Letters of Hadrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (R.A.A)

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After the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) Hadrat Abu Bake Siddiq (R.A.A.) is the most dignified, outstanding and revered personality among the Muslim. The Letters written by the first Caliph of the Prophet (S.A.W.) are pithy, brief: short and to the point. They are written in a very simple, factual, realistic and forceful language. They are impressive, convincing and appealing to the common sense direct as if heart to heart talk. These letters are administrative in nature. They were written to due to political expendiency and to carry the mission entrusted to Hadrat Abu Bake Siddiq (R.A.A.). His was the most critical period in the history of Islam.

Introduction

After the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), Hadrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (R.A.A.) is the most dignified. outstanding and reverred personality among the Muslims. It is indeed a great honour and privilege, for a person like me, to translate the letters and despatches at such an august personality. It is merely a good luck that the publisher. Mr. Akhlaq Hussain, selected, me for such a noble task, and as such I am grateful to him for this honour shown to me.

The Publisher has already published the letters of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) in English. Now, this is the second book of the series, containing the letters of the First Caliph of Islam. Compilation and translation of the letters of other Caliphs is in hand.

I have tried my best to translate the letters as faithfully as possible, and have avoided the deviation from the original text. If any reader of this book finds any error or deviation, and points it out to me through the Publisher. I will gratefully acknowledge it, and correct it in the next edition. While translating. I came across a great difficulty. Several versions of a sing1e letter were found in many books. Some were quoted briefly, some moderately and some as detailed as possible, but inviting the doubts about its authenticity. I have selected only those letters which are fairly detailed and comprehensive but simultaneously authentic. Only those short letters have been included which present something new.

Now a few words about the quality and style of the letters.

The letters written by the first Caliph of the Prophet (SAW) are pithy, brief, short and to the point. They are written in a very simple, factual, realistic and forceful language, avoiding rhetoric, verbosity and superfluity. They are impressive, convincing and appealing to the common sense direct as if heart to heart talk. These letters are administrative in nature. They were written due to political expediency and to carry the mission entrusted to Hadrat Abu Bakr (R.A.A.). His was the most critical period in the history of Islam. An iron hand with firm determination to deal with the situation was the pressing need of the hour. Three anti-forces were working against Islam at that time:

(1) Withholding the payment of Zakat.

(2) Apostasy movement in Arabia, and

(3) The false claimants to prophethood.

The addressees were invited to give up what was wrong, and to accept the right, the true way of Islam. These administrative despatches clearly manifest profound truthfulness, honesty, firmness, keeping up the promises and final and firm conviction in the ultimate success. These despatches deeply impress the heart, head and the hand. They infuse the idea of the presence of a hard-task master with a loving disposition who can show no leniency in discharging his duties as the first lieutenant of the Prophet of Allah (S.A.W.).

The main features of these despatches are:

(1) The despatches addressed to different commanders of the army of Islam invariably begin with "(Bismillah-hir-Rahman-nir-Raheem.)" (In the name of Allah. The Compassionate, the Merciful).

(2) The letters indicate that these were from the Caliph or successor of the Prophet of Allah. Muhammad (S.A.W.).

(3) Thereafter, the name or names of the addressees, along with their surnames appear.

(4) The letters open with a sentence either in the praise of Allah or an invocation of His Mercy.

(5) Then follows the subject matter of the letters, especially administrative in nature: The sentences are brief, to the point, forceful and highly cultured.

From the study of the despatches of Caliph Abu Bakr (R.A.A.), it is crystal clear that they are a practical demonstration of the utmost endeavour to keep up, maintain, intensify and finally to establish the system of life - Deen - as propounded by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). Caliph Abu Bakr left no stone unturned in carrying out the behests of his beloved master (S.A.W) in letter and spirit as he was the most intimate person knowing fully well the working theory of the Prophet of Islam (S.A.W).

As can be seen through the pages of history, in a few years after Hijrat, the Prophet of Allah (S.A.W) carried the message of Islam in the far off distant corners of Arabian Peninsula, and thus laid the foundation of Islamic State as enunciated in Quran Majeed. The establishment of the infant state at Madina was a living practical demonstration of the Quranic theory of life. It will not be out of place to mention that the Prophet of Allah (S.A.W) breathed his last when the process of intellectual awakening was at the initial stage. The demise of Prophet of Allah (S.A.W) seemed to be the bursting of the lava from a volcano. A considerable populace of Arabia became hostile to the newly established deen-Islam as it had not gone deep into the very core of their hearts. The old habits, forming part of their second nature, were being revived. A section of the people of Arabia turned apostate, with held payment of Zakat. The tax collectors of the Prophet of Allah (SAW) and the teachers well-versed in the Quranic teachings left their respective headquarters and returned to Madina. As already stated the main reasons for the apostasy movement after the demise of the Prophet of Allah (SAW.) were.

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