Response to: Abu Bakar was NOT BETTER than others

The following is a response to Slave of Ahlubait’s “Abu Bakar was NOT BETTER than others”. The article can be found on his blog and the wilayat website.

Slave of Ahlubait provides the Arabic text and yet only translate some of the content for English speaking readers with no access to the meanings of the original Arabic.

The following is the complete article:

“We find in al-Bidaya wa Nihaya, 6/233 (& in Urdu version, 6/401); Abu Bakar himself said:-

 ثم تكلم أبو بكر فحمد الله وأثنى عليه بالذي هو أهله ثم قال: أما بعد أيها الناس فإني قد وليت عليكم ولست بخيركم فإن أحسنت فأعينوني وإن أسأت فقوموني، الصدق أمانة، والكذب خيانة، والضعيف فيكم عندي حتى أرجع  عليه حقه إن شاء الله، والقوي فيكم ضعيف [عندي]  حتى آخذ الحق منه إن شاء الله، لا يدع قوم الجهاد في سبيل الله إلا خذلهم الله بالذل، ولا تشيع الفاحشة في قوم إلا عمهم الله بالبلاء، أطيعوني ما أطعت الله ورسوله، فإذا عصيت الله ورسوله فلا طاعة لي عليكم، قوموا إلى صلاتكم يرحمكم الله * وهذا إسناد صحيح

I ll just translate the red part of the First speech of Abu Bakar, and We find

Then Abu Bakar spoke, and Praised Allah, and then said: O People! I have been made Your Wali/Ruler, and I am not better than You…………This chain is Saheeh”

For the benefit of readers, we have chosen to translate the Arabic content to see what kind of a ruler Abu Bakr was. He said after praising Allah:

“O’ people, I have been made your ruler and I am not the best of you, so if I do good, then support me, and if I do bad, then correct me, for truth is an entrustment, while lying is treachery, and the weak amongst you is with me until I get his right back to him – Allah willing – , and the strong is weak to me until I take the right that he has taken away – Allah willing – . Anyone that leaves Jihad will be humiliated by Allah. Allah will torment people that have been engulfed in immorality. Obey me as long as I obey Allah and His Messenger, and if I disobey Allah and His messenger, then there is no obedience to me. Onto the prayers, may Allah have mercy on you all.”

Allahu Akbar! It is no surprise that a Shi’ee would not want to translate these sincere words of modesty and piety. May Allah be pleased with Al-Sideeq. A modest person would never assume that he was the best man in existence, therefore Abu Bakr did not consider himself the best man among them even though they themselves thought that he was the best.

For a more objective view of where Abu Bakr stood, one does not have to look further than Islamic history, when he was elected by members of other tribes to be the first caliph of the Muslims. Ibn Omar, in Saheeh Al-Bukhari #3382 affirms, “We used to choose between the people (as to who was the best) during the life of the Prophet – peace be upon him – and we would choose Abu Bakr, the Omar, then Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them.”