The Firsts (Sahaba Stories) | The Forerunners of Islam
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Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Khawla Bint Hakim & Uthman Ibn Madhun: The Righteous Couple | The Firsts
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Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Al-Shifa bint Abdullah (ra): The Healer and Scholar | The Firsts Shorts
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Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Shurahbil Ibn Hasana (ra): The Scribe and Commander | The Firsts Shorts
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Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Khalid ibn al-Walid (ra): The Legendary Military General | The Firsts
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Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Amr ibn al-As (ra): His Wicked Father and “Better” Brother | The Firsts
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Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid (ra): From False Prophet to Shaheed | The Firsts
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Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Zayd ibn al-Khattab (ra): The Quiet Brother of Omar (ra) | The Firsts
Abu Bakr (ra) - Part 2: Setting His Own Standards
Abu Bakr’s (ra) character is best described by the words of Ali (ra), “he is the first to every good”. Abu Bakr (ra) was the ultimate trendsetter, the fastest to do the good deed.
In Episode 10 of The Firsts, Sh. Omar Suleiman continues to talk about Abu Bakr (ra) and his elevation in the pursuit of good. The standards that he set and the inspiration that he had to achieve the good deed can motivate us to set our own goals and place higher standards on ourselves and our actions.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Asalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. So as I said last week, I don't think that we could cover Abu Bakr in a single class and I realized last week that it wouldn't do justice to cover him even in two. And so we're going to actually break up Abu Bakr's life, radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, into three. But three again as they relate to this concept of the firsts, as they relate to this concept of al-awail, those that precede everyone in good. Now if you remember the first class that we did where we set out those categories of people in the firsts, what would make someone a first, right? Abu Bakr marks all of those different boxes, radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. He's the ultimate trendsetter, he's the ultimate stranger, he's the ultimate forerunner. Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu has no competition in basically anything that he does. And the best description of him is the description of Ali ibn Abi Talib radiAllahu anhu. Ali said about Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, كان أبا بكر سباقا لكل خير. He said that Abu Bakr was the first to every good. And so what we're going to do is, this week we're going to talk about Abu Bakr elevated in his pursuit of good, elevated in his unbeatable in his pursuit of good, his own inspiration, the standards that he sets. Meaning what Abu Bakr teaches us about goal setting, what Abu Bakr teaches us about having an elevated standard for yourself. Next week we're going to talk about, inshaAllah ta'ala, and we'll conclude with, and by the way my flight back to Dallas lands an hour and 15 minutes before Isha next week, so hopefully we'll have class. I'm intending on it inshaAllah.
But if it gets delayed then we'll send out a notification on the app. But next week we'll talk about Abu Bakr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu and the status that he had with the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, meaning why Abu Bakr is irreplaceable. So if you want to think of it this way, today we'll talk about an elevated standard, next week we'll talk about an elevated status, what makes him so irreplaceable in the sight of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam and why his rank as the ultimate first is so unquestioned, why it is so solidified in our thought. So Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, his nickname is As-Siddiq, the truthful one. And there's a story behind that title of As-Siddiq, the truthful one. As we said, he resembles Ibrahim alayhi wa sallam, the Prophet Abraham, in a beautiful way, in his story of the interaction with the idols, in his commitment, he resembles Ibrahim alayhi wa sallam. But what makes him As-Siddiq, the Siddiq of this ummah, the truthful one of this ummah? So first and foremost, Allah says in the Quran, مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ فَمِنْهُم مَنْ قَضَى نَحْبَ وَمِنْهُم مَنْ يَنْطَضِرُ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا تَبَدِيلًا That there are people from amongst the believers, men and women from amongst the believers that are truthful to the covenant that they set with their Lord. Some of them have a chance to fulfill those promises right away, meaning some of them are tested in their commitment to the truth right away, and some of them are postponed. But they don't lose anything in regards to their resolve. Their resolve never changes. What is that referring to? Particularly we're talking about the firsts, okay, we're talking about these people. All right. Allah says, أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُطْرَكُوا وَأَن يَقُولُوا أَمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ Do people think that they simply say we believe and they're not going to be tested? Right? When a person commits themselves to belief, often that's when a group of tests will come
to test the resolve, the resilience they have with that belief. Now some people in a state of heightened enthusiasm in their commitment, you know, they recognize the truth, they have a moment where they express this desire to do something with that truth. They express this desire to make sacrifices, to struggle, they make promises to Allah. So you have a heightened emotion. Think about Ramadan. Ramadan came, how many promises did you make in Ramadan? Even more than that, Hajj, which is Ramadan on steroids, right? You're you know, in terms of the promises that you're likely to make to God that I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that, I'm going to do this. And then what happens? When the enthusiasm wears off, so does that commitment, the promise is ultimately broken because the enthusiasm wore off. A Siddiq is someone who recognizes the truth, who commits themselves to the truth, and who never wanes in regards to the truth. Okay, so the three things. Number one, it refers to the recognition of the truth, the ability to recognize truth. And there's a direct connection between our thought, our intellect, and the purity of our hearts. When the heart is soiled, even if you're a smart person, the ability to recognize clarity is lost as well. When the heart is pure, then your ability to recognize also becomes pure, your intellect is pure, your ability to grasp truth becomes pure. So the heart and mind of Abu Bakr were completely in sync and devoted only to that truth. Okay, so they have a recognition of the truth. That's the first one, they recognize truth. That's a Siddiq. Number two, they commit themselves to that truth. Number three, they don't wane, meaning their resolve remains in regards to that truth. Okay, so those are three qualities of the Siddiq. And there's something very interesting about this category of people, may Allah make us amongst them, those people of truth, Allahumma ameen.
Because this is what I really want to focus on, what makes Abu Bakr the Siddiq, okay, in this particular class. There's something about them that's very interesting, which is that they are a category between the prophets and the martyrs. The prophets are the highest category of people. The shuhada, the martyrs, typically get recognized as the second highest category, but the Siddiqoon are actually higher than the martyrs. How does that work? First and foremost, what's the proof of it? Typically within the Quran, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions the anbiya and the Siddiqoon and the shuhada, right? So some will take the categories the way that Allah mentions categories, that Allah mentions the truthful people, or people of truth between the prophets and the martyrs. There's also the hadith of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam where the Prophet was with Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, and they were on Mount Uhud. And Uhud shook, and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam kneeled down and he tapped Uhud and he said, Uthbut ya Uhud, be firm, oh Uhud. Speaking to the mountain. Be firm, oh Uhud. Fa innama alayka nabi wa siddiq wa shahidain. You have upon you a prophet, a Siddiq, a person of truth, a man of truth, and Abu Bakr, and two martyrs, shahidan wa shahidain. Two martyrs, being Umar and Uthman. So the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam basically told Umar and Uthman that day that you're going to be martyred, right? Later on in life, which is exactly what would come to pass. Abu Bakr was the only one of the Khulafa who was not martyred, okay? Who was not actually killed, alright? You have upon you a prophet, a Siddiq, and two martyrs, okay? A prophet, a Siddiq, wa shahidain. The scholars talk about this in the following way.
Number one, are we judged by actions or by intentions? Should be the easiest question of all time. The first hadith of Arba'i Nanawi, the first hadith of most collections, innama al-a'malu binniyat. Actions are but by intentions. You were going to answer intentions, right? Yeah, actions are but by intentions, okay? Intentions are what we're judged by. So the scholars say that the Siddiq already achieves the reward of the shahid and everything else because the Siddiq, if the situation presented itself where they would have to put their life on the line for the truth, they would not hesitate because that's already their quality. So they have shahada encompassed in their reward, martyrdom encompassed in their reward, and all the other stuff that they do with their siddq, okay? So what they say is that the Siddiq always, always has the intention anyway for any type of price to pay with the truth. Whereas the shahid, a martyr, at the very least is Siddiq in the moment of their martyrdom, right? They're truthful in the moment of being killed or being martyred for that truth, right? But the Siddiq has that attitude encompassing their entire life. Now can a person be both Siddiq and shahid? Yes, okay? May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us amongst those that encompass all these good qualities, right? And of course shahada, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said a person could ask Allah for the reward of shahada and they could die sleeping in their bed and Allah would give it to them. So it's back to the intentions, right? So Siddiq is someone who is truthful all around, everything about their lives demonstrates a commitment to the truth. So the very first way to know a Siddiq is they're truthful in their speech, okay? They're truthful in their speech, alright? You can't lie with your tongue and then hope to be a Siddiq, alright?
They're truthful in their speech. And then after being truthful with their speech, they are truthful in their actions as well. The way that Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah describes it, he says that the Siddiq, as-sidq fil qawl, to be truthful with speech. And if you don't understand me when I say this or if you need me to repeat this later on I will but I want to get into the lesson. He said someone who is sadiq fi qawlihi, who is truthful with their speech, there is no discrepancy between what they say and what is reality. Meaning when they describe things, they describe things truthfully. Their tongue speaks to reality, right? A lie is to misrepresent, okay? So as-sidq fil qawl is when speech and reality are in sync. And then al-Ghazali rahimahullah says something very beautiful. He says, was-sidq fil amal, to be truthful in action, means that there is consistency between your words and your deeds. What you say is how you act. What you profess is what guides your actions and your deeds. Okay? So there is a Sidq fil qawl and then a greater, after being truthful with speech, the next commitment which is to be truthful in regards to your actions as well, to your commitments as well. So where does Abu Bakr get this from? Now obviously we talked about how when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam came to Abu Bakr in the very beginning, Abu Bakr said I believe you, went and built a community around him. Right? So Abu Bakr's quality of recognition of the truth was there. Okay? But where does the actual, when did the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam call him Siddiq? And who actually was the first to call him a Siddiq? There's a very beautiful narration from Abu Huraira radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu because it surrounds the example or it surrounds the incident of al-israa wal mi'raj. When the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam took the night journey, when Allah took him from Mecca to Jerusalem, when he led the prophets in prayer and Allah showed him what he showed him of the heavens and beyond. Right? So the night journey of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam.
What's known as al-israa wal mi'raj. When the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam was with Jibreel alayhi wasalam, this is in the narration of Abu Huraira radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam says, I said to Jibreel alayhi wasalam, as we were on our way back from the journey, my people will not believe me. My people will not believe me. He says, faqala li Jibreel, Jibreel said to me, yasdukuka abu bakr. Abu bakr will believe you and he is a siddiq. And he is the truthful one. SubhanAllah, Jibreel alayhi wasalam expressing that confidence, it doesn't matter, yeah people are going to make fun of you, people are not going to believe you, but the one who always believes you will. Abu bakr will believe you and Abu bakr will dedicate himself to you. Yasdukuka Abu bakr, Abu bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu will believe in you, wa huwa siddiq, and he is the truthful one. So what happens? The Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam gets back from the night of al-israa and mi'raj, he tells, this is still Meccan era, this is not madaniyyat, he hasn't moved to medina yet, he's still in the era of being harassed and humiliated and persecuted. And so you don't want to do anything to perpetuate that, right? The Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam says to his people that last night Allah took me from Mecca to Jerusalem and he showed me of the heavens what he showed me and brought me back in one night. Abu jahl said, wait what? Abu jahl said, would you say that if I go call everybody else? Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said yes. Abu jahl goes and gathers all the people and says, come look at this fool, listen to him, say what you just said to me. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam repeats it. They roll out in laughter, they start to mock the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam, they point at him, they jeer at him, and they can't wait to spread the news like we told you he
was crazy. So who do they go to first? Abu Bakr, because Abu Bakr is a highly intelligent man, right? And the idea here is to destabilize or to put some doubts in some of the followers of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam to start to at least fracture that community a bit, right? It's a small community, they've been beaten, they've been subjected to torture. Let's go to Abu Bakr and see if Abu Bakr is going to budge. So before the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam got to Abu Bakr to tell him what happened, who does Abu Bakr hear from first? He hears from these people. They go to Abu Bakr as a delegation, they say, have you heard what your companion is claiming? He said, no, what? They said he's claiming that Allah took him in one night from Mecca to Masjid al-Aqsa to Jerusalem and back. Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu said, awa qala dhalik? Did he say that? They said yes. Now they're thinking that the next thing, at least Abu Bakr will go, well let me go talk to him. Or no, he probably didn't say that. You're exaggerating, you're making things up. They're thinking they're going to get some sort of reaction from Abu Bakr, especially since the first thing he said was awa qala dhalik? Did he say that? Like did he really say that? Not are you serious? No, did he say that? Awa qala dhalik? Qalu naam, they said yes. Fa qala. In kana qala, in kana qalahu faqad sadaq. If that's what he said, he's telling the truth. If that's what he said, I believe him. He's telling the truth. SubhanAllah, so he's so eloquent, it's such a perfect answer because number one, you're liars, I can't take you seriously. Or I can't confirm, you might be exaggerating, you might be adding something to this, you might be embellishing this or making something up. So if he did say that, as you're saying it, then he is telling the truth. A full expression of confidence in the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam that he is telling the truth, and you might not be telling the truth.
Which is of course the methodology of hadith. If he said it, it's true. If he said it, la in qala thalik faqad sadaq. If he said that, then he is telling the truth. And they told Abu Bakr, are you serious? Like really? You know, even this? Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu said, listen, I believe him fee ma huwa abAAdu min thalik. I believe him with something far greater than that. I believe him when he says that he is receiving revelations from the heavens. So what would make this so difficult for me to believe? If I believe him when he says he is a Prophet of Allah, then what would make this so difficult to believe? And so that's when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam actually started to call him as Siddiq according to some of the narrations. There's the hadith in Dar Qutni that Abu Yahya says that I cannot tell you how many times, kam sam'atu aliyyan yaqool, how many times I heard Ali radiAllahu anhu saying, wa hu yaqool ala almanbar inna allaha azza wa jal samma aba bakr ala lisani nabiyyihi salallahu alayhi wasalam as-siddiqa. That Allah named Abu Bakr on the tongue of his Prophet, the truthful one. That this was a name, this title, this quality that Allah gave to Abu Bakr was given to him divinely on the tongue of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam. So if there are categories of al-anbiya, al-siddiqoon, al-shuhada, the Prophets, and then the truthful ones and the martyrs, Abu Bakr is the clear number one in that category. He leads the pack in that category. So it's recognition of the truth, that's the first thing, and then that commitment to the truth. This wasn't just Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu saying, yeah I believe him. Abu Bakr had such confidence in everything that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said. And so there was another incident. Also you're still in Mecca. It's not like the Prophet's powerful at this point and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam
has shown that he's going to be victorious so there's some benefit to getting in with him for some sort of worldly promise. This is all still in Meccan time under persecution. Allah reveals surah Rum, the chapter of Rum, that غُلِبَتِ الرُّومِ فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ That the Romans have been defeated in the lowest point on earth and after their defeat they shall now be victorious, في بضع سنين. Allah will make them victorious between three and nine years. في بضع سنين. What was this referring to? The Romans were Christians, the Persians were Zoroastrians. The Muslims identified with the Christians, Quraysh identified with the Zoroastrians. The Persians, the Persian Empire at the time, was defeating the Roman Empire right and left. At this point, when this was revealed, it seemed like the crushing end, the crushing blow that the Persians were about to ruin or wipe out the Roman Empire once and for all. That they had no chance of ever coming back from this. And that's when Allah reveals that yes, the Romans have been defeated, but they're going to come back and win between three and nine years. This according to some of the scholars was an even harder claim than al-Israa' wa l-Mi'raj because they could see tangibly that the Romans were done. Why stake your entire mission on this prediction? So if the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is making this all up, he's really putting the entire message at stake here by making such a prediction. And it came in response to the polytheists of Mecca saying to the Muslims that just as your brothers have been defeated by our brothers, we too will defeat you. So when this was revealed, Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu was so happy, he went to a group of the
mushrikeen, he went to a group of the polytheists and he said that don't be too happy because in just a few years the Romans will defeat the Persians. And they said what? And Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu said yeah, Allah revealed to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam that the Romans are going to beat the Persians. Ubay ibn Khalaf says you want to bet? Abu Bakr said sure. Said how much? He said 10 camels. Abu Bakr said you've got a deal. Now, pause. Is betting halal? Betting is not halal. This is still before the prohibition of gambling, that's number one, which is in Medina. Number two, is it really a gamble if it's divine revelation? No. Number three, can you claim divine revelation and get into a bet? I'm concerned by your answer. Don't go into a sports bet and say that I saw last night that the Cowboys would make it to the playoffs. You're going to lose a lot of money. Don't do it to yourself. If you saw a star in your dream and you say it was wahi, it was divine revelation. But this is clear divine revelation. Clear divine revelation. There's no ifs, there's no risk here. It's a very unique situation. So Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu is showing his confidence in the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. He says fine, 10 camels. Now, when Abu Bakr talked to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, three years passes by. Remember, Allah gave a window, three to nine years. Three years passes and the Persians have crushed the Romans even further. They're more isolated. They're in their small little towns at this point. They look like they're really done now. So it's looking even worse. So Ubaid ibn Khalaf mocks Abu Bakr. He says how's that bet looking? Abu Bakr said great. You want to increase it? He said yeah, sure. He said how much? He said 100 camels. Deal. 100 camels is an entire fortune. That's everything. That's
everything. Abu Bakr does not even own a full 100 camels. But that's, you know what, I have full confidence and faith that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is going to, that Allah will give victory the way that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala said that he would give victory. So when they were making hijrah, when they're migrating, alright, the bet is still on. They're seven years in. Seven years in and the Persians are still defeating the Romans. And Ubaid ibn Khalaf, he doesn't care if Abu Bakr is making hijrah, but he says to Abu Bakr, hey, wait a minute. You can't leave and forget our bet. So I want a guarantee here that my 100 camels will be given to me. So who did they agree upon? They agreed upon Abu Bakr's son, Abdur Rahman, who was not a Muslim yet, and would stay in Mecca, that if something happens, if you don't see me again, the 100 camels, he'll take care of it. It's on the family now. This bet is on the family. So Ubaid ibn Khalaf was pleased with that. So guess what happens? They make hijrah, they migrate, and the year of Badr, the year of the battle of Badr, which is the next year, the Romans defeat the Persians after eight years, suddenly, right, come back and defeat the Persians. The Muslims defeat Quraysh in Badr, the same year. So it was a double meaning, right, that Allah would give victory, you know, and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala mentions, The day that the believers would be pleased with the victory of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Allah would give victory to whom He wills, and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is all-powerful and all-merciful. So Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gave that victory to the believers themselves here, and that was a double meaning, not just that the Romans would beat the Persians, but that the Muslims would also overcome in the battle of Badr. So when did Abu Bakr get his
100 camels now? Okay? Ubayy ibn Khalaf was the man who would spit at the face of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and who swore to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, I will kill you. And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam responded and said, rather, I will kill you. Okay? Ubayy ibn Khalaf is the only man that was ever killed at the hand of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. When? The battle of Uhud. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam did not used to kill people. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was on, at that point he was attacked, he could barely move, he was being carried. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam saw Ubayy charging at him and he picked up a spear and he threw it from far away and it just nicked Ubayy on the side of his throat. It didn't hit him center. It just nicked him. And Ubayy said, qatalani Muhammad, qatalani Muhammad, Muhammad killed me, Muhammad killed me. And they told him, they said, what are you talking about? It's just a small, it's not even a big deal. But SubhanAllah from that small wound on the side of his neck he passed away and the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, the worst person is a person who is killed by the hand of his Prophet. Allah sends his Prophets to guide people and a person is killed at the hands of his Prophet. And it was then that the share of a hundred camels was taken from the inheritance of Ubayy ibn Khalaf, given to Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu gave it all to charity. So he did not benefit from even one part of what was left behind from Ubayy ibn Khalaf. And that was again Abu Bakr's full belief in what the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam brought. Always, always committed to it and has absolutely no hesitation. So there's no taradud, there's no hesitation in following that truth with the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. There's also the sidq, that recognition of the truth that made Abu Bakr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu such a visionary. His vision always lined up with the vision of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. Wahoo as-sadiq al-ameen. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is
the most truthful person. His vision always lined up with the vision of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. When no one else could see things the way that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam could see them, Abu Bakr always saw them exactly the same way. So he was the first person where the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam had to consult someone. He's the first person to be consulted. It was Abu Bakr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. Every single time he consults him, he finds that there's an agreement with their opinion. And sometimes it's very difficult scenarios and difficult situations. Like in the treaty of Hudaybiyyah. When the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam signed the treaty, a peace treaty, and the Muslims did not want to sign a peace treaty with their oppressors. He said, we've suffered enough humiliation, enough of this. Why sign this treaty? And especially the things they weren't allowing him to write, Muhammad Rasulullah, Muhammad the Messenger of Allah, there's no Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. This is humiliation. You can't write your terms. These terms are unfair, imbalanced against the Muslims. They didn't want it. And that's when Omar bin Khattab radiAllahu anhu slipped. And Omar radiAllahu anhu said to the other companions, aren't we on the truth? Alasna ala al-haqq, aren't we on the truth? Aren't they upon falsehood? And they would say yes. So he was riling up companions. They didn't want to stop. They didn't want to turn back. And Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu was the only one who saw things exactly the way the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam saw things, which was that Islam would thrive in peace. Let's stop war if we clear the way. If we are able to preach openly, then Islam will thrive in peace. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam did not want it that way. And Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu says, no one saw things the way the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam saw them that day except for me. And Abu Bakr talked about how things came back after years. How he saw even the negotiators on the side of the Mushrikeen. Suhail ibn Amr. Suhail ibn Amr who was filthy, harsh with the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam,
who was negotiating on their side, and now he's in Hajj trying to collect the hair of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is shaving his head. Urwa ibn Mas'ud is now on the side of the Muslims. So Abu Bakr says, I saw the flip, but no one saw the vision of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam except for me that day. Only Abu Bakr had the same vision as the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam that day. So Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, and I don't want to go too far down this, but that's part of being Siddiq, right? Is that the truth was clear to him, he was at peace with it all the time, and he had this clarity of truth as well. Which is why even when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam died, no one loved him like Abu Bakr loved him. But when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam died, and they're in the masjid, and people are debilitated, they're losing it, they're broken. Who was hurting more than Abu Bakr? But Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu had such clarity. What would the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam have wanted? He wants his mission to continue, he wants his message to continue, he wants the creed that he was willing to die for to not be compromised in his death. So when Umar radiAllahu anhu stands up emotionally and says, whoever says Muhammad is dead, then I'm going to kill him, and you're a hypocrite, and it's just like when Moses went to his Lord for 40 days, he's going to come back. Umar radiAllahu anhu was emotional, very very emotional over the death of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. And Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu stood up and he told Umar, stop, sit down. Umar radiAllahu anhu would not stop. So Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu stood up in the masjid and just started to speak and people naturally listened to Abu Bakr, even though his voice was extremely soft. They naturally gathered around Abu Bakr and that's when he said, whoever used to worship Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, then Muhammad is dead. Whoever used to worship Allah, then Allah is ever living, never dies. Eternal. Clarity. Right? No one is hurt more
than Abu Bakr right now. But Abu Bakr is driven by the truth. As much as he loves the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, he's connected to the mission and the message of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. And that's what the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam would have wanted of him, right? To steer people back on that message. And when he recited the ayah in the Quran that Muhammad is but a messenger, if he dies or if he is killed, will you turn back on your heels? Umar radiAllahu anhu said, I collapsed. It was like I never heard that verse before. It's like I'd never heard, it was like my first time hearing that ayah of the Quran before. Because they just never considered the possibility of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam's death. So that's Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu's vision in accordance with the vision of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. And that's what makes him so special in his khilafah as well, which we're not going to be able to get into in this particular series because we're talking about the beginnings here, right? But in his khilafah, no one could guide the ummah more upon what the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam kept it on than Abu Bakr who had the exact same vision, comprehension, balance, perspective as the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. If his perspective always lined up with the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, then that's what gave this ummah the ability to continue forward within that vision of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. That's why Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu never, never, ever, ever turns back on anything the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, right? He was stern on what the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam commanded even after he assumed the khilafah radiAllahu anhu. Alright, the next part of this which is where I really want to get to, which is the elevated standard. Setting a different standard for yourself. This is a man who's been guaranteed paradise on numerous occasions but he keeps setting standards for himself. And he keeps beating his own goals radiAllahu anhu. The ultimate muhsin, the ultimate person of excellence, ihsan. Right? So we talked about al-muhsinun, those who just surpass people with the excellence
of their deeds. Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu is the ultimate muhsin. Okay? Two hadiths in this regard. One of them, Abu Huraira radiAllahu anhu said, I heard the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam say that whoever spends a pair of something in Allah's cause will be called from all of the gates of paradise. Whoever used to excel in prayer would be called from the gate of prayer in paradise. Whoever is from the people of jihad, the people of righteous struggle will be called from that gate. Whoever is from the people of sadaqa, of charity will be called from that gate. Whoever is from the people of fasting will be called from that gate of fasting which is baab ur-rayyan. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, and whoever is called from all of those gates will need nothing more. Meaning you're set. The reality is, when you get to jannah, do you really care which gate you get in through? Do you really care which gate you get into when you get to jannah? Any of you guys care which gate you get into? Alright, I just want to get in. Okay? Side entrance, front entrance, if there's a back entrance, you know, whatever, just let me in. You get into jannah, you get into jannah. It's the same jannah when you get into it. There are degrees, but the doorway doesn't matter, which gate you get into doesn't really matter. And when you get into jannah, do you ever leave it? Does anyone go to paradise and then you do something really really bad in paradise and get kicked out? Do you get into jannah and say, let me go check the other gate out? No, when you're in, you're not leaving. So what happened when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said this? Abu Bakr radiya Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, he heard that and he said, ya Rasulullah, is there any person that can possibly be called from all of the gates? Is there anyone that's going to arrive at jannah and all the gates of paradise, the angels say come this way, come this way, come
this way, come this way? The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, yes, and I pray that you will be one of them, ya Abu Bakr. You will be that person, you show up on the day of judgment, we get to jannah, may Allah allow all of us to enter into paradise, and all of the gates of paradise are going to say, Abu Bakr, this one, come through this gate, come through this gate, come through this gate. Now was Abu Bakr radiya Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam like, yes, I got them all. Because the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, if he prays for something, if he hopes, it's going to happen, right? If the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says that, he's not just saying that like, I'll make dua for you, right? You're pretty set. What did Abu Bakr do? He excelled in all of those actions. Every single one of those actions. Even the ones that weren't particularly, that he wasn't particularly noteworthy for. Abu Bakr radiya Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was not a very strong man, physically speaking, right? Very skinny, very few hairs on his face, he had a bend in his waist that would cause sometimes his pants to sag, his sirwal to sag. Abu Bakr radiya Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was not a huge man like Umar, right? But Ali radiya Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, you should have seen Abu Bakr in battle. He said, I saw him in front of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam on the day of Badr, and he said, if anyone came near the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, Abu Bakr was like a ferocious lion. Asat, complete lion, jumping in front of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam would not let anyone near the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. Right? So even the things, you know, what does Abu Bakr have in battle, right? But there's something about him where he excels in all of these things, and this is where the next hadith comes in, which is very practical for us to act upon. This hadith is narrated through multiple chains. It's authentic that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam one day gathered his companions and said, man asbaha minkum al yawma sa'ima? Who amongst you woke up today fasting? Who's fasting
today? Now, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is asking the companions to share who they are, right? So it's not like, you know, you want to hide your fasting right now. If the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is asking who's fasting, you're going to raise your hand. Okay? So who amongst you is fasting today? So Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, hesitantly said, ana ya Rasulullah, I am ya Rasulullah. Bilal radiAllahu anhu was also fasting that day. Okay? So then the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, thaman tabi'a minkum al yawma janaza? Who amongst you followed a janaza today? So he looked around, Abdullah bin Amr followed a janaza that day. Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu again followed a janaza that day. He prayed the funeral prayer that day. So he went to the graveyard. Thaman at'ama minkum al yawma miskeena? The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, who amongst you fed a poor person today? Abu Bakr looks around. Ya Rasulullah, I did. Okay, I fed a poor person today. And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, thaman a'ada minkum al yawma mareeda? Who amongst you went to visit a sick person today? Abu Bakr looks around. Ya Rasulullah, I did. Right? Now, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam knows Abu Bakr is above everybody else. Right? This was not like, it's not like tonight there's going to be a quiz. Right? This was just his average day. That he went to a janaza, was fasting, fed a poor person, and went to visit someone who was sick. On top of being the shadow of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, by the way, and everything else that Abu Bakr did, this was just who he was. Right? And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was asking him to show himself here. Not to put everyone down, but just to point something out here. And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, no one combines all of these traits in one day except that they will be able to enter Jannah from any direction that they want. This person, it's not like he gets called from every gate in Jannah just because. He does everything that
would get him called into every gate in Jannah. He maintains a share of all of these things in his life, and he leads in every category. And so this is what's important to know about Abu Bakr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. He leads in every category that is shared with people, and then he has specific virtues only for him. This is something I love that Ibn Al-Jawzi rahimahullah said. Ibn Al-Jawzi said, the fadha'il of Abu Bakr are khasas, whereas the fadha'il of the rest of the sahaba are mushtarak. What does that mean? The fadha'il, the virtues of Abu Bakr are specific. They're only for him. There are things that he gets that no one else gets. He has virtues that belong only to him, exclusive. Whereas the virtues of the other companions are shared. Other people did those things too, but they excelled in some ways. Abu Bakr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu just leads the pack in every single way. The Quran speaks to him and about him. About him, we mentioned Surah Al-Layl last week. We mentioned when they were in the cave together, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam was in the cave with him. There's another ayah in Surah Al-Ahqaf where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions, it's either verse 15 or 16, top of the page, in Surah Al-Ahqaf where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions the person, وَوَصَيْنَا الْإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَهِ إِحْسَانًا حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ كُرْهًا وَوَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهًا وَحَمْلُهُ وَفِي صَالُهُ ثَلَاثُونَ شَهْرًا And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions after that a person who says to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, subhanAllah the verse is slipping my head, the verse is slipping my mind. But this is a person who calls out to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, وَحَمْلُهُ وَفِي صَالُهُ ثَلَاثُونَ شَهْرًا حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشْدَهُ وَبَلَغَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً قَالَ رَبِّي أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْي
وَعَلَىٰ وَارِدَيْ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَىٰ وَأَصْلِحْ لِي فِي ذُرِّيَّتِي إِنِّي تُوبَتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ Allah mentions this person who reaches the age of 33 and then reaches the age of 40 and then this person calls out to Allah and they thank Allah for the blessing that He blessed them with and their entire family. This is the part that's revealed to us about Abu Bakr. Ibn al-Jawzi says, Abu Bakr is the only person from the companions who every single member of his family embraced Islam and became a companion of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. His entire family, parents, his mother became Muslim early on, his father way later, right after the conquest of Mecca, Abu Quhafa, but eventually he became a Muslim, right? Spouse. Kids. Everyone became Muslim and Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu got to witness that and that was a special gift for him, right? That every single person in his family became a Muslim in the time of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, meaning they witnessed, they became sahaba as well, alright? Except for, as we said, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr, he took some time, right? And Abd al-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr is the last one from the kids of Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu to become Muslim. Abd al-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr, he wasn't hostile to Islam, but he just wasn't pulled the way that Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu and the others were. So he actually, in the battle of Badr, he was on the other side. He was on the other side. Abd al-Rahman became Muslim after the battle of Badr, alright? And he comes to his father and tells his father, he says, you know, on the day of Badr, I was trying to make sure that you and I don't come face to face. This was a good father-son moment, right? Like, dad, you know how much I love you? The battle of Badr, I was hiding, I saw you, I'd go the other direction, I tried to make sure I didn't come face to face.
Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu says, that's interesting because I was looking for you. I was looking for you. Because you're fighting the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, you're fighting against the Muslims, right? So it's like, you know, am I supposed to be happy about this, right? Alhamdulillah, he became Muslim, he became a companion, but that's just that moment, right? That Abd al-Rahman was the last holdout and he became Muslim as well. So that was a gift to Abu Bakr that he got to see his parents, he got to see his kids, all of them. You know, the generation before him, the generation after him, within his family, accept Islam, embrace it in the presence of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. And there is one more ayah about him, which is very profound, because it's an ayah to him. Which is the verse about the slander of his daughter Aisha radiAllahu anhu. Aisha was slandered, Allah revealed the verses proclaiming her innocence. One of the people that slandered Aisha was Mistah. Mistah was the cousin of Abu Bakr. He was broke, he had no money, he was in poverty. And Abu Bakr used to give him charity every day. You imagine Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu would give him charity, and while he's giving him charity, he goes and slanders his daughter. Gives a nightmare to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, gives a nightmare to... I mean this really embroiled, hurt the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, hurt the family of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, hurt the community. Imagine how hurt Abu Bakr was when he realized that the person who, or one of the people who propagated that slander of his own daughter and the wife of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, was his cousin who he was giving charity to. Who was unable to take care of himself otherwise. So when Abu Bakr heard that Mistah was one of them, Abu Bakr said, Wallahi I'll never give him charity again. That's it. He didn't say I'm going to go shake him up and say give me back all that money over these years, I'm going to punish him, I'm going to go give him a piece of my mind. He just said, well that's it for him. Why would I give charity to this man?
Right? That was slandering my daughter. And Allah revealed, knowing the standard of Abu Bakr, not commanding him, but, wal ya'fu wal yasfahu. Why not forgive and pardon? Ala tuhibbuna yakhfirallahu lakum? Wouldn't you love that Allah forgives and pardons you? Why don't you forgive and pardon? Don't you want Allah to forgive and pardon you? Now by the way, side note, if the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was fabricating the Quran, do you really think that that would have been slipped in there? Right? Like this is a man who slandered his wife and just put him through a lot of pain too, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. And an ayah comes down, directed to Abu Bakr, forgive him, pardon him, don't hold it. Why? Not because you have to. Not because you're going to be punished if you don't. Ala tuhibbuna yakhfirallahu lakum? Don't you want Allah to forgive you? Don't you want Allah to pardon you? Abu Bakr heard that from the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, his answer is beautiful. He didn't hesitate. He said, bala uhibb, bala uhibb, bala uhibb. Yes, I'd love that. I'd love that. I'd love that. Yes, I'd love to be forgiven. The same day that Misdah was to be lost for slandering Aisha, he had his sadaqah from Abu Bakr and Abu Bakr increased it. Subhanallah, like he went back to giving him every single day his charity. So even Allah holds him to a different standard. And this was something that Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu excels in. This is the siddiq here, the commitment to the truth and the commitment to good. After becoming the khalifa of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu, who was known to milk the goats of the widows and the orphans. Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu used to take care of al-armala, wal-miskeen, wal-yateen. He used to go milk the goats of the widows and the orphans. And when he became khalifa, some of those elderly women, they worried that Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu would no longer milk their goats.
And Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu never stopped. He didn't even take a day off from going. Even after becoming khalifa, he would go out there and he would milk their goats and he'd do these simple things. And some people told Abu Bakr, Ya Abu Bakr, you don't have to do this anymore. It's okay, this is beneath you now. You've got bigger things to worry about than milking these goats. And Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu said, I would hate that the title khalifa would change a good characteristic from me. Such that it would be said that he used to do something good until he became the khalifa and he neglected that good. That doesn't make sense to me. If the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said the leader of a people is their servant, it doesn't make sense to me that when the title of khalifa is bestowed upon me, I stop doing this simple thing. And this is where I want us to inshAllah ta'ala segue because it's really beautiful. Now I'm going to start off with a hadith you've heard a million times if you've attended a fundraiser. Which is Umar bin al-Khattab radiAllahu anhu. Umar saying I want to compete with Abu Bakr. But I'm going to segue into that attitude for a moment inshAllah. Umar bin al-Khattab radiAllahu anhu, he said that I woke up one day and I said, I swear by Allah, today I'm going to outdo Abu Bakr in good. Like this is what was keeping him up at night. Like he always beats me. Anything I do, Abu Bakr does it better. Right? And I've got to get that later. I've got to outdo Abu Bakr today. So Umar radiAllahu anhu said I left with that mindset. My standard is Abu Bakr. Right? So he said I left with that mindset. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam commanded us to give sadaqah. Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam called for charity. Umar radiAllahu anhu went and he got half of his wealth. 50% of it. Brought it to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. Gave him 50% and he said, you know the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said to me, what did you leave for your family? He said I left the same amount. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said, Ahsan, you've excelled.
Great job. Right? He praised that. Umar was so happy. He's like I got it today. Abu Bakr shows up. Abu Bakr did not say oh yeah. Abu Bakr didn't even know what happened. He just heard that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam called for sadaqah. Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu brought a batch of money. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said, what did you, ma abqayt li ahlik? What did you leave for your family? Qala abqayt lahum Allah wa rasoola. He said I left for them Allah and his messenger. SalAllahu alayhi wa sallam. So the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam smiled and he praised Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu. And Umar says, Qultu la usabiquka ila shay'in abada. He said I will never be able to beat you in any good. Like I'm done. I tap out. I can't beat this man. He always outdoes me in khair, in good. Now I'm going to narrate to you a few narrations about what Umar saw from Abu Bakr. Because what I want you to realize is the trendsetter here, most of the good qualities you see in Umar's khilafah, which was much longer, the caliphate of Umar was much longer than Abu Bakr, was something he actually learned from Abu Bakr. So this idea of charity and give it all for the sake of Allah, he got it from Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr outdid him and kept him humble. Umar radiAllahu anhu says, when Abu Bakr became khalifa, this is extremely beautiful by the way, I want you to actually put yourself in Medina right now. Let's say you live there, Abu Bakr is the khalifa. He leads the salah, he leads the prayer. He said every day after fajr, Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu would go in an opposite direction of his house and he would go deep into the desert. He was very curious. What does he do out there? So Umar radiAllahu anhu said, I'd watch him every single day. Go to salatul fajr and Abu Bakr does not return home, he just walks far away into the desert. So he said, every day I'd wonder, ila ayna yakhruj? Where does he go? Where does he go? Where does he go? He said, one day I said to myself, la atba'anna, that's it. I'm gonna go follow him and find out what he's doing.
I just can't get over this curiosity of mine. So Umar radiAllahu anhu said, I kept the pace from him to where he was at the end of my eyesight. Meaning I walked just as far away to where I could still see him. And then he said, I saw him go into this beat up old house. Umar radiAllahu anhu said, I quickly went and I hid behind. And he said, he spent a long time in there. It wasn't like a short amount of time. He spent a long time until after the sun was up. Meaning it was getting hot. This is after fajr, this is way past dhuha, way past sunrise. And it got hot and then Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu left the home and he made his way back to Medina. He said, this is way out of the city of Medina now. This isn't even the city of Medina right now. Way out of the city of Medina. So Umar radiAllahu anhu said, I waited until I could no longer see him. Meaning he made his way back to Medina. And Umar radiAllahu anhu said, I knocked on the door. And he said, this woman opened the door. She was elderly, she was frail, she was blind. And there were a bunch of little kids running around. Okay. So I said to her, As-salamu alayki, ma sha'nukum ya amatullah? Peace be on to you. What is your situation, O servant of Allah? And she said, that I'm a blind woman. And I have no one to take care of me. And I also have these orphans with me. You know, in the implication, Allahu alam, these kids died, left behind, these are her grandchildren, or these were orphans. Somehow, it's her, and it's some orphan children. And she says, I have no one to take care of me. And these orphans. Umar radiAllahu anhu said, Who is that visitor that comes to you every single day? The answer, she says, I don't know who he is. La yuthkar li ismuhu abada. He never once shared his name with me.
He never bothered to tell me his name. Umar radiAllahu anhu said, Well, what does he do? Qalat jazahullah khair. She said, May Allah reward him. Every morning he comes. Listen, by the way, she details it. She says, he cleans my home. He washes our clothes. He grinds our wheat. He bakes our bread. He cooks our breakfast. And then he leaves. SubhanAllah, think about that. If this was the only narration we had about Abu Bakr, it's incredible. Seriously, the leader, the head of the Ummah, the Khalifa, the most important man in the Ummah right now, with his station, with his status, and he goes out every morning to this house, and he doesn't even tell the woman what his name is. He's just, just consider me a secret tha'il khair, right? Just some good doer. Washes the clothes, cleans the house, grinds the wheat, bakes the bread, cooks the breakfast, and then makes his way back to govern the Ummah. That is absolutely incredible. Umar radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu says, every single day? Like, is this really what he does every single day? She said, every day, may Allah bless him. Umar radiAllahu Anhu said, do you pay him anything? She said, nothing. Umar radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu started to cry, and he said, atAAabta al-khulafa'a ba'daka ya'aba Bakr, you have exhausted every successor of yours, O Abu Bakr. You've exhausted us. Anyone that comes after you is exhausted. Because this is a standard that is impossible for us to meet. A gem here, by the way, very important. Can you imagine how many deeds of Abu Bakr that history has never recorded? All the books of the fada'il, the virtues of Abu Bakr, the things that he used to do. Can you imagine how many of those secrets he actually managed to hide?
And why did he not think of himself? Too good to still do that think. Because that's a man who is Siddiq. He sets his own standards. He has his own terms. No one else sets terms for him and tells him, this is too little for you, you don't have to do this, you don't have to do that. Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu has a standard of his own. And by the way, a lesson for all of us. If you're someone who does some khair that everyone knows about, you better have some khair that only Allah knows about. You better have some khair that only Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows about. And let it be an involved khair too. An involved form of good. Not just a secret charity. But this is something that has a spiritual reminder and effect on him too. Going and visiting this elderly woman and her orphans every single day and doing those things. One more narration from Omar, because I want to drive home this point, and then we'll call it a night inshaAllah. Because I want you to pay attention. Everything Omar would do in his khilafah, again, some lesson of it, there was some semblance of it that he learned from Abu Bakr, who was a mentor to him. The standard after the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. Abu Bakr and Omar were once passing out charity. Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu had received some form of a'ata, which means that some form of charity came to the ummah, was donated. And Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu was distributing, and Omar was helping him distribute. So there was a Bedouin man that heard the news. And so you can imagine that people would rush the masjids. And they'd rush particularly to try to get a hold of it, make sure that they didn't lose out. So when they heard that Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu had something and he was going to distribute it, they charged, and Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu shoved the man, when he was coming to pounce on it basically, he shoved the man, just out of instinct. And Abu Bakr said, line up, line up, line up, everyone one by one, right? He tried to get the line straight. And while they were distributing,
Omar radiAllahu Anhu just noticed that Abu Bakr was so bothered, so disturbed, until the man came forward, and Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu told him, hit me the way that I hit you. He could not digest that he pushed the man. And he said, I want you to hit me the way that I pushed you. And Omar radiAllahu Anhu was watching this, and the man is shocked, he's like, ikhtad minni, go ahead, take your payback, take your revenge. Omar radiAllahu Anhu tries to stop the situation. And listen to what he says to Abu Bakr. He says, ya Abu Bakr, wallahi setaj'alaha sunnah. He said, if you do this now, this is going to become the way forward, this is the sunnah, this is going to be the new standard for everybody else. When the leader transgresses, it's natural. He's trying to keep things straight, and in a moment of anguish, or just the heat of the moment, he pushed the man a little bit. And he was justified, he was trying to get things settled. And Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu ignored Omar and he said, hit me. The man is frozen, he's not doing anything. Omar radiAllahu Anhu says, ya Abu Bakr, why don't you compensate him instead, give him extra money instead from yourself, not an extra share from al-mal. Give him some extra charity if you want. And he'd be happier with that anyway. He's not going to get anything out of hitting you, it's going to make things hard for everybody else. Why don't you do that? Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu looks at him and he says, ayurdiq, would that be more pleasing to you? The man said, well actually, yeah, it would be more pleasing to him. So Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu compensated him instead. But think about now Omar, the sense of justice that Omar would have. He was observing a leader that would teach him how to lead as well. The last statement, dear brothers and sisters, is a statement of Imam al-Muzani radiAllahu Anhu, which describes this entire phenomenon. He says, ma sabqahum Abu Bakr bi kathrati siyam,
wala salaa, walaakin bishay'in waqara fee sadrihi. There's some different terms, but this is the statement that's attributed to Imam al-Muzani, which means Abu Bakr did not outdo everybody else because of the amount of fasting and the amount of prayer that he did. He said, but it was something in his heart. Bishay'in waqara fee sadrihi. There was something in the heart of Abu Bakr that just made him outdo everybody else. Okay? What was that? It was certainty in Allah's promise, and it was a desire to always do better. He had this inspiration, this constant source of motivation, this constant source of inspiration that was in his heart, that if he saw a good opportunity, he'd be the first to recognize it, and then he would commit himself wholly to it. He did not wait for others to blaze the trail for him. He was always the one doing it. And that's the greatest lesson you take from Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. Is that set your own standards. Don't let anybody else set your standards for you. You set your standards, and you be the one to set standards for everybody else too. The excellence of Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu did not just inspire him, it inspired everyone around him, including us to this day, where we can look at that example and we can say, sometimes that's what it is. Sometimes it's not about how many rak'ahs of taraweeh you prayed. Sometimes it's not about how much money you were able to put up in that fundraiser. Sometimes it's about that moment of sithq with Allah, that moment of truthfulness with God, where you have a moment where you see a good and you do it. You don't wait for anybody else to claim that reward. You see something good and you rush to it. And you rush to it only seeking Allah's pleasure, not seeking anybody else's validation or approval.
We ask Allah to be pleased with him, and to join us with him, and to grant us that same capacity, that same desire, that same longing for good in our lives. Allahuma Ameen.
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