Abu Bakr as-Siddiq


Abu Bakr as-Siddiq "" was the best friend and most beloved Companion of the Holy Prophet "as". Although God honored Abu Bakr "Q"  by making him first in innumerable ways, his dearest title was probably, “The second of two when they were in the cave.” (9:40)

{ 9 is the King and 40 The Muhammadiun}


The moon traverses the constellations Of the zodiac in a single night,
So why do you deny the Miraj (Ascension)?
That wondrous, unique Pearl (the Prophet) is like a hundred moons—for when he made one gesture, the moon was split in two.
And the marvel that he displayed in splitting the moon
was in keeping with the weakness of the creatures’ perception.
The work and business of the prophets and messengers
is beyond the spheres and the stars.
Transcend the spheres and their revolution!
Then you will see that work and business.
—Rumi, Mathnavi

God granted him even more honor when he chose him to be second, for Abu Bakr ""  was the only Companion of the Holy Prophet "" on his migration from persecution in Makkah to shelter in Madinah. Umar ""  said, “I wish all the deeds of my life were equal to his deed of that one day.”


Ibn Abbas "R" said that one day the Prophet "as" was sick. He went to the mosque, wrapped his head with a cloth, sat on the minbar, and said, “If I were to take anyone as my intimate friend, I would take Abu Bakr, but the best friend to me is the friendship of Islam.” He then ordered all doors of the neighboring houses that opened into the mosque of the Prophet "as" to be closed except the one of Abu Bakr "R". And that door is still open to this day. { Secrets of Naqshbandia }


The four Imams and the Shaykhs of the Naqshbandi Order understand from this Tradition that anyone who approaches God through the teachings and example of Abu Bakr "R" will find himself passing through the only door left open to the Presence of the Prophet "as".


The secret of the Golden Chain was transmitted and flowed from the Messenger of God "as" to the first rightly guided caliph, Imam of Imams, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq "R". Through him the religion was supported and the Truth protected. God mentions and praises him in His Holy Quran in many verses:


As for him who gives and keeps his duty,

we facilitate for him the way to ease. (92:5-7)
 

And (away from the Fire) shall be kept the most faithful who gives his wealth, thereby purifying himself, and seeks to gain no pleasure or reward other than the Presence of his Lord, the Most High. (92:17-21)


Ibn al-Jawzi states that all Muslim scholars and the Companions were certain that these verses referred to Abu Bakr "R". Among all the people he was called “al-Atiq,” the most pious, delivered from the punishments of the Fire.


When the Quranic verse 33:56 was revealed, namely,

“God and His angels bless the Holy Prophet,” { This is the secret of Allah Dressing His Rasul with the Alif of Ahmad (s)

 

Abu Bakr "R" asked if he also was included in this blessing.

The verse was then revealed:
He it is who sends His blessings on you and so do His angels, that He may bring you forth out of darkness into light. And He is merciful to the believers. (33:43) { This is Showing the Sayedena Abu Bakr is sharing in that Dress of the Alif of Ahmad (s)}


Ibn Abi Hatim explained that a verse came in reference to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq "R":
And for him who fears to stand before his Lord there are two gardens. (55:46)
Referring to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq "R",

God said:
We have enjoined on the human being kindness to his parents: in pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth. The carrying of the (child) to his weaning is thirty months. At length, when he reaches the age of full strength and attains forty years, he says, “O my Lord! Grant me that I may be grateful for Thy favor which Thou has bestowed upon me, and upon both my parents, and that I may work righteousness such as Thou mayest approve; and be gracious to me in my issue. Truly have I turned to Thee and truly do I bow (to Thee) in submission.” Such are they from whom We shall accept the best of their deeds and pass by their ill deeds. (They shall be) among the Companions of the Garden: a promise of truth, which was made to them (in this life). (45:15-16)
 

Ibn Abbas ² says that these verses came as a description of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq "R", God honoring and elevating his state among all the Companions of the Prophet "as". Ibn Abbas ² notes further that verse 3:159 was revealed in reference to Abu Bakr "R" and Umar "r":
And take counsel with them on important matters.
 

Finally, the great honor accorded to Abu Bakr "r" in accompanying the Holy Prophet "as" on his flight from Makkah to Madinah, is referred to in the verse:
When the unbelievers drove him out, he had no more than one companion. The two were in the cave, and he said to his companion,

Secrets of the Siddiquiya Cave

“Fear not, for God is with us.” (9:40)

 

Why did he go to that cave? The 'Cave of Silence' as it has been called?

 

Indeed, it is the 'Cave of Silent Secrets'. Why was the Prophet ordered by God to go to that cave, which is one day's travel from Makkah, when he had a distance of fifteen days journeying to go?

 

"29" When the Prophet went into that cave, a spider and a dove came and made a house over the door in order that no one would know what was inside.

  • { 29 is Reflection of 92 MHMD Muhammad (s)

  • The Spider is 29th Surah directing us that the secrets of 29 and the Lam Alif is the seal for the entry into the divine presence.

  • The Dove is the Angelic Realm and

  • Eggs are the story of Creation.}

  • 29 Secretly encoded Surahs Muqattaat.

 

This is common knowledge. As for the secret, look to love. When love for someone is pure, God will never forget that person. Before leaving Makkah for Madinah, the Prophet put someone in his bed because the ignorant people came to his door intent on killing him.

 

He put Ali (as) in his bed. There is a secret to that, it means that he made Ali (as) his representative, in his place. He did not put Umar (r) there. He did not put Uthman (r)-none of the Companions, but someone of his own flesh and blood.

 

The Full Moon has 2 Faces

One That Shines on Earth

the Other Dark side is Hidden.

Prophet said I have two faces, one with my Creator and One with Creation.

 

The Prophet (s) took with him as company his other mirror-image, Abu Bakr (r), to the cave.

 

The Door to Kabah Has 2 Sides

He said, "I am the city of knowledge and Ali is the door." {You Must Be Ahl Bayt , Either Pure Blood Line or By Way of Sayedena Saliman Farsi in Service to the Rasul}

 

The door is something physical, external. When you want to enter the house, how do you enter? Through the door. In order to enter to the Prophet and to come to the knowledge that the Prophet is giving, you have to enter through the door. That door is Ali (r).

 

The Prophet (s) also said, "Whatever God has poured into my heart, I poured into the heart of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq."

 

The Prophet (s) referred again to the secret of Abu Bakr (r) when he said,

"Abu Bakr does not surpass you because of fasting or praying more, but because of a secret that took root in his heart."

 

So inside the house, we find Abu Bakr (r) and outside the house, we find Ali (as). That is why, of the two sources of Sufi knowledge, one came from Abu Bakr (r) and the other from Ali (as). From the time of the different schools of Divine Law, Muslims have agreed that the knowledge of the heart came from these two paths. Justice and laws, on the other hand, came from Umar (r).

 

The Prophet's comment about Abu Bakr (r) is the secret of the cave. To represent his body, the Prophet put Ali (as) in his bed prior to his departure from Makkah to Madinah. This means that Ali (as) represented the external. But he took Abu Bakr (r) to the cave for the cave represents what is interior.

 

In the Quran, God commands us,

"Enter, resort to the cave! Your Lord will shower His Mercies on you and dispose of your affair towards comfort and ease." [18:16]. {1+8=9}

 

And who is the cave for this Community except the Prophet? It is an order for everyone on this earth to run to the cave. Everyone has a cave in his heart which directs him to the great cave, the general cave: that is the heart of the Prophet. It is that great cave that takes you to the mercy of his Lord.

 

Who did Muhammad (s) choose to accompany him to the cave?

  • It was Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r). When the Prophet (s) entered the cave { Divine Presence}, he was very tired. He reclined and placed his head on Abu Bakr as-Siddiq's (r) leg. { The Leg represents the Divine Order or AMR, when obeyed the Leg moves the Foot "Qadam Qaf, Dal, Meem" The Divine Will. This is Showing us the Rasul Order is to His Beloved Caliph Abu Bakr who will thru His inheritors carry out the Divine will on earth.}

 

Who, I ask, can put the head of a prophet on his leg? Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) bore on his the head of the most Beloved one of God. { Siddiquiya or Naqshbandi Holds the Honor of Representing The Messengers Holy Face to Creation}

 

This is a great honor for Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) that the Prophet Muhammad (s) has put his honorable head on his leg. For us the Prophet (s) was sleeping, but for him, it was an ascension. He knows no sleep, "My eyes sleep, but my heart never sleeps."

 

His heart never sleeps! His heart is always connected to his Lord. He is always in ascension.

No one can know the level attained in Ascension. Even Gabriel (as) was not able to know it, because he said, "I cannot move beyond my level" when the Prophet (s) told him to continue with him. "If I go further, I will be burnt."

 

The teachings of the Naqshbandi and other saints including Abdul Qadir Gilani and all the Sufis say that Gabriel (as) should have moved forward with the Prophet (s), even if he was going to be burnt. As the Prophet (s) said to Gabriel (as), " "I am going to move higher even if I am going to be burnt." He was ready to sacrifice himself to obtain that Light for his community, saying, "I have no concern for myself." Therefore he moved forward, constantly progressing, traveling to that level, closer and closer to his Lord.

At that time God asked him,

"Who are you?" What do you think the Prophet (s) answered? { Huwa the non-manifest but present being}

 

Is there a 'Muhammad' (s), is there 'a prophet' there, in the Presence of his Lord?

Who can be something in the Presence of God? So he said,

"O my Lord, I do not see myself. I do not see anything except You. There is no one except You."

 

That is the secret that the Prophet (s) wished to pass on to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r). Thus, he took him to the cave. He could have taken Ali (as) or Umar (r) or four people, two or one. But he took someone about whom he said, "Whatever my Lord has put in my heart I put in the heart of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq."

 

As the Prophet (s) was lying down with his head on the leg of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r), Abu Bakr (r) saw a hole in the wall of the cave. { The Shayateen / Snake Can Not Effect the Inhabitants of the Siddiquiya Cave Except by Permission of the Rasul }

 

Abu Bakr (r) put his foot against the hole to close it. { The Cave of The Heart has Black Spot where Shaytan enters, The Siddiq's can block the Spot of the heart. Allahs order for believers is to be with the Siddiqiun . Abu Bakr put His QADAM foot, teaching us Follow the Siddiq and they will block Shaytan from You }

 

He felt something biting him, causing him intense pain. He felt as if he were losing his body. He was trying to control himself until the flesh of his foot was eaten half away. As his flesh was being eaten, a large snake reared its head. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) began to cry. A tear fell on the Prophet's (s) face. The Prophet (s) said, "Oh Abu Bakr! Why are you crying?

 

'Do not be sad. God is with us!'" [9:40]. { 9-Divine Presence 40-Meem Muhammadiun}

 

The Prophet's (s) question also contains a teaching, because he knew the answer without asking. "Are you afraid," he asked Abu Bakr (r), "that people are going to come and kill us?" Abu Bakr (r) said, "O Messenger of God, I am not crying for fear that they will kill me. I am not afraid of them. But I am crying because of a snake which is eating my foot.

 

When he finishes with me, he will come to you. I am afraid for you. My heart bleeds for you. That is why I cried."

 

The Prophet (s) spoke to the snake and said, "Do you not know that the flesh of prophets is forbidden for you to eat and the flesh of saints is also forbidden?"

17.65 "As for My servants, no authority shalt thou have over them:" Enough is thy Lord for a Disposer of affairs.

 

The snake answered, "O Messenger of God, when my Lord created me I knew about you. That was before you came into this world from your mother's womb. I asked my Lord 40,000 years ago to keep me alive to see your face and then die. Now Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) is blocking my view with his feet. I have to see you and fulfill my Lord's promise, but he is blocking the hole with his feet. That is why I was obliged to bite his foot and come through the hole in order to be able to look at you."

 

Now the Prophet (s) has said, "The saliva of a believer is a cure." Where is the belief in the Prophet's (s) Tradition? God is the One who cures and the one who makes you sick, not the cup.

 

If God does not wish you to be sick, even if someone has tuberculosis and you drink after them-and this is quickly spread- through drinking-you will not get sick even if you drink hundreds of cups after that person. God is the Healer (al-Shafi), the Disabler (al-Muawiy), the One inflicting harm (al-Dharr). God is the one who alone holds cure and illness in His hands for people.

So the Prophet (s) said, "In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate," and applied his saliva to the foot of Abu Bakr. The foot immediately healed and became whole as before. Then the Prophet (s) ordered the snake to look at him. The snake said, "I believe that there is no god but God. I believe that you are Muhammad, His Prophet." As the snake said this, it wound around and around in circles.

 

Grandshaykh said, according to inspirations to his heart from Ali (as) and Abu Bak (r) that the snake went around and around for two hours, looking at the Prophet's face (s). After it had looked, the Prophet (s) said, "Now what you have asked for from your Lord is fulfilled. Now, die."

That snake died and immediately disappeared. That incident was a test for Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) to see if he was going to protect the Prophet (s) or not-was he going to be afraid for himself or for the Prophet (s)? But he sacrificed himself for the sake of the Prophet.

 

That was a snake, an animal; what about us? We do believe. To be sure, we deny. We are believing with our tongues but in our hearts we deny. We fight with one another. And when we fight with each other, that's it! It is as if we deny God. It is as if we deny the Prophet (s).

In that sacred, holy cave, God ordered the Prophet (s) to pass whatever secrets God had ordered him to give, up to a point known to him, to the heart of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r). The Prophet (s) passed to him the secret of his knowledge.

 

That is the secret behind the Tradition which came from Abu Hurayra (r), "I have retained from the Prophet (s) two vessels of knowledge. I have disseminated one vessel of knowledge among people. But if I were to give the other vessel of knowledge, they would cut my throat."

 

That is hidden knowledge. That knowledge is kept only in the heart. It can never be written down. No one can carry this knowledge. That is the kind of knowledge that the Prophet (s) put in the heart of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r).

 

If you look at the Traditions related on the authority of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r), you will only see between twenty and thirty. Where is that knowledge that the Prophet (s) put into his heart? Abu Bakr (r) did not say anything or so it appears. Do you think he withheld that knowledge from people? He had been ordered by the Prophet (s) to pass on the knowledge he had been given. Did he betray the trust of the Prophet (s)? The caliphs of the Prophet (s) cannot hide something in their hearts. They have to give it, to pass it on, but give what? They must pass on the knowledge that Abu Hurayra (r) described when he said,

 

"If I revealed it, they would cut my throat."

 

If Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) had disseminated that knowledge publicly, God knows what they would have said about him-they might have even cut his throat. So he kept it secret, but he passed it on to his successor, Salman al-Farsi (r). Then Salman (r) passed it to Qasim (q), the son of Abu Bakr (r). Then Qasim (q) passed it to Jafar as-Sadiq (as), the sixth Imam. That secret was passed from one to another, from one to another, from heart to heart, until it reached Shaykh Khalid al-Baghdadi (q).

 

That Golden Chain begins from the Prophet (s), goes to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r), and then down to Shaykh Khalid al-Baghdadi (q), who is buried in Damascus. Then Shaykh Khalid (q) spread it to the East and the West by means of his three hundred caliphs who spread that knowledge everywhere. That is the origin of the most distinguished Naqshbandi Order. It began in that cave.

There is not enough time now to mention them, but many, many secrets were bestowed upon Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r). The Prophet (s) continued his migration from Makkah to Madinah the next day.

 

In Madinah, there were people watching from the tops of palm-trees to see if the Prophet (s) was coming. When those people saw the Prophet (s), they recited in praise,

"From the hill-tops of the south, the full moon arises. With what a lovely call unto God does he call. And we thank him for it all. O you sent by the Merciful, you have come, best of heralds, you have honored Madinah, we bow to your demand." They praised the Prophet (s).

As soon as he came to Madinah, he called all his Companions, and then there were revealed three other secrets. And, God willing we will relate them another time.

 

These secrets concerning the events in that cave were handed on and have come down to us today. This knowledge can never be contained between the two covers of a book. It cannot be written down because fresh knowledge keeps being added to it spontaneously. While it is never the same, it is always appropriate to time and place.

 

That is why the order came from God in the Quran,

 

"O believers, fear God, be righteous, and be with true people," []

 

because you do not know when they begin to speak and that secret will be revealed. When they speak, that Light will come from their speech and you will benefit.

 

Shaykh Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q), one of the masters of the Golden Chain in the lineage of this Way, was a famous saint. Here in America, they study his teachings wherever Sufism is taught. If I myself say were to say what he used to say, people would call me an unbeliever, because sometimes he spoke about something on the basis of hidden knowledge. So I shall not go into that. In any case, one day his Shaykh ordered him saying, "O Abu Yazid, there is a shoemaker downtown. Go. Sit with him. Listen to him." What did Abu Yazid have to do with a shoemaker? Listen to what? At that time Abu Yazid's knowledge was such that everyone knew of him as a deeply learned person, a Gnostic, one who had experiential knowledge of spiritual realities.

 

But Abu Yazid (q) is not like us. If our Shaykh tells us, "Go. Listen to so-and-so," we would say, "Me, listen to him? Who is he? He does not know anything about Islam. He does not know anything about the Divine Law nor about jurisprudence. Why should I listen to him? No, no, send me to someone else." And if you tell someone else, "O so-and-so, go and listen to this one," he will say, "Am I going to go and listen to someone who only knows the Divine Law and jurisprudence? Who? That fundamentalist, fanatic person? No need! We are Sufis. We are free from all that!" So everyone will find an excuse not to listen. Confusion, dissension and chaos come precisely from that.

 

Someone present among you said, "God willing, Muslims will listen to each other." How are they going to listen to each other? They will never listen! If you say, "Muslims will fight with each other," I will agree, but to listen, no, because everyone thinks he has reached the highest level, that there is no level above his. All knowledge stops with him.

 

They like to ask how God sits on the throne, referring to "The Most Gracious is firmly established on the throne (of authority)." [20:5]." God forgive us - this is all they know and all they will ever ask.

 

No one wants to understand that "Above each possessor of knowledge there is one with more knowledge" [12:76] Above every knowledge there is more knowledge. There is no limit to knowledge. What you know, in comparison to the Prophet's (s) knowledge and in comparison to God's knowledge, is nothing.

 

So the order came to listen to a shoemaker. Abu Yazid, with all his elevated knowledge, knowledge of both the Divine Law or external knowledge and knowledge of the Truth or internal knowledge, accepted that order because he was humble. He did not say, "Why?" or "No!" He was just like the Prophet (s) waiting for Gabriel (as) to come to him and deliver the message. So he received the order and that was final, "I am going to follow that order."

 

The shoemaker had been veiling his spiritual station from Abu Yazid al-Bistami for many years! Abu Yazid had passed by him many times and still did not know who he was, in spite of Abu Yazid being one of the Golden Chain. For God did not want him to know that one. He was testing him to see if he was going to listen to Him or not. As soon as he came to the shop, the shoemaker said,

"O Abu Yazid! I have been waiting for you for a long time. Come and sit with me."

 

That person was the spiritual pole of his time.

 

There are five levels of spiritual poles: Qutb, Qutb al-Bilad, Qutb al-Irshad, Qutb al-Aqtab, and Qutb al-Mutassarif.

 

Every spiritual pole takes secrets from one of the five great prophets. Levels of the Heart Adam, Noah, Ibrahim, Moses, Jesus

Warith Muhammad Above All

 

The highest spiritual pole takes secrets from the Prophet Muhammad (s). For three hours that shoemaker gave a lecture to Abu Yazid al-Bistami. When he finished, Abu Yazid al-Bistami went back to his zawiya and said to his followers, "What I have gained in these three hours and what level I have reached by sitting with this Friend of God, I would never have obtained if I had worshipped day and night from the time of Adam (as) until Judgment Day." This is what is referred to in the Tradition of the Prophet (s) where he says, "One hour's remembrance is better than seventy year's worship."

 

Remembering in any way by invoking God, reading the Quran, thinking about what you have done during the day, of conduct-good or bad-towards others, this is also considered to be remembering. That is why sitting with true people is very important. Whenever you find a true person, go and sit with him. Even if he does not talk, sit with him.

 

The Light in his heart will come to you. There is a saying, "Do not sit with a blacksmith, because one ember may fall on you and burn you, but go and sit with a perfume-maker, because one drop of perfume might fall on you." So when you find one of those people, go quickly and sit with him.

 

How do you know a true person? Your heart quickly connects to him. You will know immediately that this is a true person. If your heart says to you, "No, this is not a true person," leave. A true person must be a good example in the community.

 

In addition to the praise of God, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq "r" received the praise of the Holy Prophet "as" and of his Companions. This is recorded in many well-known Traditions:

  • God will show His glory to the people in a general way, but He will show it to Abu Bakr in a special way.

  • Never has the sun risen or set on a person, other than a prophet, greater than Abu Bakr.

  • Never was anything revealed to me that I did not pour into the heart of Abu Bakr.

  • There is no one to whom I am obligated and have not repaid my debt except Abu Bakr, for I owe him much for which God will compensate him on the Day of Judgment.

  • If I were to take an intimate friend other than my Lord, I would have chosen Abu Bakr.

  • Abu Bakr does not precede you because of much prayer or fasting, but because of a secret that is in his heart.
    Bukhari narrates from Ibn Umar ²:
    In the time of the Prophet "as" we did not recognize anyone higher than Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, then Umar, then Uthman.
    Bukhari also narrates from Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya "r" (Ali’s  son):
    I asked my father, “Who is the best person after God’s Apostle "as"?” He said, “Abu Bakr.” I asked, “Who then?” He said, “Then Umar.” I was afraid he would say Uthman next, so I said, “Then you?” He replied, “I am only an ordinary person.”
    Tabarani narrated through Muadh "r" that the

Prophet "as" said:

  • I had a vision that I was put on one side of the scale and my Community was put on the other side and I was heavier. Then Abu Bakr was put on one side and my Community was put on one side and Abu Bakr was heavier. Then Umar was put on one side and my Community was put on the other and Umar was heavier. Then Uthman was put on one side and my Community on the other and Uthman was heavier. Then the scale was raised up.
    Hakim narrated that Ali "as" was asked, “O Commander of the Faithful, tell us about Abu Bakr.” He said, “He is a person whom God called as-Siddiq from the tongue of the Prophet "as" and he is the caliph of the Prophet "as". We accept him for our religion and for this world.”
    There are many other Traditions indicating the great attainment of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq "r" with respect to all the other Companions.
    Abu Bakr "r" was the best friend and most beloved Companion of the Holy Prophet "as". He had never joined in the worship of idols practiced by his contemporaries.

 

He came to Islam without any trace of doubt or hesitation. Many years later, the Holy Prophet "as" recalled, “Whenever I offered Islam to anyone, he always showed some reluctance and hesitation and tried to enter into an argument.

 

Abu Bakr was the only person who accepted Islam without any doubt or hesitation, and without any argument.” { Samina wa Atana His Ears in complete submission to the Rasul (s)}


He was first in his spiritual support. He remained steadfast in his support throughout the difficult years in Makkah. He was the first to speak out when events passed beyond the understanding even of the new Muslims themselves, as in the case of the Night Journey. Later in Madinah, when the Treaty of Hudaybiyya was signed, only Abu Bakr "r" remained absolutely faithful. He counseled his companions, “Do not be critical, but hold fast to the stirrup of the Holy Prophet "as".”
He was first in his material support. While others of the Muslims gave large fortunes in support of their faith,

  • Abu Bakr "r" was the first to give everything he had. When asked what he had left for his children, he answered, “God and His Prophet "as". { His Children are the Naqshbandia, our Inheritance of Allah and His Rasul is the purest most absolute because of the Greatness of our Father Abu Bakr His Amanat was Highest }

  • ” On hearing this Umar "r" said, “None can surpass Abu Bakr in serving the cause of Islam.”
    He was first in kindness to, and compassion for, his fellow believers. A very wealthy merchant, he always watched out for the poor and the weak.

  • He freed seven slaves before leaving Makkah, among them Bilal "r"{ When the Crushing Rock on a Black Slave represents the Seeker in oceans of the Ahkfa only relief for the seeker,  is the secrets of Sayedena Abu Bakr to free the slave and lift the crushing weight of Dunya (Rock).

  • He not only spent large amounts to buy their freedom, but he then took them into his own household and educated them.
    When he assumed the role of caliph, he said:
    Help me, if I am in the right. Set me right if I am in the wrong. The weak among you shall be strong with me until, God willing, his rights have been vindicated. The strong among you shall be weak with me until, if God wills, I have taken what is due from him. Obey me as long as I obey God and His Prophet "as". When I disobey Him and His Prophet "as", obey me not.
    In early Islam interpretation of dreams was considered a spiritual exercise. Only those with pure hearts and spiritual vision could have meaningful dreams, and only those with pure hearts and spiritual vision could interpret them.

Abu Bakr "r" was an acknowledged interpreter of dreams. The Prophet "as" himself would consult only him in search for clarity of his prophetic dreams. Before the Battle of Uhud, the Holy Prophet "as" saw in a dream that he was herding animals. Some of them were being slaughtered. The sword that he held had a piece broken off.

 

Abu Bakr "r" interpreted the slaughtered animals to prophesize the death of many Muslims and the broken sword to signify the death of one of the Prophet’s "as" relatives. Unfortunately, both these predictions were realized at the Battle of Uhud.


Abu Bakr "r" was also a poet before he became Muslim. He was known for his exceptional recitation and his excellent memory of the long poems in which the Arabs took great pride. These qualities served him well in Islam. His recitation of the Quran was so lyrical and charged with emotion that many people came to Islam simply after hearing him pray. The Quraysh tried to forbid his praying in the courtyard of his house in order to prevent the people from hearing him.


It is due to his memory that many of the most important Traditions come to us today. Among them are those indicating the proper form of prayer and those specifying the proper proportions of the poor-due. Yet out of the many thousands of Traditions verified and recorded, only 142 come through Abu Bakr "r".

His daughter, Aisha ˉ, related that her father kept a book of over 500 Traditions, but that one day he destroyed it. The knowledge that Abu Bakr "r" chose to keep hidden related to the heavenly knowledge, the source of all saintly knowledge, a knowledge that can only be transmitted from heart to heart.


Although a quiet and gentle man, he was also first on the battlefield. He supported the Holy Prophet "as" in all of his campaigns both with his sword and with his counsel. When others failed or ran, he remained at the side of his beloved Prophet "as". It is stated that once Ali "as" asked his companions who they considered to be the bravest. They replied that Ali "as" was the bravest. But he answered: “No. Abu Bakr is the bravest. On the day of the Battle of Badr, when there was no one to stand guard where the Holy Prophet "as" prayed, Abu Bakr stood with his sword and did not allow the enemy to come near.”


He was of course the first to follow the Holy Prophet "as" as caliph and leader of the faithful. He instituted the public treasury to take care of the poor and needy. He was the first to compile the entire Quran and called it mushaf.


Regarding spiritual transmission, he was the first person to give instruction in the method of reciting the sacred words “la ilaha ill-Allah” for purifying the heart by dhikr.

From His Sayings

  • No speech is good if it is not directed toward the pleasure of God.

  • There is no good in a person if his ignorance overcomes his patience.

  • And if a person becomes attracted by the charms of this lower world, God will dislike him as long as he keeps this in his heart.

  • We have found generosity in piety (God-consciousness), wealth in certainty, and honor in humbleness.

  • Beware of pride because you will be returning to the earth and your body will be eaten up by the worms.

  • When he was praised by people, he would pray to God saying, “O God, You know me better than I know myself. I know myself better than these people who praise me. Make me better than what they think of me. Forgive those sins of mine of which they have no knowledge. Do not hold me responsible for what they say.”

  • If you expect the blessings of God, be kind to His people.
    One day he called Umar "r" and counseled him until Umar "r" cried. Abu Bakr "r" told him, “If you keep my counsel, you will be safe. My counsel is, ‘Expect death always and live accordingly.’”

  • Glory be to God who has not given to his creatures any way to attain knowledge of Him except by means of their helplessness and their hopelessness of ever reaching such attainment.
    Abu Bakr "r" returned to God on a Monday, as did the Prophet "as", between the evening and night prayers on the 22nd of Jumada al-Akhir, 13 AH/634 CE. May God bless him and give him peace. The Holy Prophet "as" once said to him, “Abu Bakr, you will be the first of my people to enter Paradise.”
    The Prophet’s "as" secret passed from Abu Bakr as-Siddiq "r" to his successor, Salman al-Farsi "as". 

    Mawlana Salman al-Farsi,