Part 6

Abu Bakr: the Best of the Prophet's Companions:

Ahlus-Sunnah (the Sunnis) have unanimously agreed that the best people after Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, are Abu Bakr, then ~ Umar, then * Uthmaan, then “Ali, then the rest of the ten Companions whom the Prophet gave the glad tidings of entering Paradise, then the Companions of the Prophet who participated in the battle of Badr, then those who participated in the battle of Uhud, then those who swore the pledge of allegiance to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and the rest of the Companions. The fact that Abu Bakr As-Sideeq is the best of the Prophet's Companions is confirmed by many Hadiths. Here are some of them:

[bn *Umar may Allah be pleased with him, is quoted to have said: "We used to compare Muslims in forms of who was better during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him. We used to regard Abu Bakr as the best, then “Umar, and then *Uthmaan." (Reported by AlAl-Bukhari.)

In the version of At-Tabraani: "And when the Prophet,

peace and blessings be upon him, was informed about this, he found no. fault with it." Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates: "We, the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to say while we were sitting together. The best of men in the nation of Islam after the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, are Abu Bakr, then ~Umar, then ~Uthmaan, then we used to keep silent."(Reported by Ibn* Asaakir.)

Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Never has the sun risen nor set on a person better than Abu Bakr." (Reported by At-Tabaraani and others.)

“Amr Ibn AlAas, may Allah be pleased with him, is reported to have said: "I asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, 'Who is the dearest person to you amongst all of mankind?’ He replied, "*Aa'ishah.’ [then asked, ‘Who amongst men?' He answered, ‘Her father (i.e. Abu Bakr).' I asked further, ‘And who is next?’ He said, “Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab.' The Narrator said: The Prophet

then enumerated some other men. (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Moslem.)

Abu Bakr: the Bravest Companion:

*Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, is reported to have once asked the people, "Tell me who is the bravest man?" "You" replied the people. He then asked them, 'Never did I fight anyone except that I put him to rout; but tell me who is the bravest man.' The people said, 'We do not know, tell us who is he?' "Abu Bakr" replied Ali "in the battle of Badr, we built a shelter for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and then asked who is willing to stay with the Prophet so that none of the polytheists may dare to attack the Prophet. Non of us had the courage to accept this, save for Abu Bakr who came forward sword in hand, unsheathing it over the Prophet's head; and none of the polytheists was able harm the Prophet. So he is the bravest man. * Ali added: "I saw the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, surrounded by Quraysh, threatened by some and gripped violently by the garment by others; they said: "Are you the one who calls for the unity of gods?!" “Ali said: "By Allah, none could intervene to save the Prophet but Abu Bakr: he fought, threatened and pushed them aside, while saying, 'Woe unto you! Would you kill a man because he says, My Lord is Allah?" Then he (Abu Bakr) raised his mantle over the Prophet, and wept until his beard was wet. Then ~ Ali said, ‘Tell me by Allah, who is better: the believer of Pharaoh's people or Abu Bakr?' The people kept silent and ~ Ali said, “Why do you not answer me? By Allah, a single hour spent by Abu Bakr better than a thousand hours spent by the believer of Pharaoh's people: that was aman who kept his faith secret, while this is a man who made his faith public." (Reported by Al-Bazzaar.)

Narrating another story of Abu Bakr's bravery, ~ Urwah Ibn Az-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him, says: | asked ~Abdullaah Ibn ~ Amr Ibn Al-* Aas, "Tell me about the worst thing the disbelievers did to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him." He said, "While the Prophet was praying in the Hijr (roofless ceiling) of the Ka* bah, ~Uqbah Ibn Abi Mu‘ ayt put his garment around the Prophet's neck and throttled him violently. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, came and caught him by his shoulder and pushed him away from the Prophet and said, "Would you kill a man for saying, ‘Allah is my Lord’?” (Reported by Al-Bukhari.)

~Aa'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, is reported to have said: When the number of Muslims reached thirty nine, Abu Bakr asked the permission of Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, to preach Islam publicly. On his persistent request the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, gave his consent, and all of them went to the mosque (the Ka*bah) to preach. People dispersed in the corners of the mosque, each preaching his folk. Then Abu Bakr gave a Khutbah (sermon); thus he was the first ever Khateeb (orator) to call to Allah and His Messenger. When the disbelievers heard him, they fell upon the Muslims from all sides. Abu Bakr was kicked, thrashed with shoes, trampled under feet and handled most roughly and savagely. (Reported by Ibn * Asaakir.)

~Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, is reported to have said: When Abu Bakr embraced Islam, he showed his faith openly, and called others to Allah and His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him. (Reported by Ibn * Asaakir.)

Abu Bakr: the Most Generous Companion:

Allah the Almighty says:

"But those most devoted to Allah shall be removed fur from it (i.e. the Hell-Fire). Those who spent! Their wealth for increase in self purification. "(Al-Layl: 17-18) Ibn Al-Jawzi states: This verse was revealed in reference to Abu Bakr.

Abu Hurayrah may Allah be pleased with him reports that the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him said: "I did not benefit from wealth as | benefit from the wealth of Abu Bakr." Whereupon Abu Bakr burst into tears and said, "My person and wealth are entirely at your service, O Messenger of Allah!" (Reported by Ahmad.)

*Aa'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, is reported to have said: “Abu Bakr freed seven people all of whom were tortured in the Cause of Allah. "(Reported by Ibn * Asaakir.)

“Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, asked us to give out charity in Allah's Cause, and I had some wealth. Then 1 said, "It's time for me to outdo Abu Bakr today." So I presented half of my total wealth, The Prophet asked me, "Have you left anything for your family?" "An equal amount of it," [ replied. Then came Abu Bakr with all that he had. The Prophet asked him, "O Abu Bakr! Have you left anything for your family?" "Allah and His Messenger" was the reply. [ said, "Never will I outdo Abu Bakr." (Reported by Al-Tirmidhi.)

Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, to have said:

"Never did anyone do us a favor but was rewarded, except Abu Bakr: he did us a favor which will be rewarded only by Allah on the Day of Judgment. And I did not benefit from any wealth as I benefit from the wealth of Abu Bakr.” (Reported by Al-Tirmidhi.)

Abu Bakr: the Most Knowledgeable and Intelligent Companion:

Al-Nawawi states in his Tahdheeb: Scholars have deduced that Abu Bakr is the most knowledge of the Prophet's Companions on the basis of the authentic Hadith reported by Al-Bukhari and Moslem: "When Allah's Messenger passed away and Abu Bakr became the caliph, some Arab renegade (reverted to disbelief). Abu Bakr, decided to declare war against them. *Umar, said to him, "How can you declare war against these people when Allah's Messenger says: "/ 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 their lives and property shall be protected, unless (they do acts that are punishable) is accordance with Islam, and their reckoning will be with Allah Almighty." Abu Bakr said, "By Allah! [ will fight those who distinguish between Salaah (prayer) and Zakaah (obligatory charity), because Zakaah is the compulsory right to be taken from one's property (according to Allah's Commands). By Allah, if they refuse to give me even the cord used for hobbling the feet of a camel, which they used to pay as Zakaah at the time of Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, I would fight them for withholding it." Then ~Umar said, "By Allah it was nothing, but Allah guided Abu Bakr's heart towards the decision.”

Al-Nawawi adds: Sheikh Abu Ishaq and others quote this Hadith in support of their view that Abu Bakr was the last

knowledgeable of the Prophet's Companions. They argue that all the companions feel short of judging the situation until Abu Bakr stated his opinion which was correct and they acted in accordance with it.

Ibn “Umar was asked, "Who amongst the Companions used to give Fatwa during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace and_ blessings be upon him?" He said, "Abu Bakr and * Umar, and no one else".

On the authority of Abu Sa*eed Al-Khudryy, may Allah be pleased with him: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, addressed the people saying: "There is a slave whom Allah, Exalted and Glorified be He, offered the choice between the good afterworld and that which is with Him, and the slave has chosen that which is with Allah." Abu Bakr wept, and we were astonished at his weeping caused by what the Prophet mentioned. We learned later on that Allah's Messenger himself was the person who was given the choice, and that Abu Bakr knew best of all of us. Allah's Messenger added: "The most bountiful of men unto me_ in his companionship and his sacrifice of his wealth is Abu Bakr. If I were to choose a bosom friend, I would choose Abu Bakr - but companionship and brotherhood in faith bind us until Allah unites us in His presence. All the gates of the mosque should be closed except the gate of Abu Bakr.”