Companions · As-Siddiq · First caliph · Companion of the cave
أبو بكر الصديق
Abu Bakr as-Siddiq
The first free man to believe, the second of two in the cave, and the hand that held the ummah together on its hardest morning.
The account
Abu Bakr Abdullah ibn Abi Quhafah heard the message and did not negotiate with it. The Prophet ﷺ said of him: "I never invited anyone to Islam but he had some hesitation, except Abu Bakr." His belief pulled a generation behind him: Uthman, Talha, Zubayr, Sa'd, and Ibn Awf all entered Islam at his hands. When Makkah mocked the Night Journey, he answered with the sentence that earned his title: "If he said it, he has told the truth." From that day he was as-Siddiq.
He bought and freed the tortured, Bilal first among them. He was the companion of the cave, the second of two when Allah was the third. He led the prayer in the Prophet's final illness, and when the hardest morning came, he held the community upright with two sentences about the Living God. As caliph for two years he fought the riddah, sent Usama's army as commanded, and began gathering the Qur'an after Yamamah. The Prophet ﷺ said: "If I were to take an intimate friend other than my Lord, I would take Abu Bakr." He died asking to be buried beside his beloved, and he was.
The facts
- TitleAs-Siddiq, after the Isra
- The caveSecond of two (9:40)
- FreedBilal and the tortured
- Caliphate2 years: riddah, Qur'an gathered
The Qur'an on it
ثَانِيَ اثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِي الْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا
The second of two, when they were in the cave, when he said to his companion: do not grieve, indeed Allah is with us.
The narrations
If I were to take an intimate friend (khalil) other than my Lord, I would take Abu Bakr.
Bukhari 3656 · Muslim 2382
Read beside it
The words
- أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقAbu BakrHistory
- بِلَالُ بْنُ رَبَاحBilal ibn RabahHistory
- رِدَّةRiddahLaw and life
- مَكَّةMakkahHistory
- الإِسْلَامIslamBelief
- القُرْآنQur'anThe Qur'an
- جَمْعُ القُرْآنJam' al-Qur'anThe Qur'an
- الصَّحَابَةSahabahHistory
Lights that name it
- Al-Razi wrote down the cases where he was wrongAl-Razi · Rayy and Baghdad, died c. 925
- She tore her belt in two and gained a nameAsma bint Abi Bakr · died 73 AH, 692 CE
- The cave in the Qur'an held two men for three nightsJabal Thawr, Makkah · 622 CE
- Abu Bakr answered the crisis of his death with a verseMadinah · Rabi al-Awwal, 11 AH, 632 CE
- The Qur'an was gathered into one book after a battleZayd ibn Thabit · Madinah, c. 633 CE
- Seventy reciters died and the Qur'an was gatheredYamama and Madinah · 633 CE
On the Path
- 32Isra & Miraj: Buraqالإسراء والمعراج
- 34Hijrah: Cave of Thawrغار ثور
- 38Badr: 313 vs 1000بدر
- 42Fath Makkah: Idols Fallفتح مكة
- 44Tabuk: The Hardship Armyتبوك
- 46The Passing of the Prophet ﷺوفاة النبي ﷺ
- 47Abu Bakr: The Ummah Holdsخلافة أبي بكر
- 48Umar: Justice Opens the Landsخلافة عمر
People beside it
- Uthman ibn AffanDhun-Nurayn · Third caliphعثمان بن عفان
- Talha ibn UbaydillahThe living martyr · Ten promised Paradiseطلحة بن عبيد الله
- Zubayr ibn al-AwwamThe Disciple · Ten promised Paradiseالزبير بن العوام
- Sa'd ibn Abi WaqqasFirst arrow of Islam · Answered du'aسعد بن أبي وقاص
- Abd ar-Rahman ibn AwfMerchant of Paradise · Ten promisedعبد الرحمن بن عوف
- Bilal ibn RabahFirst mu'adhdhin of Islamبلال بن رباح
- Umar ibn al-KhattabAl-Faruq · Second caliphعمر بن الخطاب
- Aisha bint Abi BakrUmm al-Mu'minin · Jurist of the ummahعائشة بنت أبي بكر
- Suhayl ibn AmrNegotiator of Hudaybiyyah · Orator of steadfastnessسهيل بن عمرو
- Asma bint Abi BakrDhat an-Nitaqayn, She of the Two Beltsأسماء بنت أبي بكر
- Zayd ibn ThabitScribe of revelation · Collector of the Qur'anزيد بن ثابت
- Usama ibn ZaydThe beloved, son of the belovedأسامة بن زيد
- Amr ibn al-AsThe mind that opened Egyptعمرو بن العاص
- Umm Ayman (Barakah)The mother after his motherأم أيمن بركة
- Hafsah bint UmarUmm al-Mu'minin · Keeper of the mushafحفصة بنت عمر
- The Wolf that SpokeWitness of the herdsالذئب الذي تكلم
Places