The Bravery of Abu Bakr (RA)
When the number of Muslims reached 38 in Makkah, Abu Bakr (RA) asked the prophet (SAW) for permission to announce their Islam openly. Up to this point, the people had been accepting Islam and practicing it secretly. Anyone who was found to have accepted Islam was persecuted and tortured. The prophet (SAW) told him, “We are very few in number.” He replied, “We are enough. Let us announce this openly.” When he continued to insist, the prophet (SAW) allowed him. All 38 of the Muslims came into Al Masjid Al-Haram around the Ka’bah and everyone went in little groups and corners based on their families . The prophet (SAW) sat himself down in front of the Ka’bah. Abu Bakr (RA) stood up, and, in front of everyone, he gave the first ever khutba of Islam and the first ever open invitation in the history of Islam. He stood up and said, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.” To the people, this was unacceptable. This was a breach of everything that society knew and believed. They were not going to put up with it. All the people who were there, the people of Quraysh, they pounced on Abu Bakr (RA) and the Muslims sitting in the corners. Because there was so many of them in number, they started beating the Muslims down. A whole mob of them attacked Abu Bakr (RA) alone and they started beating him. One of them took his shoe which had a hard sole and started pounding it into the face of Abu Bakr (RA). He ground his face so hard that his nose became flattened. They beat him so much that he lost consciousness. Meanwhile, when the tribe of Abu Bakr (RA) found out that this had happened, they came running and pulled the mob off. They carried him, unconscious, all the way to his home, where his father, Abu Quhafa, and some other people of his tribe were, they all continueously tried to help him regain consciousness. He was not coming around. People thought that he would not recover from this. By the evening time, he did regain consciousness. As soon as he woke up, the first question he asked was, “How is the prophet (SAW)?” The people of the tribe were disgusted. They said, “You just about lost your life because of this, and now, right after regaining consciousness, instead of thinking about your own life, you are asking about him?” They were very upset and said a lot of things about him and left. They told his mother to give him something to eat and drink because he was very weak and he might not fully recover. There, his mother was trying to coax him into eating or drinking, but he keept asking the same question about the prophet (SAW). Then, he said. “I swear by Allah (SWT) I will not eat a morsel of food or drink a sip of water until I know of his condition.” His mother said, “My son, how am I supposed to know this?” He said, “Go to Umm Jameel, the sister of Umar (RA). Go to her and ask her.” She went, and at this time, the Muslims were very sacred and no one trusted anyone. The moment you revealed to someone that you were a Muslim, your life was in danger. When Abu Bakr (RA)’s mother went to Umm Jameel, she explained the situation and asked her the question. She replied in a very clever way, saying, “I do not know any of these things, but from the sounds of it, your son is in bad shape. I can come and visit him.” She agreed and brought this lady to see Abu Bakr (RA). When she saw Abu Bakr (RA), she broke down crying, saying, “Look what they have done to you.” He said, “I am fine. They have only crushed my nose. Take me to the prophet (SAW).” She said, “Your mother is listening.” He replied, “There is no threat from her. Let’s go.” They supported him and dragged him to the prophet (SAW). When the prophet (SAW) saw Abu Bakr (RA), he began to cry and hugged him. Everyone started crying when they saw how badly he had been beaten up.
Even in that state, he said, “O prophet of Allah, my mother is here. She is a great person who has always taken great care of me. Why not invite her to Islam?” The prophet (SAW) invited her towards Islam, and she accepted Islam on the spot. Look at the strength and courage of these people and how proud they were of their deen and prophet. Nothing could separate them. If we could have even a little bit of that in our hearts, the world of Muslims today would be a completely different world, and the world outside would look at us very differently. There is no respect for people who do not stand for their morals. These people earned the pinnacles of success by speaking out for truth and remaining true to their deen, even though it came with hardships. We have to become stronger than our hardships. Abu Bakr (RA) was tougher than the people who beat him and that is why he was able to come out from that situation. He was not necessarily physically stronger, but he was tougher inside. This is what resilience is – when nothing people do or say can change who you are. May Allah (SWT) give us this type of strength and bravery and may Allah (SWT) enable us to follow in the footsteps of these people who are certainly our models.
