Islam Guidance

Abu Bakr, son of Abu Quhafa, was the first caliph after the Prophet's demise. There are differing views on his name being either 'Abd Allah or 'Atiq. Apparently, many individuals have insisted on saying that his name was 'Abd Allah but he had previously been called 'Atiq. He belonged to the Banu Taym tribe, one of the tribes of the Quraysh.
During the Dark Age, this tribe maintained minimal special standing among the other tribes. This claim is evidenced by Abu Sufyan's words once Abu Bakr assumed power. He said, “How come the government has fallen to the least populated and meanest tribes of the Quraysh?” [Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, vol. V, p. 451; Mustadrak, vol. II, p. 78]
There is a story that one day, Abu Bakr was speaking with Dhaghfal about his lineage and both agreed that Banu Taym was one of the weakest tribes of the Quraysh [Majma‘al-amthal, vol. I, p. 27]. Another time, Abu Bakr asked Qays Ibn 'Asim why he buried his daughters alive. Qays Ibn Asim replied, “So that they do not give birth to children like you.” [Ibn Abi l-Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. XIII, p. 177]
There are different views also on his occupation prior to the advent of Islam. 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 of that nature. [Al-Faiq fi gharib al-hadith, vol. IV, p. 12]
Another story says Abu Bakr had financial problems and was a teacher in the Dark Age and later, became a tailor following the advent of Islam. [Al-Ifsah, p. 176]
Abu bakr was two years younger than the Prophet of Islam and he is considered to be among one of the first Muslims. There is however conflicting ideas concerning whether he was the first or the fifty-first Muslim as one quotation has put it. [As-Sahih Min Sira al-Nabi, vol. I, pp 247,289,290]
Such notions about him are natural considering he was the first caliph. 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 Muhajirun to Abyssinia, but he found an opportunity to be with the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) in the night of Hijra. According to various discussions about Hijra, after the Prophet left the house, Abu Bakr went to see Imam Ali(A.S) and when found out that Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H&H.P) had gone, he had set off and joined him.
Abu Bakr's relationship with the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) grew stronger following the Prophet's marriage with Ayesha. Ayesha was a clever woman who tried to have a role in all political developments of her time. This helped strengthen Abu Bakr's position to some extent.
Abu 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 Imam Ali (A.S) as well as the collaboration of the middle wings of the Quraysh. This group was neither among the Umayyad nor the Hashemite.
Abu Bakr grasped a serious chance. When he took over the caliphate, a wave of apostasy and opposition to Islam swept across Hijaz and Muslims who all saw the principle of Islam endangered realized that opposing Abu Bakr was not to their interests.
It is interesting to know that immediately after Abu Bakr's coming to power, rifts emerged between the Ansar and the Quraysh over a sarcastic poem composed by Abu Bakr about the Ansar. Afterwards, the Ansar kept some distance from Abu Bakr and Amr Ibn As who was instigated by the Quraysh spoke against them.
On the other hand, Fal Ibn Abbas and then, Imam Ali (A.S) praised the Ansar. Hassan Ibn Thabit composed poems in praise of Imam Ali (A.S) for his support of the Ansar and implicitly, referred to the efforts of some men of the Quraysh who wanted to take Imam Ali's position [Tarikh al-Ya’qubi, vol. II, p. 128]. However, when oppositions heightened, the Ansar moved towards the claimants of prophet Hood and other apostates.
Abu 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” [Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, vol. XI, p. 326; Tarikh at-Tabari, vol. III, p. 336; al-Imamah wal-Siyasah, vol. I, p. 34]. This shows that Abu Bakr believed it was not necessary for a ruler to be the best of the people.
It is necessary to admit that Abu Bakr had an eloquent language and we are sure that it was his clam words at the Saqifa more effective than 'Umar's harsh words, though they were complementary.
Later, Abu Bakr once pointed to his tongue and said, “This is what helped me reach this rank.” [Nathr ad-Durr, vol. II, p. 13]
He has been quoted as saying,” Umar is stronger than me and Salim is more pious” [Nathr ad-Durr, vol. II, p. 15]. But his emphasis on having the rule is surprising. Abu Bakr introduced his government as the “Caliphate of Prophet Hood” to convey the religious aspect of his caliphate. He considered his rule not as a caliphate from God, but a succession to the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) and named himself the “Caliph of the Messenger of Allah”.
His first measure was dispatching Usama's army, an army which the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) had prepared to send to Damascus in the final days of his life. Political opposition caused delays in the deployment of the army under the pretext of Usama's young age. Now that the issues seemed to have been settled, the same people who were opposed decided to send Usama's army in spite of the critical situation on Hijaz.
Responding to opposition against the army's dispatch, they said they could not ignore doing something that the Prophet had wanted. Abu Bakr said he would send the army even if the beasts would tear him apart in Medina [Tarikh Khalifat Ibn Khayyat, pp 100-101]. Usama's army left for Damascus and returned after forty days with no serious clashes. Since the Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) had included Umar in Usama's army, Abu Bakr asked Usama to let Umar stay with him.

This article borrowed from Imam Reza.Network.

It all began after the untimely martyrdom of the Messenger of Allah, many of those around the Messenger who had claimed to be his friends, were plotting a major revolution after his demise. As foretold by the Messenger and his master in the Holy
“And Muhammad is no more than a messenger; the messengers have already passed away before him; if then he dies or is killed will you turn back upon your heels? And whoever turns back upon his heels, he will by no means do harm to Allah in the least and Allah will reward the grateful.” (Holy Quran 3:144)
He died, and none of his so called 'dear friends' were next to him, in fact according to the most reliable of his living wives Umm Salama, he died in the arms of his brother and rightful successor the Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abi Taleb (A.S). So where were the claimants (ones who claimed to be his closest of friends)? What could possibly be more important than washing and burying the body of Allah’s most loved creation? Unless of course, the Caliphate was more important than this, but if it was then why the Messenger of Allah didn’t choose a successor? But he had, and the people couldn't accept his selection, after all people want someone that follows his whims and allows them to be capricious in nature.
It was Saqifah, that dreaded day, the beginning of all calamities, the mother of all massacres. The day the rightful successor was robbed of his right. This is what allowed Fatima (S.A) to be slapped by Kunfudh and crushed behind the door by the Messenger's own father-in-law!!! It begin there.... It was that incident that allowed all injustices to take place, the murder of the Commander of the Faithful (A.S) in mosque Al Kufa, while he was prostrating, the poisoning of the Grandson of the Messenger of Allah, and the daughter of the first usurper waging war against the Imam of her time and preventing the burial of Imam Hassan to take place next to his Grandfather, in fact she even ordered his purified dead body to be showered with arrows!!! And people like Shimr bin Ziljoshan only emulated the actions of his masters on the day of Ashura, and while Imam Hussain (A.S) was his mother, except that on the day of the incursion of the House of Hazrat Zahra (S.A) only one of her ribs was broken. But on the day of Ashura all of the ribs of Imam Hussain (A.S) were broken!!!!
It all began on that day, when someone asks you when Imam Hussain (A.S) was murdered, you reply it was on the day of Saqifaa!!!

Ref: shiachat.com

While Imam Ali (A.S) was busy attending to the burial of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P), the Muhajireen of Mecca and the Ansar of Medina had lost no time in contesting the matter of the Caliphate. They had gathered at a place called Saqifa bani Sa'da and each group was putting forward its merits and claiming the Caliphate.
One can only wonder at their actions, because only two months ago the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) had openly declared that Imam Ali (A.S) would be his successor. In their greed, these so-called Muslims even forgot that their beloved Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) lay as yet unburied.
The Muhajireen claimed that they had a greater right to the Caliphate because they had been Muslims for longer and had supported the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.U&H.P) in Mecca when he had very few friends. They also claimed to be his kin and said that they had migrated from their homes in Mecca in very difficult circumstances, leaving behind all their wealth and property.
The Ansar insisted that they had a greater right to the Caliphate because they had given the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) shelter in Medina when he could live in Mecca no longer. They had also protected him in his time of need and had fought at his side in battles against powerful enemies. They recalled how for 13 years he had preached amongst the Meccans and only a handful had become Muslims. They argued that it was the Ansar who had given Islam strength and consolidation.
When Umar bin Khattab and Abu Bakr bin Qahafa reached Saqifa, the arguments had almost been settled in favor of the Ansar, who had chosen Sa'd bin Ubadah to lead the Muslims. Umar did not find this acceptable at all as he had already planned to bring in a man from the Muhajireen. He urged Abu Bakr to make a speech and turn the situation. Abu Bakr rose and said that the Arabs would not accept any Caliph who was not from the tribe of Quraish, which was the tribe of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P). He also praised the merits of the Ansar to keep them quiet. The Ansar were not fooled by the clever words of Abu Bakr and while there was some silence, Abu Bakr received help from an unexpected quarter.
The two main tribes of the Ansar were the Aws and Khazraj. The old enmity between them had been settled long ago by the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P), but now it came out into the open.
To stop the selection of Sa'd bin Ubadah who was the chief of the Khazraj, Bashir bin Sa'd from the tribe of Aws suddenly went forward and gave his allegiance to Abu Bakr. He was followed by three other men from Aws. Suddenly, the tables had turned and now the Muhajireen had the upper hand.
Despite protests from the tribe of Khazraj and a few followers of Imam Ali (A.S), Abu Bakr was elected as the first Caliph. How strange was their behavior! While Abu Bakr and Umar sold their religion for their greed, the people of Aws sold their religion for fear that the Khazraj might come to power. The rest of the people followed like sheep, too weak or uncaring to protest. The few who did raise their voices to defend the unrecognized rights of Imam Ali (A.S) were ignored and outnumbered.
The members of Bani Hashim and some loyal Muslims were too occupied with the passing away of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) to give any thought to worldly affairs. By the time they learnt of the happenings at Saqifa, it was too late to do anything.
When Imam Ali came to exercise his right to the Caliphate as per the orders of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) at Ghadeer Khum, his claim was rejected and he was forced to return to his house. Later, Abu Bakr sent Umar to Hazrat Fatimah's (S.A) house, where Imam Ali (A.S) and some friends had gathered. Umar had instructions to bring Imam Ali (A.S) to Abu Bakr to pay the oath of allegiance to him. When Imam Ali (A.S) refused to do this, Umar threatened to burn down the house. Imam Ali (A.S) then came out with Abbas and Zubayr. From the open door was heard the sound of Hazrat Fatimah (S.A) weeping.
She was saying:
"O Father, how soon after your death are troubles pouring on our head at the hands of the son of Khattab and the son of Abu Qahafa. How soon they have ignored your words of Ghadeer Khum and your saying that Ali was to you as Haroon was to Musa."
Hearing these heartrending words, the companions of Umar could not keep themselves from weeping and turned back.
However Umar was bent on humiliating Imam Ali (A.S). He insisted that Imam Ali (A.S) be led to the mosque tied with a rope so that he could not escape.
The Muslims now saw an amazing sight. The Lion of Allah, the man who was the champion of Badr, Uhud, Khandaq, Khayber and Hunayn, was being led by the cowardly Umar, who had run away from the battle of Uhud when the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) was injured.
It was a measure of the patience of Imam Ali (A.S) that he did not use force in the interests of Islam. He knew that nothing could be gained by fighting, and a civil war would destroy the Muslims.
When Imam Ali (A.S) was brought in front of Abu Bakr, Umar insisted that if he did not give the oath of allegiance, he should be killed. Imam Ali (A.S) replied:
"Will you kill a man who is a servant of the Lord and a brother of the Apostle of the Lord?"
Umar then turned to Abu Bakr who had remained silent till then, asking him to decide Imam Ali's (A.S) fate. However, Abu Bakr said that so long as Hazrat Fatimah (S.A) was alive, he would not force her husband to give allegiance to him.
After that Imam Ali (A.S) was released and he went directly to the grave of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P) where he stood, reflecting on how the attitude of the people had changed now that his brother had left this world.

Taken from: Imam Reza.Network