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The end
Abu
Bakr died in the year 13A.H. (634A.D.) after suffering from fever for 15
days during which he gave instructions that ''Omar bin al-Khattab should
lead the prayers. There is a story which accuses the Jews of putting poison
in his food, but it lacks authenticity. When he died, he was years old
and his caliphate had lasted for only two years and three months. During
his illness he refused to consult a doctor; and when he was asked to do
so, he said that he had consulted God, and that he was in His hands. All
the time he was thinking of Islam and its future stability. After much
meditation he decided to confer the caliphate on ''Omar bin al-Khattab.
He consulted many of the well-known companions of the Prophet. Most of
them approved of the choice, though they pointed out that ''Omar bin al
Khattab was rather rough. Some of them, among whom was Talhah bin `Obaydillah,
objected to his appointment. Abu Bakr got angry and accused them of wanting
to become caliphs themselves. He called `Qthman and put in writing his
desire to choose ''Omar as his successor. While he was dictating, he fainted
1
but 'Othman completed the will on his own. When Abu Bakr recovered he was
pleased with 'Othman's initiative and approved the will. Then he let it
be read to the congregation, who accepted it and swore allegiance to `Omar
in the Grand Mosque. He watched what was going on from inside his house,
being helped by his wife, Asma bint 'Omays.
Then he called `Omar
and advised him on how to lead his people, ending with these words: "If
you follow my advice, nothing unknown will be more acceptable to you than
death; but if you reject it, nothing unknown will be more frightening than
death." Before he died, Abu Bakr gave back everything he had taken from
the public treasury during his caliphate. It is said that he did not bequeath
2any
money at all. He left only a servant, a camel and a garment. His orders
were that after his death the garment should be delivered to his successor.
On seeing it ''Omar wept and said: "Abu Bakr has made the task of his successor
very difficult."
Before his
death he asked how the Prophet was dressed when he was laid in his coffin3
. Being informed that he was dressed in three garments, Abu Bakr asked
that his two old garments be used. A third new one was also bought. He
disliked extravagance4,
and stressed that the living were more important than the dead. His last
words were: "0 God! Let me die as a Muslim; and let me join the company
of the righteous!"
His wife, Asma',
and his son, Abdul Rahman, bathed him, and he was buried in `Aishah's rooms,
just beside the Prophet. First, `Omar led the burial prayer in the mosque,
then he, ''Othman, Talhah and Abdul Rahman supervised the burial. His head
was laid just near the Prophet's shoulders.
The inhabitants
of Madina were deeply affected by Abu Bakr's death; they were stunned5
by it just as they were when the Prophet died. 'Ali bin Abi Talib hastened
to his house, weeping, and said: "May God have mercy upon you! You were
the first to accept Islam; the staunchest in belief; the closest helper
of the Prophet; the firmest defender of Islam, and the closest in conduct
to the Prophet. May God recompense you on behalf of Islam, the Prophet
and the Muslims! You believed the Prophet when everybody disbelieved him;
you were generous with him when everybody else was mean, you stood by his
side when others let him down; and God has called you in His book The Truthful.
You were a bulwark for Islam, and a thunderbolt for the disbelievers. You
were never a coward 6,
but were as steadfast as a mountain. As the Prophet said, you were weak
in body but strong in faith. You were humble in soul but great in God's
eyes. You were venerable7
in the world and revered among the believers. You were unprejudiced; the
weak were strong before you till you redeemed them from oppression; and
the strong were weak before you until they abstained from oppression. May
God not deprive us of your blessing; nor may He let us go astray after
you have departed from this life."
Thus
came to an end the life of the man who could accomplish in a few years
what others could not do in decades; the man who stood up bravely to an
internal revolution, and valiantly opposed the two greatest empires of
his time; the man who was simple in his outward appearance but great in
his inward attitude; the man whose spirit was as magnificent as that of
angels; the man who first compiled the Qur'an, for which he deserves from
all its readers, sympathetic prayers and hearty blessings.
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