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 3: There Will Never Be Another One
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was keen to remember and honor “the firsts” for their support, suffering, and sincerity. Abu Bakr’s (ra) honor surpassed everyone’s, including that of Umar ibn al Khattab (ra).
He surpassed everyone by a distance that no one could ever catch up to. His status is sanctified as the first after the prophets. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said the sun has never risen or set on anyone, after the prophets, that is better than Abu Bakr, and that he will be the first to enter Paradise in his nation.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. I would like to ask the meaning of the shaytan. In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful. Alhamdulillah, Rabbul A'alameen. Wa al-'udwana illa anzalameen. Wa al-'aqiba ila almuttaqeen. Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barak ala abdika wa rasulika Muhammadin salallahu alayhi wa sallam. Wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallim tasliman kathira. So I landed, alhamdulillah, less than an hour before class, but we still made it. And tonight insha'Allah ta'ala we're going to be completing our class on Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. Talking about him and the nature of his position, the nature of his standing. Now I want to make clear that I don't plan to make it a habit to do more than one class per individual. This was an exception. Ali radiyaAllahu anhu and the story of Fatima radiyaAllahu anha were exceptions. I plan to insha'Allah ta'ala keep this at one class per person. But Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu has three main layers to him that we wanted to break up, or I wanted to break up into three different ways. When we first started with Abu Bakr, we talked about this man who would shield the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, who believed in him when no one would, who immediately accepted him, built a community around him, freed the oppressed slaves that had believed in the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam when no one else would, which were the original community of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, and shielded the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam with everything that he had. So we talked about Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu and his accompanying the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam in the most difficult times when no one would, which is a very special distinction and a very special first. Last week we talked about the special quality that he had, which was that he would never be undone in his pursuit or beaten in his pursuit to good. When there was a good opportunity in front, Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu preceded everyone to it,
so he was self-motivated, self-driven to every single good. And on top of that, when there seemed to be absolutely no opportunity for good, Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu turned something into an opportunity for good. He did the unthinkable, he drove himself to do extra good deeds that no one else wanted to do, and the good deeds that everybody else was doing, he was doing better. And that was his special quality, right? That imam al-muzani rahimahullah, he said that Abu Bakr had something, shay'in waqara fee qalbihi. There was something in the heart of Abu Bakr that just exposed him to every good. He had this intuition towards good. Anytime he saw a good opportunity, he ran to it. And he didn't wait for anyone else to do it and lead the way. He led the way on every single good. Now the title for this halaqa, this last class in the first about Abu Bakr, is there will never be another Abu Bakr. There will never be another one. And I want to talk about this idea of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam sanctifying his status as number one. When we talk about the first, this idea that no one could ever overcome the status and the value of that and what we understand from that. Now the first thing to think about from the origins of Islam or when Islam is starting, number one, when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam sent the first hajj, the first pilgrimage was made after the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam had made peace with the people of Mecca and hajj was allowed. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam appointed Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu as the ameer of hajj, as the leader of the hujjaj that went. And the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam sent a delegation to hajj a year before he himself would do the hajj. And he put Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu in charge of that hajj. Now Abu Bakr did not accompany the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam the next year when he went to hajj. And there's a very specific reason why. Does anyone know?
Anybody? Because Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu had his one and only son in Islam. So his only son that was born in Islam, after Islam had come, was born at Dhul Hulayfa. You guys know the Miqat, the station in Medina where you prepare yourself for hajj, where you transition into hajj? Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu's wife, Asmaa bint Abi Umais, gave birth to his son at the Miqat. So at Dhul Hulayfa, in the year that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam was going to do hajj. And what did he name that son since we talked about naming and how special naming is? What do you think Abu Bakr would name his son since naming is special? I'll give you a hint. It's the most popular name in the world today. Muhammad. So the only son that Abu Bakr actually had in Islam was this son, Muhammad bin Abi Bakr who was only two years old when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam passed away. Four years old when Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu passed away. So that prevented Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu, he didn't go to hajj that particular year. He did accompany the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam on the conquest of Mecca, which was the return to Mecca after persecution. So Fath Mecca was when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam went back to Mecca after having been run out and persecuted with his companions. And Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu accompanied him on that journey. And something very special happened that day. The last holdout of Abu Bakr's family radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, the last holdout from his family. Remember last week we said that everyone in his family became Muslim. Every single person in his family became Muslim. The last person became Muslim that day. Does anyone know who that was? No, Abdurrahman already became Muslim. Abdurrahman came to Medina. It was just better that they had that exchange.
His father, his father, Abu Quhafa, his father was the last person to accept Islam. And his father, by the way, would live beyond Abu Bakr. Abu Quhafa would not die until the age of about 97, 98 years old, almost 100 years old after Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu passed away. At that point, his hair was white, he had lost his eyesight. He was so old. And that was the day he finally embraced the message that was so, so beloved to his son, Abu Bakr. And he came forth to embrace Islam. Now Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu, just think of the scene. He brings his father, Abu Quhafa, who could not walk on his own at that point. His hair and his beard are completely white. He's blind. And he brings him to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam on that day to accept Islam. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam sees him and says, Why didn't you leave the elderly man in his home and we would have went to him? You didn't have to bring him to me. I would have went to him. Because he saw the pain of Abu Quhafa making his way in that elderly age with his son, Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu, holding his hand to embrace Islam. And Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu said, لأنت أحق أن يؤتى إليك يا رسول الله You are more worthy of being brought to, O Messenger of God. So it wasn't befitting for me to bring you to Abu Quhafa, but instead I brought him to you despite his old age. So the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam took his hand and he embraced Islam. He became Muslim that day. And Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu started to cry. And when he started to cry, the sahaba, some of them said, Why are you crying? هذا يوم فرحة. This is a day of joy. Why are you crying? أبوك أسلم فما الذي يبكيك Your father became Muslim. This is what you wanted. Abu Bakr's mother became Muslim right away.
Spouse, children, everyone was Muslim. The last person to believe is his father. Why are you crying? He said لأني كنت أحب أن الذي بايع نبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ليس أبي ولكن أبو طالب He said I had hoped that the one that would stand before the Prophet this day and take that allegiance would not be my father, but it would be Abu Talib instead, the uncle of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, who was like a father figure to him. He said because that would have made the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam happier. I know how badly he wanted that day that his uncle Abu Talib would embrace Islam. And he didn't see it. Instead, he saw it with me and my father. And I know how much the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam wanted that moment. So subhanAllah, even in that moment of intense joy, where his father had become Muslim in those moments, he still preferred the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam to himself. He preferred the happiness of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam to himself and wished that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam would have had that honor. Now, how solidified when I said there will never be another Abu Bakr. Probably my favorite story about Abu Bakr is this one. In all of the stories about him that sort of show that loyalty of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam to those that supported him very early on. And there is an important lesson to take from this that, you know, there's a recurring theme here with the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam and how he honored those firsts, right? And a lot of times, once the hard work is done, other people are put forth and we fail to honor and respect the people that put in the struggle and the people that put in the hard work. And this was something that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam was very good about, right? The veterans of Badr had their place, you know. The early muhajirun, the early people of Mecca that suffered the bilaz of the world, those people that almost died in bondage and slavery supporting the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam,
believed in him with everything. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam put them on a pedestal. He honored those early givers. So what kind of honor do you think Abu Bakr radiyAllahu anhu has? And Abu Bakr's honor surpasses every single other person amongst the companions, including Umar, all right? Including Umar bin al-Khattab. And this is one of my favorite incidents, if not my favorite story about Abu Bakr and Umar, because I could just do the whole thing on this and just extract lessons about loyalty and love from this. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam was sitting in the masjid, so put yourself in the masjid of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, sitting there in Medina. And Abu Bakr radiyAllahu anhu walked in, and he was holding his garments, so he was holding his lower cloth, and you could see his legs, and he looked visibly upset. He looked like he was nervous, he looked like he was hurt, he looked like he was upset. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam looked at him, and he said to the companions around him, it looks like Abu Bakr got into an argument. You know when you know your best friend so well, you can identify within the first few moments what type of emotion they're feeling. So he didn't say Abu Bakr is anxious, or Abu Bakr must be in trouble, he said that's the Abu Bakr that got into an argument. He got into an argument with somebody, right? Something is bothering him, but particularly, he must have got into an argument with someone. So as Abu Bakr is walking to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, he already mentioned that to the companions, he says to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, As-salamu alayka, peace be on to you. He says, O Messenger of Allah, I and Omar bin al-Khattab got into an argument. And in the midst of that argument, even the two best people, the Shaykh and the two Shaykhs around the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, could have an argument, right? They're human beings, they love each other, but they got into an argument. And Abu Bakr radiyAllahu anhu, he doesn't throw Omar under the bus.
He says that I said some things I shouldn't have said in the midst of that argument. I was wrong. He's making it very clear. He doesn't say, you know how hot-headed Omar is. He doesn't take a shot at Omar. He says, I said some things that I should not have said, and I regretted it, and I apologized to Omar. So I asked Omar to forgive me, and he refused. So I'm coming to you to help me get his forgiveness. You see what's happening here? So I was wrong, Omar was right, but when I apologized, he was so upset that he didn't accept my apology. So I'm asking you, Ya Rasulullah, to help me seek that forgiveness. So the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam put his hand on Abu Bakr's shoulder, and he said, غفر الله لك يا أبا بكر. Allah will forgive you, Abu Bakr. And he said it to him three times, calming him down, don't worry about it, Allah forgives you, right? So that's the first thing. And as he's saying that, Omar radiAllahu anhu, right after he had the argument with Abu Bakr, he felt bad about it, that he didn't accept his apology. So he went to Abu Bakr's house to find him, to tell him, I forgive you. And he didn't find him there, so he went to the masjid. Omar radiAllahu anhu walks to the masjid, and as he walks into the masjid, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam locks eyes with him, and the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam looks extremely upset. Abu Bakr looks at the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam locking eyes with Omar radiAllahu anhu, and he says, Ya Rasulullah, I was wrong. It was me, it wasn't him. He didn't do anything wrong. I was the one that messed up, Ya Rasulullah. It's okay, just that connection, you could see that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam was visibly upset with Omar radiAllahu anhu. So Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu was saying, I was the one who wronged him. And as Omar radiAllahu anhu walks up, listen to what the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam says to Omar radiAllahu anhu. And there are very few times you're gonna see the Prophet alayhi salAllahu alayhi wa sallam
admonish a man like Omar, who he loves and honors to that level, to that extent. He says to him, listen. Inna Allah ba'athani ilaykum faqultum kadhabt. Allah sent me to all of you, and you people said you lie. He lies, you denied me. Wa qala Abu Bakr sadaqa. And Abu Bakr said he's telling the truth. Wa wasani binafsihi wa malihi. And he supported me with all of himself and all of his wealth, like no other person. By the way, the word wasani is he gave me his all. It's the same word that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam used to describe Khadija radiAllahu anhu. Wa wasatni. Gave me his all, she gave me her all. No one could replace Khadija, right? The time the Prophet admonishes Aisha is when she insults Khadija. Now it's Umar. No one can replace Khadija. No one replaces Abu Bakr, right? He gave me his all in the very beginning. His self, his wealth, everything. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam puts his hand on Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu and he says, Fahal antum tarikoo li sahibi? Are you people going to leave my companion alone? Can you imagine he's saying that to Umar radiAllahu anhu? Will you people leave this man, this friend of mine alone? And he said it two times salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. And Abu Darda radiAllahu anhu was sitting in the gathering, who narrated it, he said, Fama oodhiya ba'daha? He said, no one dared mess with Abu Bakr after that moment. Like the point was driven to everybody that this was the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam's best friend, this was his companion. And the Prophet had a special place for him that no one messed with him. Now realize the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam was not speaking to the substance of the argument that transpired in the first place.
He was speaking to Umar radiAllahu anhu's reluctance to forgive him. And saying that this man had no reluctance in believing in me. And so you should have no reluctance in forgiving him just because of his status with me radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. And again that same word of wasani, that he supported me, he gave me his all when no one else would give me anything. It was very special. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam also said in the hadith of Abu Huraira radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, he said, ma li ahad anindana yadun illa wa qad kafaynaahu ma khala aba bakr. He said salAllahu alayhi wa sallam that every single person who did a favor for us, we have repaid that person. He said except for Abu Bakr. Fa inna lahu wa indana yadan yukafe'uhu Allah. He said that he has a special place that Allah will compensate him on the day of judgment. I could never pay him back. You imagine that? I've never been able to pay Abu Bakr back. I've never been able to pay him back. But Allah will pay him back on the day of judgment. Wa ma nafa'ani maalu ahadin qat ma nafa'ani maalu abi bakr. He said that, and no one's money and wealth benefited me. The way that Abu Bakr's wealth benefited me, I mean the money, the way that he spent on this mission early on. No one benefited me with their wealth the way that Abu Bakr did. And he said, walaw kuntum mutakhidhan khalilan latakhastu aba bakrin khalila ala wa inna sahibakum khalilullah aw khalilur rahman fi riwayah. Sahibakum khalilur rahman. He said salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, if I was to take a special friend, a khalil is a special friend. A khalil is an exclusive friend. You know, you have special friends, but khalil is your exclusive friend, your closest friend. Who does Allah call his khalil in the Quran? Abraham. Ibrahim alayhi salam is the khalil of God, the khalil of Allah. The special friend of Allah. Right?
Now, the way the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said that, if I was to take anyone as a khalil, it would have been Abu Bakr, but Allah already took me as a khalil. The way the scholars talk about that is that, only Allah could have more than one khalil. A human being could only have one. So Allah has more than one khalil, more than one special friend, that exclusivity. Because Allah's mercy is different from our mercy. His love is different from our love. But that khalil is your best friend, your special friend, your exclusive friend. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said, if I was to give anyone that status, it would have been Abu Bakr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, walakinna sahibakum khalilur rahman. He says, walakinna sahibakum khalilur rahman. He said, but instead, your companion is khalilur rahman, has been taken as the khalil of the most merciful. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, of course, acknowledged this on multiple occasions. None so more than when the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam was passing away. So when the Messenger of Allah salAllahu alayhi wa sallam was passing away, before people even recognized any signs of him passing away, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri radiAllahu anhu, he says that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam stood up, the Messenger of Allah stood up in the masjid, and he says, innaAllaha khayra abdan bayna al-dunya wa bayna maa'indahu, fakhtara thalika al-abdu maa'ind Allah. Allah has given a choice to one of his servants, between that which is in this world and that which is in the hereafter. Now when the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam says that, it seems to be that he's just talking about, you know, some random person, or he's giving an example, an analogy, right? So he's giving a khutbah, he's giving a sermon. And he says, Allah has given a choice to one of his servants, between that which is in this world and that which is in the hereafter. And then he says, and that servant chose that which is with Allah. So that servant did not choose the goodness of this world,
that servant instead chose the goodness that is with Allah. Now if you looked at the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam that day, you would not have noticed him being ill. He didn't look sick yet, he looked fully healthy. So, you know, it just seemed to be another khutbah, another analogy. Now Abu Sa'id radiAllahu anhu, he says, when the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said that, Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu started to weep. And he said to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, فَدَيْنَاكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ بِآبَائِنَا وَأُمَّهَاتِنَا May our mothers and fathers be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah. So an expression of love that, may we all be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah. And Abu Sa'id said, we had no idea what he meant by that. And he said that Abu Bakr started to cry, and he says عَجِبْنَا لِبُكَاءِ We were all confused by his crying, so we all looked around at each other, why is he crying so much? That statement was not meant to evoke that level of emotion. Abu Bakr is weeping and weeping and weeping and weeping. And then Abu Sa'id says something funny happened. You know when you see someone crying and you just cry because they're crying? So they all started to cry because of the amount of pain that they saw in the weeping of Abu Bakr. So Abu Bakr's crying made everybody else in the masjid cry. What just seemed to be a very standard statement from the Prophet ﷺ, impacted Abu Bakr and then by extension impacted everybody else. And then the Prophet ﷺ, he said once again, he says that the person who has favored me most with himself and his wealth is Abu Bakr. And he said if I was to take a Khalil other than my Lord, I would have taken Abu Bakr as a Khalil. But what keeps us together is the brotherhood of Islam and our friendship. Then the Prophet ﷺ pointed to all of the gates in the masjid. See the companions had doors that opened to the mosque.
And the Prophet ﷺ said all of these doors should be closed. سُدُّوا عَنِّي هَذِي الْأَبْوَابِ All these doors, shut them. إِلَّا بَابَ أَبِي بَكْر Except for the door of Abu Bakr. Let every other gate be closed to the masjid except for the gate of Abu Bakr. And by the way, pro tip if you go to Medina, when you enter from Masjid An-Nabawi, the masjid of the Prophet ﷺ, Masjid Abu Bakr, five chandeliers, بَابَ أَبِي بَكْر The gate of Abu Bakr which goes straight to the Baqir. Five chandeliers in, you'll see a distinction. That's where the gate of Abu Bakr used to be, where he would enter the masjid from himself. And the Prophet ﷺ said everyone else's gate should be shut, except for his gate. Because no matter what I do, I cannot repay this man for what he has done for me. Then the Prophet's ﷺ health starts to worsen. Then his health starts to deteriorate. And then you find some of these narrations where the Prophet ﷺ is indicating the leadership of Abu Bakr. A woman comes to the Prophet ﷺ and asks him for something. And she notices that the Prophet ﷺ is ill. And she says, if I come back and you're not here, what should I do? أَرَأَيْتَ إِنَّمْ أَجِدْكَ What if I don't catch you, O Messenger of Allah? The Prophet ﷺ said, if you don't find me, then go to Abu Bakr. So he's directing people towards Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه. And then when the Prophet ﷺ was too sick to lead the salah, to lead the prayer, he told the companions to appoint Abu Bakr to lead the prayer. Now Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه had a problem. His voice was very low and he was extremely emotional. So when he would read the Quran, he would cry. Okay, so his voice would not travel. And back then you didn't have the microphones, right? So his voice wouldn't travel the way that some of the other companions, their voices would travel.
And so Aisha and Hafsa, may Allah be pleased with them, they said to the Prophet ﷺ, why don't you put Umar? Umar has a booming voice. Umar could fill the masjid. Umar doesn't need a microphone. Right? Not this Umar, that Umar. Alright, just to be clear, I need a microphone. The Prophet ﷺ insists. And the way they said, they said that Abu Bakr is asif, he's soft-spoken, he cries a lot. His voice does not travel. And Aisha رضي الله عنه said, I was concerned about him. Right? It's not just, it wasn't about a status thing here. There's a concern, right? People are going to get frustrated. You know, there's going to be some tension, whatever it may be. Put Umar instead. Umar رضي الله عنه has a commanding voice. The Prophet ﷺ said, مرو أبا بكر فليصلي بالناس Go tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer. Now the Prophet ﷺ is sick and then he hears the voice of Umar in prayer instead. The Prophet ﷺ sat up and he said, أين أبا بكر Where is Abu Bakr يأبى الله ورسوله Allah and his messenger refused except for Abu Bakr. SubhanAllah, it's an insistence, right? This is not just about someone leading the prayer. This is about appointing someone as a clear successor. Let him lead the prayer. The Prophet ﷺ insisted that Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه lead the prayer. And so Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه would lead 17 prayers while the Prophet ﷺ was alive because of his deteriorating health. So he would lead for over three days رضي الله عنه, three and a half days. And then finally Aisha رضي الله عنها narrated that Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه was leading the people in prayer and the Prophet ﷺ worked up enough strength to be able to come out and to pray with the people. He came out عليه الصلاة والسلام in a single garment wrapped up صلى الله عليه وسلم,
barely able to stand on his own. And while Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه was starting the prayer, the Prophet ﷺ sat next to him and prayed. Now there's a اختلاف here, there's a difference. Did the Prophet ﷺ lead the prayer and Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه announce after the Prophet ﷺ or did Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه lead the prayer and the Prophet ﷺ pray behind him? It wouldn't be the first time the Prophet ﷺ prayed behind him. But here, most of the narration seem to suggest that the Prophet ﷺ was too soft in his voice at that time to be able to project. He sat down, Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه prayed to his right, the Prophet ﷺ led Abu Bakr and Abu Bakr led the people. Meaning Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه was the one that projected the voice, and the people followed the voice of Abu Bakr while Abu Bakr followed the voice of the Prophet ﷺ. When the Prophet ﷺ passed away, Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه was actually out of the city of Medina. He came back to the city of Medina, and this is where Aisha رضي الله عنه narrates that the Prophet ﷺ got down from his horse, he walked past everybody in the masjid. Now, realize when we said that when the Prophet ﷺ passed away, everyone started to cry, everyone started to scream, there was absolute panic in the masjid. Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه got off his horse and he walked through the entire scene and he didn't talk to anybody. Went straight to the house of his daughter Aisha, the house of the Prophet ﷺ. Aisha رضي الله عنه says that he came in, he knelt down, فكشف عن وجهه ﷺ, he unveiled the face of the Prophet ﷺ,
and you can imagine this was the man that preferred the life of the Prophet ﷺ to himself. This was the man that would throw himself in front of the Prophet ﷺ, take a beating, take death for the Prophet ﷺ. He's looking at the face of the Prophet ﷺ and he's passed away. So Aisha رضي الله عنه says, ثم أكبّ عليه, he fell on the Prophet ﷺ, he put his head on the body of the Prophet ﷺ and he started to weep رضي الله عنه. And then she said, فقبله, kissed, he kissed the forehead of the Prophet ﷺ. This is actually how we take the fiqh or one of the rulings of kissing the dead. It's from this moment where Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه kissed the forehead of the Prophet ﷺ after he had passed away. And realize when the Prophet ﷺ had passed away, his face was brighter than the moon. It was shining. If any of you have ever seen a righteous person when they pass away and their face, imagine the face of the Prophet ﷺ when he was dead. So it was shining. And Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه said, تبطي يا رسول الله حيًّا وميتًا, and you are pure, how pure are you, O Messenger of Allah when you are alive and when you are dead. لا يجمع الله عليك موتتين. Allah will not combine for you two deaths. You will not die twice. أما الموتة التي كتبت عليك, as for the death that Allah has written for you, you have already died that death, never again will you suffer, O Messenger of Allah. This is the last death that you will have, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ. And again, that's the maturity, the understanding that Abu Bakr had. He then walks out to the masjid, and as we said last week, Umar رضي الله عنه, extremely emotional, was threatening the people who said that the Prophet ﷺ had died. He didn't want to believe it. And he said that the Prophet ﷺ, like Moses, went to his Lord for 40 days, he'll come back. He's not gone. And he called people hypocrites, منافقين.
And Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه said to him, sit down, O Umar. He didn't sit down. Abu Bakr said it to him again, he didn't sit down. And then Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه started to speak, and everyone gathered around him رضي الله عنه, a sign of his clear leadership. And he said that Muhammad ﷺ was not but a messenger. Whoever used to worship Muhammad, then know that Muhammad is dead ﷺ. And whoever used to worship Allah, know that God is alive and does not die. And he recited the ayah from Surah Ali Imran, as we had mentioned, and assumed that understanding, right? Gathered the people back on that understanding in those moments, that as much as they love the Prophet ﷺ. And you know, this is something special. Anas رضي الله عنه, and this is actually not a narration, it's in the subtext of one of the hadith in the Tirmidhi. Anas رضي الله عنه mentions that when Abu Bakr spoke like that, everyone knew that Abu Bakr loved the Prophet ﷺ most. So it wasn't like someone dismissing the love that the people had for the Prophet ﷺ. If there is anyone that was going to be torn apart in those moments, that was going to be on the ground, screaming, pounding, crying, whose heart was more broken, it was Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه. But the fact that he said that, knowing his love for the Prophet ﷺ, that look, we loved him because Allah chose him. We loved him because we loved him. But more than that, we loved him because of who he was. And what he would want from us is to continue that message. The fact that Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه had that clarity and that command in those moments, showed that his love to the Prophet ﷺ was also not one that would ever be exaggerated to a point that it would obscure the truth from him. He understood the truth, he understood what the Prophet ﷺ was meant to achieve, and Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه was able to command that in those moments. And in his first words, assuming the Khilafah, and this is something very interesting about Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه,
is that as much as the Prophet ﷺ told him that he's the greatest, that he's his best friend, that he's the first of the companions, he never actually believed it. Not believed it in the sense that he considered the Prophet ﷺ not to be truthful, but he never allowed that to make him arrogant, believed it in a way that would make him complacent or arrogant, and to stop trying. So those morning runs that he'd take to the old blind woman in the outskirts of Medina to cook for her, to wash her clothes, to get things ready when no one else knew, all that was because Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه had this pursuit, and he felt like he needed to do better at all times. And that humility showed even in his first address. Now, SubhanAllah, today a man whose name we won't mention passed away. فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّمَاءُ وَالْأَرْضِ And no one sheds a tear. You think about a leader who commits dhulm, and you think about a leader who leaves behind a legacy, a leader of humility. Abu Bakr does not stand up and say that you know who I am, and the Prophet ﷺ said this, this, this, this about me. He didn't sit there and quote his virtues. He didn't try to solidify his authority by listing his credentials. What were the first words out of Abu Bakr's mouth addressing the ummah as a successor of the Prophet ﷺ? أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي قَدْ وُلِيْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَسْتُ بِخَيْرِكُمْ O people, I've been placed in charge of you, but I'm not the best of you. That's his first sentence, I am not the best of you, but I've been placed in charge of you. وَلَسْتُ بِخَيْرِكُمْ فَإِنْ أَحْسَنْتُ فَأَعِينُونِي وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُ فَقَوِّمُونِي He said that if I do good, then support me.
If I do bad, straighten me out. You know we live in an era where you have ulama, people using the imamah, using the scholarship, the turban, to solidify dictators and oppressive rulers and say this is the sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ said you've got طاعة ولي الأمر, you've got to support wali al-amr. This is support. أُنصر أخاك ظالمًا ومظلومًا Support your brother when he's oppressed and when he's oppressing. This is how you support a leader. You stop them when they oppress. And Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu is setting a clear tone. When I do well, support me. When I do wrong, straighten me out. Get me right, give me the advice that I need and put me on the path that I need to be put on. الصدق أمانا والكذب خيانا He said radiAllahu ta'ala anhu that truthfulness is a trust. الصدق أمانا here, what he means is that as a siddiq, as the most truthful person, the greatest quality of leadership is integrity. So the manifestation of صدق, the manifestation of truthfulness in leadership is integrity. A lack of corruption. الصدق أمانا والكذب And the greatest manifestation of lying and dishonesty in leadership is betrayal. The betrayal of people's trust. And by the way, when the Prophet ﷺ said, and this is very important, the Prophet ﷺ said that the signs of the Day of Judgment, ضيعة الأمانة that trust is lost. And what was the Prophet ﷺ talking about when he said trust is lost? He said that the righteous leaders pass away. So he connected the loss of righteous leadership to the loss of trust. So subhanAllah, the most essential quality to be found in a leader is truthfulness, integrity. Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu is the most truthful. Hence he's the most deserving leader, the most honorable and noble leader.
Why? Because he recognized this. الصدق أمانا والكذب خيانا أطيعوني ما أطاعت الله ورسوله فإذا عصيت الله ورسوله فلا طاعة لي عليكم Again, once again reiterating, follow me so long as I follow Allah and His Messenger. If I don't follow Allah and His Messenger, there is absolutely no binding obedience on your part. Okay, and this is just the core theme, the message that Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu is giving. And subhanAllah, he is the first person to assume leadership in this ummah. You would think that a man in that state would fear the loss of obedience, the inability to be able to control people, the inability to be able to properly govern because you're not Muhammad salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, right? You've got these people that are already saying we're not paying zakah anymore. You've got these people that are already saying that we have a new prophet. You've got all these people that are taking advantage of the situation that this is no longer the prophet in charge. But Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu is setting a tone of humility. And the amazing thing is that by that tone of humility and integrity, he won the ummah. He was able to govern properly. Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu was the only one of khulafa'a rashideen not assassinated. I mean Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu gained the trust of the people by his transparency and his clear ikhlas, his clear sincerity to Allah, to the messenger and to them. And so that's the tone that Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu sets from the very beginning. That way you know that when that leader takes a tough stance, they're not taking it from a place of power and domination and control. They're taking it from a place of trying to uphold the truth properly. And this is, I said one of my favorite stories, another favorite story.
And by the way we learn again, the tarbiyah of Umar came at the hand of Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr raised Umar as a leader. He taught him what it was like to be a leader. After the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam who taught them all how to be leaders. Umar learned from Abu Bakr how to be a leader, how to be a balanced mind. There is a situation that arose where the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam appointed a 17-year-old, Usama bin Zayd. Usama bin Zayd radiAllahu anhu, the son of a freed slave. Right, so you already got the lineage issue. He was black, very black radiAllahu anhu. So you got the race issue. He's chipping away at all of their old biases. You've got the age. He's 17 years old. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam put him in charge of the Muslim army. And you've got the veterans of Badr. Usama radiAllahu anhu was a baby when Badr happened. And you've got these people, and they all have to line up behind Usama bin Zayd radiAllahu anhu. So some of the elders of the companions didn't like that. And when the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam passed away, Usama radiAllahu anhu had been appointed as the leader of the Muslim army. And some of the sahaba told Umar bin al-Khattab, they said, Look, we know you have Abu Bakr's ear. Right, we know you can talk to Abu Bakr. So why don't you go to Abu Bakr? You know, why don't you delay things a bit? Take some time to think about this. And if you're going to go forth, then why don't you put someone who's older than Usama in charge? Okay, so they didn't bring up the tribalism issue. They didn't bring up race. They didn't bring up those things. It was age. We have people that are senior that have fought in a million battles. Maybe, yeah, Abu Bakr, you can consider someone else. Okay, so Umar goes to the house of Abu Bakr. The sahaba go with Umar. Umar, huge, big man, booming voice, intimidating. Abu Bakr, as we said, very skinny, not physically intimidating at all.
Soft-spoken, not physically intimidating at all. Umar radiyaAllahu anhu walks into the house. The sahaba are waiting outside. Umar radiyaAllahu anhu says, You know, Abu Bakr, some of the sahaba are saying that maybe you should consider placing one of the heads of the Ansar or the elders of the muhajireen in charge instead of Usama bin Zaid. Maybe he's a little bit young and you can take some time to reconsider this. Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu grabs Umar's beard. He pulls him to his face. So small, you know, again, physically small, but a giant. Giant of a man radiyaAllahu anhu pulling Umar radiyaAllahu anhu and saying, Wait, wait, wait, hold on. You, the one that was going around Hudaybiyyah, alasna alal haqq, we're the ones on the truth, aren't they on the... You, now you're saying this, and he pulls Umar radiyaAllahu anhu and he looks him in the eye. And this is his brother. Abu Bakr and Umar are the two closest of the companions after the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. They are the hearing and the sight of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. That's how the Prophet described them. And he says to him, Thakilatka ummuka ya Umar. May your mother lose you, O Umar. Which was an expression. It wasn't a dua against the person because the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said it to Mu'adh radiyaAllahu anhu. And he certainly was not asking for something bad to happen to him. But it was the expression of the Arabs, like, you know, want to express, you know, shock at what was said. Right. So when Mu'adh asked the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, would people be charged for what they say with their tongues? The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said, Thakilatka ummuka ya Mu'adh. May your mother lose you, O Mu'adh. Which was an expression to the Arabs that they had back then. So Thakilatka ummuka ya Umar. May your mother lose you, O Umar. Do you want me to do something different than what the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam did? You want me to disobey the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam's orders? He gave an explicit order to put Usama bin Uzaid in charge. You want me to do that? Now Umar radiAllahu anhu was not offended.
Umar radiAllahu anhu was not like, let go of my beard and let's fight. Who do you think you are? You know, you're a khalifa already and you think, no, no. Umar radiAllahu anhu was embarrassed. Put his head down and he said, no. And he apologized to Abu Bakr for even bringing up the thought. Umar walks out. All of the sahaba that were concerned are waiting outside the house. And they see Umar radiAllahu anhu walk out with his head down. And they say, what happened, ya Umar? He said, may all of your mothers lose you. He said, you made me upset, Abu Bakr, and I hate upsetting Abu Bakr. I don't like to make Abu Bakr mad. Abu Bakr is not a man who gets mad much. You made me upset, Abu Bakr. I hate getting Abu Bakr upset. Right? So subhanAllah, Umar knew that what Abu Bakr said was not out of arrogance or pride. He wasn't trying to discipline him. That's a close brother. He knows what he was saying was out of putting the sunnah first. That what the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam said comes first. And he clearly wanted to deliver that message to Umar radiAllahu anhu. When Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu carried on, and as we said, he was able to set this vision, the way that he was able to set this vision. And I'm not going to go into the details of his khilafah. But I'll just say that subhanAllah, in two years, Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, if you remember that dream, the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam had this dream, where he saw a well. And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam drew from this well. And then he gave the bucket to Abu Bakr, and Abu Bakr drew from this well. And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam said Abu Bakr was not able to draw much. And then Umar took the bucket, and Umar gave water to everyone and everything around. And I'll bring this up again later on inshaAllah. But specifically in the context of Abu Bakr, what it means for him. Umar took the water and he gave water to all the people and to all the animals. Umar radiAllahu alaihi wasalam was strong, drawing from that well.
And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam was speaking about the nature of their khilafah. What Abu Bakr radiAllahu alaihi wasalam was able to do in that two and a half years of being the khalifah, was basically to set the vision of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam as the trajectory. To plug all the holes, right? The hufadh of the Quran are being killed. The people who memorize the Quran are being killed. People are refusing zakah now. People are claiming new prophethood. Abu Bakr radiAllahu alaihi wasalam plugged it all in and handed that bucket to Umar. And Umar was able to execute based on what he learned from the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam and Abu Bakr radiAllahu alaihi wasalam in a way that made him a balanced leader. And in a way that allowed him to take that message to the whole world in such a beautiful way. May Allah be pleased with them all. So Abu Bakr radiAllahu alaihi wasalam in two and a half years literally held it together. Literally held it together. Made sure that Islam post-Prophet Muhammad salAllahu alaihi wasalam would stay true to what he brought. Kept it upon that radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. And when Abu Bakr radiAllahu alaihi wasalam was just two years into this khilafah, Aisha radiAllahu alaihi wasalam says that he took a cold shower one day and he got sick. And for two weeks, Abu Bakr radiAllahu alaihi wasalam's condition worsened. And he started to have fevers. And again, you know, subhanAllah, back then they don't diagnose the way that we diagnose things, right? It's a fever and you died, right? A cold, fever, some sort of sickness and you died, right? So he started to develop a fever. He started to deteriorate radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. And in those two weeks, Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu asked Aisha radiAllahu anha a few questions. The first thing he said, he said, I want you to go to my wealth. I want you to see the money that I have. And he said, I want you to compare the amount that I have now to the amount that I had before I assumed the khilafah, before I became the khalifa. If there is any discrepancy in that amount, then it is not from my money.
You give that to, you put that back in baytul mal and that goes to the next khalifa to deal with. You know, what that means is that Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, again, this was the man who didn't want to leave a single good deed after becoming the leader. He did not want to do anything that would compromise his reputation, compromise his place after that moment radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. And so here he's saying that don't include this in my inheritance if you find a single discrepancy. And there was only a few dirhams that she was able to find where there was a discrepancy. Then Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, he asks Aisha, he says, how old was the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasalam when he died? So she said he was 63. Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu said, alhamdulillah, I'm 63. Right? So he took joy that he was the same age as the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasalam when he passed away. And he knew the answer, but he was, you know, reaffirming it. Right? Then she said, and then he said to Aisha, and how did, what was he buried in? Right? What were the clots that he used? So she said that he used three clots, three white clots from Yemen, alayhi salatu wasalam, that he wrapped himself in, which is what we normally do with the kafir, right? The three white clots. So Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, he said, then I want to use three pieces as well. And he took two that he already had, radiAllahu anhu, and he asked Aisha to purchase a third one. Aisha radiAllahu anhu said, oh, my father, we have enough where we could purchase all three. You don't have to just purchase one. Right? You don't have to use old clothes for your kafir. And Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, look at that vision, subhanAllah. He said that the new clothes will be more beneficial to those that are living than those that have died. I have no benefit from getting new clothes or a new kafir.
He said the cloth, the kafir for the dead body is meant to absorb the blood of the body and to cover its awrah, and to cover it. I don't need new clothes. I don't need new sheets. Even if we have enough money, it's better. It's of more benefit to the living. It would do better in charity. So just purchase one more white sheet that I would need for my kafir. Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, and this is subhanAllah, very, you know, this is very special. It's a poetic death and one that would only be befitting to a person like that. Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu takes his own kafir, his own garment. He lays down and he says to Aisha radiAllahu anha, what day did the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam die? She said it was a Monday. The Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam said, or then Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu said, and what is today? She said it's Monday. Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu smiled and he said inshaAllah alyum, today. Meaning I want to go today. I want to die the same day, in the same cloth, the same age. Everything subhanAllah, his life was in accordance with the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam. I want my death to be like the death of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam. And Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, he laid down and he started to shiver from the strength of his fever or the deterioration. And he reminded Aisha radiAllahu anha about the hadith, or the three moons, or the time that she saw three moons. Aisha had a dream where she had three moons descending in her room. We talked about this in the story of Khadijah, right? And she asked Abu Bakr, who used to interpret dreams, what it meant. And Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu said, three righteous people are going to be buried in your home. And when the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam died and was buried in her home, he said, that's your first moon. The second moon was him.
Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu was dying in the same house that the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam died in. The Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam is under the ground, Abu Bakr is above the ground. And so Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu is the second of those three moons. And Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu leaves this world reciting the same verse over and over and over again. It was the words of Joseph, of Yusuf alayhi wasalam. When Yusuf alayhi wasalam was dying and he said, توثني مسلما وألحقني بالصالحين Allow me to die as a believer and follow in the path of the righteous. Allow me to die as a believer and follow in the path of the righteous. And Abu Bakr was repeating that over and over and over again. How did the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam die? What were the words on the lips of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam? الرفيق الأعلى Oh Allah, the highest companionship. Abu Bakr, Oh Allah, let me join those highest companions. Right? That's what he meant when he kept on saying, Allow me to follow in the righteous. Aisha radiAllahu anhu witnessed the death of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam and she witnessed the death of Abu Bakr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. And it was no sooner than the last word of that ayah escaping his lips radiAllahu ta'ala anhu that Aisha radiAllahu anhu says that he took a breath and he died. SubhanAllah, last words. تبفني مسلما و الحقني بالصالحين His last word being salihin, the righteous. He breathes his last radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. He died between the hours of Maghrib and Isha. 63 years old like the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam in the house of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam on the same day that the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam died in the same kafan that the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam was buried in.
And subhanAllah, when he died, he was buried like if you go now and you say salam, the sunnah as you pass by, it's a recommended act when you go through Medina and you say assalamu alaika ya rasoolAllah and then you say salam to Abu Bakr and Umar. You greet them all with peace. And you know, as you're walking from the man's side, so the women's side is actually closer to the bodies themselves. It's closest to the body of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam. A lot of times people think it's three windows. So the heads are this way, right? But what it actually is, is that the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam is buried closest to the women's side, his face facing the qibla. Okay, so actually this way. His face is facing towards the prayer direction, towards the qibla. So when you walk by and you say assalamu alaika ya rasoolAllah, the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam's body and face is facing towards you. And then you walk over. Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu was buried just next to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam with his head, the top of his head at his shoulder. SubhanAllah, it's so beautiful that even the way that they are situated. And then Umar radiAllahu anhu, the same way with Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, is like this. Okay, so when you are saying salam, you're closest to the body of Umar radiAllahu anhu. It starts the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam, and then the head of Abu Bakr right next to the shoulder of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam. Also facing towards the direction of prayer, the qibla. And then the head of Umar radiAllahu anhu also facing towards the third moon, facing towards that qibla. And I want to end, subhanAllah, with these few statements. And this is a long one. So I'm not going to read the whole thing. Usaid ibn Safwan, he says, the day that Abu Bakr died, and this tells you something. He said that Medina wept like it did the day the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam died. The people of Medina, again, the crying that you heard in the city of Medina was like the crying that you heard the day that the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam died.
There were only two times you heard that level of crying. And he narrates this beautiful incident with Ali ibn Abi Talib radiAllahu anhu. Now remember Ali was the most eloquent. And Ali's eulogy at the body of Fatima radiAllahu anhu, standing at the grave side of Fatima, is probably the most painful words you'll hear from a person bidding farewell to their beloved ones. Ali radiAllahu anhu came to the side of Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, and he shares some of the most beautiful words. And I'm not going to be able to go through the whole of it. It would take me about 10 minutes to read the whole thing. He starts to mention the virtues of Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu in a poetic way that only Ali radiAllahu anhu could. And I'm just going to recite just a few sentences from it. You could find the whole ritha or the whole aza of Ali radiAllahu anhu for Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu. He said, رحمك الله يا أبا بكر May Allah have mercy on you, O Abu Bakr. كنت أول القوم إسلاما وأخلصهم إيمانا وأشدهم يقينا You were the first of the people to become Muslim, the most sincere of them in faith, and the most certain of them, or the strongest of them in your certainty. And then he starts to mention, he says, كنت عنده بمنزلة السمع والبصر You were to the Prophet ﷺ what hearing and sight is to a person. You were his hearing and you were his sight. صدقت رسول الله ﷺ حين كذبه الناس You believed the Prophet ﷺ when people denied him. You believed in him when everyone else called him a liar. فسماك الله في تنزيله صديقا So Allah named you in his revelation a Siddiq, the most truthful of them. And he says,
وآسيته حين بخلو And aasaytahu means you supported him when others had deserted him. وكنت معه عند المكاره حين قعدو And you remained firm by his side when others deserted him. And you remained firm by his side when others had left him. And then he says, وصاحبته في الشدائد أكرم السحب And you were there with him, with your companionship, in the most beautiful and most noble of ways. ثاني اثنين The second of the two. وصاحبه في الغار And his companion in the cave. And he's referring to that moment that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala refers to in the hijrah, when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam and Abu Bakr were together in غار ثور. والمنزل عليه السكينة And the one on whom Allah descended tranquility. So Ali radiyaAllahu anhu is referring to those moments. And there's so much to be said in these words. Again, you could look up the whole eulogy of Ali for Abu Bakr. But there are a couple of lines that just stuck out to me. He says, كنت أخفضهم صوتاً وأعلاهم فوقاً You were the softest of them in voice, or you had the lowest voice amongst them, but the highest amongst them in distinction. You had the lowest voice, but the highest honor. Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu had such a soft voice, but such a high distinction. وكنت للمؤمنين أباً رحيماً إذ صاروا عليك عيالاً And you were to the believers a merciful father when they became your children. Beautiful. He says, you were to the believers like a merciful father when they suddenly became orphans. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam passed away. He was salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, إنما أنا لكم بمنزلة الأب I am to you like a father. أعلمكم I teach you. So he said to Abu Bakr, you were like a merciful father when we all suddenly became orphans.
سبقت والله سبقاً بعيداً You have gone forth. سبقت We talk about the first. This is why Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu is the irreplaceable first, the ultimate first. And no one ever gets to touch that first. He says, you have surpassed everyone with a distance that cannot be reached by anyone else. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said about Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu ما طلعت الشمس ولا غربت على أحد بعد نبيين والمرسلين خيراً من أبي بكر What the sun rose and did not leave anyone after the messengers or the messengers. خيراً من أبي بكر That the sun has not risen or set on anyone after the messengers or the prophets. That is better than Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu. And by the way, it's important to mention that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam did not just say he's the best of this ummah. He said he's the best after the prophets and the messengers. There is no person who is not a prophet of Allah or a messenger of Allah that could surpass this man radiyaAllahu anhu. His status is sanctified as the first after the prophets and the messengers of Allah. May Allah send his peace and blessings upon them all. And I'll end with this hadith where Abu Huraira radiyaAllahu anhu says that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said جبرير علي السلام Gabriel took me by the hand and he showed me the gate of paradise, the gate of Jannah that my people would enter from. So this is the night of al-Israa wa al-Mi'raj, the night where Abu Bakr would actually receive the name Siddiq, the truthful one, because he believed the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam on that night when everyone else had hesitations. So he said, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam was describing, he said, جبرير علي السلام showed me that gate that my people would enter Jannah from. Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu said, يا رسول الله يا رسول الله ودت أني كنت معك حتى أنظر إليه He said, how I wish that I could have been there with you, I could have seen it.
I've been with you all this time, I've been with you in every significant moment of your life, your best friend, right? Abu Bakr was with the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam on every one of his expeditions from the very start to the very last moment. But he couldn't go with him on Isra ul-Mi'raj, no human being could travel with him on that night to the heavens. So he said, I wish I could have been there with you, so I could see that gate, ya Rasulullah. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said to Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu, أما إنك يا أبا بكر أول من يدخل الجنة من أمتي You are, O Abu Bakr, the first person who will enter Paradise from my nation. So subhanAllah, that first person entering into Jannah after the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam from this ummah is Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon his Messenger salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, the Prophet and messengers, his family and companions. And we ask Allah to make us amongst those who follow in that path. We ask Allah to allow us to take from those good qualities what we can. And we ask Allah that even if we cannot surpass Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu, in rank, that perhaps Allah join us with him and with the Messenger salAllahu alayhi wa sallam and the companions and those great ones by virtue of our love for them. Allahuma Ameen.
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