Biography of Abu Bakr Siddeeq
رضي الله عنه
Abu Bakr Siddeeq (رضي الله عنه) was the Khalifa of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, His name was Abdullah Ibn Abi Quhafah, Uthman ibn Amir Ibn Amr ibn Kab ibn Sa’d ibn Taym Ibn Murrah Ibn Ka’b ibn Lu’ayy ibn Ghalib al-Quraishi at-Taymi, whose genealogy connects to that of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, at Murrah.
Men of knowledge agrees that Ateeq (the one set free) was an affectionate nickname and not his own name and he was given that name on account of his having been set free from the fire as has been narrated in the Hadith of Tirmidhi; and it is also said, on his account of his face’s Ittiqah, that is to say its goodness and beauty.
The Ummah agreed unanimously on his being named As-Siddeeq because he hastened to affirm the Messenger of Allah ﷺ , and adhered steadfastly to truthfulness.
Aisha May Allah be pleased with her said ‘By Allah I was in my house one day and the Messenger of Allah,ﷺ, and his companions were in the courtyard, a curtain was between me and them. Abu Bakr came up and the Prophet ﷺ said, whoever is pleased to look upon one who is free from the fire then let him look upon Abu Bakr.’ The name which his family knew him by was Abdullah but Ateeq became the dominant usage.
Aisha May Allah be pleased with her said. ‘The idolaters came to Abu Bakr and said, what do you think of your companion? He claims that he was taken this night to Bayt Al Maqdis (Jerusalem). He replied, Did he say that? They said, Yes. He said ‘He has definitely told the truth. I believe and affirm him in matters more remote than that: The news from Heaven in the early part of the morning and the evening. For that reason he was called As-Siddeeq.’
Abu Hurairah said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, returned on the night in which he was made to travel (to Jerusalem), and he was at Dhu Tuwa, he said Jibrail, my people will not believe me. He (Jibrail) said, Abu Bakr will believe you and he is As-Siddeeq.
Hakim ibn Sa’d said: I heard Ali say, and he swore upon it, Allah definitely revealed from heaven the name of Abu Bakr, as-Siddeeq. In the Hadith of Uhud; The Prophet (ﷺ) once climbed the mountain of Uhud with Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthman. The mountain shook with them. The Prophet (ﷺ) said (to the mountain),
اثْبُتْ أُحُدُ فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ نَبِيٌّ وَصِدِّيقٌ وَشَهِيدَانِ
“Be firm, O Uhud! For on you there are no more than a Prophet, a Siddiq and two martyrs. Sahih al-Bukhari 3675
He was born two years and some months after the birth of the Prophet, ﷺ, and he died when he was 63 years old.
His early life as in Makkah, which he only left for trade, and he had great wealth amongst his people, complete manliness, and munificence, and courtesy amongst them, as Ibn ad-Daghniyyah said, ‘You join ties of kinship, you are truthful, you attain what others are denied, you support those in need, you help in difficult times, and you are hospitable to the guests’.
An-Nawawi said ‘he was one of the chiefs of Quraish in Jahiliyyah and one of counsellors, beloved amongst them, and the wisest in the direction of their affairs. Then when Islam came he preferred it over everything else, and entered into it perfectly and completely’.
‘He had responsibility for the settlement of blood money and debts. That was because the Quraish had no king to whom all affairs could be referred. Rather in each tribe there was a general area of responsibility which resided in its chief so that Banu Hashim had responsibility for giving (Pilgrims) to drink and feed them, (by collecting from the tribes of Quraish), meaning no one ate or drank except from their food and drink. Banu’ Abd ad-Dar had responsibility for being the door keepers and guardians (of the Kabah) And from the banner and council, i.e no one could enter the house without their permission, and whenever Quraish fastened the banner of war, the Banu’ Abd ad-Dar bound it for them, and whenever they assembled together for a matter, either to confirm or annul it, the assembly could not anywhere but in the house of council, nor decided upon except there, and it belonged to Banu’ Abd ad-Dar.’
He and Uthman gave up drinking wine in Jahiliyah, Aisha may Allah be pleased with her, said that a man said to her describe Abu Bakr to us. She said, a fair man, of slender build, thin cheeked and with a stoop. He could not keep his lower garment from slipping over his loins. Gaunt faced, eyes deep set, with a prominent forehead, and the back of his hands fleshless. This is his description. Abu Bakr used to dye his hair and beard with Henna and Katam.
Abu Bakr was the first man to accept Islam, Ali was the first child to accept Islam and Khadijah was the first woman.
Muhammed bin Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas said to his father Sa’d ‘Was Abu Bakr the first of you to accept islam? He said No. More than five people accepted islam before him but he was the best of us in Islam.’
Ibn Kathir said it is clear that the people of his House, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, believed before anyone. His wife Khadijah, his freed slave Zaid ibn Haritha, his wife Umm Ayman, Ali and Waraqah.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘I never spoke to anyone about Islam but that they refused me and rejected my words except for the son of Abu Quhafah. I never spoke to him about something but he accepted it and was steadfast in it.
His Companionship and Expeditions
The Ulema say Abu Bakr accompanied the Prophet ﷺ, from the moment he accepted Islam until his death, not leaving him in a journey or in residence, except for that which he ﷺ authorised him to go out on, such as the Hajj and fighting expeditions.
His Bravery
Ali said ‘Tell me who is the bravest of Men? They said You. He said as for me ‘I never encountered anyone but that I took my due from him, but tell me who is the bravest of men? They said we don’t know. Who is it? He said ‘Abu Bakr. On the day of Badr we made a shelter from the sun for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ then we said who will be with the Messenger Of Allah ﷺ, so that no one of the idolaters may fall upon him? By Allah none of us drew near except Abu Bakr who brandished a sword over the Head of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. No one fell upon him but he (Abu Bakr) in turn fell upon him. So he is the bravest of Men.
Ali said ‘I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and the Quraish grabbed him. One held him and another threw him down and they were saying are you the one who has made the Lord’s into one? By Allah none of us approached except for Abu Bakr. Striking this one and restraining the other one and throwing down another saying, Woe to you! Will you kill a man because he says my lord is Allah? Then Ali raised a cloak which he was wearing and wept until his beard was wet and said, ‘I adjure you by Allah! Is the believer of the people of Firaun better or Abu Bakr? People were silent. He said, will you not answer? By Allah an hour of Abu Bakr is better than a thousand hours of the like of the believers of the people of Firaun. He was a man who concealed his Iman and this was a man who was open about this Iman. (1)
He was the first public speaker to invite people to Allah and his Messenger. The idolaters leapt upon Abu Bakr and the Muslims and they beat them in every corner of the masjid very severely.
His spending his wealth on the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
Abu Hurairah said the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said no wealth ever benefited me as did the wealth of Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr wept and said, ‘Are I and my wealth for any but you Messenger of Allah ﷺ ?
Abu Bakr, accepted Islam on the day that he did and he had 40,000 Dinars (and in a wording 40,000 dirhams) and he spent them on the Messenger of Allah ﷺ He spent all of it on freeing slaves and helping the cause of Islam.
Umar ibn al-Khattab reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, ordered us to give charity and at the time I had some wealth. I said to myself, “Today I will outdo Abu Bakr, if ever there were a day to outdo him.” I went with half of my wealth to the Prophet ﷺ and he said, “What have you left for your family?” I said, “The same amount.” Then, Abu Bakr came with everything he had. The Prophet ﷺ said, “O Abu Bakr, what have you left for your family?” Abu Bakr said, “Allah and his Messenger ﷺ” I said, “By Allah, I will never do better than Abu Bakr.” Sunan al-Tirmidhi
His Knowledge
An-Nawawi said, in his Tahdhib, and from his own writing I transmit: Our companions proved the vastness of his knowledge via his words. In the well established Hadith which is in the two Sahih collections, ‘By Allah I will fight whoever distinguishes between the Salah and Zakat. By Allah if they refuse me as much as the halter of a camel which they used to pay to the Messenger of Allahﷺ, I will fight them over their refusal’ Shaikh Abu Ishaaq saw a proof in this and other things, in his Tabaqaat, that Abu Bakr Siddeeq, was the most knowledgeable of the companions, because they all failed to understand the judgement on this issue except for him, then it became clear to them because of his discussions with them that his words were the correct position, so they came back to that. Ibn Umar was asked, who used to give Fatwa for the people at the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ? He said Abu Bakr and Umar. I dont know of anyone other than them. Abu Saeed Al-Khudri said, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ addressed people and said, ‘Allah the blessed and exalted has given a slave the choice between the world and that which is with him. That slave has chosen that which is with Allah, exalted is he.’ Then Abu Bakr wept and said, we would ransom you with our fathers and mothers. We were astonished at his weeping because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ informed us about a slave who had been given a choice. But the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was the one given the choice, and Abu Bakr was the most knowledgeable of us. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said the most generous of people with his company and his wealth is Abu Bakr. If I were to take an Intimate friend other than my lord I would have taken Abu Bakr, but there is the brotherhood of Islam and its affection. Let no door remain open but for the door of Abu Bakr.
Ibn Kathir said, As-Siddeeq, was the best read of the companions, meaning that he was the most knowledgeable of them in the Quran, because he, put him forward as the Imam of the prayer for the companions, along with his words, ‘The best read in the book of Allah will lead the people.’
An-Nawawi said As-Siddeeq was one of the companions who memorised all of the Quran.
Jubayr ibn Mut’im used to be the most knowledgeable of Quraish in the Genealogies of Quraish and of the Arabs in general and he used to say, I only took genealogies from Abu Bakr, and Abu Bakr was the most learned in the genealogies of the Arabs.
Muhammed Ibn Sireen said, Abu Bakr was the most able of this Ummah after the Prophet ﷺ, to drawing a meaning (from a dream) Samurah said, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘I have been commanded to interpret the dream (and to teach it) to Abu Bakr.’
He was the most Eminent of the Companions
The people of the Sunnah are unanimous that the best of mankind after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ , were Abu Bakr, then Umar, then Uthman, then Ali, then the rest of the ten (who were given glad the good news of Jannah), then the rest of the people of Badr, then the rest of the people of Uhud, then the rest of the people of the oath of allegiance (Bayt Ridwan at Hudaybiyyah), then the rest of the companions. Mansur al-Baghdadi relates that there is a consensus on this.
The Quran revealed concerning him.
إِلَّا تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدۡ نَصَرَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِذۡ أَخۡرَجَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ڪَفَرُواْ ثَانِىَ ٱثۡنَيۡنِ إِذۡ هُمَا فِى ٱلۡغَارِ إِذۡ يَقُولُ لِصَـٰحِبِهِۦ لَا تَحۡزَنۡ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَنَاۖ فَأَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ سَڪِينَتَهُ ۥ عَلَيۡهِ وَأَيَّدَهُ ۥ بِجُنُودٍ۬ لَّمۡ تَرَوۡهَا وَجَعَلَ ڪَلِمَةَ ٱلَّذِينَ ڪَفَرُواْ ٱلسُّفۡلَىٰۗ وَڪَلِمَةُ ٱللَّهِ هِىَ ٱلۡعُلۡيَاۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
If you help him (Muhammad ) not (it does not matter), for Allah جل جلاله did indeed help him when the disbelievers drove him out, the second of the two; when they were both in the cave, he said to his companion: “Be not sad (or afraid), surely, Allah جل جلاله is with us.” Then Allah جل جلاله sent down His Sakinah (calmness, tranquillity, peace) upon him, and strengthened him with forces (angels) which you saw not, and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowermost, while the Word of Allah that became the uppermost; and Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.) Surah Taubah Ayah 40
Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said to him while they were in the cave during the migration journey, “O Abu Bakr! What say you of two persons whose third is Allah!” [Agreed upon]
وَسَيُجَنَّبُہَا ٱلۡأَتۡقَى • ٱلَّذِى يُؤۡتِى مَالَهُ ۥ يَتَزَكَّىٰ • وَمَا لِأَحَدٍ عِندَهُ ۥ مِن نِّعۡمَةٍ۬ تُجۡزَىٰٓ • إِلَّا ٱبۡتِغَآءَ وَجۡهِ رَبِّهِ ٱلۡأَعۡلَىٰ • وَلَسَوۡفَ يَرۡضَىٰ
And those with Taqwa will be far removed from it. He who gives of his wealth for self-purification. And who has (in mind) no favor from anyone to be paid back. Except to seek the Face of his Lord, the Most High. He, surely, will be pleased. Surah Layl Ayah 17-21
He (Abu Bakr) was the first and foremost of this Ummah to have all of these characteristics and other praiseworthy characteristics as well. For verily, he was truthful, pious, generous, charitable, and he always spent his wealth in obedience of His Master (Allah) and in aiding the Messenger of Allah ﷺ Tafsir Ibn Kathir
وَٱلَّذِى جَآءَ بِٱلصِّدۡقِ
And he who has brought the truth) means the Messenger of Allah”
وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ
(and (those who) believed therein) means the Muslims generally and Abu Bakr specifically.” Surah Zumar Ayah 33
يَـٰٓأَيَّتُہَا ٱلنَّفۡسُ ٱلۡمُطۡمَٮِٕنَّةُ • ٱرۡجِعِىٓ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً۬ مَّرۡضِيَّةً۬
(O tranquil soul! Come back to your Lord, well-pleased and well-pleasing!) He said, “This Ayah was revealed while Abu Bakr was sitting (with the Prophet ). So he said, `O Messenger of Allah! There is nothing better than this!’ The Prophet then replied,
أَمَا إِنَّهُ سَيُقَالُ لَكَ هَذَا
(This will indeed be said to you.)” Tafsir Ibn Kathir Surah Fajr Ayah 28
Abu Huraira narrated that Once Allah’s Messenger ﷺ ; offered the morning prayer and then faced the people and said, “While a person was amongst his sheep, a wolf attacked and took one of the sheep. The man chased the wolf till he saved it from the wolf, whereupon the wolf said, ‘You have saved it from me; but who will guard it on the day of the wild beasts when there will be no shepherd to guard them except me (because of riots and afflictions)? ” The people said surprisingly, “Glorified be Allah! A wolf speaks!” The Prophet ﷺ said, “But I believe this, and Abu Bakr and `Umar too, believe this, although neither of them was present there.”
قال رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – : ” من أصبح منكم اليوم صائما ؟ ” قال أبو بكر : أنا ، قال : ” فمن تبع منكم اليوم جنازة ؟ ” قال أبو بكر : أنا ، قال : ” فمن أطعم منكم اليوم مسكينا ؟ ” قال أبو بكر : أنا ، قال : ” فمن عاد منكم اليوم مريضا ؟ ” قال أبو بكر : أنا ، فقال رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – : ” ما اجتمعن في امرئ إلا دخل الجنة ” . رواه مسلم
Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ , has said, “Who has observed fast among you today? Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, replied, ‘It is I.’ He (the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Who among you followed a funeral today?’ Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, replied, ‘It is I.’ He (again) ﷺ said, ‘Who among you visited an ill person today?’ Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, ‘It is I.’ Upon this the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said, ‘Anyone in whom these good deeds are combined will certainly enter paradise.’“ Muslim 1028
One time, Abu Bakr came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: Something has come between me and Ibn Al-Khattab. So I quickly went to him and was regretful, and asked him to forgive me, which he refused to do, so I came to you. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ : Oh Abu Bakr: May Allah forgive you. Oh Abu Bakr: may Allah forgive you. Oh Abu Bakr: may Allah forgive you.
Thus the Prophet ﷺ seeking forgiveness for Abu Bakr was better than ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab seeking forgiveness for Abu Bakr. Then Umar regretted what happened between him and Abu Bakr, and went to Abu Bakr’s home, and asked if he was there. And they replied in the negative. So he went to the Prophet ﷺ and gave salaam, and made the face of the Prophet ﷺ change into anger. So much so that Abu Bakr feared that the Prophet ﷺ would say something which he… So Abu Bakr touched his (the Prophet’s) knees, and said, “Oh Messenger of Allah ﷺ. By Allaah, I was being oppressive. By Allaah, I was being oppressive.”
On the authority of Rabeeyah al-Asslamee who said : I used to serve the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he gave me some land, and he gave Abu Bakr some land, and when it came to dividing the land, we differed over a cluster of dates from a date palm tree. Abu Bakr said : this is on my side of the land! And I said : It is on my side! There used to be a problem between me and Abu Bakr, and Abu Bakr said a statement to me which I hated but he regretted saying it, so he said to me: ‘O Rabeeyah! Say something similar to what I said to you, so that it can be a requital.’
So I said : ‘I will not say it.’ Abu Bakr said : ‘You will say it or I will request the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to order you to say it.
So I said : ‘I will not say it.’ Abu Bakr left that portion of the land for me and went off to the Prophet ﷺ and I followed him. The people from my tribe followed us and said to me: ‘May Allah have mercy on Abu Bakr, why is he going to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about you, and he said what he said about you.’
So I said : ‘Do you know who this is? This is Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq, he is one of the two who were in the cave, he is one who has grown old as a Muslim ( one of the elders of the Muslims), beware he does not turn around and see you assisting me against him and becomes angry and he meets the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ will become angry due to him being angry, and then Allah Azza wa Jal becomes angry due to them being angry and then Rabeeyah will be destroyed.’
They said : ‘What do you order us to do?’ I said : ‘Go back.’
Abu Bakr –رضي االله عنه,- went off to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, so I followed him by myself, until he reached the Prophet ﷺ and he told him the story as it (exactly) as it was. The Prophet ﷺ raised his head towards me and said: ‘O Rabeeyah what’s the matter between you and As-Siddeeq?’
I said : ‘O Messenger of Allah ﷺ such and such happened, and he said a statement to me which I disliked, then he said to me, say something similar to what I said to you so that it can be requited, but I refused.’
Then the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said: ‘Yes, do not say a word back to him, but say: May Allaah forgive you O Abu Bakr. May Allah forgive you O Abu Bakr.’ Hasan said: ‘Abu Bakr turned around and he was crying.’ (2)
Death of the Messenger
Abu Musa Al-Ashari, رضي االله عنه said the Prophet ﷺ became ill and his illness became severe so he said command Abu Bakr and let him lead the people in prayer. Aisha said Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he is a man who has a tender heart. If he stands in your place he will not be able to lead the people in prayer. He said ﷺ, command Abu Bakr and let him lead the people in prayer. She repeated what she had said and so he said ‘Command Abu Bakr and let him lead the people in prayer; Truly you are the female companions of Yusuf. So the Messenger ﷺ came to him (Abu Bakr) and he led the people in prayer in the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ.
Abu Bakr left his house at as-Sunh and came forth to the Mosque on a horse. At the Mosque, he dismounted and entered. He talked to nobody but went on till he entered ‘A’ishah abode, and went directly to where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was. The Prophet ﷺ was covered with a Yemeni mantle. He uncovered his face and tended down, kissed him and cried. Then he said: “I sacrifice my father and mother for your sake. Allah, verily, will not cause you to die twice. You have just experienced the death that Allah had ordained.”
Then he went out and found ‘Umar talking to people. He said: “‘Umar, be seated.” ‘Umar refused to do so. People parted ‘Umar and came towards Abu Bakr, who started a speech saying:
“And now, he who worships Muhammad ﷺ, Muhammad is dead now. But he who worships Allah, He is Ever Living and He never dies. Allah says:
وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ۬ قَدۡ خَلَتۡ مِن قَبۡلِهِ ٱلرُّسُلُۚ أَفَإِيْن مَّاتَ أَوۡ قُتِلَ ٱنقَلَبۡتُمۡ عَلَىٰٓ أَعۡقَـٰبِكُمۡۚ وَمَن يَنقَلِبۡ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيۡهِ فَلَن يَضُرَّ ٱللَّهَ شَيۡـًٔ۬اۗ وَسَيَجۡزِى ٱللَّهُ ٱلشَّـٰڪِرِينَ
‘Muhammad is no more than a Messenger, and indeed (many) Messengers have passed away before him. If he dies or is killed, will you then turn back on your heels (as disbelievers)? And he who turns back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah, and Allah will give reward to those who are grateful.’ Surah Al-Imran :144
Ibn ‘Abbas said: “By Allah it sounded as if people had never heard such a Qur’anic verse till Abu Bakr recited it as a reminder. So people started reciting it till there was no man who did not recite it.”
Ibn al-Musayyab said that ‘Umar had said: “By Allah as soon as I heard Abu Bakr say it, I fell down to the ground. I felt as if my legs had been unable to carry me so I collapsed when I heard him say it. Only then did I realise that Muhammad ﷺ had really died.” [Sahih al-Bukhari, 2/640,641]
Appointment as the leader of the Muslims
The Prophet ﷺ left him behind for his nation, appointing him the first ruler, after its Prophet. From a signal from him ﷺ, which is very close to being clearly explicit, as it has been authentically reported in al-Bukhaaree that : a woman came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for a need. And he ﷺ ordered her to return to him later, meaning that he did not take care of her needs at that time, but rather he ordered her to return to him later. And she said, “What if I don’t find you?” And he ﷺ said: Go to Abu Bakr.
This is an explicit quote, showing that Abu Bakr was to be the ruler after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Likewise, he ﷺ intended to [command someone to write] in words that the rule was to pass to Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq, and said: Allaah and the Muslims refuse except for Abu Bakr. And in another narration: Allah forbids that the believers should differ regarding Abu Bakr.
The Prophet ﷺ appointed him in a lesser position of leadership when he ordered him [Abu Bakr] to lead the people in Salaah, so he [Abu Bakr] would lead them in salat during the sickness of the Prophet ﷺ He ﷺ also appointed him to a position greater than that when he appointed him the leader of the people for the Hajj in the ninth year [after Hijra].
Oath of Allegiance to him
Ibn Umar said Abu Bakr never sat on the place upon which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sat upon the Mimbar until he met Allah. Umar did not sit upon the place that Abu Bakr sat until he met Allah and Uthman did not sit in Umar’s place until he met Allah.
Firmness against the renegades
Abu Hurairah narrated, When Allah’s Messenger ﷺ died and Abu Bakr became the Khalifa some Arabs renegade (reverted to disbelief) (Abu Bakr decided to declare war against them), `Umar, said to Abu Bakr, “How can you fight with these people although Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, ‘I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight the people till they say: “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and whoever said it then he will save his life and property from me except on trespassing the law (rights and conditions for which he will be punished justly), and his accounts will be with Allah.’ ” Abu Bakr said, “By Allah! I will fight those who differentiate between the prayer and the Zakat as Zakat is the compulsory right to be taken from the property (according to Allah’s orders) By Allah! If they refuse to pay me even a she-child which they used to pay at the time of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ. I would fight with them for withholding it” Then `Umar said, “By Allah, it was nothing, but Allah opened Abu Bakr’s chest towards the decision (to fight) and I came to know that his decision was right.”
Collection of the Quran
Zayd ibn Thabit reported: Abu Bakr sent for me after the people of Al-Yamamah were killed and Umar ibn al-Khattab was with him. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Umar came to me and said that many reciters of the Quran were killed in the fighting at Al-Yamamah, saying: I am afraid more reciters will be killed in battles to come and much of the Quran will be lost, and I think you should order for the Quran to be compiled. I said to Umar: How can you do something that was not done by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ? Umar said: By Allah, this will be a good thing. Umar continued to appeal to me until Allah opened my heart to that and I saw the good in it that Umar saw.” Sahih al-Bukhari
Ali said : The one with the greatest reward for the written copies of the Quran is Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr was the first to gather the Quran between two boards.
Things in which he was first
Ata ibn Saib said when Abu Bakr was pledged allegiance he arose in the morning and upon his forearms there were some garments and he was going to the marketplace. Umar said where are you going? He said to the marketplace. What are you going to do when you have been put in charge of the affairs of the Muslims? He said what am I going to do to feed my family? He said let us go. Abu Ubaydah will allocate a sum for you. So they went to Abu Ubaydah and he said I allocate you the supplies of a man amongst the Muhajiroun, not the best of them nor the least of them and the clothing of winter and summer. If you wear out something in return and take something in its place the two of them allocated him half a sheep everyday of what would clothe his head and his person.
Al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib said when Abu Bakr was near to death he said Aisha look to Milch Camel whose milk we used to drink the bowl in which we used to prepare food and the outer garments we used to wear for we used to benefit from that when we were in charge of the command of the muslims. When I die, return them to Umar. When Abu Bakr died she sent them to Umar. Umar said may Allah show mercy to you, Abu Bakr! You have exhausted the one who comes after you.
Death
Urwah ibn Qasim ibn Muhammed said that Abu Bakr left as his last wish to Aisha that he should be buried by the side of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. When he died they dug a grave for him and put his head at the shoulder of the Messenger, And the Niche (coffin) touched the grave of the Messenger ﷺ.
Abridged from Imam Suyuti’s Tahrik al Khulafah Rashideen, Taha Publishers
(1) ففَلَمَّا تَرَٲٓءَا ٱلۡجَمۡعَانِ قَالَ أَصۡحَـٰبُ مُوسَىٰٓ إِنَّا لَمُدۡرَكُونَ • قَالَ كَلَّآۖ إِنَّ مَعِىَ رَبِّى سَيَہۡدِينِ
[Musa] said: “Nay, verily! With me is my Lord, He will guide me.”
إِذۡ يَقُولُ لِصَـٰحِبِهِۦ لَا تَحۡزَنۡ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَنَاۖ
‘He said to his companion: ‘Be not sad (or afraid), surely, Allah is with us.’
(2) Proof regarding the purity of the hearts of the Sahaabah towards one another, they were fair and just, they feared falling into disobedience. They preferred to receive punishment in this life rather than the hereafter for an evil deed. Status of Abu Bakr in the sight of the companions of the Messenger ﷺ and Allah. Virtue of being forgiving and the honour found in that. Companions were not infallible, mistakes did occur unintentionally, but they were not persistent in them and were quick to rectify. They were pleased with the judgement of the Messenger ﷺ and submitted to it. The virtue of supplicating for others, especially the one that wronged you. Fulfilment of rights in worldly life is better than leaving till the hereafter. Virtue of the noble companion Rabeeyah Aslami.
At-Taleeqaat Al-Maleehah Ala Silsilah Tul-Ahadeeth as-Saheehah – Sheikh Zaid Madkhali
Ahlul-Hadith 