Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr was a close companion and father-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, and the first caliph (successor) of the Islamic community after Muhammad's death. He played a crucial role in unifying the Arabian Peninsula under Islam and expanding the Islamic state. Abu Bakr's leadership and contributions to early Islamic history are highly regarded, and he is considered a key figure in the development of the Islamic faith.
6 Key excerpts on "Abu Bakr"
eBook - ePubIslam
A Concise Introduction
- Neal Robinson(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...This last group were the forerunners of the Shia, literally ‘the Party’ – short for Shiat Ali, Ali's Party. After discussions Abu Bakr (632–4), an aged and revered Emigrant, who was the father of Muhammad's favourite wife Ayesha, was elected head of the Islamic community. Abu Bakr was styled Caliph (literally ‘deputy’ or ‘successor’) of the Messenger of God. He subdued the bedouin tribes who had renounced their allegiance to Muhammad after his death. He himself died in 634, but not before he had designated Umar (634–44), another Emigrant and long-standing friend of the Prophet, to succeed him. During Umar's reign the Muslims conquered large parts of the Byzantine Empire – including Syria, Palestine and Egypt – and overthrew the Persians. The two key battles were the defeat of the Byzantines at Yarmouk in 634 and the Persians at Qadisiya in 637. Umar's generals built garrison towns at Kufa and Basra, in Iraq, and Fustat (now part of Cairo) in Egypt, which functioned as bases for further military expeditions. When he was murdered in 644, the six men whom he had chosen to deal with the succession elected Uthman (644–56). Although Uthman was an Emigrant, he belonged not to the Hashim clan but to the Umayya. He proceeded to appoint members of his own clan as provincial governors and to bestow on them lands which had previously been the property of the state. This caused widespread dissatisfaction which led ultimately to his assassination in 656. Ali (656–61) was elected to succeed him but was unable to overcome the opposition of his rivals. In particular, Uthman's cousin Muawiya, the governor of Syria, blamed Ali for the assassination and refused to swear allegiance to him. Ali moved his capital from Medina to Kufa in Iraq and confronted Muawiya in battle at Siffin. The battle was indecisive and Ali decided to accept arbitration...
eBook - ePubWhat is Shi'i Islam?
An Introduction
- Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Christian Jambet(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Accordingly, Abu Bakr became the first caliph (khalifa) of the new community (the technical meaning of the title seems to have developed later), and thus his followers are the ancestors of those later designated as “Sunnis”. The followers of ‘Ali were on the opposing side. They maintained that Muhammad had clearly designated ‘Ali as his successor. He had done so, they argued, on several occasions in various ways, directly and indirectly. In their view it could hardly have been otherwise: how could the Prophet have left the important matter of his successor in abeyance? Could he have been so indifferent to the future leadership of his community as to leave it in uncertainty and confusion? This would be contrary to the very spirit of the Qur’an, in accord with which the successors of the great prophets of the past had been chosen from among the closest family members, who were privileged by blood ties as well as by initiation into the mysteries of their religion. True, the Qur’an does recommend seeking counsel in certain instances, but never in matters concerning the succession of prophets, which is fundamentally an issue of divine election. As far as his followers – those later called Shia – were concerned, ‘Ali was this chosen heir, designated by Muhammad and confirmed by the Qur’an. In this instance, ‘Ali’s youth – a dissuading handicap for the adherents of ancestral tribal customs – was not of any particular importance. We will return to this point later. ‘Ali is thus deemed by Shia to be their first imam (guide, leader, chieftain; like the term “caliph”, the technical meaning of the word imam came much later). The concept of imam referred to the true leader of the community, even if he did not effectively hold power. and as we shall see, the figure of the imam will become the central notion in the Shi’i religion, which never employs the term “caliph” to designate its leader. Thus Shi’ism is as old as the dispute over who should succeed the Prophet of Islam...
eBook - ePub- Thomas W. Arnold(Author)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...The paramount control of political policy was in his hands; he received the ambassadors who brought the submission of the various Arab tribes, and he appointed officers to collect dues and taxes. He exercised supreme authority in military matters and the dispatch of military expeditions. He was at the same time supreme legislator, and not only promulgated legal statutes but sat in judgement to decide cases, and against his decision there was no appeal. In addition to the performance of these offices of the administrative and political order as ruler, general, and judge, he was also revered as the inspired Prophet of God and the religious dogmas he enunciated were accepted by his followers as revelations of divine truth, in regard to which there could be no doubt or dispute. At the same time he performed the highest ecclesiastical functions, and as Imām led the prayer in public worship at the canonical hours in the Mosque of Medina. In all these respects Abū Bakr was a successor of the founder of the faith—with the exception of the exercise of the prophetic function, which was held to have ceased with the death of the Prophet. The choice of the designation ‘Successor’ was doubtless prompted by a genuine feeling of humility on Abū Bakr’s part, in the difficult days when the existence of the young Muslim community was threatened, and when it might still have appeared to some observers to be doomed to extinction owing to the death of its founder. There is no evidence that Muhammad in his promulgation of the Qur’ān ever contemplated the possibility of the word Khalīfah becoming a title of his successor, nor is it likely that it was any use of this word in the Qur’ān itself which suggested to Abū Bakr that he should style himself ‘the Successor of the Apostle of God’...
eBook - ePubCross and Crescent
Responding To The Challenges Of Islam
- Colin Chapman(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- IVP(Publisher)
...This period of thirty years is regarded as a Golden Age of Islam (see Table 7.2). 632–4 The first caliph, Abu Bakr, was chosen because he had been nominated by Muhammad to lead the prayers during his final illness. He prevented many tribes from breaking away from the new Islamic state during the Wars of Apostasy. He defeated the Byzantine army in 634, and under his rule Islam spread to Syria, Iraq and Yemen. 634–44 The second caliph, ‘Umar, was nominated by Abu Bakr. He authorized the collection of the suras of the Qur’an. In 635 he attacked Damascus, capturing it in 637; he defeated the Byzantine army at the Battle of Yarmuk in 636, and captured Jerusalem (638) and Alexandria (642). He gained control of Syria, Egypt and Persia, and gave Jews and Christians in Arabia the choice of converting to Islam or leaving Arabia. He was stabbed to death by a Persian Christian slave. 644–56 The third caliph, ‘Uthman, established the official text of the Qur’an and had other texts burned. A weak leader, he was accused of granting favours to relatives. His leadership provoked rebellion, and he was assassinated. 656–61 The fourth caliph, ‘Ali, was Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law. He fought against the followers of ‘A’isha, Muhammad’s widow, at the Battle of Camel, then against Mu’awiya, the governor of Syria, who proclaimed himself caliph. After a truce in 660, Mu’awiya ruled over Syria and ‘Ali’s power declined. He was murdered by a rebel. His conflict with Mu’awiya led to the split between Sunnis and Shi‘ites (the ‘party of ‘Ali’). Table 7.2 These four caliphs were succeeded by the Umayyad dynasty, which ruled in Damascus from 661 to 750...
eBook - ePub- Sir Percy Sykes(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...It is on this transaction (recorded in Chapter LXII.) that the Sultans of Turkey base their claim to the sacred position of Caliph and to other high titles. The Caliphate falls into three well-defined periods: 1. That of the First Four Caliphs, A.D. 632–661, the period of the Theocracy of Islam. 1 2. The Omayyad Caliphs, A.D. 661–749, the period of Pagan Reaction. 3 The Abbasid Caliphs, A.D. 749–1258, the period of Persian Ascendancy. The Genealogical Table of the Kureish. —In order to show the descent of the various dynasties, and their claims of kinship with the Prophet, it is convenient to give the following genealogical table, which is taken from Lane-Poole's Mohamedan Dynasties, an invaluable guide to the student: The Election of Abu Bekr. —Even before the Prophet was buried, there was very nearly bloodshed in Medina at the meeting at which Abu Bekr was chosen to be the Caliph, 1 or “Successor” of the Prophet. He was sixty years old at the time of his election, and was naturally of a mild character. But belief in the Prophet filled him with a moral courage unsurpassed in the records of history. The Rebellions, A.H. 11 (632).—Before his illness the Prophet had given orders for an expedition to avenge the disaster of Muta; but Osama, its commander, on hearing of the calamity which had befallen Islam, brought back the banner entrusted to him. Abu Bekr showed his fearlessness by immediately insisting that this expedition should be carried through, although it left the city almost defenceless, and his decision was justified by the result. Yet the courage it showed was extraordinary; for insurrections broke out all over Arabia, and only Medina, Mecca, and Tayif stood firm for Islam. Medina itself was besieged, or rather blockaded, by neighbouring tribes, but Abu Bekr called out every man capable of bearing arms, attacked the Beduins, and drove them off with slaughter...
eBook - ePubSpiritual Purification in Islam
The Life and Works of al-Muhasibi
- Gavin Picken(Author)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...This is followed by the second ʿAbbāsid period (247/861–447/1055), 4 which is regarded as an era of political decline, due to the events leading to the loss of ʿAbbāsid power. Finally, there is the third ʿAbbāsid period, which includes the eventual collapse of the caliphate and the sacking of Baghdad at the hands of the Mongol horde (447/1055–565/1258). 5 The ʿAbbāsids took charge of the Islamic empire from the Umayyads with the ascension to the throne of Abū ’l-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh b. Muḥammad (r. 132/749– 136/754), commonly known as ‘al-Saffāḥ’ (lit. ‘the blood spiller’) due to his merciless execution of the remaining Umayyad dignitaries. The rise of the ʿAbbāsids was mainly due, on the one hand, to the lack of popularity of the Umayyads, who were seen as a debauched, ‘pro-Arab’ aristocracy who had little regard for the welfare of their subjects, and the messianic campaign of the ʿAbbāsids for a return of authority to the house of the Prophet or ‘ al-riḍāʾ min āl Muḥammad ’, as they put it, on the other. Their claim to authority came through their familial link to the Prophet’s uncle al-ʿAbbās and they would later counter the ʿAlid claim to authority – since they were also of Prophetic lineage – by showing that their link was through a male relative, i.e. al-ʿAbbās and not through a female one, i.e. Fāṭima, the Prophet’s daughter, which was apparently still an important factor despite this being a supposed post- jāhilī, Arab society. This call, or daʿwa, proved very popular and gained great support in the eastern provinces generally and in Khurasān in particular...
