Commentary of Sahaba Poem No1 - Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه
He was the first amongst us - Abu Bakr was the first free man to join Islam once the Prophet started his prophethood. There is a difference of opinion with regards to who was first person between Abu Bakr, Ali, Zaid ibn Harith & Khadijah . There is a nice explanation by the scholars here. Abu Bakr was the first notable man to enter Islam, Khadijah was the first woman to enter Islam, Ali was the first child to enter Islam, Zaid was the first freed slave to enter Islam. (1) Others mention Waraqah ibn Nawfal as someone who accepted Islam extremely early, yet he was to pass away when the Prophets mission had hardly started. Not only is Abu Bakr the first amongst us in this sense, he was the first leader of the Ummah after the prophet. He was also the first amongst us to do good deeds (2)
Of even whom Ali (ر) was jealous - This comes from a quote from Ali, where he says "Abu Bakr has most certainly excelled me in four aspects: leadership in salah, leadership of the people, migration and spreading of Islam. May you be doomed! Allah has dispraised all the people and has praised Abu Bakr, ‘if you are unwilling to aid him then Allah had aided him when the infidels had banished him when he was the second of the two in the cave.’” obviously jealousy here doesn't have any negative connotations, Ali is one of the greatest companions so him uttering this statement shows the true status of Abu Bakr in our religion. (3)
The closest companion, so sublime - They were close friends before Islam, which is why he was confided in and trusted in those first days of Islam. Chosen to lead the prayers when the Prophet fell ill. (4) Buried together until the resurrection.
In the desert journey, a torrid time - Combined with the last line, we reminisce about the long journey the Prophet , for which Abu Bakr was chosen specifically, if we bare in mind they first started in a direction opposite to Madinah. It is quite easy to believe the journey was over 600km (on foot). When they hid in the cave & Abu Bakr was stung by the scorpion, he would say that the pain stuck with him for years. (5) A story immortalized by its inclusion in the Quran.(6) Hunted by the Mushrikeen, a certain death would've awaited them. They had one camel between them, taking it in turns, so they each would've walked 300km (equivalent of over 7 marathons).
None were more charitable - The companions would compete in good deeds, Umar specifically would use Abu Bakr as a yardstick for himself. At a point of time in Madinah, the prophet requested funds for an upcoming battle so Umar promptly gave half of his wealth for the cause...Abu Bakr, well he gave all of his wealth for the cause, (7) not to mention the supporting of early poor Makkan companions & delivering blankets to the poor during winter when he was caliph. (8)
Nor were they as able - When the decision was needed for who would lead the Muslims after the death of our beloved Prophet , there was only one man the Muslims would agree on, the Ansar ideally wanted someone from Madinah, the newly converted Makkans wanted a Makkan of high status, the Muhajiroon wanted a Muhajiroon. They all relented their positions with Abu Bakr. His qualities were known and everyone knew he was the most qualified. (9)
The freer of slaves - Not just Bilal , but a host of slaves were bought and saved by Abu Bakr (a fact the rafidah can't even deny). He didn't just buy & free them, he would support them. There was no point freeing a slave & leaving them with no way to provide for themselves. By freeing these slaves he saved them from evil torment & an early death. (10)
Oh, so much he gave - from the age of around 38 until his death 25 years later, he gave everything for the cause of Islam. His health, his money, his city, his comfort.
A personality so meek - Soft hearted, he found it easy to cry, spoke softly, would not jump to action rashly (11). A thinking man who didn't become famous for the part he played in the battles (unlike others such as Khalid ibn Walid & Abu Dujana )
But he was far from weak - Kindness or softness can sometimes be mistaken for weakness. Those who thought Abu Bakr were gravely mistaken, as the next two lines will delve into further.
Relentless with each pillar - Straight after the death of the Prophet , many tribes/towns in the Arabian peninsula refused to pay zakat to Abu Bakr. They believed it was only for the prophet. Many high up companions didn't want to cause friction in the ummah & advised to let them off without paying zakat. But Abu Bakr stood alone against them all, an immovable object. Zakat was a pillar & Abu Bakr wasn't about to let the religion change as soon as the prophet was gone.
Merciless apostate killer - Linked to the previous line, those who refused to pay zakat were rightly deemed apostates, and so started the Riddah wars. False prophets came out of the woodwork, many tribes decided they didn't want to follow Islam anymore. Madinah, Makkah & Ta'if stood firm in Islam, but other areas didn't, so Abu Bakr released the Mujahideen upon the peninsula. Any tribes/towns without the call to prayer, or without following the pillars were met with the full power of the Muslim armies. (12)
One of the ten promised paradise - Ten men in one hadith were promised Jannah whilst they were still alive, (other companions we know, will also be in Jannah due to other ahadith, but the ten promised Jannah refers to this hadith here). Now imagine, being promised Heaven whilst still alive, the likes of us would become complacent, do whatever we want, content with our position. But these ten were not like me & you. If anything it spurred them on to be better Muslims. (13)
Beloved to the prophet full of advice - the most beloved man to the Prophet , the constant right hand man. The Prophet would regularly request input from the Sahaba, eg the call to prayer & defence fortifications. Abu Bakr's opinions always carried a lot of weight & if the Prophet was ever unavailable, the companions would turn to Abu Bakr for help & guidance. (14)
By his side in Uhud & Badr - We know that any companion who fought in these two battles are incredibly blessed, and Abu Bakr was chosen to be right by the Prophet in these battles. (15)
His name of course, is Abu Bakr - funnily enough this actually isn't his name, he's called Abdullah ibn Uthman (or Abdullah ibn Abu Quhafah). However, I felt it was good to end the poem affirming who this great man is, if you didn't know him by his actions, words & attributes, you do now.
Sources:
(1) History of al-tabari vol 6
(2) Muslim 418, 1028, Bukhari 683
(3) kanz al-'ummal 6/318
(4) Bukhari, 683; Muslim 418
(5) Bukhari 3653, “The Successors of the Messenger” , “The Sealed Nectar”
(6) Quran 9:40, Muslim 5868
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