The virtue of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to us while we were in the mosque, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) had tied a strip of cloth around his blessed head; this was during the illness of his (peace and blessings be upon him) final days, in which he passed away. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) moved towards the pulpit, and we followed him (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By the One in whose hand is my soul, I am at this very moment standing at the Pool (al-Kawthar)." Then he related the full hadith, in which the virtue of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) is mentioned, and at its end it is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) then came down from the pulpit, and after that (until his passing) he did not stand on the pulpit again.
Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated it in al-Musannaf (3859), and its chain is hasan (good).

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went out to make peace (between people). Meanwhile, the time of prayer came, and Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him): "The time of prayer has come, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is not present here at the moment. Is it your view that I should call the adhan and the iqamah, and you lead the people in prayer?" He said: "If you wish (then fine)." So Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) called the adhan and said the iqamah, then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) went forward and led the people in prayer. When they had finished the prayer, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived and asked: "Have you prayed?" They said: "Yes." He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Who led you in prayer?" They said: "Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him)." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You did well. It does not befit a people among whom Abu Bakr is present that anyone other than him should lead them in prayer."
Imam Ahmad bin Mani' narrated this hadith in his Musnad; however, the narrator in its chain, Isa bin Maymun al-Jurayri al-Basri, is da'if (weak), though the original incident of his leading the prayer is established in Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, dislikes in the heavens that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) be declared mistaken on earth, or that any statement of his be judged wrong."
Al-Harith bin Abi Usamah mentioned this report in his Musnad; however, the narrator in its chain named Muhammad bin Sa'id is a kadhdhab (liar) and a fabricator of hadith, and Bakr bin Khunays is also da'if (weak); on this basis the hadith scholars have declared this report fabricated and false.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that when this blessed verse was revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Indeed, those who lower their voices in the presence of the Messenger of Allah" [Surah al-Hujurat: 3], Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said (out of respect and reverence for it): "I have made a sworn pledge that I will speak to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) only like one who whispers a secret (in an extremely soft and low voice)."
Imam al-Bazzar recorded this report in his Musnad; however, the imams of narrator criticism have declared the narrator in its chain, Husayn bin Umar, da'if (weak).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a man returned from a military expedition; he was related to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) through the women. He (peace and blessings be upon him) was at that time in the house of Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her). The man entered and gave the greeting of peace, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Welcome to a man who has returned safe and with spoils of war; state your need." He asked who among the people was dearest to him. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This one who is behind me," meaning Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her). The man said that he did not mean among the women, but was asking about the men. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Her father (Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him)."
The narrator in its chain, Nafi' Abu Hurmuz, is matruk (abandoned).

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No one's wealth has ever benefited us as much as the wealth of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) has benefited us."
Imam Abu Ya'la also narrated something similar with his chain through Amr al-Naqid, Sufyan and al-Zuhri, and on this subject there is also a narration from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that there was some dispute and exchange of reproaches between Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), upon which Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) apologised to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), but he did not accept his apology. When this reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), it weighed very heavily upon him (peace and blessings be upon him). Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and sat down, but he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned his blessed face away from him. He moved and sat on the other side, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away again. Then he got up and sat directly in front of him (peace and blessings be upon him), but he (peace and blessings be upon him) still turned his blessed face away. At this Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Messenger of Allah, I see you turning away from me, and I think it is only because of something that has reached you about me. What worth then is my kneeling like this while you are turning away from me? By Allah, I do not care at all to live in this world even for a moment while you are turning away from me." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Are you the one to whom Abu Bakr apologised and you did not accept it from him? I came to you all (with the message of Allah), and you all said: 'You have lied,' while this companion of mine said: 'You have spoken the truth.'" Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said three times: "Will you leave me and my companion alone?"
Its chain is da'if (weak); however, it has a shahid (corroborating narration) in Sahih al-Bukhari from the hadith of Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I was taken up to the lowest heaven (for the Mi'raj), and I did not pass by any heaven without finding (these words written) in it: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and Abu Bakr al-Siddiq is behind me (that is, my right hand and companion in the work)."
The chain of this report contains the narrators Abdullah bin Ibrahim al-Ghifari and Abd al-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam, whom the hadith scholars have declared da'if (weak), and for this reason its standing has been criticised.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that Abu al-Qasim (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A woman entered the Fire (of Hell) because of a cat" (and he related the full hadith), and in this narration it is also mentioned that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) bear witness to this," although Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) were not present there at the time.
He (peace and blessings be upon him) further said: "While a man was among his flock of goats, a wolf suddenly came and snatched a goat," and in this too, as in the previous narration, it is mentioned: "Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) bear witness to this incident."
In the same way he related another incident: "While a man was riding a cow," and in this too it says: "Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) bear witness to its truth," although Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) were not present at that place.
He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "While a man was walking (with great pomp) dressed in a very costly and fine suit of clothes, strutting and full of self-admiration at his state, Allah Almighty made the earth swallow him," and in this story too it is narrated: "Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) bear witness to this," although Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) were not present there at the time.
The origin of this hadith is found in the Sahih (al-Bukhari and Muslim) and in other books of hadith in scattered form, but the other imams of hadith limited the mention of the testimony of Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) to the stories of the wolf and the cow only.

It is narrated from Qays bin Abi Hazim (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: "I saw Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him); he was a lean, slender-bodied man with little flesh on his body, and he was a man of a very white (fair) complexion."
Imam Ahmad bin Mani' narrated it in his Musnad, and all the narrators of its chain are thiqat (trustworthy) and reliable.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she mentioned: "Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) used to dye (his hair) with henna."
Its chain contains the narrator Abdullah bin Lahi'ah, who is considered da'if (weak) by the majority of hadith scholars on account of his memory; however, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq's (may Allah be pleased with him) dyeing with henna and katam is established by other authentic narrations. Imam Ahmad narrated it in the Musnad.

It is narrated from Musa bin Talhah that Sayyidah Aishah bint Talhah (may Allah be pleased with her) was saying to her mother, Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both), (boastfully): "My father is better than your father." At this the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), said: "Shall I not judge between the two of you (in this matter)? Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'O Abu Bakr, you are Allah's freed one (Atiq) from the Fire.'" She said: From that day he came to be called Atiq. And when Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Talhah, you are among those 'who have fulfilled their vow' [Surah al-Ahzab: 23]."
In this narration Ishaq bin Yahya is da'if (weak), even if Musa heard it directly from Aishah bint Talhah or Umm Kulthum (may Allah be pleased with them); otherwise it is also munqati' (broken). The mention of Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) in it is also transmitted through other chains, and Mu'awiyah bin Ishaq narrated it from Aishah bint Talhah (may Allah be pleased with her) with a different wording.
It is narrated from the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that she said: "By Allah, one day I was in my house, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting in the courtyard with his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and a curtain was between me and them. Meanwhile Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Whoever would be pleased to look at Allah's freed one from the Fire, let him look at Abu Bakr.'" The name his family had given him was Abdullah bin Uthman, but the title Atiq prevailed over it.
Imam al-Tirmidhi narrated it through another chain from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) in abridged form with these words: Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You are Allah's freed one from the Fire," and so from that day he came to be called Atiq.

It is narrated from Ishaq that he heard Jarir bin Abd al-Hamid saying: "If I do not give Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) virtue and precedence over Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), it would mean that I have myself belied the word of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him); and the truth is that I am far more in need of affirming the statement of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) than of belying him."
What is meant by this statement is that, since it is transmitted from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) through mass-transmission (tawatur) that the best persons of this Ummah after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Sayyiduna Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with them both), affirming him requires that they be held superior.

It is narrated from a man of Banu Asad that he said: "I saw Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) during the expedition of Dhat al-Salasil, and (because of the colour and gleam of the henna dye) his blessed beard looked as though it were the blazing flame of arfaj (a desert shrub)."
Imam Ahmad bin Mani' recorded this narration in his Musnad. Because one narrator in its chain is unnamed (mubham), it is weak in its chain; however, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq's (may Allah be pleased with him) use of henna and katam dye is established by other reliable and authentic hadith.

It is narrated from Ibn Abi Mulaykah (may Allah have mercy on him) that he addressed Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), saying: "O Khalifah (deputy) of Allah!" Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said (correcting him): "I am the Khalifah (successor) of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and I am pleased and content with that (title and attribution)."
The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic), and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal narrated it in Fada'il al-Sahabah.

It is narrated from Qays bin Abi Hazim (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: I saw Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) with a palm branch in his hand, and he was saying (to the people emphatically): "Listen attentively to the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)."
This report is sahih (authentic) as mawquf (stopping at the Companion).

It is narrated from Huzayl bin Shurahbil (may Allah have mercy on him) that the Commander of the Believers, Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), said: "If the faith of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) were compared with the faith of all the inhabitants of the earth and weighed against them, the faith of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) would certainly outweigh the faith of them all."
Mu'adh bin al-Muthanna recorded this narration in Ziyadat Musaddad; all its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy), and Imam al-Bayhaqi also narrated it in Shu'ab al-Iman as a saying of Sayyiduna Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said (in view of the greatness and rank of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him): "It is my wish and desire: would that I were a hair on the chest of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him)."
I (Ibn Hajar) say: The first (report) has a marfu' shahid (a corroborating narration traced to the Prophet) from the hadith of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) in the book of Ibn Adi, mentioned in the biography of Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz bin Abi Rawwad.

It is narrated from the family of Abu al-Hayyaj that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This pulpit of mine stands upon one of the gates of Paradise. Indeed, a servant was given the choice by his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, between living in this worldly life as long as Allah wills, or choosing the meeting with his Lord." (On hearing this) Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) began to weep. (Then the narrator) related the full hadith like the hadith of Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), and in it are also these words: "But (between us) there is the affection and brotherhood of faith."
The origin of this hadith is found in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim; however, in this particular chain the family of Abu al-Hayyaj are mastur (of unknown standing), while al-Tirmidhi declared the wording about the virtue of the pulpit hasan sahih.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: "We have nothing of (the public treasury's) wealth except a bowl and a milch she-camel; so when I die, send both of these to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)." Then, when he passed away, she sent both of them to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), upon which he said: "May Allah Almighty have mercy on Abu Bakr; he has certainly put those who come after him to great hardship (in following his footsteps and the example of abstinence and piety he set)."
And the hadith of Sayyidah Asma bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both) about the hardships that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) suffered from the polytheists in Makkah will come, if Allah Almighty wills, in the section on the Prophetic biography.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that once the polytheists of Makkah beat the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) so severely that he (peace and blessings be upon him) fell unconscious. Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and began calling out (addressing the polytheists): "Woe to you! 'Would you kill a man because he says: My Lord is Allah?' [Surah Ghafir: 28]" The polytheists asked: "Who is this (calling out)?" The people said: "This is Ibn Abi Quhafah (Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with them both)."
Imam Abu Ya'la narrated this report with the same chain, and at its end are the additional words "the madman." This hadith is sahih (authentic); Imam al-Hakim narrated it through the route of Ibn Numayr, al-Diya al-Maqdisi selected it, and in support of it there is also the narration of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both) in Sahih al-Bukhari.

It is narrated from Musa bin Mannah that al-Qasim bin Muhammad was a very truthful and taciturn man. When Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) became caliph, al-Qasim said: "Today even the secluded maiden will speak out from her chamber. I heard my paternal aunt, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), say: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, the tribes of the Arabs apostatised, the people raised their heads (craning in expectation), and the condition of the Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) (in their helplessness) became like that of goats driven and scattered in a garden. By Allah, whatever matter the Companions differed over, my father removed its difficulty and resolved it. Then she mentioned Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: Whoever saw Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) knew that he had been created only to strive and bear hardship for Islam. Then she said: By Allah, he was most diligent and quick, unique in his own way; he had prepared for every important matter a measure equal to it. I have not seen character like his in anyone, until she counted seven of his qualities which I have not remembered."
Al-Harith narrated from Yahya bin Abi Bukayr, from Abd al-Aziz bin Abdullah, from Abd al-Wahid bin Abi Awn, from al-Qasim, that Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, and by Allah, if the grief and burden that befell my father had descended upon the firm, towering mountains (they too could not have borne it)."
Ahmad bin Yunus and Ishaq bin Bishr also narrated it from Abd al-Aziz, and the narration of Ibn Abi Umar has made clear the abridgement or shortfall of Abd al-Aziz (in the other narrations).