Caliphate After the Prophet (s)

Abū Bakr, son of Abū Quhāfa, was the first caliph after the Prophet’s demise. There are different views on his name being ‘Abd Allāh or ‘Atīq.[1] Apparently, they have insisted on saying that his name was ‘Abd Allāh but he used to be called ‘Atīq. He belonged to the Banū Taym tribe, one of the tribes of the Quraysh. During the Dark Age, the tribe had no special standing among the other tribes. A solid evidence for this claim is Abū Sufyān’s words when Abū Bakr assumed power.

He said, “How come the government has fallen to the least populated and meanest tribes of the Quraysh?”[2]

There is a story that says one day, Abū Bakr was speaking with Dhaghfal about his lineage and both agreed that Banū Taym was one of the weakest tribes of the Quraysh.[3] Another time, Abū Bakr asked Qays Ibn ‘Āsim why he buried his daughters alive.

He replied, “So that they do not give birth to children like you.”[4]

There are different views also on his occupation in the days of ignorance. Those who intended to attribute a high position to him in the Dark Age, said he was a merchant. On the other hand, there are documents that say he had menial jobs such as milking and the like.[5] Another story says Abū Bakr had financial problems and was a teacher in the Dark Age and later, became a tailor after the advent of Islam.[6]

Two years younger than the Prophet of Islam, he is believed to be one of the first Muslims, although there are conflicting ideas on whether he was the first or the fifty-first Muslim as one quotation has it.[7] Such notions about him, who was the first caliph, are natural. We have not heard about any special pressures he may have faced in the years of invitation to Islam in Mecca. He did not accompany the Muhādjirūn to Abyssinia, but he found an opportunity to be with the Prophet (s) in the night of Hidjra. According to our discussions about Hidjra, after the Prophet left the house, Abū Bakr went to see Imām ‘Alī (a) and when found out that Prophet Muhammad (s) had gone, he set off and joined him.

Abū Bakr’s relations with the Prophet (s) grew stronger after the Prophet’s marriage with ‘Āyisha. ‘Āyisha was a clever woman who tried to have a role in all political developments of her time. This helped strengthen Abū Bakr’s position to some extent. We said earlier that ‘Alī (a) believed that ‘Āyisha played the key role in Abū Bakr’s prayers.

Abū Bakr did not have any political or military responsibility during his ten years of stay in Medina, but he could gain power by understanding the situation of the internal wings of the Quraysh and taking advantage of the Quraysh’s enmity towards Imām ‘Alī (a) as well as the collaboration of the middle wings of the Quraysh, those who were not among the Umayyads and the Hāshimites.

Abū Bakr grasped a serious chance. When he took over the caliphate, a wave of apostasy and opposition to Islam swept across Hidjāz and Muslims who all saw the principle of Islam endangered realized that opposing Abū Bakr was not to their interests. It is interesting to know that immediately after Abū Bakr’s coming to power, rifts emerged between the Ansār and the Quraysh over a sarcastic poem composed by Abū Bakr about the Ansār. Afterwards, the Ansār kept some distance from Abū Bakr and ‘Amr Ibn ‘Ās, instigated by the Quraysh spoke against them. On the other hand, Fadl Ibn ‘Abbās and then, Imām ‘Alī (a) praised the Ansār. Hassān Ibn Thābit composed poems in praise of Imām ‘Alī (a) for his support of the Ansār and implicitly, referred to the efforts of some men of the Quraysh who wanted to take Imām ‘Alī's position.[8] However, when oppositions heightened, the Ansār moved towards the claimants of prophethood and other apostates.

About Abū Bakr, we have to admit that he had an eloquent language and we are sure that it was his clam words at the Saqīfa more effective than ‘Umar’s harsh words, though they were complementary.

Later, Abū Bakr once pointed to his tongue and said, “This is what helped me reach this rank.”[9]

Abū Bakr reiterated several times that there were some people who deserved the caliphate more than him. After the people swore allegiance to him, he said in a sermon, “I took over the rule over you while I’m not any better than you. If I behave well, help me; if not, guide me. Obey me as long as I am obedient to God; otherwise, you won’t need to obey me.”[10] This shows that Abū Bakr believed it was not necessary for a ruler to be the best of the people.

He has been quoted as saying, “ ‘Umar is stronger than me and Sālim is more pious.”[11] But his emphasis on having the rule is surprising. Abū Bakr introduced his government as the “Caliphate of Prophethood” to convey the religious aspect of his caliphate. He considered his rule not as a caliphate from God, but a succession to the Prophet (s) and named himself the “Caliph of the Messenger of Allāh”.[12]

His first measure was dispatching Usāma’s army, an army that the Prophet (s) had prepared to send to Damascus in the final days of his life. Some political opposition caused delays in the deployment of the army under the pretext of Usāma’s young age. But now that the issues seemed to have been settled, the same people who were opposed, decided to send Usāma’s army in spite of the critical situation on Hidjāz. Responding to opposition against the army’s dispatch, they said they could not ignore doing something that the Prophet had wanted. Abū Bakr said he would send the army even if the beasts would tear him apart in Medina.[13] Usāma’s army left for Damascus and returned after forty days with no serious clashes. Since the Prophet (s) had included ‘Umar in Usāma’s army, Abū Bakr asked Usāma to let ‘Umar stay with him.

[1] al-Ma‘rifa wa l-tārīkh, vol.I, p.238, Murūdj al-dhahab, vol.II, p.298

[2] ‘Abd al-Razzāq, al-Musannaf, vol.V, p.451; Mustadrak, vol.II, p.78

[3] Madjma‘ al-amthāl, vol.I, p.27

[4] Ibn Abi l-Hadīd, Sharh nahdj al-balāgha, vol.XIII, p.177

[5] al-Fā’iq fī gharīb al-hadīth, vol.IV, p.12

[6] al-Ifsāh, p.176

[7] al-Sahīh Min Sīra al-Nabī, vol.I, pp.247,289,290; Tārīkh al-tabarī, (vol.II, p.60), in a weakened narration by Himself, says that fifty people embraced Islam before Abū Bakr.

[8] Tarīkh al-ya‘qūbī, vol.II, p.128

[9] Nathr al-durr, vol.II, p.13

[10] ‘Abd al-Razzāq, al-Musannaf, vol.XI, p.326; Tārīkh al-tabarī, vol.III, p.336; al-Imāma wa l-siyāsa, vol.I, p.34

[11] Nathr al-durr, vol.II, p.15

[12] Abūya‘lā, al-Ahkām al-sultāniyya, p.17. Despite what is said, caliph I, in his first oration, said, وقد استخلف الله عليكم خليفة God hath ordained a caliph to unify thee and to strengthen thy words, Al-Imāma wa l-siyāsa, vol.I, p.34. Damascus Muslims are quoted to have called Abū Bakr as "God’s Caliph". 

Al-Imāma wa l-siyāsa, vol.I, p.38 (Damascus people were expected to say this but nothing else). Once he was called "God’s Viceroy", but he said, “I’m not vicegerent of God, I am caliph of the Prophet (s) and I am pleased with it! (Ibn Abī Shayba, al-Musannaf, vol.VII, p.433) 

‘Adī Ibn Hātam told Abū Bakr, “We obeyed God’s Messenger (s) because of his obedience and you are obeyed for you obey the Propher (s) (Kitāb al-ridda, p.66). His intention lies in the same word of caliph. 

[13] Tārīkh khalīfat Ibn khayyat, pp.100-101