Khan Yasir

Majority of speeches are delivered through tongue, they reach ears and easily fell from there;
few speeches are delivered through hearts, they reach hearts and are seldom forgotten by
history. One of such memorable speeches was delivered by Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased
with him) after demise of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him). The
demise of the Prophet had left Muslims flabbergasted and people even of as tough character as
that of Umar, were devastated and lost. At that critical juncture Abu Bakr stepped forth and
declared, “O people! Whoever worships Muhammad should know that Muhammad has died.
And whoever worships Allah should know that Allah is immortal”. Then, he recited the
following verse: Muhammad is no more than a Messenger: many were the Messengers that
passed away before Him. If he died or was slain, will ye then turn back on your heels? If any did
turn back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah; but Allah (on the other hand) will
swiftly reward those who (serve him) with gratitude.

Abu Bakr knew the importance of organisation in Islam but he didn’t have any lust for power.
So he proposed two names from amongst the most capable and pious men for the seat of
caliphate. These names were of Umar and Abu Ubaida. However Umar stepped forward and
proposed the name of Abu Bakr who was then unanimously elected. And thus, the calm, serene
and disciplined personality of Abu Bakr not only managed the crisis immediately after the death
of the Prophet but was also destined to manage the affairs of Islam as its first caliph.

Abu Bakr’s first speech as the caliph is also historic in which he has summarised the principles of
the Islamic governance. He said,

I have been given the authority over you, though I am not the best amongst you. If I do well, help
me; and if I do wrong, set me right. Sincere regard for truth is loyalty and disregard for truth is
treachery. The weak amongst you shall be strong with me until I have secured his rights; and the
strong amongst you shall be weak with me until I have wrested from him the rights of others.
Obey me so long as I obey God and His Messenger. But if I disobey God and His Messenger, you
owe me no obedience.

In yet another speech that he delivered later he is recorded to have said,

I have been appointed as caliph without my willingness, by God I desired that someone else from
amongst you would have taken this responsibility. I want to tell you that if you want me to
behave exactly like the Prophet then let me clarify that it is impossible. He was a prophet,

1
This paper has been published in Radiance Viewsweekly’s special issue on Governance in Early Islamic Period
dated March 2, 2014. Link: http://radianceweekly.in/portal/issue/governance-in-early-islamic-period/
 without any faults and defects. I am an ordinary human being I cannot even claim of being better
than you. I am indigent of your cooperation, if you see me doing well, walk along with me; if you
see me treading the wrong path, set me right...

The first lesson in administration that these speeches can teach us is that the administrator
should be humble.

Besides, there are a number of principles of the Islamic governance that we can derive from
these speeches. It should be noted that Abu Bakr was the first one after the Prophet to apply
these principles in the day-to-day governance and set the precedent for the future Islamic state
that would spread across the three continents in less than a decade after him. A few key
principles that we can infer from his address are as follows:

1. Citizens have a right to scrutinise their leaders in other words leaders are accountable to
the followers for their deeds.
2. Truthfulness is the foundation on which Islamic rule and the relationship between a
leader and his people is based.
3. In the Islamic state there is absolute regard for the principles of rule of law and equality
before law.
4. As rulers are not infallible like prophets, people have a right to replace them if they are
found to be in violation of the law. In other words obedience to the leaders is
conditional.
Abu Bakr got only an opportunity to rule for two years, three months and ten days and this
period too was dedicated to resolution of several security crises. Thus his achievements as an
administrator or as the one who laid the foundations of the Islamic caliphate and principles of
the same are not duly acknowledged. We shall try, in this brief article, to look at the words and
deeds of the first caliph of Islam and evaluate his work as an administrator. We shall also
attempt to draw some lessons from his method of governance for the present generation.

It should be noted that Abu Bakr inherited a fragmented Arab. Arab was already divided into
infinite number of tribal states. The unity that was brought about by the Prophet was in tatters
after his demise. The great superpowers of the era i.e. Persia and Rome were already influential
in Yemen and Syria respectively. They were sinisterly playing their politics and, according to
Egyptian scholar Haykal, had definite stakes in the upheaval and commotion that followed the
departure of the Prophet to his heavenly abode. These external challenges that the nascent
Islamic republic faced was of two types. First, from those tribes who refused to pay zakat to
Medina after Prophet and in short opted out from the authority of the caliphate of Islam.
Second, from those who openly rebelled against Islam and with collaboration of other enemies
were willing to attack Medina and exterminate Islam itself. Majority of people opined that
Medina should avoid meddling with the first kind and should concentrate on the second kind to
save energy and resources. The farsighted Abu Bakr thought otherwise. He first sent a huge
army, which was ready to depart since the last days of the Prophet, to Rome. He then refused
to show any leniency towards the enemies of the first kind and declared famously, “I will even
fight for the petty piece of rope that they used to give in the Prophetic times and are refusing to
give now”. When Umar angrily confronted him that how can Muslims fight against those who
believe in the same God and the Prophet, Abu Bakr replied thoughtfully, “I will fight with those
who distinguish between Salat and Zakat”. It was because of this upright stand that unity of the
Islamic republic was maintained and on the foundation of this unity the conquests in the period
of later caliphs followed. This teaches us the second lesson in administration that the leader
must be farsighted, must be able to take hard decisions and must be able to take risks. This also
explains that the leader should be ready to be questioned about the rationale of his decisions
and must readily explain and satisfy his people.

After the rebellions were vanquished another side of the farsightedness of the personality of
Abu Bakr comes to the fore. The ‘strict’ Abu Bakr who showed so much gut while protecting the
unity and integrity of the Islamic republic forgave almost all the rebel leaders when they were
defeated. This forgiveness gave those leaders an opportunity to rectify their mistake of the past
and serve the cause of Islam. These repented leaders proved to be vital assets of Islamic
republic in its war with Persian and Roman Empire. This policy of forgiveness after subjugation
was an emblem of great statesmanship on the part of Abu Bakr.

As is already known, Abu Bakr was an extremely pious and righteous man. He was always in
contact with the ordinary people. These contacts were not diminished even after his becoming
the most powerful man on the earth. The ruler of the vast Islamic empire was not shy in
roaming around the streets and bazaars of Medina without escorts, body guards and other
formalities in the name of security. He did not have a sentry on his door. His doors were open
for all, all the time. The third lesson that we learn from his administration is that people should
have direct access to their leaders and there should be no gap and no barrier between the two.

Abu Bakr never missed opportunities to do virtuous services to others. He used to attend
funerals. He used to feed hungry people and visit patients. Umar, the second caliph of Islam,
narrated that he i.e. Umar used to serve an old blind lady with her daily chores in the darkness
of night. One night he sensed that somebody has preceded him and has done all the work.
When he sensed the same thing the next night he vowed to discover who that person is. In the
night that followed Umar came much early and hid himself waiting for the mysterious person to
enter the house. When the man came Umar caught him and found that behind a covered face
there was none other than the Caliph Abu Bakr. This highlights not only Abu Bakr’s concern and
regard for his subjects but also his anxiousness to serve them. The fourth lesson, in short, that
we learn from the administration of Abu Bakr is that the leader should, in real sense of the
term, be a servant of his followers.
Abu Bakr’s government was neither a monarchy nor a dictatorship. It was a government based
on consultancy. Power of the governance was not centralised though the caliph was the court
of final appeal. Abu Bakr tried to practically engage the brilliant minds of Islam in the tasks of
administration through the principle of delegated authority. For e.g. Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah
was given the charge of what could be referred to as ministry of finance in today’s parlance. He
was responsible for collection of revenues for state such as kharj (land tax), ushr (one-tenth of
agricultural revenue), khums (income tax) and jizya (tax taken from unbelievers for their
protection). Community welfare, providing equipment for troops, monthly convoys for troops
etc were also his responsibility. Likewise Umar bin Khattab was given the charge of ministry of
justice. This gives us a few administrative lessons in trusting and engaging brilliant minds in
various tasks and delegation of authority for ensuring efficiency.

This was just a brief sketch of a great administrator’s life. A researcher may well dig further and
find more pearls of wisdom from this glorious period of Islam. One thing however can be
claimed with surety that during the short span of Abu Bakr’s regime the spirit of brotherhood,
equality and justice dominated the society and today’s leaders and policymakers have much to
learn from him as Gandhi rightly has pointed out to fellow Congressmen,

I cannot present before you the examples of Shri Ram Chandra and Shri Krishna as they are not
personalities recognised by history. I cannot help but present to you names of Abu Bakr and
Umar. They were leaders of a vast empire, yet they lived a life of austerity.
(in Harijan dated July 27, 1937)