ABU BAKR: THE FIRST CALIPH (632-34 A.D.

Background

The Prophet died on June 8th, 632. The news sent shockwaves across Arabia.The Ansar had
gathered at Saqifa Bani Sa’ida to elect a leader for Arabia.Upon hearing this Abu Bakr rushed to
the spot before things became uncontrollable.It is to be noted that there were factions formed
now before the election.

The Orthodox Muslims

They were close companions of the Prophet. Most of them were those 313 that had migrated
with him. They wanted Abu Bakr to reign Arabia since he was the closest among all. They also
claimed that whole Arabia wouldn’t accept anyone outside Quraish tribe, since Quraish tribe had
great standing.

Alides

They claimed that Ali was Ahl-e-Bayt. He deserved the role more than anyone. He was cousin
and son-in-law of the Prophet. Bu Ali was only 33 years old at the time of election. Moreover,
Arabs traditionally liked to choose someone as their chief who was aged.

Ansar

Ansar themselves were divided, a they were in the past, between Aus and Khazraj. They are the
ones who met at Saqifa bin Sa’ida to elect someone. They had almost reached a conclusion and
were to select Sa’ad bin Ubayda, the chief of Khazraj.

Episode at Saqifa bin Sa’ida

The news of congregation first reached Umar, who then conveyed it to Abu Bakr. They both
rushed to the place. On their way, they met Abu Ubayda who accompanied them too. Upon their
arrival, they saw that Ansar were almost ready to elect their leader. Abu Bakr softly tried to
dissuade them from doing on the basis that whole Arabia would never follow them since they
believed only a Quraishite should rule. This argument was readily accepted by Aus, maybe
because the leader wasn’t one of them anyway and they feared secondary role. The Khazraj
were reluctant. They argued they were the ones who welcomed Muhajireens and help them
immensely. Abu Bakr agreed with them but tried reasoning with them but to no success. On
seeing the fiasco, Umar went on and gave his bayt to Abu Bakr followed by Abu Ubayda. Both
were immediately followed by the Aus tribe. Khazraj joined too because they feared now they
might be relegated to secondary role. This is how a bayt took place there.

Confirmation & Inaugural speech

Next day, the news spread like a wildfire that Abu Bakr had been elected as a Caliph. Everyone
came to pay homage and gave bayt to him. Most of them came except for few such as alides and
few followers of Sa’ad bin Ubayda.At that time, Abu Bakr rose and addressed the crowd in these
words

“O People! You have chosen me as your Chief, although I am not the best among you. I need all
your advice and all your help. If I do well, support me; If I make a mistake, set me right. To tell
the ruler truly what you think of him if faithfulness; to conceal the truth is treachery. I shall
defend the weak against the strong, for the weaker amongst you is the stronger with me, until I
have redressed his wrong, and the stronger shall be the weaker until I have taken from him that
which he has wrested. Fight in the way of Lord: whoever leaves off fighting in the path of Allah,
Allah then abases him. As long as I obey God and His Prophet, obey wherein I disobey, obey me
not.”

The Question of Ali’s Homage

There are three accounts regarding Ali’s homage to Abu Bakr. None them are proved.

One, he paid on the day of acclamation. Second, he wavered and never paid homage.Third, he
hesitated at first but did pay homage after the death of his wife. The third account is what most
Sunnis believe in, whereas the second account is attributed to Shiites.

It is said, at the time of bayt, Ali was busy with funeral rites of the Prophet. He was taken aback
upon hearing the acclamation, but never argued. His bayt was also delayed due to his wife’s,
Fatimah, grievances against Abu Bakr regarding her patrimony. After her death, Ali finally paid
homage. It was about six months later.

Significance

The election shows that Islam wasn’t in favor of hereditary leadership. The Prophet himself
never talked about appointing a successor, at least not a hereditary one. The election also
satisfied the masses, although a momentous crack would be developed later. But for now it was
quite peaceful among the Muslims.

Critics

The chief critique comes from Shiites who argue it was a pure manipulation by the three
companions present at Saqifa. They also argue that the Prophet, at times, had hinted about Ali
being his successor. The Sunnis outrightly reject the claims. European critics contend that the
election was in essence undemocratic. They believe only few handful people chose him for their
benefits. But they forget that about 1400 years ago there was no concept of democracy or
universal suffrage. It was, instead, an achievement of Islam that a chief had been selected who
received widespread acceptance.

Early Days
Usama’s expedition

We know the Prophet had dispatched an army against tribes lying along the border with Syria,
that was ruled by Byzantine empire. The tribes had shown tendencies of hostilities and at times
had ridiculed the Prophet. Usama had to return then due to the Prophet’s illness. The Caliph
wanted to finish the task, the Prophet left uncompleted. He wished to conclude it on any
condition. He went against the suggestions of close companions and sent an expedition. Usama
won and returned with momentous bounty.

Bedouin Attack on Madinah

There were few tribes that had accepted Islam but were reluctant to follow it after the death of
the Prophet. They believed Madinah was defenseless and knew most of the warriors were with
Umar, who had still not returned. Few of them were incited by the false prophet of Najd. Some
other were wary of giving Zakat and Jizya. But the caliph was adamant and maintained nothing
be altered in what the Prophet had left behind. Abu Bakr had already readied his men for any
attack that might come.The Bedouins finally attached but were defeated in both the Battle of
Dhu’l-Qassa and Battle of Rabadha. The battles further cemented Islam’s grip over smaller tribes
of Arabia. Abu Bakr’s determination had proved to be strategic and against all odds he stifled the
opposition with little or no loss.

The War against Apostasy (Riddah): 632-633 A.D.

Nomadism of Arab Bedouins

The nomads are by nature unruly and disobedient. To them only one union exists and that is
their tribe. They liked to move. They abhorred the idea of Zakat. It must also be noted that
except for larger tribes, the smaller ones had only come into fold very recently. They had
accepted Islam due to their and Quraish’s defeat.

Tribal Particularism

They believed their allegiance ended with the death of the Prophet. They couldn’t adjust
themselves to greater social unity and uniformity. The still held allegiance to their tribal chiefs. In
some cases, it was their chief that incited among them apostasy.

Paganism

In Islam, they had to pray five times, keep fasts, and give Zakat. This was an arduous task for
them. In previous decades, they could worship anytime they wanted and to anyone who they
liked. There were no defined set of rules in their ancient old religion, so they exploited it to full
extent. They engaged in usury, gambling, and adultery which Islam strictly prohibited.

Prophetism

The key threat to the Islamic state came from the emergence of Prophetism. The success of the
Prophet had instigated few insane individuals to claim prophethood. Since Arabs were tribal-
loving people, they accepted these persons without any questions. Why not have their own
prophet. The chief contenders/claimants were:

a. Musaylima the Liar → came from powerful tribe of Banu Hanifa which dwelt in Yemama in
Central Arabia. He had his own Quran and talked about foolish revelations. Few European
historians believe he was rather inspired by Christianity than Islam. The success of the Prophet
may have energized him though.

b. Aswad al-Ansi → he had already started revolting in last days of the Prophet. He belonged to
Yemen. He was killed by Dalimi and his party a day before the Prophet’s demise. Nonetheless,
his tribe did revolt and challenged the Caliph.

c. Tulayha of Najd → he was the chief of Banu Asad. He was wealthy and a great warrior. His
abode was close to Madinah.

d. Sajah of Mesopotamia → the fourth pretender was a woman who belonged to Banu Taghlib
which was a sub-sub-clan of great Tamim tribe. She was a Christians a subject of the Persian
Empire.

Military expedition against rebels

To reclaim Islam, Abu Bakr divided the army into 11 battalions and placed them under a
distinguished commander. Arabia was simultaneously divided into 1 parts. Each battalion was to
suppress the rebellion. The first column was under the command of Khalid bin Walid. Khalid
played a decisive role in reclaiming Islam’s supremacy, as we shall see later. The eleventh column
was stationed in Madinah to guard the center with Abu Bakr as its supreme commander. A call
and a message were sent to every mutiny tribe or cities to give up arms and submit to Islam.
Otherwise, man would be killed, and children and women would be sold into slavery.

Distinguished part that Khalid bin Walid played

War against Tulayha (Battle of Buzakha)

He was chosen to lead the column against Tulayha since he closest to Madinah and an
immediate danger. He had gathered hi Banu Asad at Buzakha and asked other tribes to join him
too. Most of the adjoining smaller tribes joined him unreluctantly. Khalid bin Walid got backing
of Banu Tayi that provided about army of 1000 under its chief. The army now numbered around
3000 in total. When they were on their way to battlefield, they saw the bodies of the party that
they had sent to keep watch on Banu Asad. This exasperated Muslims and energized them to
crush Banu Asad. Muslim’s assault was strong; they didn’t even think about being in defensive
position. The Muslims got an upper hand at the start of the battle. Upon seeing the situation,
Chief of Ghaftan tribe asked Tulayha if he had received any message from his God. To which he
replied no. This went on for second time and at last third time Tulayha said yes and narrated
them a very superficial and vague revelation. To this, the Chief was convinced they were going to
lose. He gathered his men and left hurriedly. The pretender, Tulayha, also fled after a while to
Syria, he would later submit to Umar. Banu Asad gave up mutiny and asked for forgiveness which
Abu Bakr accepted.

War against Malik bin Nuwarya

Malik bin Nuwarya was a chief of Bani Yerbu, a clan of Tamim. Sajah belonged to Banu Tamim
and had asked for their support. The Tamim tribe was itself divided into Muslim and anti-Muslim
bloc. Banu Yerbu responded to Sajah’s call. Most of the other clans of Tamim remained aloof.
Sajah left Malik to fight Khalid while she went ahead to challenge another retender herself,
Musaylima. Most of Malik’s men had submitted to Islam by the time Khalid arrived. When they
arrived they captured Malik and his 25 men. The argument ensued in Muslim camp over if they
had also surrendered and accepted Islam. Khalid told his army to hold them in tent for the night
and decided that the dilemma be taken care of tomorrow.

As the night fell, few Muslim soldiers killed Malik and his men. Subsequently, Khalid married
Malik’s beautiful wife. Next day, Abu Qutaba charged his commander of deliberately ordering
Malik’s murder and vowed to arraign him back at home. The Caliph summoned him and asked
for explanation. Khalid replied that it was all due to a misunderstanding. He had asked his
soldiers ‘to cover a man with a blanket’ which in soldiers dialect meant killing a man. The Caliph
accepted hos version and exonerated him of all charges.

War against Musaylima of Yemama

As we mentioned earlier, Sajah had set on to challenge Musaylima in Yemama. As soon as she
reached, Musaylima gave her an offer to marry, which she accepted on the condition she would
receive half the land-revenue of Yemama. After staying for few days, she left for her hometown,
but this act had stigmatized her image back in Mesopotamia. By the time, she returned she was
no longer significant. So, now Ikram and Shurahbil were ordered to attack Musaylima
collectively, but Ikram single-handedly started the battle and faced a setback. The Caliph was
agitated on Ikrima and diverted him somewhere else and Khalid was to face Yemama now. The
fighting ensued, Muslims were pushed backed. Khalid divided his army according to tribal and
kinship affiliation that proved to rewarding and Muslims succeeded in driving them to a garden
that later came to be called ‘garden of death.’ Musaylima lay dead along with hundred of his
men. Banu Hanifa finally surrendered before the Caliph.

Conquests of Abu Bakr

Conquest of Chaldea and Hira

As we read before, the Persian (Sassanid) empire was crumbling due to their greedy lords. The
taxes were high, and dams and canals were in ruinous position. Chaldea was also called Lower
Iraq. The main seat of Persian empire was in Upper Iraq and the regions that were between
Arabia and Lower Iraq acted as a vasal state for the empire. The lower Iraq was usually looted
and raided by the Arabian tribes residing near the border. A little before the rise of Islam,
Bedouin raids had increased intensely, which culminated into the full battle known as Dhu-Qar in
610-11 A.D. The tribe Banu Shayban of Bakr tribe won against the Persians. The Sassanid empire
had also been defeated heavily by Hercules of Byzantine empire after few successes. Banu
Shayban was led by its chief, al-Muthanna bin Haritha. he was thinking of invading the Persian
province, but he didn’t have men nor resource. He decided to ask for aid from the Caliph. He
especially requested for Khalid. Khalid was still in Musaylima, he was ordered to direct his men
towards Chaldea.

Battle of Chains, 633

Khalid, by the time he reached Khaffan, had gathered 10,000 men. Al-Muthanna joined with his
8,000. Khalid wrote a letter to Hormuz, who although undeterred by the letter forwarded it to
the King Chosroes and requested reinforcements. Hormuz, on the other hand, set out to fight
Khalid’s army. Hormuz reached al-Hafir and took possession of the spring. But it proved
insignificant since Khalid just after his arrival launched an assault. He killed the commander,
Hormuz, in one blow. The army of his was defeated too. Since the place was so narrow and the
Persians were to chains the battle came to be associated with it. Arab army gained a large booty
from opposition’s caravan.

The few left of army of Hormuz fled and they were chased by al-Muthanna. He confronted larger
army now since the reinforcement had met them halfway. He again requested Khalid for aid.
Khalid came at once and again using his provocative strategy beat the army. Similarly, the King
Chosroes tried again by sending a collective army at Walaja, but it was defeated too. Again, the
Christian bloc of Bakr asked for men and resources from the King to fight the Muslims. They
were provided with that; they lost too. The battle came to be known as Battle of Walaja and
Ullays.

Conquest of Hira

Soon after his victory at Ullays, he turned northward towards Hira. The King had now fled leaving
behind his Christian subjects. The subjects resisted for a while from behind their fortresses. Their
courage as they had known about consistent Khalid’s victories. They surrendered, and a treaty
was signed that came to be known as The Treaty of Hira. Hira was to remain Christian but Khalid
or a Muslim would lead it and collect poll-tax. In turn he would provide protection.

Other Battles won

The Persians did little against the Arab invader. Al-Muthanna wanted to advance further and
challenge the chief seat of that empire. The Caliph ordered Khalid to not do it. Instead, he would
be ordered to move towards Christian Arab tribes dwelling beyond Hira to the West of the
Euphrates. The chief clan was Banu Taghlib; the same clan that taken part in Sajah’s supposed
conquest. They had grown restless after seeing Hira fall. They continued pressing the Persian
empire. They also gathered few other Christian tribes to rally behind them. Khalid defeated them
in three consecutive battles at al-Anbar, Duma and Firaz. With this the conquest of Chaldea was
complete and no other rebellion was expected. It is imperative to note here that Firaz was a
border between Persian and Byzantine empire. Banu Taghlib had gained their support at the
borders and fought the Muslims together. It is said the opposition’s army numbered 0.1 million
but even that was defeated by Khalid.

Invasion of Syria

Syria was a land of several race, religions, and cultures. The tribes which lived on the Arab side of
the border were more pagan than Christian. The Greek Orthodox Christians was an official
religion.

The Ghasanid of Basra

Banu Ghassan was a Yemenite tribe that had migrated after the breach of Ma’rib Dam. The
Ghassan established a kingdom in Syria. Over time, they came to assume the role of vassal state
for Byzantine empire, as Chaldea did for Persian one. The vassals often fought too. The Ghassans
were crumbling when Khusraw Pervez, emperor of Persia, invaded it in 619. Hercules, emperor
of Byzantine, retook it and placed it under the Ghassans again.

Immediate cause and Abu Bakr’s reaction

Hercules had regained Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt from Persians. But due to this he ran into
debt and had to stop subsidies that he used to give to Bedouin tribes along the Arabian border.
The alienated the tribes who now decided to throw their lot behind Muslims. Thus, the tribes of
Judham and Quza’a played the same role that Shayban had in Hira conquest. The relations
between the Caliph and the Byzantine were strained since the Battle of Mutah in the days of the
Prophet. It was for this reason that the Prophet had dispatched Usama’s expedition to Syrian
border which Abu Bakr resumed.

Khalid bin Sa’ad’s Expedition

While the wars of Riddah were still going on, the Caliph decided to send a small army to keep an
eye on Northern border that lay before Syria. Khalid was to keep an eye on movements of
Byzantines and Arab tribes living there. He disregarded the order and launched an offensive
which was decisively crushed. Khalid lost his son, but himself avoided death and fled to
Madinah. Consequently, the Caliph decided to wage war against Byzantine in Syria. Since the
armies were returning after winning Riddah war, he decided to divert them to Syrian border.

Abu Bakr dispatched the army in four successive detachments. It all happened in 634. The
armies together numbered around 20,000. Unlike, other armies of Riddah, there were largely
from Madinah. The Caliph instructed them well. Few excerpts from the instruction merit to be
written here, for they present the manner of war that Islam allowed.
“O People! I have ten orders to give you, which you must observe loyally. Deceive none and steal
from none. Betray none and disfigure no person killed on the battlefield. Do not kill any child,
women, or aged man. Do not bark or burn the date palms; nor cut down fruit trees nor destroy
crops: do no slaughter cattle, flocks, or camels except for food. Do not kill monks and a hermit
who you will come across in Syria.”

The Muslims got initial success and two detachments got full success in their advance. Hercules,
on the other, formed an army of 100,000 soldiers to meet the Muslims. They were to be led by
his brother, Theodorus. Abu Bakr sent an order to Khalid bin Walid to join the detachments in
Syria. He left behind the administration in al-Muthanna’s hands and only gathered his men
whereas al-Muthanna’s men would guard Hira. He joined Muslim forces near Damascus. He
accepted as a supreme commander. He ordered the army to fall back to South till they reached a
place on the Dead Sea, Ajnadayn. Here four detachments met plus Khalid bin Walid.

Thus, 40,000 men were now under the command of Khalid. The Hercules army met them at
Ajnadayn. On 30th July 634 the battle started. Arabs charged so fiercely that Roman morale was
shattered, and they fell back after a bloody opposition. Theodora ran away to the North.
Muslims lot 3000 men but the victory opened Palestine to them. They invaded and conquered
city after city till they reached Gaza. The news reached Abu Bakr when he was on his death-bed