Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq
أبو بكر الصديق
- Dates
- 573–634 CE / 50 BH–13 AH
- Relation to the Prophet ﷺ
- Closest friend; father-in-law through ʿĀʾishah
The first man outside the Prophet's ﷺ household to accept Islam. His friendship is the single most documented companionship in Islamic history.
Life
Abū Bakr was a wealthy Makkan merchant when the Prophet ﷺ received the first revelation. He believed instantly — without asking for proof, the Prophet ﷺ said, which is why he was given the title al-Ṣiddīq, the one who affirms the truth. He emptied his wealth freeing enslaved early Muslims, including Bilāl. He accompanied the Prophet ﷺ in the cave on the Hijrah, and the Qurʾan itself preserves the moment.
After the Prophet's ﷺ death in 632, the community was stunned. ʿUmar drew his sword in grief; Abū Bakr stood up, delivered the now-famous words — "whoever worships Muhammad, Muhammad has died; whoever worships Allah, Allah is alive and does not die" — and quoted the Qurʾan. In that moment, the community held. He served as the first caliph for just two years and three months. He united the peninsula, launched the conquests, and died content.
Passages that mention Abū
-
""Buy him." So, Abu Bakr bought Bilal for seven ounces and freed him. He informed the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who said, "Share with me, O Abu Bakr." Abu Bakr replied, "I have already freed him." Ibn Uyaynah narrated that Abu Bakr bought Bilal while he was buried under stones for five ounces of gold. The sellers said, "If you had refused except for an ounce, we would have sold him." Abu Bakr replied, "If you had refused except for a hundred ounces, I would have taken him." This chain is strong."
-
"Abu Quhafa, the father of al-Siddiq. The name of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq was Abdullah ibn Abi Quhafa Uthman ibn Amir ibn Sakhr ibn Ka'b ibn Sa'd ibn Taym ibn Murra ibn Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy ibn Ghalib. Abu Quhafa accepted Islam in the year of the Conquest. Al-Siddiq came leading him to the Prophet, God's peace and blessings be upon him, who said, "Why did you not leave the old man in his house, so that we might come to him?", in honor of Abu Bakr, may God be pleased with him."
-
"Then al-Muthanna ibn Haritha found news from al-Siddiq slow in coming, since he was occupied with the people of Syria and the war of Yarmuk already mentioned. So al-Muthanna travelled in person to al-Siddiq, appointing as his deputy over Iraq Bashir ibn al-Khasasiyya, and over the frontier posts Said ibn Murra al-Ijli. When al-Muthanna reached Madina, he found al-Siddiq in the final illness of his death. He had already designated Umar ibn al-Khattab to succeed him, and when al-Siddiq saw al-Muthanna, he said to Umar: "If I die, let not evening come upon you until you have summoned the people to the war against the people of Iraq alongside al-Muthanna."
-
"Tadhariq was slain, and he had thirty pavilions and thirty canopies of brocade with all the carpets and silk within them; and when morning came they gathered up all the spoils that were there. Yet their joy at what they found was nothing beside their grief for al-Siddiq when Khalid informed them of his death; but God gave them in his place al-Faruq, may God be pleased with him. And Khalid said, when he consoled the Muslims for al-Siddiq: Praise be to God who decreed death for Abu Bakr, and he was dearer to me than Umar; and praise be to God who has given authority to Umar, and he was more hateful to me than Abu Bakr, yet God has bound me to love him."
-
"the like of the hadith of Abu Qilaba from Anas, or to the same effect. Another Hadith: Abu Bakr Hung from the Messenger, Umar from Abu Bakr, Uthman from Umar The Imam Ahmad said: Yazid ibn Abd Rabbih told us: Muhammad ibn Harb told us: al-Zubaydi told me, from Ibn Shihab, from Amr ibn Aban ibn Uthman, from Jabir ibn Abdullah, that he used to relate that the Messenger of God, God's peace and blessings be upon him, said: "A righteous man was shown last night that Abu Bakr hung from the Messenger of God, and Umar hung from Abu Bakr, and Uthman hung from Umar." When we rose from the Messenger of God, God's peace and blessings be upon him, we said:"
-
"it were not for the supplication of our brother Suleyman, he would have become tied up, and the children of the people of the city would have played with him. The polytheists rose against Abu Bakr and the Muslims, and they were struck severely in the mosque. Abu Bakr was trampled and beaten harshly. Al-Fasiq Utbah ibn Rabi'ah approached him and struck him with his sandals, twisting them towards his face, and jumped on Abu Bakr's stomach until his face was unrecognizable from his nose. The Banu Taym came to his aid, driving the polytheists away from Abu Bakr, and they carried him in a garment until they"
Related: Abu Bakr audiobook · Qurʾan 2:152 — So remember Me · ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb · Book of Knowledge · Best Islamic audiobook apps
Also from this generation
- ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb
عمر بن الخطاب
The Prophet ﷺ made duʿāʾ that Islam be strengthened through ʿUmar. It was answered dramatically — his conversion changed the religion's trajectory in Makkah.
- ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān
عثمان بن عفان
The caliph who unified the Qurʾanic script. The standard muṣḥaf used today descends directly from his committee's edition.
- ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib
علي بن أبي طالب
The first young man to accept Islam — aged 9 or 10. The Prophet ﷺ said of him: "I am the city of knowledge, and ʿAlī is its gate."