Part 4

"to the righteous soul will he said:) O (thou) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction!" (Al-Fajr: 27) Abu Bakr said, "What a good thing this is, O Messenger of Allah!" To this the Prophet said, "The Angel will say it to you when you are dying." (Reported by Ibn Haatim and Abu Nu’ aym.)

Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, quotes the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as saying: "/t is

incumbent upon my nation to love Abu Bakr and to show gratitude to him." (Reported by Ibn * Asaakir.)

On the authority of ~Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn ~Awf, may Allah be pleased with him, who reports that he heard Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, saying: "Abu Bakr will be admitted to Paradise, so will “Umar, so will ‘Uthmaan, so will ~Ali, so will Talhah, so will Az-Zubayr, so will ~Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn “Awf, so will Sa*d Ibn Abi Waqqaas, so will Sa*eed Ibn Zayd, so will Abu ‘Ubayd Ibn Al-Jarraah." (Reported by Al-Tirmidhi.)

Abu Moosa_ Al-Ash’aryy narrates: "One day, I performed ablution (Wudoo') in my house and then went out with the determination that I would remain with Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, and spend the whole day with him." I went to the Mosque and asked about the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him. They (the Companions) told me that he had gone in a certain direction. So I followed the road he took asking about him. I found him by a well called Arees. I sat by its gate, which was made of date-palm leaves, until the Prophet answered the call of nature and then performed Wudoo'.'' I went up to him and he was sitting in the middle of its edge with his shanks uncovered and his legs dangling in the well. I saluted him and went back and sat at the gate. I said, "Today I will be the gatekeeper of Allah's Messenger." Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, came and knocked the door, and I asked, ‘Who is it?' He said, ‘Abu Bakr.’ I said, ‘Wait, please,’ and I went in and said, 'O Messenger of Allah, here is Abu Bakr seeking permission to enter. The Prophet said, "Bid him come in and give him the glad tidings that he will be admitted to Paradise." so IT went out and said to Abu Bakr, 'Come in, and Allah's Messenger gives you the glad tidings that you will be admitted to Paradise.’ Abu Bakr entered and_ sat on the right side of

Allah's Messenger by the edge of the well and hung his legs in the well as the Prophet did and uncovered his legs. | then returned and sat (at the gate). | had left my brother while he was performing Wudoo' and intending to follow me. So I said to myself: ‘If Allah wishes good for so-and-so, i.e. my brother. He will bring him here, Suddenly someone moved the door, and I asked, “Who is it?" He said, ~Umar Ibn AlKhattab, I asked him to wait. Then I went to Allah's Messenger, greeted him, and said, ‘Here is “Umar Ibn AlKhattaab seeking permission to get in.' The Prophet said: "Admit him, and give him the glad tidings that he will be admitted to Paradise.” 1 went back to ~ Umar, bade him come in, and said to him, ‘Allah's Messenger gives you the glad tidings that you will be admitted to Paradise.’ So he entered and sat down with Allah's Messenger on his left side and dangled his legs in the well..." (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Moslem)

Abi Mulaykah narrates: I heard Ibn ~ Abbaas say: When “Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab was placed in the bier, the people gathered around him praising him and supplicated for him before burial, and I was present. Nothing caught my attention but a person who gripped my shoulder from behind. 1 turned and found that he was “Ali Ibn Abi Taalib. He invoked Allah's Mercy upon “Umar and said: "You have left none behind you (whose) deeds (are so enviable) that I love to meet Allah with By Allah, | hoped that Allah would keep you and your two Companions together. I had often heard Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, say: "J came and there came too Abu Bakr and “Umar; entered and there entered too Abu Bakr and ‘Umar; I went out and there went out too Abu Bakr and “Umar, and I hope and think that Allah will keep you along with them.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Moslem.)

Abu Bakr narrates: The Prophet once asked, "Did any of you see anything in his dream?” A man said to the Prophet, "O Messenger of Allah, I saw in my dream as if a balance came down from Heaven in which you were weighed against Abu Bakr and outweighed him, then Abu Bakr was weighed against ~Umar and outweighed him, then “Umar was weighed against ~Uthmaan and outweighed him, then the balance was raised up." (Reported by Abu Dawood and Al-Tirmidhi)

Hadiths on the Virtues of Abu Bakr together with ~Umar:

In addition to the praise of Allah, Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, received from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, alone, the following Hadiths make mention of Abu Bakr together with ~ Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab.

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who says that he heard Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, say: "While a shepherd was tending his sheep, a wolf attacked them and took away one sheep. When the shepherd chased the wolf, the latter turned towards him and said, 'Who will be its guard on the "day of wild beasts", when there will be no shepherd for it except me! And while a man was driving a cow with a load on it, it turned towards him and spoke to him saying, 'I have not been created for this purpose (i.e. carrying); | have been creating for ploughing. The people exclaimed, 'Glory be to Allah! The Prophet said, "But I believe the story and so do Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. The narrator said, "Abu Bakr and “Umar were not present then." (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Moslem.) The Prophet said that Abu Bakr and ‘Umar would believe the story, even though they were not present then, because he knew that they were staunch believers who used to believe

every word of the Prophet.

Abu Sa*eed Al-Khudryy reports that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "No Prophet was sent except that he had two ministers from the Heaven and two on earth. As for my ministers from Heaven, they are Gabriel (Jibreel) and Michael (Mikaa'eel). And as for my ministers on earth, they are Abu Bakr and ~Umar." (Reported by Al-Tirmidhi.)

Sa*eed Ibn Zayd reports that he heard Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, say: "Abu Bakr will be admitted to Paradise, and so will be “Umar, “Uthmaan," and he mentioned the rest of the ten (people whom the Prophet gave the glad tidings of entering Paradise)." (Reported by the authors of Sunan and others.)

~Umar narrates: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, went out one day and entered the mosque with Abu Bakr and ~“Umar on his right and left and each holding one hand. Then he said, "This way we will he resurrected on the Day of Judgment. " (Reported by Al-Tirmidhi and AlHaakim.)

Ibn ~Umar also reports that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "J am the first to he resurrected on the Day of Judgment, followed by Abu Bakr and “Umar afterwards. " (Reported by Al-Tirmidhi and Al-Haakim.)

Ibn ~Umar further reports that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, once saw Abu Bakr and ~ Umar and said, "They are to me like my hearing and seeing." I (Reported by At-Tabaraani.)

On the authority of Al-Baraa'’ Ibn ~ Aazib who says: I was sitting with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,

when Abu Bakr and *Umar came. The Prophet said to them, “All praise and thanks are due to Allah, Who grants me strength through you." (Reported by At-Tabaraani.)

*Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Ghanam narrates, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to Abu Bakr and “Umar, "If you both agreed on something, I would not oppose you. " (Reported by Ahmad.)

Ibn Sa*d_ narrates: Ibn “Umar was asked, "Who used to give Fatwa (Islamic legal ruling) during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him?" He said, "Abu Bakr and * Umar, and no one else."

Ibn Mas*ood narrates that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Every Prophet had an intimate companion from amongst his people, and my intimate Companions are Abu Bakr and ~Umar." (Reported by AtTabaraani.)

“Ali narrates that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said; "May Allah rest the soul of Abu Bakr in peace: he gave his daughter (i.e. “Aa'ishah) in marriage to me, carried me (on his riding animal) to the place of Hijrah (i. e. Madeenah,) and freed Bilaal. May Allah rest the soul of “Umar in peace: he spoke the truth even if he were to suffer on account of it, and he observed the truth which made people hate him and caused his loss of friends. May Allah rest the soul of ~Uthmaan in peace: the angels feel shy in his presence. May Allah rest the soul of “Ali in peace: 0 Allah, make him observe the truth wherever he may be. " (Reported by Ibn * Asaakir.)

Sahl is reported to have said: When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, returned from the Farewell

Pilgrimage (Hajjatul-Wadaa'), he sat in the pulpit, gave praise and thanks to Allah, and then said: "O people, Abu Bakr never did anything that displeased me, so acknowledge this virtue of his. O people, I am pleased with him, ~Umar, ‘Uthmaan, “Ali, Tathah, Az-Zubayr, Sa*d, ~Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn “Awf, the earliest Muhajireen, so bear this in mind when dealing with them.” (Reported by At-Tabaraani.)

In a Marfoo* Hadith’, Anas reports that the Prophet,

peace and blessings be upon him, said, "To love Abu Bakr and “Umar is an act of belief, and to hate them is an act of disbelief." (Reported by Ibn * Asaakir.)

The Prophet's Companions and Early Muslims Speak of Abu Bakr:

~Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Abu Bakr is our master." (Reported by Al-Bukhari.) He also said: “If Abu Bakr's faith was placed in one of the scales of a balance and the faith of all the people in the other, his would outweigh theirs." (Reported by Al-Bayhaqyy.)