). I found with Khuzaymah Ibn Thaabit two verses of Surah, "At-

Tawbah", which I had not found with anybody else, (and they were):

wry Gah cele Se Lae sb Ua ale Sy ib Kl Lf U gay Sete “paball pial) hy Cis y le sh Wy ah oe ad ig od vA} CVY4-N Ae sly

"Now hath come unto you a Messenger from amongst yourselves: it grieves him that you should perish: ardently anxious is he over you: to the Believers is he most kind and merciful. But if they turn away, say: "Allah sufficeth me: there is no god but He: on Him is my trust - He the Lord of the Throne (of Glory) Supreme!" (At-Tawbah: 128-129)

The manuscript on which the Quran was collected, remained with Abu Bakr until his death and then with “Umar ull he passed away; and finally it remained with Hafsah, ~Umar's daughter. (Reported by Al-Bukhari)

Hadiths Reported by Abu Bakr:

Al-Nawawi states in his Tahdheeb: As-Sideeq reported one hundred and forty Hadiths of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Though he was the Prophet's closest Companion, he reported a few number of his Sayings, because he passed away before the time people took much interest in recording and collecting Hadiths.

Among the people who narrated his sayings were “Umar, *Ali, Ibn ~ Awf, Ibn Mas* ood, Hudhayfah, Ibn * Abbaas, Anas, Zayd Ibn Thaabit, Abu Hurayrah, Abu Sa‘ eed Al-Khudryy, Abu Moosa Al-Ash*aryy, ~ Aa’ishah, and other Companions of

the Prophet. Here are some of the Hadiths reported on his authority:

"It (sea water) is pure and its dead (animals) are lawful (i.e., they can be eaten without any prescribed slaughtering)." (Reported by Ad-Darqutni.)

"Siwaak (tooth-stick) is a purification of the mouth and a means of seeking Allah's pleasure." (Reported by Ahmad.)

"Whoever wants to read the Quran in the same way it was revealed should recite it like Umm “Abd {(i.e., “Abdullaah Ibn Umm Maktoom)" (Reported by Ahmad.)

"I (Abu Bakr) asked the Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, to teach me a Du ‘aa’ (supplication) so that | may invoke Allah with it in my Salaah. He told me to say, "Allahumma inni zalamtu nafsi zulman katheeran, wala yaghfiru dhdhunuba_ illa anta, fa ghfir li maghfiratan min ‘indika, wai r-hamni, innaka anita l-ghafooru r-raheem (O Allah! I have done great injustice to myself, and none but You forgives sins, so bestow on me forgiveness from You, and have Mercy on me, for You are the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful)." (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Moslem.)

"If a man commits a sin, performs ablution perfectly, prays two Rak~ahs and seek Allah's Forgiveness afterwards, Allah will forgive him." (Reported by Ahmad.)

"May Allah's Curse be inflicted on the Jews and Christians who take the graves of their Prophets as places of worship." (Reported by Abu Ya‘ la.)

"Cursed be he who does harm to a believer or deceives him." (Reported by Al-Tirmidhi.) 130

"Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, says, ‘Our property, the chain of Prophet s, will not be inherited, and whatever we leave is to be given as Sadagah (charity)." (Reported by Al-Bukhari.)

"Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against people till they bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and if they do so, they will gain protection from me for their lives and property, unless (they do acts that are punishable) is accordance with Islam, and their reckoning will be with Allah, the Almighty." (Reported by Al-Bukhari, Moslem and others.)

"Shirk (associating other partners with Allah) appears in a more hidden way in my nation than the creeping of ants." (Reported by Abu Ya‘ la and others)

"Any flesh which has grown out of unlawful earnings will not enter Paradise." And in another version, "Hell is most fitting a flesh which has grown out of unlawful earnings." (Reported by Abu Ya‘ la and others.)

"The time between two Fridays, and the Ghusl (purificataory bath) taken on Friday, are expiation for (the sins) committed in this period." (Reported by Al-* Ugayli.)

"Give glad tidings to all those who took part in the battle of Badr that they will be admitted to Paradise."(Reported by Ad-Daraqutni.)