On the occasion of the establishment of Congress Government in India in 1937, Gandhi said, “I cannot give you the reference of Ram Chandar or Krishna, because they were not considered as historical figures. I cannot help it but to present to you the names of Abu Bakar and Umar Farooq. They were leaders of a vast Empire, yet they lived a life of austerity.” This is recorded in Harijan dated 27-07-1937. Every great civilization is marked by persons of great eminence and for the Islamic civilization, it is Abu Bakr who ranks foremost among the upright. He is popularly referred to as As-siddique, meaning the truthful. He can be found in great detail in wikipedia and google and in the world history encyclopaedia. However, the need is to unfold him beyond these descriptions. Actually named as Abdullah ibn Uthman, Abu Bakr (meaning father of a camel’s calf) was his nick-name or teknonym due to his love for camels. This name became so popular with him that he is mostly referred to by it. He lived between 27 October 573 AD and 23 August 634 AD. Abu Bakr belonged to a rich merchant family of Makkah city, and was well educated. He was a leading businessman, had a sharp memory and a fondness for poetry, which were then considered to be the quintessential traits of Arabian gentlemen. He became the closest companion and adviser of Muhammad [PBUH] and helped him through thick and thin in his mission of peaceful establishment of social justice. He exhausted all his resources to support the cause of Muhammad [PBUH] and stayed by him until the end of his days. This has been beautifully summated by Iqbal in the following lines
Parwane ko chiragh hai, Bulbul ko phool bas,
Siddique ke liay hai Khuda ka Rasool bas.
Lamp is enough for a moth, flower for a butterfly
For Siddique, the Messenger of God suffices
The vitality of the mission of Muhammad [PBUH] has been well recognised by intellectuals across all spectra. As for instance, George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics, has said “I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him – the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Savior of Humanity.” According to Michael H Hart, “it is the unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad (SAW) to be considered the most influential single figure in human history.” He toppled the unjust system with great wit and valour. Men like Abu Bakr strongly reciprocated to the divine call of Muhammad (SAW) who of late had become even more thoughtful and retiring. Contemplation and reflection engaged his mind, and the moral debasement of his people pressed heavily on him. He began preaching and practising what kept descending from cosmos in the form of revelations. Together with Abu Bakr, he worked on the hearts and minds of the people. Abu Bakr was instrumental in fostering a social psychology that criticised the prevalent orthodoxy and socio-economic inconsistencies. While preaching oneness of God, he aimed at establishing an ethical and egalitarian social order based on laws of one God as enshrined in the doctrines of glorious Quran. Abu Bakr would lead by example. He purchased slaves only to set them free. He married his daughter to one such freed slave to undo the social stereotype. He was persecuted many times by his tribesmen but he remained steadfast. He perfected his good actions every single day. As for instance, Umar had often seen him going deep into the desert after every morning prayers and decided to follow him one day. He would go into a house where from he returned in the afternoon. As Abu Bakr left, Umar went in the house to see an elderly, blind, frail lady with small children running around. She didn’t have anyone to take care of. Umar asked her about the person who comes to her house every day. She said that she didn’t know him as he never shared his name but he would come every day, clean my home, wash our clothes, grind our wheat, bake our bread, cook our breakfast, and then leave. Omar began to cry and said “you have exhausted every successor after you”. This impeccable standard was impossible to match but Umar was learning from the way Abu Bakr conducted himself while he was the Caliph and that impacted greatly how Umar would later lead as Caliph himself. God knows how many such deeds he did throughout his life, unheard and unnoticed, but according to an assertion of Muhammad [PBUH], his righteous deeds outweigh the countless stars. In his sermons, Abu Bakr used to say, “Where are the beautiful and the handsome? Where are those who were delighted by their youth and good looks? Where are the kings who built cities and fenced them with walls? Where are the victorious in wars? They all perished and ended in the depths of dark graves. Hasten and hurry up. Do good deeds as death is faster. While as we are busy working for the world, the world is busy trying to turn us out. Therefore if an ignorant person is attracted by the glitz and glamour of the world, that is bad, but if a learned person is thus attracted, it is worse.”
As Muhammad [PBUH] left for heavenly abode, Abu Bakr succeeded to his political and administrative functions and initiated the office of caliph. He was a perfect balance of action and emotion. As for instance, when people had a hard time coping with the fact that Muhammad (SAW) is no more, it was his careful warning that prevented them from venerating the latter as a divine figure. He made a short and powerful speech as follows, “O Muslims, if you adored Muhammad, know that Muhammad is dead; if it is God that you adore, know that He liveth, He never dies. Forget not this verse of the (Quran), ‘Muhammad is only a man charged with a mission; before him there have been men who received the heavenly mission and died’; nor this verse, ‘Thou too, Muhammad, shall die as others have died before thee.” Therefore no wonder that the prophet had said, “If I were to choose from my Umma anyone as my bosom friend, I would have chosen Abu Bakr.”
Dr. Qudsia Gani, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Govt. College for Women, Srinagar