Abu Bakr

For the entry on Persian philosopher, see Al-Razi.

Abū Bakr () (c. 573–August 23 634) ruled as the first of the Muslim caliphs (632–634).

Early life

Abu Bakr was born in Mecca (Makkah), a Quraishi of the Banu Taim clan. According to early Muslim historians, he was a merchant, and highly esteemed as a judge, as an interpreter of dreams, and as one learned in Meccan traditions. He was one of the last people anyone would have expected to convert to the faith preached by his kinsman Muhammad. Yet he was one of the first converts to Islam, and instrumental in converting many of the Quraish and the residents of Mecca.

Originally called Abd-ul-Ka'ba ("servant of the Kaaba"), on his conversion he assumed the name of Abd-Allah (servant of God). However, he is usually styled Abu Bakr (from the Arabic word bakr, meaning a young camel) due to his interest in raising camels. Sunni Muslims also honor him as Al-Siddiq ("the truthful"). His full name was Abd-Allah ibn Abi Quhaafah.

During the lifetime of Muhammad

Abu Bakr, as one of the early converts, endured to the full the persecution of the Meccans who still followed the traditional religion. This persecution fell hardest upon the slaves who had converted to Islam. Their owners could torment them at will, whereas the free Muslims were often protected by their kinsfolk. Abu Bakr is said to have impoverished himself buying the freedom of several Muslim slaves, including:

When Muhammad fled from Mecca in the migration to Medina of 622, Abu Bakr alone accompanied him. Abu Bakr was also linked to Muhammad by marriage: Abu Bakr's daughter Aisha married Muhammad soon after the migration to Medina. He was a trusted lieutenant, high in Muhammad's councils.

Rise to the Caliphate

During the prophet's last illness, it is said by some traditions that Muhammad allowed Abu Bakr to lead prayers in his absence, and that many took this as an indication that Abu Bakr would succeed Muhammad. Soon after the prophet's death (on 8 June 632), a gathering of prominent Ansar and some of the Muhajirun, in Medina, acclaimed Abu Bakr as the new Muslim leader or caliph. What happened at this meeting, called Saqifah, is much disputed.

Abu Bakr's assumption of power is an extremely controversial matter, and the source of the first schism in Islam, between Sunni and Shia Islam. Shi'a believe that Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali ibn Abu Talib, was his designated successor, while Sunnis believe that Muhammad deliberately declined to designate a successor. They argue that Muhammad endorsed the traditional Arabian method of shura or consultation, as the way for the community to choose leaders. Designating one's successor was the sign of kingship, or mulk, which the independence-minded tribesmen disliked. Whatever the truth of the matter, Ali gave his formal bay'ah, or submission, to Abu Bakr and to Abu Bakr's two successors. (The Sunni depict this bay'ah as enthusiastic, and Ali as a supporter of Abu Bakr and Umar; the Shi'a argue that Ali's support was only pro forma, and that he effectively withdrew from public life in protest). The Sunni/Shi'a schism did not erupt into open warfare until much later. Many volumes have been written on the affair of the succession. A detailed treatment can be found at Succession to Muhammad.

The Ridda wars

Troubles emerged soon after Abu Bakr's succession, threatening the unity and stability of the new community and state. Various Arab tribes of Hejaz and Nejd rebelled against the caliph and the new system. Some withheld the zakat, the alms tax, though they did not otherwise challenge the religion of Muhammad. Others apostasised outright and returned to their pre-Islamic religion and traditions, classified by Muslims as idolatry. The tribes claimed that they had submitted to Muhammad and that with Muhammad's death, their allegiance was ended. Abu Bakr insisted that they had not just submitted to a leader but joined the Muslim religious community, of which he was the new head. Apostasy is a capital offense under traditional interpretations of Islamic law, and Abu Bakr declared war on the rebels. This was the start of the Ridda wars, Arabic for the Wars of Apostasy. The severest struggle was the war with Ibn Habib al-Hanefi, known as "Musailimah the Liar", who claimed to be a prophet and Muhammad's true successor. The Muslim general Khalid bin Walid finally defeated al-Hanefi at the Battle of Akraba.

Expeditions to the north

After suppressing internal dissension and completely subduing Arabia, Abu Bakr directed his generals towards the Byzantine and Sassanid empires. Khalid bin Walid conquered Iraq in a single campaign, and a successful expedition into Syria also took place. Fred Donner, in his book The Early Islamic Conquests, argues that Abu Bakr's "foreign" expeditions were merely an extension of the Ridda Wars, in that he sent his troops against Arab tribes living on the borders of the Fertile Crescent. Given that the steppes and deserts over which Arabic-speaking tribes roamed extended without break from southern Syria down to Yemen, any polity that controlled only the southern part of the steppe was inherently insecure.

The Qur'an

Some traditions about the origin of the Qur'an say that Abu Bakr was instrumental in preserving it in written form. It is said that after the hard-won victory over Musailimah, Umar ibn al-Khattab (the later Caliph Umar), saw that many of the Muslims who had memorized the Qur'an from the lips of Muhammad had died in battle. Abu Bakr asked Umar to oversee the collection of the revelations. The record, when completed, was deposited with Hafsa bint Umar, daughter of Umar, and one of the wives of Muhammad. Later it became the basis of Uthman ibn Affan's definitive text of the Qur'an. However, other historians give Uthman the principal credit for collecting and preserving the Qur'an. Shi'as strongly refute the idea that Abu Bakr or Umar had anything to do with the collection or preservation of the Qur'an.

Death

Abu Bakr died on August 23 634 in Medina. Shortly before his death, likely of natural causes (one tradition ascribes it to poison), he urged the Muslim community to accept Umar ibn al-Khattab as his successor. The community did so, without serious incident. However, this succession is also a matter of controversy. Shi'a Muslims believe that the leadership should have been assumed by Ali ibn Abu Talib, without any recourse to shura (consultation).

Abu Bakr initially served without pay. His followers insisted that he take an official stipend. At his death, his will returned all these payments to the treasury (Age of Faith, Durant, p. 187).

Abu Bakr lies buried in the Masjid al Nabawi mosque in Medina, alongside Muhammad and hazrat Umar ibn al-Khattab.

First man to adopt Islam?

Muslim scholars agree that the first woman to adopt Islam was Khadijah, Muhammad's first wife. However, there is some disagreement over the identity of the first male to convert. Some Muslim historians have claimed that it was Abu Bakr, or perhaps Muhammad's adopted son Zayd ibn Harithah. Shi'a Muslims, as well as some other Muslim historians, believe that the first male convert (after Muhammad) was Ali ibn Abi Talib. This matter is discussed at greater length in Identity of first male Muslim.

Shia view

Shi'as believe that Abu Bakr, far from being a devout Muslim and wise and humble man, was a schemer who seized the Islamic state for himself, displacing the proper heir, Ali. They believe that Abu Bakr and Umar persecuted Ali, his family, and his followers, and in so doing, caused the death of Ali's wife and Muhammad's daughter, Fatima Zahra, and her unborn child, Al Muhsin. For a fuller discussion, see Succession to Muhammad.

Siddiqui

The family name Siddiqui (alternative spellings, Siddiqi, Siddique, etc.) is used by families to signify descent from Abu Bakr.

References

Fred Donner. The Early Islamic Conquests. Princeton University Press, 1981.
W. Montgomery Watt. Muhammad at Mecca. Oxford University Press, 1953.

External links

quotes
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr from Islamonline
Sirah of Abu Bakr (Radia'Allahuanhu) Part 1 by Shaykh Sayyed Muhammad bin Yahya Al-Husayni Al-Ninowy.
Sirah of Abu Bakr (Radia'Allahuanhu) Part 2 by Shaykh Sayyed Muhammad bin Yahya Al-Husayni Al-Ninowy.
Abu Bakr's life

Sahaba | Rashidun | 573 births | 634 deaths

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