Abu Bakr (ra) - Part 3 There Will Never Be Another One The Firsts

Abu Bakr (ra) - Part 3: There Will Never Be Another One | The Firsts | Dr. Omar Suleiman

Opening

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And there is none worthy of worship except against the wrongdoers. And the return is for the righteous.

O Allah, send blessings and peace upon Your servant and Messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions.

Introduction

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 radiyallahu ta'ala anhu.

The Three Layers of Abu Bakr's Character

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 radiyallahu anhu and the story of Fatima radiyallahu anha were exceptions. I plan to, insha'Allah ta'ala, keep this at one class per person. But Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu has three main layers to him that we wanted to break up, or I wanted to break up into three different ways.

First Layer: The Shield and Supporter

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.

Second Layer: The Pursuer of Good

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 radiyallahu anhu preceded everyone to it, so he was self-motivated, self-driven to every single good.

That Imam al-Muzani radiyallahu anhu said that Abu Bakr had something:

There was something in the heart of Abu Bakr that just exposed him to every good. He had this intuition towards good.

Third Layer: The Irreplaceable First

Now the title for this halaqah, this last class in the first about Abu Bakr, is there will never be another Abu Bakr. There will never be another one.

The First Hajj Leadership

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 radiyallahu ta'ala anhu as the ameer of hajj, as the leader of the hujjaj that went.

The Birth of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr

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? Because Abu Bakr radiyallahu 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.

Abu Bakr radiyallahu ta'ala anhu's wife Asma 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? Muhammad. The only son that Abu Bakr actually had in Islam was this son, Muhammad bin Abi Bakr who was born, who was only two years old when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam passed away.

The Conquest of Mecca and Abu Quhafa's Conversion

So Fatah 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 radiyallahu ta'ala anhu accompanied him on

that journey. And something very special happened that day.

The last holdout of Abu Bakr's family radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, the last holdout from his family. The last person became Muslim that day. His father, his father Abu Quhafa, his father was the last person to accept Islam.

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:

"Ya Abu Bakr, why didn't you leave the elderly man in his home and we would have went to him?"

And Abu Bakr radiyallahu ta'ala anhu said:

"You are more worthy of being brought to, O Messenger of Allah."

Abu Bakr's Tears of Selflessness

And when he started to cry, the sahaba, some of them said:

"This is a day of joy. Why are you crying? Your father became Muslim."

Abu Bakr said:

"I had hoped that the one that would stand and take that allegiance would not be my father, but it would be Abu Talib instead."

The Sanctified Status of Abu Bakr

The Argument with Umar

Probably my favorite story about Abu Bakr is this one. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam was sitting in the masjid. Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu walked in. And he was holding his garments. And he looked visibly 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.

So as Abu Bakr is walking to the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, he says:

"Peace be upon you, O messenger of Allah, I and Umar bin al-Khattab got into an argument."

He says, that I said some things I shouldn't have said in the midst of that argument. I was wrong. So I asked Umar to forgive me, and he refused. So I'm coming to you to help me get his forgiveness.

The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam put his hand on Abu Bakr's shoulder, and he said:

"Allah will forgive you, Abu Bakr."

The Prophet's Defense of Abu Bakr

And as Omar radiyallahu anhu walks up, listen to what the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam says to Omar radiyallahu anhu:

"Allah sent me to all of you, and you people said, you lie. And Abu Bakr said, he's telling the truth. And he supported me with all of himself, and all of his wealth."

And the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam puts his hand on Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu, and he says:

"Are you people going to leave my companion alone?"

The Hadith of Abu Bakr's Special Status

The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam also said in the hadith of Abu Huraira radiyallahu ta'ala anhu:

"Every single person who did a favor for us, we repaid that person except for Abu Bakr." (Bukhari)

"He has a special place that Allah will compensate him on the day of judgment."

"And no one's money and wealth benefited me the way that Abu Bakr's wealth benefited me."

The Khalil (Special Friend) Status

"If I was to take anyone as a khalil (special friend), it would have been Abu Bakr, but your companion is Khalilur-Rahman (the special friend of the Most Merciful)." (Bukhari)

The Prophet's Final Days and Abu Bakr's Leadership

The Choice Between This World and the Hereafter

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 radiyallahu anhu says that the prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam stood up in the masjid, 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 that servant chose that which is with Allah."

Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu started to weep. And he said to the prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam:

"May our mothers and fathers be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah."

Closing All Gates Except Abu Bakr's

Then the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam pointed to all of the gates in the masjid and said:

"All these doors, shut them. Except for the door of Abu Bakr."

Leading the Prayer

When the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam was too sick to lead the salah, he told the companions:

"Go tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer."

When the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam heard the voice of Umar in prayer instead, he sat up and said:

"Where is Abu Bakr? Allah and His Messenger refused except for Abu Bakr."