- Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) real name was Abdullah, and he was given the title of “As Siddique” or ”Testifier to the Truth.” His father, ‘Uthman, was known as Abu Quhafah and his mother, Salma, was known as Ummul Khair. He was two and a half years younger than Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam).
- Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) the First Among Men to Enter Islam
- Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was always a very close Companion of the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) , he knew him better than any other man. He (may Allah be pleased with him) knew how honest and upright the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) was. Such knowledge of the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) made Abu Bakr be the first man to follow the Message of Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. He (may Allah be pleased with him) was indeed the first adult male to accept Islam.
- The Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) told Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) what had happened at Mount Hira’, he told him that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has revealed to him and made him His Messenger. When Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) heard this from the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, he did not stop to think, he at once became a Muslim. He submitted to Islam with such determination that once the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) himself remarked: “I called people to Islam, everybody thought over it, at least for a while, but this was not the case with Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), the moment I put Islam before him, he accepted it without any hesitation”. He was titled As-Siddiq by the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) because his faith was too strong to be shaken by anything.
- In fact, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was more than a great believer, as soon as he became a Muslim, he immediately began to preach Islam to others. Among those who accepted Abu Bakr’s invitation to Islam were; Uthman, Zubair, Talha, Abdul Rahman bin Auf, Saadi bin Waqqas and others who later became the pillars of Islam.
- Abu Bakr’s love of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was so great that he was willing to sacrifice his life for the sake of protecting and comforting the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) saw. Such love and sacrifice were demonstrated when one day the Holy Prophet(sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) was saying his prayers in the Ka’ba, while some of the chiefs of Mecca were sitting in the court yard of the Ka’ba. Seeing the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) praying, ‘Uqbah bin Abi Mu’eet took a long piece of cloths and put it around the Prophet’s neck and twisted it hard in an attempt to strangle the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to death. At that moment Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) happened to pass by from a distance, he saw ‘Uqbah trying to strangle the Prophet(sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) to death. Immediately Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) ran to the help of the Prophet(sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), he pushed ‘Uqbah aside and took the cloth from around the Prophet’s neck. Thereupon the enemies of Islâm came down upon Abu Bakr and beat him unnerafully, although Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) with faith like a rock did not care for his own suffering, he was glad that he was able to save the Prophet of Allah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), even at the risk of his own life.
- Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) with the wealth he had, also had a major role in freeing some of the Muslim slaves, who were barbarically tortured by their heartless Mushrik masters to give up the Faith and return to their masters’ beliefs. The heartless monsters tried all kinds of torture: they made them lie all naked on the burning desert sand, putting big stones on their chest, as well as other kinds of torture. Here Abu Bakr’s wealth came to the rescue, as he bought the poor helpless slaves from their inhuman masters and set them free, Bilal Al-Habashi, the slave of Umayya bin Khalaf, was among those who were set free by Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Bilal became afterwards the Mu’azzin at the Prophet’s mosque.
- In 622, on the invitation of the Muslims of Medina, Muhammad ordered Muslims to migrate to Medina. The migration began in batches. Ali was the last to remain in Mecca, entrusted with responsibility for settling any loans the Muslims had taken, and famously slept in the bed of Muhammad when the Quraysh led by Ikrima attempted to murder Muhammad as he slept. Meanwhile, Abu Bakr accompanied Muhammad in his migration for Medina. Due to the danger of the Quraysh, they did not take the road to Medina. They moved in the opposite direction, and took refuge in a cave in Jabal Thawr some five miles south of Mecca. `Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr, the son of Abu Bakr, would listen to the plans and talks of the Quraysh, and at night he would carry the news to the fugitives in the cave. Asma bint Abi Bakr, the daughter of Abu Bakr, brought them meals every day.[43] Aamir, a servant of Abu Bakr, would bring a flock of goats to the mouth of the cave every night where they were milked. The Quraysh sent search parties in all directions. One party came close to the entrance to the cave, but was unable to sight them. Due to this, Qur'an verse was revealed. Aisha, Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri and Abdullah ibn Abbas in interpreting this verse said that Abu Bakr was the companion who stayed with Muhammad in the cave.
- After staying at the cave for three days and three nights, Abu Bakr and Muhammad proceed to Medina, staying for some time at Quba, a suburb of Medina. While Sunni sources portray Abu Bakr in an exalted light in the cave, Shia sources however generally tend to portray the incident in the cave as a Quranic condemnation of Abu Bakr for cowardice and fear.[44]
Campaign in Oman/Battle of Daba:
- In Oman, a false prophet Laquit bin Malik rose to prominence and captured political power. A Muslim force under Hazrat Hudaifah (R.A) was sent to Oman and in the battle of Daba, Laquit and ten thousand of his followers were killed. The Oman forces surrendered, and the people of Oman were reconverted to Islam.
- In Mahrah the people apostatized, but instead of fighting against the Muslims they began to fight among themselves for political power. The Muslims allied themselves with the minority section and fought against majority section which was led by Al-Musabbah. Al-Musabbah was defeated and after that people of Mahrah recovered to Islam.
Campaign in Yemen:
- In Yemen, a false prophet Aswad Ansi came to power and won a considerable following. Hazrat Abu Bakr Sadeeq (R.A) ordered a two pronged attack on Yemen. Hazrat Ikramah (R.A) marched with a force from Mahrah to Yemen. Hazrat Muhajir bin Umayya marched with another force from Makkah to Yemen. In the battle that followed by a apostate tribes were over-powered, and were reconverted to Islam after Aswad Ansi had been killed.
Campaign in Hadramaut:
- In Hadramaut there was a revolt led by Ash’as. When the Muslim forces marched against Ash’as he shut himself in the fort at Nujeir. The fort was carried by the Muslims by assault. Thereafter Ash’as and his people repented and were readmitted to the Islam.
- The apostasy campaign began in August 632 C.E., and these operations were over by February 633 C.E. Within the short space of six months, Hazrat Abu Bakr Sadeeq (R.A) succeeded in exterminating apostasy and winning back all the tribes in Arabia to the fold of Islam.
The Battle of Kazima:
- In March 633 C.E., a Muslim column under Hazrat Khalid Bin Waleed (R.A) marched to Iraq and started operations in the region of Uballa on the Persian Gulf. The two forces met at kazima, in opening duel, Hazrat Khalid Bin Waleed Killed the Persian commander Hormuz. The Muslims launched the attack which was withstood by the chain-linked Persian infantry. The Muslims increased the pressure and the Persians were forced to fall back. The Persians found their chains to be death trap and as they retreated held together in chains they were slaughtered in thousands. The battle of chains at Kazima unchained the gate of Iraq for the Muslims.
The Battle of Mazar:
- The next confrontation with the Persians took place at Mazar on Tigris. The Persians forces were led by three Generals Qarin, Qabaz and Anushjan. All the three Generals died in fighting against Muslims and they were defeated badly with a death toll exceeding 30,000.
- The next encounter took place at Walaja. The Persian forces were led by Andarzaghar. The battle began with the a duel in which Hazrat Khalid (R.A) killed his adversary. The Persians gained some initial success, but the bulk of their army was annihilated.
- The nest battle took place at ulleis ten miles from Walaja. It was a bloody battle in which over 70,000 Persians perished. So large were the killings that the river on the bank whereof the battle was fought virtually became a river of blood.
- From Ulleis the Muslim forces marched to Hirah. There was Persian force to resist Muslims. The citizerns of Hirah surrendered and agreed to pay “Jizya” to the Muslims.
- Towards the close of June 633 C.E. Hazrat Khalid marched with his army to Anbar. Here after a little resistance Persian army surrendered and agreed to Jizya.
- From Anbar the Muslim forces proceeded to Ain-at-Tamr. Here the Christian Arabs led by their chief Aqqa offered resistance. Aqqa was taken captive, and the citizens of Ein-at-Tamr offered submission on the usual terms.
- When Hazrat Khalid bin Waleed began his operastions in southern Iraq, Hazrat Abu Bakr Sadeeq (R.A) sent another column under Hazrat Iyaz bin Ghanam to operate in Daumatul Jandal sector. But Hazrat Iyaz failed to capture ans at the last resort he wrote Hazrat Khalid bin Waleed for help. Then Hazrat Khalid Marched towards Daumatul Jandal in it fell in August 633 A.D.
- In December 633 A.D., Hazrat Khalid occupied Firaz at the outer most edge of Persian Empire in the Euphrates valley. By the end of 633 A.D., the Muslims were masters of Euphrates valley in Iraq.
- During the active operations in Iraq, Hazrat Abu Bakr Sadeeq (R.A) stationed a garrison at Tayma to the east of Tabuk to protect the borders against any attack by Syrian. But here Hazrat Khalid bin Saeed suffered with a serious defeat.
- In February 634 A.D., Hazrat Abu Bakr Sadeeq (R.A) issued a call for Jihad on the Syrian front. By March 634, a large force mustered at Madina ready to march to Syria. These warriors were formed into four corps of 7000 men each and sent to Syria under the command of Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (R.A).
- The Byzantine emperor Heraclius planned action on a large scale. He mustered forces of Ajnadein numbering over lac. The four small Muslim corps that were operating in Syria were no match for the large concentration of the Byzantine forces. Hazrat Abu Bakr Sadeeq (R.A) ordered Hazrat Khalid bin Waleed (R.A) to march from Iraq to Syria and over the chief command on Syrian front.
- The first encounter of Khalid bin Waleed (R.A) with the Byzantine army took place at Busra in July 634 C E. It was a hardly contested battle which was ultimately won by the Muslims.
- From Busra, Hazrat Khalid bin Waleed marched towards northward to Damascus. The Byzantine emperor Hercalius garrisoned all forts in Syria and ordered a huge concentration of forces in the south at Ajnadein. The situation was critical for Muslims. If they pressed the siege of Damascus the danger was that the Byzantine army from Ajnadein might attack the Muslim army from the rear. The Muslims accordingly raised the siege of Damascus, and marched to Ajnadein.
- The total strength of Muslim forces assembled at Ajnadein was about 40,000, while the strength of the Byzantine forces was over one lac. It was hardly contested battle in which the Muslims won an astounding victory. As many as 50,000 Byzantine soldiers were killed while only 450 Muslims were martyred.
- After winning the battle of Ajnadein, the Muslims marched to Damascus of Muslims. There was a confrontation at Yaqusa on the Yermuk in which the Byzantines were defeated and Muslims pushed forward to Damasus. There was another confrontation Marjus Saffar, 12 miles from Damascus. Here again the Byzantines were defeated and the siege of Damasus began on 21st August 634 C.E., and on 23rd August, Hazrat Abu Bakr Sadeeq (R.A) was dead. Before his death Abu Bakr nominated Hazrat umar at his successor.
- Hazrat Abu Bakr Sadeeq (R.A) becomes the caliph on 6th June 632 C.E., and he died on 23rd August C.E., his period of caliphate extended over two years and two months. Judged by the usual standards this was certainty too short a period to make an impact on history. Surprisingly enough, the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr Sadeeq (R.A) not only made the impact on history; it changed the very course of history.
- Hazrat Abu Bakr Sadeeq (R.A) came to power in the midest of crises-loaded situation. The crises which he was called upon to encounter were multidimensional, being physiological, political, religious and international in charter. At the time of his accession, Islam stood at the brink of precipice, and any wrong step on the part of Hazrat Abu Bakr Sadeeq (R.A) whould have led the disintegration of Islam. But Hazrat Abu Bakr Sadeeq (R.A) proved to be the savior of Islam, and he launched Islam on the course of its destiny
No comments:
Post a Comment