Last
Address of Abu Bakr Siddiq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
When the piece of writing was completed,
Abu Bakr Siddiq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
asked it to be read out to the people. Following this he came out in spite of
his precarious health condition and said addressing this audience:
"I have not appointed any
relative of mine as caliph, and I have not installed Umar as caliph on my own.
I have rather done it only after holding consultations with men of sound
judgment. Are you then agreed to his being your caliph?" Hearing this they
said, "We all agree with your choice and opinion." Following this he
said, "You should then carry out Umar's orders and obey him."
All the people declared their
allegiance. Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
then said addressing Umar (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
in the presence of the audience:
"O Umar! I have made you my
deputy for the Companions of the (صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم) (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم);
keep fearing Allah from within and without. O Umar! There are some rights of
Allah the Almighty related to night, which he does not accede to in the day;
similarly, some are the rights related to day, which He does not accede to in
the night. Allah the Almighty does not accept Nawafil (supererogatory prayers)
unless Fard (obligatory prayers) are performed. O Umar! Those alone get
salvation on the Day of Judgment, whose record of deeds will be weighty, while
the deficient in virtuous deeds will suffer. O Umar! The ways to success and
salvation are found by following the Noble Quran and what is right. O Umar!
Don't you know that the Verses relating to inducement and awe, warning and glad
tidings are revealed in the Noble Quran simultaneously so that a believer keeps
fearing Allah the Almighty and seeking His forgiveness. O Umar! Whenever you
find in the Noble Quran mention of men of Hell, pray to Allah not to make you
one of them; whenever you find mention of men of Paradise, pray to Allah to
make you one of them. O Umar! When you will follow these counsels of mine you
will find me sitting beside you."
This piece of writing and will
making were all done by Monday, 22 Jumada Al-Ukhra, 13 AH, and between the
night of Jumada Al-Ukhra 22nd and 23rd, after sunset he breathed his last and
was buried before the Isha (night prayer) or at any time of the night.
His caliphate spanned over
two-and-a-half years. Attab bin Usaid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ), the governor of Makkah died the same day in Makkah. The day
Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) wrote his will and
informed the Muslims that the end of his life was near, Muthanna bin Harithah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) returned to Al-Madinah
from Hirah (Iraq). When Khalid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
proceeded from Hirah to Syria along with half of the army leaving Muthanna (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) there with the other
half, the Persian general, Bihman Jadhwaih thought that it would be easy for
them to drive out the Muslims from Hirah. Thus, he set out with a strong army.
Muthanna bin Harithah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
marched from Hirah to Babylon and repulsed his attack, chased them up to Madain
and then came back to Hirah.
In the wake of this ignominious and
devastating defeat, the Persian generals, ministers, nobles and chiefs buried
their old differences and rose together to avenge their defeat. A wave of
fervor and courage rose across the entire country. All the Persian tribes and
chiefs of the nation rose up to uproot the Muslims. Such a large-scale military
preparation worried Muthanna (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
who hurried to Al-Madinah to acquaint the Caliph with the impending threat
leaving Hirah in the charge of Bashir bin Khasasiah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ).
Muthanna (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) reached Al-Madinah only a few hours before the final departure
of the Caliph. However, the Caliph heard him with rapt attention and instructed
Umar (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to do the needful.
When Umar (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) went out, Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) said:
"O Allah'! I have chosen Umar
as caliph after me for the welfare of the Muslims as a whole and to remove all
sorts of dangers from their path. You know very well the feelings of all
hearts. After holding consultations with the Muslims, I have selected the best
among the Muslims to take care of them and look after their peace and welfare.
Make the guardians of Your slaves trustworthy and firm for their lives, their
safety is in Your Hand. Make Umar a good caliph and his people be a benefit for
him."
Impressions
of Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
As the soul-shattering news of Abu
Bakr's death spread in Al-Madinah, the whole city plunged into deep grief and
untold woes and turmoil. The dismal day of the Prophet's final departure cast
its tragic reflection once again. When Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) heard this sad news he burst into tears, came to his house
weeping and uttered at his door the following words immersed in deep sorrow and
profound pain:
"O Abu Bakr! May Allah show
mercy to you. By Allah you believed first of all in the entire Ummah and made
your belief the base of your behavior and manners. You were the man excellent
in trust and conviction, the most generous and the greatest caretaker of the
Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم). You were the
greatest supporter of Islam and well-wisher of all creatures. In manners,
virtues and guidance you were close to the Prophet (صلى
الله عليه وآله وسلم) most of all. May Allah confer on you the
best reward on behalf of Islam and the Muslims. You affirmed the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) when others denied
him; you showed sympathy when others were ungenerous to him; you rose to help
the (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) when others held themselves back from
help and support. Allah entitled you Siddiq (the Truthful) in His Book:
'And he who brought the truth and
believed there in.' (39:33)
You stood like a rock in support of
Islam and drove away the disbelievers. Neither your argument was ever
misdirected nor your insight weakened; your soul never showed timidity. You
were firm like a mountain; strong winds failed to uproot or stir you. About you
the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
had said: 'Weak in body, strong in Faith, humble, exalted by Allah, venerable
on earth and worthy among the believers.' Nobody could show greed in your
presence nor could give free expression to his desires; the weak happened to be
strong to you and the strong weak till the right of the weak was given to him
and the strong was forced to give what was due."
When Umar (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) heard this news he expressed his deep feelings in the
following words:
"O Caliph of the (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), you put your people to great hardship
with your departure. It is hard enough to be on a par with even your dust. How
can I vie with you?"
No comments:
Post a Comment