WHEN IT WAS TIME TO MEET HIS END
Abu Bakr, may Allah he pleased with him, died in the year 13A.Il. (634AC) after suffering from fever for 50 days during which he gave instructions that ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab should lead the people in Salaah. There is a story, which accuses the Jews of putting poison in his food, but it lacks authenticity. When he died, he was sixty three years old, and his caliphate had lasted 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 Allah and that he was in His hands. All the time he was thinking of Islam and its future stability.
efore his death he asked how the Prophet was dressed when he was laid in his coffin. 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 extravagance and stressed that the living were more important than the dead. His last words were: “O Allah! Let me die as a Muslim, and let me join the company of the righteous!”
His wife, Asniaa’, and his son, ‘ Abdur-Rahmaan. bathed him, and he was buried in ‘ Aaishah’s room, just beside the Prophet , peace and blessings be upon him. First, ‘Umar led the burial prayer in the mosque, then he, ‘Ulhmaan, Talhah and ‘Abdur-Rahmaan supervised the burial. His head was laid just near the Prophet ’s shoulders.
The inhabitants of Madeenah were deeply affected by Abu Bakr’s death and were stunned by it just as they were when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, died. ‘ Ali Ibn Abi Taalib hastened to his house, weeping, and said: “May Allah rest your soul in peace! You were the first to accept Islam; the staunchest in belief; the closest upholder of the Prophet ; the firmest defender of Islam, and the closest in conduct to the Prophet . May Allah reward you for the efforts you did in service of Islam, the Prophet and the Muslims! You believed the Prophet when all people disbelieved him; you were generous with him when everybody else was mean; you stood by his side when others let him down; and Allah has called you the Truthful in His Book. You were a bulwark for Islam, and a thunderbolt for the unbelievers. You were never a coward, 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 Allah’s Sight. You were venerable 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 Allah 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. Who first compiled the Qur’an, for which he deserves from all its readers, sympathetic prayers and hearty blessings.
May Allah be pleased with him
and rest his soul in peace!
(Source: Biographies of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.)
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