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

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Barzah al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man spoke very harshly to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: (At this insolence of his) I was about to kill him, but Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) rebuked me sternly and said: "This (right, that someone be killed for his insolence) belongs to no one except the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Barzah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man reviled Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), so I said: "O successor of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Shall I not strike off his neck?" He said: "No. After the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) this (right or punishment) is not permissible for anyone."

Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A body that was nourished with unlawful (haram) food will never enter Paradise."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) that: I heard Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) saying that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A body that was nourished with unlawful food will not enter Paradise."

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say on the steps of the pulpit: "Protect yourselves from the Fire, even if only with a piece of a date, for it (charity) straightens crookedness, wards off an evil death, and holds the same place for the hungry (in benefit) as it does for the one who is full."

Sayyiduna Rifa'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) related: I heard Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) saying on the pulpit: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say," and as soon as he mentioned the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) was overcome with emotion and wept. Then, when he had composed himself, he said again: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say," and again, as the mention of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) was moved to tears. Then, when his heart had settled somewhat, he said a third time: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say, last year in this very hot season: "Ask Allah Almighty for pardon, well-being, and complete certainty in the Hereafter and in this world."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Rifa'ah bin Rafi' al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) that: I heard Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) saying on the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say," then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) wept while mentioning the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Then, when this state of his had passed, he said again: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say, last year in days of similarly intense heat: "Ask Allah Almighty for forgiveness, well-being, and complete certainty in this world and the Hereafter."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) related: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade beating those who pray."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade striking those who pray."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that in the blessed time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) there was a man whose devotion to worship and striving greatly impressed us. We mentioned him by name to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not recognise him; then we described his qualities, and still he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not recognise him. While we were mentioning him, the man suddenly appeared, and we said: Here is that man! He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You are telling me about a man on whose face there is a mark of Satan." Then the man came forward until he stood by those people, and he did not even give the greeting of peace. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "I ask you by Allah: when you came and stood at this gathering, did you say in your heart that there is no one among these people more virtuous than me or better than me?" He replied: "Allahumma na'am (O Allah, yes; I did say that)." Then he entered (the mosque) and began to pray. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Who will kill this man?" Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I will. So he went to him and found him standing in prayer. He said (to himself): Glory be to Allah! Shall I kill a man who is praying, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has forbidden killing those who pray? So he came back. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What did you do?" He said: I disliked killing him while he was praying, and you have forbidden killing those who pray. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I (will kill him). He went and found him in prostration. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said (to himself): Abu Bakr is better than me (since he left him, how can I kill him?). So he too came back. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What news?" He said: I found him in prostration, so I disliked killing him. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Who will kill this man?" Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I will. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes, you (will kill him), provided you find him." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) went in and saw that he had already left. He returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who asked: "What happened?" He said: I saw that he had gone. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Had he been killed, not even two men in my Ummah would ever have differed; he was the first and the last of them (the mischief-makers)." Musa (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I heard Muhammad bin Ka'b (may Allah have mercy on him) say: This was the same man (Dhul-Thudayyah) whom Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) later killed.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) that: After the martyrdom of the Companions in the Battle of Yamamah, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) sent for me, and Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was also with him there. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to me and said: 'In the Battle of Yamamah a large number of the reciters of the Qur'an have been martyred, and I fear that if the reciters of the Qur'an continue to be martyred like this in other places too, a large part of the Qur'an will be lost. Therefore my view is that you should issue an order for the Qur'an to be collected.'" I said to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): "How can I do something that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do?" He replied: "By Allah! This is entirely good and beneficial." So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) kept coming back to me about it until Allah Almighty opened my breast to this matter, and my view became the same as that of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) related that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: "You are a sensible young man; we hold no doubt or suspicion of any kind about you, and you used to write down the revelation for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So search out the Qur'an and collect it in one place." Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "By Allah! Had he ordered me to move a mountain from one place to another, it would not have been heavier on me than this order to collect the Qur'an." I asked them: "How are you doing something that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do?" He replied: "By Allah! It is good." They kept insisting with me until Allah Almighty opened my breast too to the matter for which He had opened the breasts of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), and my view became the same as that of the two of them. So I began searching out the Qur'an and collecting it from palm branches, thin white stones and the breasts of men, until I found the last verses of Surah al-Tawbah with Sayyiduna Khuzaymah bin Thabit al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him): "There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves; grievous to him is what you suffer; he is concerned over you, and to the believers he is kind and merciful," to the end of Surah Bara'ah. Then those compiled sheets remained with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) until his death, then with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) until his death, and after that they remained safe with Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him). At that time he was engaged in jihad together with the people of Syria and the people of Iraq for the conquest of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The different ways in which people recited the Qur'an (differences in recitation) had greatly alarmed Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him), so Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him): "O Commander of the Believers! Take care of this Ummah before they differ over the Book of Allah as the Jews and Christians differed." Thereupon Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) sent a message to the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her): "Send us the sheets (the Qur'anic manuscripts) so that we may copy them in the form of a mushaf; then we will return them to you." Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) sent the sheets to Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). Then Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) gave the order to Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr, Sayyiduna Sa'id bin al-As and Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin al-Harith bin Hisham (may Allah be pleased with them), and they copied those sheets into mushafs. Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said to those three men of Quraysh: "When you and Zayd bin Thabit differ over the writing of any word of the Qur'an, write it in the language of Quraysh, for the Qur'an was revealed in their language." So they did that. When all the sheets had been copied and the mushafs were ready, Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) returned the original sheets to Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her), sent one mushaf to every corner of the Islamic realm, and ordered that all other sheets or copies of the Qur'an that people had besides these should be erased or burnt. Imam al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Kharijah bin Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah have mercy on him) informed me that he heard Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) say: "When we were copying the mushafs, I could not find a verse of Surah al-Ahzab, although I used to hear the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recite it myself. I searched for it and found it with Sayyiduna Khuzaymah bin Thabit al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him): 'Among the believers are men who have been true to the covenant they made with Allah.' So I added it to its surah in the mushaf."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No deceitful, cunning person, nor one who treats those under his authority badly, will enter Paradise. And indeed, the first to knock at the door of Paradise will be those male and female slaves who carried out the worship of their Lord well and were sincere towards their master."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one whose conduct towards those under his authority is bad will not enter Paradise." A man said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Did you not tell us that this Ummah will have more slaves and orphans than the other nations?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(If that is so,) then treat them with the same generosity and honour with which you treat your own children; feed them from what you yourselves eat, and clothe them from what you yourselves wear." The man said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Then what of the things of this world will benefit us?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A horse that you keep ready in the way of Allah (for jihad), and a servant who suffices for your needs; and when he prays, he is your brother; when he prays, he is your brother."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Neither a deceiver (cunning person), nor a miser, nor one who reminds others of his favours, nor one who mistreats those under his authority will enter Paradise. And surely the first to enter Paradise will be the slave who obeyed Allah Almighty and also obeyed his master."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who treats those under his authority badly will not enter Paradise, and cursed is the one who harms a Muslim or deceives him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said on the pulpit: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood (last year) in the very place where I stand today; then tears flowed from his (peace and blessings be upon him) blessed eyes, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Ask Allah Almighty for well-being, for no one has been given anything better than well-being after (complete) certainty.'" In this narration, the narrator Abu Mu'awiyah reported the words "illa al-yaqin" (except certainty), the meaning of which is that, apart from certainty, well-being is the greatest blessing.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that: I said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! After the revelation of this verse, 'Whoever does evil will be recompensed for it,' what way of betterment and salvation remains? Will we be recompensed for every evil that we commit?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May Allah have mercy on you, O Abu Bakr! Do you not grieve? Are you not afflicted by fatigue and hardship? Do not various kinds of trouble and misfortune befall you?" I said: "Yes (they certainly do)." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "These are the very hardships through which you are recompensed (for your sins in this very world)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! After the revelation of this noble verse, 'Whoever does evil will be recompensed for it,' what way of success and soundness can there be?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May Allah have mercy on you, O Abu Bakr! Are you not afflicted by fatigue and hardship? Do grief and misfortune not reach you? This (worldly hardship) is the very recompense that is given to you." In one chain of this hadith, Yahya bin Sa'id, through Isma'il bin Abi Khalid, mentioned Abu Bakr bin Abi Zuhayr (may Allah have mercy on him), who narrated it from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! After the revelation of this noble verse, 'Whoever does evil will be recompensed for it,' how are soundness and success possible? Will we be recompensed for every evil that we do?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May Allah have mercy on you, O Abu Bakr! Do you not fall ill? Are you not afflicted by fatigue and hardship? Do not troubles and misfortunes come upon you? These are the very trials through which you are recompensed for your (disliked) deeds."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): After the revelation of this verse, "Whoever does evil will be recompensed for it", what way is there now to success and salvation? Will we be recompensed for every evil that we commit? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "May Allah forgive you," or he said: "May Allah have mercy on you. Do you not fall ill? Do you not grieve? And do hardships and afflictions not befall you?"

Abu Wa'il (may Allah have mercy on him) relates: It reached me that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) met Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him), and he asked: "What is the matter, that I see you so worried?" He replied: "There is a word that I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); he (peace and blessings be upon him) said that it makes (salvation and Paradise) obligatory, but I was not able to ask him (peace and blessings be upon him) about it (what it is)." At this Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I know well what that word is." He asked: "What is it?" Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "That word is 'La ilaha illallah' (There is no god worthy of worship except Allah)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stopped at a place, and a woman sent him (peace and blessings be upon him) a goat with her son. He (peace and blessings be upon him) milked it and said: "Take it to your mother." So the woman drank the milk until she was satisfied. Then the boy brought another goat, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) milked it and gave it to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) to drink. Then he brought another goat, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) milked that too and drank himself.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him to the people of Makkah with Surah Bara'ah, with this message: "After this year no polytheist shall perform Hajj, no naked person shall circumambulate the House of Allah, none shall enter Paradise except a Muslim soul, and whoever has a fixed term (of treaty) with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), that term of his shall stand, and 'Allah and His Messenger are free of (all obligations to) the polytheists.'" The narrator of the hadith, Zayd bin Yuthay' (may Allah have mercy on him), relates that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) had covered a journey of three days when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "Go after him, send Abu Bakr back to me, and you yourself convey this message to the people of Makkah." So he did so. Then when Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) came before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he wept (out of grief) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, has some (displeasing) command been revealed concerning me?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Nothing has happened concerning you except good; it is only that I have been commanded that this message be conveyed either by me myself or by a man who is from me (from my family)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said (to me): "Go out and announce among the people that whoever bears witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah, Paradise has become obligatory for him." Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) relates: I went out and met Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). He asked: O Abu Bakr, what is the matter? I replied that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has said to me: "Go out and proclaim among the people that whoever bears witness that there is no god but Allah, Paradise has become obligatory for him." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Go back to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), for I fear that people will rely on this alone (and abandon deeds). So I went back to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What brought you back?" I informed him (peace and blessings be upon him) of what Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had said, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He has spoken the truth."

It is narrated from Abu Labid (may Allah have mercy on him) that a man of the Tahiyah clan of the Azd, who was called Bayrah bin Asad, set out for Madinah with the intention of emigrating, while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had passed away only a short while before that. He relates that Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) saw Bayrah walking about in the streets of Madinah, found him a stranger, and asked: "Who are you?" He replied: "I am a man from the people of Oman." So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) took him by the hand, brought him to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "O Abu Bakr, this man is from the land whose inhabitants I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) mention; he is from the people of Oman." At this Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "I certainly know a land at whose side the sea surges; in it lives a tribe of the Arabs who, if my messenger came to them, would shoot neither an arrow nor a stone at him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) that he asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): What has made you old (that is, turned your hair white)? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Surah Hud, al-Waqi'ah, 'Amma yatasa'alun and Idha al-shamsu kuwwirat have made me old."

It is narrated from Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): (O Messenger of Allah,) what has brought old age upon you?" Then the narrator mentioned something similar (a detailed answer like the previous hadith).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The tooth-stick (miswak) is a means of purifying the mouth and a cause of the Lord's pleasure." Regarding this narration, Imam Abu Ya'la (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I asked Abd al-A'la bin Hammad al-Narsi (may Allah have mercy on him) about it, and he said: "This is a mistake." Then he narrated it to me.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The tooth-stick (miswak) is a means of purifying the mouth and a cause of the Lord's good pleasure."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The people of Paradise will not buy and sell among themselves (in Paradise), and even if, supposing, they did trade with one another, it would only be trade in cloth (fine garments)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Seventy thousand of my Ummah will enter Paradise without any reckoning or account; their faces will shine like the moon on the night of the full moon, and the hearts of all of them will be like the heart of one man (in mutual love and unity). Then I asked my Lord for more (in this number), and He added a further seventy thousand with each one of them." Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "We thought that this (vast number) would suffice for all the inhabitants of the towns, and would also take in the remaining people of the desert-dwellers."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna al-Bara' bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "When we set out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) from Makkah to Madinah for the Hijrah, we passed by a shepherd. At that time the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was thirsty, so I milked a little milk for him (peace and blessings be upon him), brought it and presented myself before him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) drank it until I was pleased (at seeing him (peace and blessings be upon him) satisfied)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna al-Bara' bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came from Makkah to Madinah, Sayyiduna Suraqah bin Malik bin Ju'shum (may Allah be pleased with him) pursued him (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated against him, and his horse sank into the ground. He said: "Pray to Allah for me, and I will not harm you." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed for him. The narrator relates: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) felt thirsty, and they passed by a shepherd. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I took a cup and milked a little milk for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then I brought it to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) drank it until I was pleased and content (at his (peace and blessings be upon him) being satisfied)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna al-Bara' bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came from Makkah to Madinah, Sayyiduna Suraqah bin Malik bin Ju'shum (may Allah be pleased with him) pursued him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated against him, and his horse sank (into the ground). He said: "Pray to Allah for me, and I will not harm you." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed for him. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) felt thirsty and they passed by a shepherd, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I took a cup and milked a little milk into it, then I brought the cup to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) drank it, then drank again, until I was pleased (at his being satisfied)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna al-Bara' bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) bought a camel saddle from my father (Sayyiduna Azib (may Allah be pleased with him)) for thirteen dirhams, and said: "Tell al-Bara' to carry it to my house." My father said: "No, not until you tell me how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went from Makkah to Madinah." Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "We set out (for the Hijrah) and travelled the whole day and the whole night until, when it was midday and the sun grew hot, my eye fell on a rock that still had some shade. I sprinkled water there (so that the ground would cool), spread a fur for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, rest.' Then I went out to survey the surroundings, to see whether any pursuer could be seen. Suddenly I came upon a shepherd who wanted from that rock the same benefit that we wanted. I asked: 'Boy, whose slave are you?' He named a man of Quraysh whom I recognised. I asked: 'Is there milk in your goats?' He said: 'Yes.' I asked: 'Will you milk for us?' He said: 'Yes.' So I instructed him, and he caught hold of a goat. I told him to dust off its udder and also to clean his hands of dust. Then he milked a little milk for me into a vessel. I had with me a water-skin with a cloth tied over its mouth, and I poured water onto the milk (to reduce its warmth). Then I brought it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he had woken up. I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, drink.' Then we continued our journey, and none of the pursuers reached us except Suraqah bin Malik bin Ju'shum, who was riding his horse. I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, this pursuer has caught up with us.' He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us.' When he drew near, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated against him (that he be seized), and his horse's legs sank into the ground up to its belly. He jumped off the horse and said: 'O Muhammad, I know that this is your doing, so pray to Allah to rescue me from this plight. I promise you that I will mislead those who are coming behind me (that is, turn them back). This is my quiver; take an arrow from it. You will pass by my camels and my slaves at such-and-such a place; take from there whatever (camels) you need.' He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'I have no need of your camels.' So we reached Madinah at night, and the people of Madinah disputed over with whom he (peace and blessings be upon him) should stay. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'I will stay with Banu al-Najjar, the maternal uncles of Abd al-Muttalib; by this I wish to honour them.' So the men and women climbed onto the roofs of the houses, and the boys and servants came out into the streets calling: 'O Muhammad! O Messenger of Allah! O Muhammad! O Messenger of Allah!'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked which deed is the most excellent. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Raising the voice in the Talbiyah (during Hajj) and shedding the blood of the sacrificial animals."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What lies between my house and my pulpit is one of the gardens of Paradise, and my pulpit stands upon one of the streams of Paradise (or upon a raised place among the lofty gates of Paradise)."

It is narrated from Qabisah bin Dhu'ayb (may Allah have mercy on him) that a grandmother came to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked him about her inheritance. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "No share (of inheritance) is mentioned for you in the Book of Allah Almighty, nor is there anything for you in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) (to my knowledge), so go back until I ask the people about it."

It is narrated from Qabisah bin Dhu'ayb (may Allah have mercy on him) that after the death of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) a grandmother came to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "I have been informed that I too have a right (in the inheritance)." At this Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I do not find any right for you in the Book of Allah (the Qur'an), nor have I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) decide anything in your favour." Then Sayyiduna al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah (may Allah be pleased with him) testified (in the grandmother's favour), and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "Who else testifies to this along with you?" Upon which Sayyiduna Muhammad bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) also testified: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave her a sixth (of the inheritance)." Al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: She was the mother's mother (maternal grandmother) or the father's mother (paternal grandmother). Then, when the caliphate of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came, the other grandmother came (the counterpart of the first, that is, a paternal grandmother as against a maternal one, or a maternal grandmother as against a paternal one), and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Whichever of you is alone, this share is hers, and if you are both together, it will be divided between you (equally)."