Rightly Guided Caliphs - Hazrat Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (632-634 AD)

Life Before Caliphate

 Abu Bakr bin Qahafa
 Born in a noble & respectable Quraish family
 2 years younger than the Prophet
 A very close friend of the Prophet from childhood
 Before Islam was known as Abdul Ka’abah
 After accepting Islam the Prophet changed his name to Abdullah
 Acquired the title Abu Bakr as he enjoyed playing with the foal of camels (baby camels)
 No formal education
 Led a pious and chaste life- never drank or gambled
 At the age of 18 he became a cloth merchant
 Eventually became one of the richest merchants of Makkah
 ‘First free adult male’ to accept Islam
 Accompanied the Prophet in the migration to Madinah (cave Thaur incident)
 Participated in the battles of Badr, Uhad, Ditch (Kandaq) and Hunain (& treaty of Hudaibiya)
 Appointed as Imam of the Prophets masjid during the Prophets last illness
 Exercised remarkable self control and resolved the crisis when the Prophet died
 Umar was so overcome with emotions that he drew his sword and declared, "If anyone says that the Messenger of
Allah is dead, I will cut off his head.“
 Abu Bakr declared: ‘He who worshipped Muhammad, let him know that Muhammad being a mortal is dead; he who
worships the Allah of Muhammad, let him know that He lives for ever.’
 He averted a political crisis regarding the successor to the Holy Prophet
 One of the ten blessed companions (ashara mubashara)

Election as Caliph
 As soon as the Prophet passed away the question of the next leader came as a big threat to the solidarity of the Muslim
community
 Ansar insisted the leader should be from them due their service to Islam
 Quraish insisted the leader should be from them as the Prophet was from the Quraish
 Ansar suggested two leaders
 Hazrat Umar said that would split the muslims
 He grasped Hazrat Abu Bakrs hand and swore loyalty & allegiance to him as the next leader
 Muahijireen and Ansar both followed in batches and did the same

Abu Bakrs inaugaration speech: "O people, I swear by Allah that I never coveted the caliphate either by day or by night, nor
had I any inclination towards it. I never prayed to God openly or in secrecy to confer the office on me. I merely accepted this
office lest some mischief might arise at this critical juncture in the history of the Muslims and thereby adversely affect the
interests of Islam. In fact a big task has been assigned to me which is beyond my power to fulfil except with the help of the
Almighty Allah and your whole hearted cooperation. I wished to see the strongest of men in my place this day.

Now, it is beyond doubt that I have been elected your Amir, although I am not better than you. Help me, if I am in the right;
set me right if I am in the wrong. Truth is a trust; falsehood is a treason. The weak among you will be strong with me till, God
willing, his rights have been vindicated; and the strong among you shall be weak with me till, if the Lord wills, I have taken
what is due from him. Obey me as long as I obey Allah and His Prophet, when I disobey Him and His Prophet, then obey me
not. And now rise for prayers; may God have mercy on you."

Expedition to Syria
 In the last few days of the Prophets life he dispatched an army, under the leadership of Usama bin Zaid, to fight the
Byzantine empire
 After the death of the Prophet many tribes apostised from Islam
 Madinah was surrounded by hostile tribes
 Everyone suggested to Abu Bakr that he should call back the army of Usama which had hardly left the city
 Abu Bakr refused to do so
 He said, ‘How can I as the Caliph of the Holy Prophet cancel an order made by the Holy Prophet?’

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  He bid farewell to the army and ordered: ‘You should not kill children, women or old men. Do not injure the date palm;
do not burn it. Do not cut down any tree wherein there is food for men and beasts. Do not slay the flocks of herds of
camels save for needful sustenance. You may eat of the meat that the men of the land may bring to you in their vessels,
making mention thereon of the name of Allah. Do not molest the monks in the churches, and leave them to themselves.
Now march forward in the name of God. Fulfil the mission entrusted to you. May Allah protect you’
 After ten days of marching the Muslims attacked the border tribes
 The Byzantine forces avoided this confrontation as they were no match for the Muslims
 40 days later the Muslims returned back to Madinah victorious

Problems faced by Abu Bakr after becoming Caliph

1. Rebellions were on the rise
2. Refusal to pay zakaat by some surrounding tribes
3. Apostasy movement was spreading (ridda wars)
4. The rise of false Prophets

1. Rebellions
 Many states rebelled after the death of the Prophet
 Bahrain, Oman, Mahrah, Hadramaut & Yemen
 In all these place Abu Bakr undertook military campaigns and subdued the rebellions and crushed any disorder
 All the states were bought back under the banner of Islam
 Refusal to pay Zakaat
 Some tribes refused to pay zakaat (Banu Assad, Ghatafan etc)
 Abu Bakr called a majlis-e-shura (Advisory Council)
 Most sahabah were not in favour of action
 However, Abu Bakr was firm on taking action
 He declared he will fight who so ever doesn’t pay zakaat
 The tribes attacked Madinah unsuccessfully
 The caliph ultimately recived zakaat

2. Apostasy Wars (Ridda Wars)

 Upon death of the Prophet many people rebelled and renounced Islam
 Abu Bakr tackled this calmly but was strict
 Launched a campaign against these movements
 Collected troops in Madinah and divided into eleven battalions
 Under the command of experienced commanders he sent each battalion to eleven different parts of Arabia
 He instructed them to first call the rebels to Islam again and if they refused to engage them in fighting
 Some tribes submitted without fighting and some were fought against
 Within a year the apostasy movement was crushed and there was unity within the Muslim peninsula and Islam was
once again dominant

3. False Prophets
Musailama: Most dangerous false Prophet belonged to Central Arabia (Banu Hanifa)
Aswad Ansi: An ugly man who kept his face veiled arose in Yemen. Nicknamed the veiled Prophet
Tulaiha: A wealthy chief and great warrior of Northern Arabia- Later became Muslim and fought for the Muslims during the
time of Umer
Sajjah: Christian woman- Married Musailama and in later days accepted Islam

(i) Musailama the liar

 He visited the Prophet PBUH in his lifetime
 He declared his own prophethood after the visit
 Wrote a letter to the Prophet PBUH asking to accept him as a Prophet as well and to divide the earth between
them
 The Prophet PBUH called him Musailama Al-Kadhab (Musailama the liar)
 The Prophet PBUH died before he could take any action against the liar
 Musailama claimed he also received revelation
 Had a considerable following after the death of the Prophet PBUH

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  He reduced the 5 daily prayers and relieved his followers of fasting and zakaat & legalised adultery and drinking
 Abu Bakr sent Ikrimah bin Abu Jahl and Shurabhil to fight Musailama at Yamama valley
 Both commanders attacked Musailamas army unsuccessfully and retreated with heavy losses on the Muslim side
 At this critical stage Abu Bakr dispatched the great commander Khalid bin Waleed
 Fierce battle took place in Yamama in 633AD in which the Muslims were victorious
 Musailama was killed by Wahshi
 Battle took place in a garden, the garden was drenched with blood
 Came to be known as ‘The Battle of the Garden of Death’
 Approx 300-700 Muslims were martyred, amongst them many were huffaz of the Quran

(ii) Aswad Ansi

 Claimed Prophethood from Yemen
 Leader of the Ansi tribe
 Nicknamed ‘The Veiled Prophet’
 He used to keep his face covered to hide his ugliness
 Collected a large army and stood in revolt of Islam
 Defeated and killed by the Muslims

(iii) Tulaiha
 Belonged to Banu Asad in Northern Arabia
 Claimed prophethood during the Prophet PBUH’s life
 The Prophet PBUH died before he could take any action against him
 Abu Bakr sent an army battalion under khalid bin Waleed who was successful at punishing him and gained victory
 Tulayha escaped after his loss to Syria as a refugee
 He later accepted Islam and fought under the second caliph Hazrat Umer

(iv) Sajjah
 Christian woman who claimed to be a prophetess
 Belonged to Bani Tamim/taghlib tribe in Iraq
 Musailama invited her to Yamama
 Musailama proposed and they married
 They both decided to join forces and overpower the Muslims
 Her marriage undermined her position as so called prophetess
 After three days Sajjah returned to her people in Iraq and lived an obscure life
 She later accepted Islam with the rest of her tribe when Muslims conquered Iraq

Conquest of Persia
 Arabian peninsula surounded by two great empires
 From the North Eastern side: Persian empire
 From the North: Byzantine empire (Eastern Roman)
 Persians had helped the rebels against Abu Bakr
 Abu Bakr wanted to spread the message of Islam
 There was already unrest in the Persian empire
 Muslims took advantage of this and attacked Eastern Iraq in 633AD under the command of Muthanna bin Haritha &
Khalid bin Waleed

Battle of Chains
 Khalid bin Waleed invited Hurmuz (commander of the Persian army) to accept either Islam, or pay Jizya or be ready
for war
 Hurmuz opted for option three
 Hurmuz forces at Kazima (Present day Kuwait)
 Persian forces were linked via chains hence the Battle of Kazima became known as the Battle of Chains
 Muslims attacked and defeated the Persians in 633AD
 Thousands killed and thousands taken prisoners
 After the Battle of Chains, small skirmishes took place at Mazar, Walaja, Ullis, Anber & En-at-Tamr
 Muslims defeated the Persians one after the other

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Fall of Hira (Iraq): Persian governer of Hira fled with his forces and the Muslims occupied the city without any resistance. Now
the whole of central Iraq was under Muslim rule
Conquest of the Byzantine Empire
 Heraclius, the Byzantine emperor began to conspire against the Muslims with the Syrian tribes on the border
 Abu Bakr raised a large army and divided it into four forces
 Each force was under an experienced commander
 Ubaidah bin Jarrah: Hums (Syria)
 Amr bin Al-Aas: Palestine
 Yazid bin Sufyan: Damascaus (Syria)
 Shurahabeel bin Hasnah: Jordan
 Total no of men: 27,000
 1st encounter took place in Basra in 634AD
 Muslims were victorious
 Battle of Ajnadeen (West of Jerusalem): 250,000 Romans soldiers
 Khalid bin Waleed attacked the them with 40,000 & after killing their commander the Romans lost heart and fled
 Thousands were pursued and killed
 Muslims army marched to Damascus in August 634AD
 Siege of Damascus
 Marching towards Damascus, Muslims came upon a large number of Byzantine troops blocking their way.
 After these troops had been defeated, the survivors fled to Damascus and locked the gates.
 Damascus was laid siege from 21 August – 23 August 634 AD.
 On 23 August, the news of the death of the caliph reached the Muslims and they left for Madinah.
 It was during the caliphate of Hazrat Umar that Damascus finally fell into the hands of Muslims.

Death of the First Caliph

 Abu Bakr died in Madinah in 13AH (634 AD)
 Buried by the side of the Prophet PBUH
 Died at the age of 63 & ruled for 2 years & 4 months
 Before his death he nominated Hazrat Umar as his successor (his appointment was accepted by all)

Character of Abu Bakr

 Tender-hearted but firm and courageous.
 Extremely simple in his habits, very helpful and caring towards the poor and the destitute.
 Brave, far-sighted and wise, fully determined and committed to the cause of Islam.
 Very generous in spending his wealth to please Allah and His Messenger whenever an occasion so warranted.
 Balanced and mature, intellectually and morally sound, pious and humble.

Administration of Abu Bakr

 Formed a truly democratic state & he consulted eminent companions in all important matters.
 Arabia was divided into provinces, governed by governors.
 A Qazi and Amil aided him.
 Established cantonments and kept a reserve military force.
 Gave proper shape to the Bait-ul-Maal.

Services to Islam
 One of the earliest followers and supporters of Islam.
 Great missionary and preacher.
 Saved many newly converted slaves from their cruel masters.
 Participated in almost every battle of Muhammad (PBUH).
 At Hunain, when everyone had deserted Muhammad (PBUH), he stayed at his side.
 One of the very few Muslims who supported the Treaty of Hudaybia immediately after it was signed.
 Donated everything he had for the Tabuk Expedition.
 Kept himself in control when everyone panicked after Muhammad (PBUH)‘s death.
 Dissuaded the Ansar from starting a civil war.
 Suppressed rebels and apostates which saved the state of Madinah from internal disintegration and collapse.
 Added a large amount of territory to the Islamic State of Madinah
 Took steps to compile the scattered revelations of the Holy Quran after the Battle of Yamama.

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