EXTRACTS FROM HIS SERMONS AND SPEECHES
The Prophet Muhammad (prayers and peace be upon him) died, on Monday 12- 3- 11. H. (of Al-Hijrah: the migration to Madinah), corresponding 9th of June 632 CE (Christian Era). In that day most of the Companions pledged their allegiance to Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) as the first Caliph. The next day in the Mosque in Madinah, before Abu Bakr led the prayer, Umar rose and addressed the assembly, he bade them pledge their allegiance to Abu Bakr. All men rose and pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr. Then Abu Bakr rose and delivered a speech saying:
‘You have elected me to be your first Caliph, and I am not the best of you. If I do well, help me, and if I do wrong, redress me. Truthfulness is loyalty and disregard for truth is treason. The weak among you shall be strong in my regard, until I have
restored their rights, if God pleases; and the strong among you shall be weak in my sight until I have wrested from him the rights of others, if God pleases. If any group of Muslims cease the holy war, Allah will afflict them with humiliation. If adultery spread
among people, surely Allah will enfold them with troubles. Obey me as long as I obey God and His Messenger. But if I disobey God or His Messenger you owe me no allegiance. Arise for the prayer, God have mercy upon you.’
In this address, Abu Bakr demonstrated the role of an exemplary Caliph of Islamic government.
Abdullah bin Aqim said: Abu Bakr once spoke to us. He said: ‘To proceed, I recommend to you the fear of Allah and to praise Him, as it is due to Him, and to mix your desire with fear, and merge your request with persistent humility. Verily Allah praised Zachariah and the people of his household. Allah says: ((Verily, they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before Us.)) [Al Anbiya: 90].
Therefore, knew, O servants of Allah, that the Lord holds your lives as a pledge for what is due to Him, and has taken your covenant regarding it, and has purchased of you a little that is perishable, in exchange for eternal abundance. Allah’s Book is among you, whose light cannot be extinguished, nor its wonders end. Therefore, seek your illumination from its light, and accept counsel from His Book and seek light from it in the day of darkness. Verily, He has crated you for His worship and has appointed for you guardian angels honorable in the sight of Allah writing down actions, who know that which you do.
Know, O servants of Allah, that you proceed and draw closer to an appointed time, the knowledge of which, verily, is hidden from you. Compete with one another in fulfilling the obligations of your appointed times before your appointed periods are completed, lest they cast you upon the evils of your works, and, verily, there are some who have made over the obligations of their appointed times on others, and have taken no heed of themselves. Therefore, I forbid you to be like them. Then haste, flee, flee for behind you is a nimble pursuer, swift of deed.’
– When death approached Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), he called Umar bin Al-Khattab and said to him: ‘Fear Allah, Oh Umar, and you should know that Allah has recommended some actions for the daytime, He will not accept
that you do them at night. He has deeds for the night and will not accept that you do them in the daytime. He will not accept voluntary acts until you fulfill the obligatory duties. Allah will make heavy the scale of whoever fills it on the Day of Judgment with their following the truth in this world. The scale that is filled with the truth today, will be heavy tomorrow.
The scale of good deeds will be light for whosever fills it with following the falsehood in this world. The scale in which falsehood is placed will be light tomorrow. Allah mentions the people of Paradise and mentions them with the best of their deeds. When I remember them, I say: I am afraid, I may not catch up with them. Allah also mentions the people of Hellfire and He mentions them with the vilest of their deeds and their best deeds will be rejected. When I remember them I say: I wish I am not among these people. A servant of Allah should be hopeful and fearful, not too confident and not despairing of the mercy of Allah. If you keep to my advice, nothing will be more beloved to you than death and certainly it will soon come to you. If you disregard my advice, nothing will be more hateful to you than death and you cannot prevent it.’
Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) enclosed in this advice the authentic general guidelines that are indispensable for every Muslim to adhere to.
Source: ( The Series of: Men and Women Around Muhammad)
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