[A summary of The Life of Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq (رضي الله عنه)]
Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq (رضي الله عنه), the best amongst the creations of Allah, after the Prophets (عليهم الصلاة و السلام).
His full name was Abu Bakr Abdullah bin Abu Quhafa Uthman, from the clan of Banu Taym (not Banu Tameem), from the tribe of Quraysh. He was two years younger that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
He was the first adult male to accept Islam. As soon as he accepted Islam, he spent his wealth freeing the slaves who accepted Islam and were being oppressed by their Non-Muslim masters. Bilal bin Rabah (رضي الله عنه) being one of them.
He served Islam in the entirety of his life. Just as an example: When the Prophet ﷺ was choked by the Kuffar of Quraysh, when he ﷺ was praying in the Kabah, Abu Bakr went to defend him even at the cost of his own life.
One day when asked who he ﷺ loves the most he ﷺ said Aisha, and amongst the men ‘her father’, Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq.
Abu Bakr was ‘the companion of the cave’ in Ghar Ath-Thawr, for three days, when they were migrating to Madinah, and he was the only one to share that space with Nabi ﷺ.
The Prophet ﷺ was shown Abu Bakr’s daughter Aisha as his wife in a dream, and Abu Bakr’s daughter went on to become The Prophet’s wife and the most knowledgeable woman of Islam in her era, surpassing many men.
Abu Bakr was a Sahabi (i.e. accepted Islam and met the Prophet ﷺ), his father Abu Quhafa Uthman was a Sahabi, most of his children were from the Sahaba, and his grandson Abdullah bin Zubair was also a Sahabi, others were virtuous Muslims. A rare feat to have four generations of Sahaba in a family.
Abu Bakr became the first Khalifa (Caliph) of Islam after the Prophet ﷺ passed away. As soon as he became the Khalifa, many people and tribes whose hearts were diseased apostated and left Islam, some even claimed Prophethood, and many rejected the obligation of Zakath! Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq (رضي الله عنه) arrayed the firm Muslims against these groups and prepared 11 armies against them, the Chief Commander being Khalid bin Al-Waleed (رضي الله عنه). These eleven armies humbled the apostates and broke their backs, and brought them into the fold of Islam.
Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq (رضي الله عنه) also began the military campaigns against the Roman and Persian Empires and the Muslim armies met with great successes.
The Ummah will always be indebted to this lion of Allah, Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq, for fighting the apostates, false prophets & Zakat-rejectors! He held onto the Sunnah in the direst of conditions, didnt compromise on the Deen even by an inch& uprooted the ugly heads of the enemies of Islam.
Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq passed away two years and some months (may be three or four) after he took on the role of the Khalifa and he made Umar ibn Al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) as his successor. Subhanallah! What a deed to end his life as the well wisher of the Muslims.
May Allah be pleased with Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq and may Allah grant us the companionship of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ Abu Bakr, and the remaining Sahabah in Jannah.
-Mohammed Manna.
[First image sourced from: http://t.me/Razaanspace, @razaanspace (IG)]
Mohammed (bin) Thajammul Hussain Manna is an author-compiler of ‘The Biography of The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ From Reliable And Credibly Established Narrations (in three volumes)’, a Seerah where the storyline is based only on Ahadith declared authentic by Hadith scholars. (Email: authenticseerah@gmail.com)
Some of his other works: ‘Mukhtasar Sahih Seeratun-Nabi ﷺ’, ‘The Authentic Biography of Bilal (رضي الله عنه). He has also summarized and translated ‘Famous But Unauthentic Stories From The Seerah of The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (originally by Shaikh Dr. Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Ushan).
Saheehus-Seerah 