(Part 3) Abu Baker as-Siddiq (RA)…The first of the Rightly –Guided Caliphs: The assembly in the courtyard of the masjid had quieted down suddenly, a messenger came rushing to inform them that the Ansar, the citizens of Madina are having a meeting to choose a caliph from among themselves. The word caliph is the English form of the Arabic word Khalifah, which means a successor, or the political and religious leader of the Muslims. This was a critical moment when the unity of the community was at stake. A divided nation would fall to pieces. The sovereignty or authority of the Muslim state demanded an undivided Caliphate. The Ansar (the helpers) had gathered around the leader of the Khazraj tribe, Sa’d ibn Ubadah. For the same purpose The Muhajirun or Emigrants were gathered with Abu bakr, they too wanted to appoint a caliph from among themselves. However, before making any final decision, they remembered their brothers from the Ansar. They said to each other, ‘Let us go to our brothers from the Ansar, for they have the right to help us arrive at a decision regarding this matter.’ So Abu Bakr, Umar with some other Companions went to the gathering of the Ansar. The Helpers or Ansar from Madinah wanted their chief, Sa’d ibn Ubadah to be a Khalifah, this was strongly opposed by the Emigrants. They insisted that the Bedouin tribes would not accept someone from Madinah. Eventually, they all agreed that Abu Bakr should succeed the prophet’s(PBUH) political position with the title of Caliph (the full title being Khalifat Rasul-Allah: The successor to the Messenger of Allah PBUH).
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 17:46:48 +0000
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