Abu Bakr as-Siddiq

ProfileAbu Bakr as-Siddiq

Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was a successful merchant of Makkah, respected for his honesty and his gentleness, and a friend of Muhammad ﷺ long before the message came. He was the first adult man to accept it, and he was known as as-Siddiq, the one who believes and affirms the truth, since he accepted the Night Journey without hesitation.

He used his wealth to buy the freedom of enslaved Muslims who were being tortured, among them Bilal. When the Prophet ﷺ was told to migrate, he chose Abu Bakr as his companion on the road. The two of them hid for three nights in the Cave of Thawr while the people of Makkah searched for them, and the Quran recalls this moment.

After the Prophet's ﷺ death, Abu Bakr steadied the grieving community and reminded them that Allah is ever-living. He became the first caliph in 11 AH. In just over two years he put down the revolts of the Ridda Wars, fought against tribes that had broken away, and ordered the first gathering of the Quran into a single written copy. He died in 13 AH, and he was buried beside the Prophet ﷺ.

From the Quran

إِلَّا تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ثَانِىَ ٱثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِى ٱلْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَـٰحِبِهِۦ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَنَا ۖ فَأَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُۥ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُۥ بِجُنُودٍ لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ٱلسُّفْلَىٰ ۗ وَكَلِمَةُ ٱللَّهِ هِىَ ٱلْعُلْيَا ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ ۝٤٠

˹It does not matter˺ if you ˹believers˺ do not support him, for Allah did in fact support him when the disbelievers drove him out ˹of Mecca˺ and he was only one of two. While they both were in the cave, he reassured his companion, “Do not worry; Allah is certainly with us.” So Allah sent down His serenity upon the Prophet, supported him with forces you ˹believers˺ did not see, and made the word of the disbelievers lowest, while the Word of Allah is supreme. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.

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