The acceptance of Islam by Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him)

Amr bin Murrah narrates: I came to Ibrahim and asked him, and he replied: The first to accept Islam was Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him).

Amir narrates: I asked Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), or he said: Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) was asked: Who among the people was the first to accept Islam? He replied: Have you not heard the words of Sayyiduna Hassan bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him): "When you recall a sorrow that reached you from a trusted brother, then remember your brother Abu Bakr and what he did. He is the best of creation, the most pious and the most just of them, except for the Prophet, and the most faithful in fulfilling what he undertook. And he is the second, the follower (in faith), whose witness is praised, and the first of the people to affirm the truth of the Messenger."

Hisham bin Urwah narrates from his father: On the day Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam, he had forty thousand dirhams.

Mujahid said: Those who first made their Islam public were seven people: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Bilal, Sayyiduna Khabbab, Sayyiduna Suhayb, Sayyiduna Ammar and the mother of Ammar, Sayyidah Sumayyah (may Allah be pleased with them). As for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), his uncle became a barrier (against the disbelievers); and as for Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, his people became a barrier (against the disbelievers). The others were seized and made to wear coats of iron mail, and then the disbelievers left them to roast in the sun, until their hardship reached its utmost limit, and they gave them what they demanded. Then the people of each man came to him with leather mats containing water, threw them onto them, and then carried them by their sides, except for Sayyiduna Bilal. When evening came, Abu Jahl came and began to abuse Sayyidah Sumayyah and speak obscenely; then he stabbed her with a spear and killed her. So she is the first martyr to be martyred in Islam. As for Sayyiduna Bilal, his own life became of little worth to him for the sake of Allah, until the polytheists grew weary. They put a rope around his neck, then ordered their children, and they began to drag him between the mountains of Makkah, and Sayyiduna Bilal began to say: Ahad, Ahad (One, One).

Something similar is also reported from Mujahid.

Al-Sha'bi said: Except for Sayyiduna Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with him), the rest gave them what they demanded. So the polytheists pressed the back of Sayyiduna Khabbab onto heated stones until the moisture of his back was gone. (Perhaps the melting of the fat of his back is meant.)

Qays said: Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) bought Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) for five uqiyahs while he was buried under stones. The polytheists said: If you had been willing to buy him for one uqiyah, we would (still) have sold him to you. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr said: If you had been willing to sell him only for a hundred uqiyahs, I would (still) have bought him.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Tariq bin Shihab (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with him) was among the Muhajirun and among those who were tortured for the sake of Allah.

Ibn Fudayl narrates from his father: I heard Kardus say: Sayyiduna Khabbab bin al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam as the sixth person, and he had a sixth share of Islam.

Abu Layla al-Kindi said: Sayyiduna Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Umar said: Come near, for I find no one with a greater right to this seat than you except Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him). The narrator said: Then Sayyiduna Khabbab began showing Sayyiduna Umar the marks on his back from the torture inflicted on him by the polytheists.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the first who made their Islam public were seven persons: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Ammar, his mother Sayyidah Sumayyah, Sayyiduna Bilal, Sayyiduna Suhayb and Sayyiduna al-Miqdad (may Allah be pleased with them). As for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Allah Almighty protected him (from the polytheists) through his uncle Abu Talib; and Allah Almighty protected Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (from the polytheists) through his people. As for the rest, the polytheists seized them, made them wear coats of iron mail and left them to burn in the sun. There was not one of them, except Sayyiduna Bilal, who did not go along with what the polytheists wanted. Sayyiduna Bilal's own life became of little worth to him for the sake of Allah, and he was also of little worth to his people. So the polytheists handed Sayyiduna Bilal over to the children, and they began to parade him around the valleys, while Sayyiduna Bilal kept saying: Ahad, Ahad (One, One).