Biography of caliph Abu Bakr al-Siddiq part 1
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00:00Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, the Rashidun caliph, Abd Allah ibn Abi Khafa, his qualities and morals
00:08since the beginning of the Islamic message and its spread to the world part 1.
00:13Abd Allah ibn Abi Khafa romanized, Abd Allah ibn Abi Khafa, circa 573-23-08-634, commonly
00:22known by the Kunya Abu Bakr romanized, Abu Bakr, was the first caliph, ruling from 632
00:29until his death in 634.
00:33A close companion and father-in-law of Muhammad, Abu Bakr is referred to with the honorific
00:38title al-Siddiq lit.
00:40The Voracious by Sunni Muslims
00:43Born to Abu Khafa and Um al-Khair of the Banu Taym, Abu Bakr was amongst the earliest converts
00:49to Islam and propagated Dawah to the Mushrikites.
00:53He was considered the first Muslim missionary as several companions of Muhammad converted
00:57through Abu Bakr.
01:00He accompanied Muhammad on his migration to Medina and became one of the latter's bodyguards.
01:05Abu Bakr participated in all of Muhammad's campaigns and served as the first Amir al-Hajj
01:11in 631.
01:13In the absence of Muhammad, Abu Bakr led the prayers.
01:17Following Muhammad's death in 632, Abu Bakr succeeded the leadership of the Muslim community
01:23as the first caliph, being elected at Saqifah.
01:27His election was contested by a number of rebellious tribal leaders.
01:31During his reign, he overcame a number of uprisings, collectively known as the Ridda
01:35Wars, as a result of which he was able to consolidate and expand the rule of the Muslim
01:40state over the entire Arabian Peninsula.
01:43He also commanded the initial incursions into the neighboring Sasanian and Byzantine empires,
01:49which in the years following his death, would eventually result in the Muslim conquests
01:52of Persia and the Levant.
01:55Apart from politics, Abu Bakr is also credited for the compilation of the Qur'an, of which
02:00he had a personal caliphal codex.
02:03Prior to dying in August 634, Abu Bakr nominated Umar R. 634-644 as his successor.
02:13Along with Muhammad, Abu Bakr is buried in the Green Dome at the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi
02:18in Medina, the second holiest site in Islam.
02:21He died of illness after a reign of two years, two months and fourteen days, the only Rashidun
02:27caliph to die of natural causes.
02:30Though Abu Bakr's reign was short, it included successful invasions of the two most powerful
02:35empires of the time, the Sasanian Empire and the Byzantine Empire.
02:40He set in motion a historical trajectory that in a few decades would lead to one of the
02:44largest empires in history.
02:47His victory over the local rebel Arab forces is a significant part of Islamic history.
02:52Sunni Muslims revere Abu Bakr as the first of the rightly guided caliphs and the greatest
02:57individual after the prophets and messengers.
03:01Shia tradition considers Abu Bakr an usurper of the caliphate and an enemy of the Al-Albayt.
03:07Lineage and Titles
03:09Abu Bakr's full name was Abdullah ibn Abi Khafa ibn Amir ibn Amr ibn Khab ibn Sa'd ibn
03:15Taim ibn Mura ibn Khab ibn Luwai ibn Ghalib ibn Fir.
03:20His lineage meets the lineage of Muhammad at the sixth generation up with Mura ibn Khab.
03:26Abu Bakr is referenced in the Quran in Surah At-Tabah as Tani'a ithnain, second of the
03:31two, and Al-Sahib, companion.
03:35Some scholars believe Al-Atka, the most pious, in Surah Al-Layl refers to Abu Bakr as well.
03:42Abdullah
03:43In Arabic, the name Abd Allah means, servant of Allah.
03:48This is his birth name.
03:49Abu Bakr, this nickname, Kunya, was given to him as a child when he grew up among a
03:54Bedouin tribe and developed a fondness for camels.
03:58He played with the camel calves and goats, earning this nickname, Abu Bakr, meaning,
04:03father of the young camel.
04:05A, Bakr, in Arabic is a young but already fully grown camel.
04:10Atiq One of his early titles, preceding his conversion to Islam, was Atiq, meaning, saved
04:16one.
04:17In a weak narration in Tirmidhi, Muhammad later restated this title when he said that
04:22Abu Bakr is the Atiq of Allah from the fire, meaning, saved, or, secure, and the association
04:28with Allah showing how close to and protected he is by Allah.
04:33Al-Siddiq He was called Al-Siddiq, the truthful, by Muhammad after he believed him in the event
04:38of Isra and Miraj when other people did not, and Ali confirmed that title several times.
04:44He was also reportedly referred to in the Quran as the, second of the two in the cave,
04:49in reference to the event of Hijra, where with Muhammad he hid in the cave in Jabal
04:53Thar from the Meccan party that was sent after them.
04:57Al-Sahib He was honorifically called Al-Sahib, the companion in the Quran describing his
05:02role as a companion of Muhammad when hiding from the Quraysh in the Jabal Thar cave during
05:07the Hijra to Medina.
05:08It does not matter if you believers do not support him, for Allah did in fact support
05:13him when the disbelievers drove him out off Mecca and he was only one of two.
05:18While they both were in the cave, he reassured his companion, Do not worry, Allah is certainly
05:23with us.
05:25So Allah sent down his serenity upon the Prophet, supported him with forces you believers did
05:30not see, and made the word of the disbelievers lowest, while the word of Allah is supreme.
05:37And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.
05:39940 The Clear Quran Al-Atka
05:43In a hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas of the exegesis of chapter 92 of the Quran by Imam Al-Suyuti
05:49we find the word, Al-Atka, Arabic, meaning, the most pious, the most righteous, or, the
05:55most God-fearing, is referring to Abu Bakr as an example for the believers.
06:01And so I have warned you of a raging fire, in which none will burn except the most wretched,
06:06who deny and turn away.
06:08But the righteous will be spared from it, who donate some off their wealth only to purify
06:13themselves, not in return for someone's favors, but seeking the pleasure of their Lord, the
06:18Most High.
06:20They will certainly be pleased.
06:2292 14-21 The Clear Quran Al-Awwa
06:26Al-Awwa, Arabic A, means someone who supplicates abundantly to God, someone who is merciful,
06:34and the gentle-hearted.
06:36Ibrahim Al-Nakai said that Abu Bakr has also been called Al-Awwa for his merciful character.
06:42Abu Bakr was born in Mecca sometime in 573 CE, to a rich family in the Banu Taym tribe
06:49of the Quraysh tribal confederacy.
06:52His father was Abu Khafa and his mother was Um Al-Khair.
06:56He spent his early childhood like other Arab children of the time, among the Bedouin who
07:01called themselves Al-I-Bayr the people of the camel, and developed a particular fondness
07:05for camels.
07:07In his early years he played with the camel calves and goats, and his love for camels
07:11earned him the nickname, Kunya, Abu Bakr, the father of the camel's calf.
07:17Like other children of the rich Meccan merchant families, Abu Bakr was literate and developed
07:22a fondness for poetry.
07:24He used to attend the annual fair at Yuccas, and participate in poetical symposia.
07:30He had a very good memory and had a good knowledge of the genealogy of the Arab tribes,
07:34their stories and their politics.
07:37A story is preserved that once when he was a child, his father took him to the Kaaba
07:42and asked him to pray before the idols.
07:45His father went away to attend to some other business, and Abu Bakr was left alone.
07:50Addressing an idol, Abu Bakr said, Oh my God, I am in need of beautiful clothes, bestow
07:56them on me.
07:58The idol remained indifferent.
08:00Then he addressed another idol, saying, Oh God, give me some delicious food.
08:06See that I am so hungry.
08:08The idol remained cold.
08:11That exhausted the patience of young Abu Bakr.
08:14He lifted a stone, and, addressing an idol, said, Here I am aiming a stone.
08:19If you are a god protect yourself.
08:22Abu Bakr hurled the stone at the idol and left the Kaaba.
08:26Regardless, it recorded that prior to converting to Islam, Abu Bakr practiced as a Hanif and
08:32never worshipped idols.
08:34On his return from a business trip in Yemen, friends informed him that in his absence,
08:39Muhammad had declared himself a messenger of God.
08:43According to a report of the historian al-Tabari, in his Tariq al-Tabari, Abu Bakr may have
08:48converted to Islam after around 50 people, though this is disputed.
08:53Some Sunni and all the Shia believe that the second person to publicly accept Muhammad
08:57as the messenger of God was Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first being Muhammad's wife Khadija.
09:03Ibn Kathir, in his Al-Bidaiya wal-Nihaya, disregards this.
09:09He stated that the first woman to embrace Islam was Khadija.
09:13Zayd ibn Haritha was the first freed slave to embrace Islam.
09:17Ali ibn Abi Talib was the first child to embrace Islam, for he has not even reached the age
09:23of puberty at that time, while Abu Bakr was the first free man to embrace Islam.
09:28His wife Qutayla bint Abd al-Uzza did not accept Islam and he divorced her.
09:35His other wife, Um Ruman, became a Muslim.
09:38All his children accepted Islam except Abd al-Rahman, from whom Abu Bakr disassociated
09:44himself.
09:46His conversion also brought many people to Islam.
09:49He persuaded his intimate friends to convert and presented Islam to other friends in such
09:53a way that many of them also accepted the faith.
09:57Those who converted to Islam at the Dawah of Abu Bakr were Uthman ibn Affan, who would
10:02become the third caliph, al-Zubayr, who played a part in the Muslim conquest of Egypt.
10:08Talha ibn Ubaid Allah, his cousin and an important companion of Muhammad.
10:14Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, who would remain an important part of the Rashidun caliphate.
10:19Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas, who played a leading role in the Islamic conquest of Persia.
10:24Abu Ubaidah ibn Al-Jarrah, who was a commander-in-chief of the Rashidun army in Levant.
10:29Abu Salama, he was a foster brother of Muhammad.
10:33Khalid ibn Said, who acted as a general under the Rashidun army in Syria.
10:38Abu Bakr's acceptance proved to be a milestone in Muhammad's mission.
10:43Slavery was common in Mecca, and many slaves accepted Islam.
10:48When an ordinary free man accepted Islam, despite opposition, he would enjoy the protection
10:53of his tribe.
10:54For slaves, however, there was no such protection and they commonly experienced persecution.
11:01Abu Bakr felt compassion for slaves, so he purchased eight, four men and four women,
11:06and then freed them, paying 40,000 dinar for their freedom.
11:11He was known to have freed slaves, including Bilal ibn Rabah.
11:15The men were Bilal ibn Rabah, Abu Fukaiya, Ammar ibn Yasir, Amir ibn Fuhaira.
11:23The women were Lubayna, Al-Nadiya, Um Ubaiz, Haritha bint al-Mu'ammal.
11:31Most of the slaves liberated by Abu Bakr were either women or old and frail men.
11:37When the father of Abu Bakr asked him why he did not liberate strong and young slaves,
11:42who could be a source of strength for him, Abu Bakr replied that he was freeing the slaves
11:46for the sake of God, and not for his own sake.
11:49For three years after the birth of Islam, Muslims kept their faith private.
11:55In 613, according to Islamic tradition, Muhammad was commanded by God to call people to Islam
12:01openly.
12:02The first public address inviting people to offer allegiance to Muhammad was delivered
12:07by Abu Bakr.
12:09In a fit of fury, the young men of the Quraysh tribe rushed at Abu Bakr and beat him until
12:14he lost consciousness.
12:16Following this incident, Abu Bakr's mother converted to Islam.
12:20Abu Bakr was persecuted many times by the Quraysh.
12:24Though Abu Bakr's beliefs would have been defended by his own clan, it would not be
12:28so for the entire Quraysh tribe.
12:31In 617, the Quraysh enforced a boycott against the Banu Hashim.
12:38Muhammad along with his supporters from Banu Hashim, were cut off in a pass away from Mecca.
12:43All social relations with the Banu Hashim were cut off and their state was that of imprisonment.
12:49Before it, many Muslims migrated to Abyssinia, now Ethiopia.
12:54Abu Bakr, feeling distressed, set out for Yemen and then to Abyssinia from there.
12:59He met a friend of his named Ad-Dugna, chief of the Qara tribe, outside Mecca, who invited
13:05Abu Bakr to seek his protection against the Quraysh.
13:09Abu Bakr went back to Mecca, it was a relief for him, but soon due to the pressure of Quraysh,
13:14Ad-Dugna was forced to renounce his protection.
13:18Once again the Quraysh were free to persecute Abu Bakr.
13:22In 620, Muhammad's uncle and protector, Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib, and Muhammad's
13:28wife Khadija died.
13:30Abu Bakr's daughter Aisha was betrothed to Muhammad, however, it was decided that the
13:35actual marriage ceremony would be held later.
13:39I stop at this point today.
13:42Until next time, stay curious, stay informed, and keep exploring the world's incredible
13:48stories.
13:51Soon we will publish part 2.