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Quran Weekly | The Superstars Series | Abu Bakr al-Siddiq

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Lecture by Shaykh Omar Suleiman | Transcribed by Sameera

[The following is the transcript of the first installment of The Superstars Series. The transcript is slightly modified for the sake of readability and clarity.]

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Al-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah.  This is your brother Omar Suleiman.  Welcome to the Superstars series.

Insha’Allah wa ta‘ala today we are going to start with the greatest human being that has ever walked the face of the earth that was not a prophet, and that is Abu Bakr al-Siddiq raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him), and that is by the testimony of the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) himself.  You can look at Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) and see that he was almost a copy of the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him).  He surpassed everyone in generosity, modesty, salah, qira’at’l-Qur’an.  He surpassed everyone in everyone in everything, and that is why Ali raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) said about Abu Bakr, “If you think about something good, then Abu Bakr would have already done it.”

What makes him raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) amazing is that he was al-Siddiq, the person whose truthfulness was testified to by the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him).  By the testimony of the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him), this was the greatest man.  Why?  Because whenever he said that he believed in the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him), he meant it.  There was consistency not only between his words and reality but also between his actions and his words whenever he said he loves Allah and the Messenger ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him).

We can see when his friend the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) comes to him and tells him, “By the way, I am a Messenger of Allah,” the same day Abu Bakr goes and brings some of the giants to Islam:  Talhah, al-Zubayr, ‘Uthman, ‘Abdul-Rahman b. ‘Awf – all of these great companions.  He accounts for over half of the ten promised Paradise who we are covering in this series.

Truly what I want to focus on today is his sidq (truthfulness) and love for the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him).  This was the man who whenever the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) was being beaten publicly, he went and defended the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) although he was physically not that strong and was beaten to a point that he became unconscious.  Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) was beaten so badly that whenever his own mother saw him, she could not recognize his face because of how swollen it was.  As soon as he wakes up, he doesn’t care about his own health.  He is not dazed and knows exactly what he is doing, and he knows exactly what his purpose in life is.  He says, “Where is Muhammad ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him)?  I want to see the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him).”  His mother wants to give him food, drink, and help him up so that he can start walking on his own.  He says, “I want to go to dar’l-Arqam.  I want to see the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) to know that he is okay.”  SubhanAllah, look at that deep love he had for him.

Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) was the one who went with the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) on hijrah (migration).  I want you to think about this.  Rasulullah ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) comes to the house of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) and decides that he wants Abu Bakr to accompany him on the hijrah.  Rasulullah ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) is not just Makkah’s most wanted in those days; Rasulullah ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) was the world’s most wanted and had a target on top of his head.  The Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) comes to the house of Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) and says, “I want you to accompany me on this journey.”  This was not a journey where they would ride in a limousine and have body guards because he is the prophet of Allah.  This is a journey in which they were marked for death.  Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) cried out of happiness.  Aisha raḍyAllāhu 'anha (may Allāh be pleased with her) said, “I knew that some people could cry out of happiness, but I never really understood it until I saw my father on that day when Abu Bakr started to cry and grabbed the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) and said, ‘I get to be your companion, Rasulullah?!’”  He was so happy that he got to be with the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him).

Even in the hijrah when Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) is with the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him), imagine those moments in the cave together.  Imagine when they were all alone and shared what were supposed to be the most horrifying moments but at the same time were the best moments of Abu Bakr’s life.  Rasulullah ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) was sleeping, and Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) sees a scorpion coming into the cave.  Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) puts his foot on the hole of that cave and allows the scorpion to drive deeply into his foot and bite into his foot.  He did not want to wake up the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him), so even with the scorpion biting into his foot, Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) does not even shriek.  Rather, the tears falling down from his eyes fall on the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him).  The Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) would only be awoken by the tears of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him).

Even in the journey of hijrah when they came to the house of Umm ‘Abad raḍyAllāhu 'anha (may Allāh be pleased with her) and they had nothing to drink for days, and finally Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) and the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) are going to have a chance to drink some milk to satisfy their thirst and hunger, Abu Bakr said, “And so my beloved one drank until I became full.”  His thirst was quenched just by looking at the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) drinking.

Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) loved the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) so much that it transcended human norms, subhanAllah!  We even see an incident that took place.  It is a poem by Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) in which he says about the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him):  “My beloved on became sick, so I visited him.  So I became sick because I saw him sick.  Whenever Rasulullah ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) became better, my beloved one visited me because I was sick.  So I looked at the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) healthy, so I too became healthy.”  SubhanAllah!  That’s how much he loved the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him).

That’s why the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) always praised Abu Bakr al-Siddiq raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him).  Even at the end of his life ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him), when he stood in the masjid to give one of his final speeches, and Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) understood that one of the implications of that speech was that the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) was going to die, Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) burst into tears.  Rasulullah ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said, “Close all the gates of all the other sahabah to the masjid except for the gate of Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him).  We have been able to repay everyone who has done something for us, but I’ve never been able to repay Abu Bakr al-Siddiq raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him).  I could never pay him back.”  SubhanAllah.

Imagine the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) is saying to him that he could never pay him back because Abu Bakr truly loved the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) more than he loved his own self, so much so that when Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) worked for so long to try to convert his father Abu Quhafa to Islam.  Abu Quhafa finally accepted Islam, and on what was supposed to be one of Abu Bakr’s most joyous days of his life started to cry.  They said, “Why are you crying?”  He said, “Because I remember my beloved one ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) when Abu Talib, his uncle, was passing away and how much the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) wanted Abu Talib to be Muslim, but Abu Talib did not accept Islam, and Rasulullah ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) was so hurt because of that.  I wish that the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) could live these moments instead of me.”

SubhanAllah, we see the love that Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) had for the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) was the true love we should have.  So I ask you:  how much do you love Muhammad ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him)?  That is what is going to get you his companionship on the Day of Judgment:  loving him and following him.  How much do you want to live like him?  How much do you want to die like him?

Abu Bakr wakes up at the age of 63 years old on a Monday and realizes that he has a fever.  He realizes that he is about to die on the same day that the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) passed away at the same age that the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) passed away.  He asked for his family to shroud him in the same clothes that the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) was shrouded in.  It was destined that for the rest of the existence of this world, Abu Bakr raḍyAllāhu 'anhu (may Allāh be pleased with him) would be buried right next to the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) and his head right next to the shoulder of the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) as if he is still leaning his head on the shoulder of the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) as was always done in dunya.

This brings us to a beautiful hadeeth.  There was a person who wanted the companionship of the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) in Jannah.  The Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said, “What have you prepared?”  He said, “I haven’t prepared much salah or much siyam.  The only thing that I know that I’ve prepared is that I love you, ya Rasulullah.”  The Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said, “You will be with the one whom you love.”

How much do you love the Messenger ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him)?  How much do you love Allah?  Without that love, we will not be able to attain that lofty position in Jannat’l-Firdaws, the highest level of Paradise.

We ask Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) to grant us that quality of truthfulness when we say, “I love Allah, and I love Rasulullah ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him),” and to gather us with the Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) and his companions in the highest level of Jannat’l-Firdaws.  Allahumma ameen.  Jazakum Allahu khayran!

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The Prophet (SAW) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small. Click here to support MuslimMatters with a monthly donation of $2 per month. Set it and collect blessings from Allah (swt) for the khayr you're supporting without thinking about it.

14 Comments

14 Comments

  1. Khadijah

    September 21, 2012 at 6:54 PM

    As-Salaamu ‘Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuhu wa Jazaakumullahu khairan!

  2. Muslimah

    September 21, 2012 at 7:47 PM

    AssalamualikumwRwB…mashaAllah very informative post….JazakAllah khairan 2 all of u for puttin tireless efforts only 4 da sake of Allah..May Allah reward all of u highely…we must love Allah and His messenger more than anything or any1 else,for creating da love of prophet(saw)v need to go through his seerah,for if v dont know him then how cud v love him….usually what happens is dat v try 2 begin reading his seerah but v lack consistency due 2 which v leave it eventually…it wud b awesome and rewardable if u guys wud arrange a program or sumthing in which u upload prophet’s(saw) life on daily or weekly basis… i wud really appreciate if u lemme know dat these lectures will buploaded on the daily basis or sum other plans r there….i hope u wud reply me back…JazakAllah

    • muslimah

      September 21, 2012 at 7:49 PM

      my last part is regarding the lecs of these sahaba’s life..dat on what basis they r going b uploaded?

      • Alioune

        September 22, 2012 at 4:57 AM

        Assalamou ‘Aleykoum Wa Rahamtoulahi Wa Barakatouhou!
        Sh Yasir Qadhi gives a detailed analysis of the life of the Prophet(S) in the Memphis Isclamic Center, and the records are uploaded on youtube : http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC89682017B43845D

        Also Sh Abdul Nasir Jangda is doing a seerah series on a weekly basis and records are available in the website of Qalam Institute : http://www.qalaminstitute.org/

        Share it with your family and friends!
        Jazaakumullahu khairan!

        • muslimah

          September 22, 2012 at 7:15 AM

          JazakAlllah khairan :-)

      • Aly Balagamwala | DiscoMaulvi

        September 23, 2012 at 3:56 AM

        Wa iyyaki ukhti. Please remember us in your prayers that we are able to continue to bring you beneficial content Insha’Allah.

        We expect this content from Quran Weekly every other week but there is no fixed schedule set yet. We are trying to strealine it Insha’Allah.

        • muslimah

          September 24, 2012 at 8:16 AM

          Alhamduliallah brother you all are being remembered in our prayers..may Allah continue 2 bless u,ur work and family and grant all of you highest place in JannatulFirdous…….Ameen Ya Rab!brother can you please lemme know if there is something that i cud do e share the reward unequAlled…..I’ll b so grateful 2 you inshaAllah….JAZAKALLAH KHAIR 4 the reply….wassalamualikumwaRahmatullahiwaBarakatuhu

          • muslimah

            September 24, 2012 at 8:18 AM

            2 share the reward inshaAllah* em sorry there was mistake in the text

          • Aly Balagamwala | DiscoMaulvi

            September 26, 2012 at 1:38 AM

            Jazakillah Khairin for your lovely duas and may Allah (SWT) grant you the same. You can share our reward by sharing our posts on Twitter, Facebook, or email. If you are a writer, we are always open for guest posts. Just simply use the interface at http://muslimmatters.org/submissions/.

          • muslimah

            September 26, 2012 at 6:31 AM

            wa IYYAK brother…and jazakAllah khair for the link..I’ll inshaAllah try 2 share good articles or things like that to the best of my abilities inshaAllah ..jazakAllah 4 the duaz.wassalamualikumwRwB

  3. Hujrah Wahhaj

    September 22, 2012 at 4:15 PM

    This is a great article about the companion of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) Abu Bakr Siddiq. Modern Muslims can learn a lot from his example. Inshallah, let’s all strive to emulate the character of this great companion. May Allah bring success to .our Ummah. Ameen.

    http://hujrahwahhaj.com

  4. Mezba

    September 28, 2012 at 10:16 AM

    You can watch the “Omar” series on MBC which does a fantastic job of portraying the lives of the first two Caliphs. It’s a great series to watch as a Muslim, alhamdulillah.

  5. tarannnum

    October 19, 2012 at 8:16 AM

    ASA,
    Can you also do a series on the ummul mu’mineen.

  6. Fatima

    September 15, 2016 at 6:31 PM

    Assalamu alaikum
    Do you have script of 9 other videos .please share it with me .

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