Hazrat Abu Bakr(ra): In the light of hadith

[I] The First saying is that Allah swt gave Abu bakr[ra] this title of SIDDIQ [true believing person or the person who never doubted anything] according to the sahih Hadith of Ali Ibn Abi Talib[ra]:

1. أنه كان يحلف أن الله أنزل اسم أبي بكر من السماء الصديق
الراوي: علي بن أبي طالب المحدث: ابن حجر العسقلاني – المصدر: فتح الباري لابن حجر – الصفحة أو الرقم: 7/11
خلاصة حكم المحدث: رجاله ثقات

“Ali used to swear That Allah sent The Name of Abu bakr from sky as al Siddiq”
source: Fath al Bari Fi Sharh Sahih al bukhari.
Hadith Rank: Ibn Hajar al Asqalani said: “The narrators are trustworthy“.

The second saying is that The Prophet PBUH also called Abu Bakr[ra] as SIDDIQ and there is no conflict between the two sayings:

2. سألت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن هذه الآية { والذين يؤتون ما آتوا وقلوبهم وجلة } قالت عائشة أهم الذين يشربون الخمر ويسرقون قال لا يا بنت الصديق ولكنهم الذين يصومون ويصلون ويتصدقون وهم يخافون أن لا تقبل منهم أولئك الذين يسارعون في الخيرات وهم لها سابقون
الراوي: عائشة المحدث: ابن العربي – المصدر: عارضة الأحوذي – الصفحة أو الرقم: 6/258
خلاصة حكم المحدث: صحيح

3. سألت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن هذه الآية { والذين يؤتون ما آتوا وقلوبهم وجلة } قالت عائشة : أهم الذين يشربون الخمر ويسرقون قال لا يا بنت الصديق ولكنهم الذين يصومون ويصلون ويتصدقون وهم يخافون أن لا تقبل منهم أولئك الذين يسارعون في الخيرات وهم لها سابقون

الراوي: عائشة المحدث: الألباني – المصدر: صحيح الترمذي – الصفحة أو الرقم: 3175
خلاصة حكم المحدث: صحيح

Mother of believers Aisha RA narrated: I asked the Apostle of Allah PBUH about this verse {And those who give whatsoever they give and their hearts tremble with fear } (believers:60) I said: are they those who drink the intoxicant and steal? He PBUH replied: No O Daughter of Al Siddiq, but they are those who fast and pray and give sadaqat and they fear that their deeds will not be accepted , those who hasten into doing good things and are the first to do them.

Source: Ibn al Arabi in A’aridat al Ahwathy, Graded as SAHIH & Albani in SAHIH al Tirmithy, Graded as SAHIH.

4. In Sahih al Bukhari (no.3472) is the hadith:

أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم صعد أحدا وأبو بكر وعمر وعثمان فرجف بهم فقال اثبت أحد فإنما عليك نبي وصديق وشهيدان

“Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet once climbed the mountain of Uhud with Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthman. The mountain shook with them. The Prophet said (to the mountain), “Be firm, O Uhud! For on you there are no more than a Prophet, a Siddiq and two martyrs.”

Note: In any case there are many narrations in all books in which the people refer to him as al Siddiq so this title is Authentic and correct for him… of course the Shia didn’t like that so they fabricated narrations and attributed them to Ali RA in which he says: “I am the great Siddiq”, These Hadiths are fabricated and corrupt to the core.

[II] here is the sahih hadith used in favor of Abu Bakr(ra) being the “first Muslim man“:

قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ أَلَسْتُ أَحَقَّ النَّاسِ بِهَا أَلَسْتُ أَوَّلَ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ

“ِAm I not the most deserving of it among the people, Am I not the first to become Muslim…”

Source: Al-Tirmidhee, Sunan, vol. 6, kitaab manaaqib, ch. abu bakr’s merits, pg. 351, hadeeth # 3667 (hadeeth # 4029 in some versions)

Al-Albaani graded this hadeeth Sahih in SaHeeH wa Da`eef Sunan Al-Tirmidhee, vol. 8, pg. 167, hadeeth # 3667
Aboo Taahir Zubayr `Alee Al-Za’i said this hadeeth is Sahih in Sunan Al-Tirmidhee, vol. 6, pg. 351, hadeeth # 3667

أَلَسْتُ أَوَّلَ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ أَلَسْتُ صَاحِبَ كَذَا

Sayyidina Abu Sa’eed Khudri (RA) reported that Abu Bakr (RA) said, “Am I not the most deserving of all people. Am I not the first of those who embraced Islam. Am I not the companion of so-and-so? Am I not the com panion of so-and-so?”

Source: Al-Tirmidhee, Sunan, book on merits, chapter 37-No caption, 3687

Jalaludin Suyuti (Sunni Scholar) in his book Tarikh ul-Khulafa (History of the Caliphs), he died in 911 A.H.

[III] Here are Sahih hadith which says: Prophet[pbuh] asked Abu Bakr[ra] to lead prayer:

1. لما سمع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم صوت عمر – قال ابن زمعة – : خرج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم حتى أطلع رأسه من حجرته ثم قال : لا ، لا ، لا ، ليصل للناس ابن أبي قحافة . قال ذلك مغضبا
الراوي: عبدالله بن زمعة

Abdullah bin Zama’ah narrated: When the Prophet PBUH heard the voice of Umar, he got up until his head was visible from inside his room then he said: “No, No, No, Let Ibn Abu Quhafa(Abu Bakr) lead the prayer“. The narrator added: “He said it angirly”.

source: al-Albani said Sahih in Sahih Abu Dawood 4661.

2. لما استعز برسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، وأنا عنده في نفر من المسلمين ، دعاه بلال إلى الصلاة ، فقال : مروا من يصلي للناس ، فخرج عبد الله بن زمعة ، فإذا عمر في الناس ، وكان أبو بكر غائبا ، فقلت : يا عمر ، قم فصل بالناس ، فتقدم فكبر ، فلما سمع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم صوته ، وكان عمر رجلا مجهرا ؛ قال : فأين أبو بكر ؟ يأبى الله ذلك والمسلمون ، يأبى الله ذلك والمسلمون فبعث إلى أبي بكر فجاء بعد أن صلى عمر تلك الصلاة فصلى بالناس

Ibn al-Aswad narrated: Bilal called for prayer and it was said: who shall lead? I found Umar amongst the people and Abu Bakr was absent so I told him: Ya Umar, rise and lead the prayer. He stepped forward and made Takbir so the Prophet PBUH heard his voice because Umar was a man with a strong voice, He PBUH asked: “Where is Abu Bakr? Allah and the Muslims will not have it otherwise, Allah and the Muslims will not have it otherwise”. So they called for Abu Bakr and he came and lead the people in the next prayer after Umar.

sources: al-Albani said Hasan Sahih in Sahih Abu Dawood 4660.

Here some reports on what has been stated on who was the first to become a Muslim (Typed up below)

Abu Sa’id al-Khudri said: Abu Bakr said, “Am I not the most suitable of the people for it (the khilafah)? Am I not the first to accept Islam? Am I not the one of such and such? Am I not the one of such and such?”

Al-Harith related that “Ali, said the first among the men to accept Islam was Abu Bakr”

Zaid bin Arqam said: The first to perform the prayer with the Prophet, was Abu-Bakr as-Siddiq.

Abu Arwa ad-Dawsi the Companion, said: “The first to accept Islam was Abu Bakr as-Siddiq.”

Furat ibn as-Sa’ib said: (long part I cut out)… There is a disagreement as to him and Khadijah (which of them was first to accept Islam) until (it is said that) he married her to him, and all of that before the birth of Ali.

A whole group of the Companions and the Followers said that he was the first to accept Islam, and some of them claimed that there was a consensus on that. It has been said, “The first to accept Islam was “Ali”. It has also been said, “Khadijah”. The reconciliation between these apparently conflicting statements is that Abu Bakr was the first man to accept Islam, “Ali was the first of the children to accept, and Khadijah was the first woman to accept Islam.

Salim ibn Abi’l-Ja’d said: I said to Muhamamd ibn al-Hanafiyyah, “Was Abu Bakr the first person to accept Islam? He said, “No”. I said, “So how did Abu Bakr excel and precede others so much so that no-one else is mentioned but ABu Bakr?” He said, “Because he was the best of them in Islam from the moment he accept Islam until the moment he met his Lord.”

Muhammad ibn Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas said to his father Sa’d, “Was ABu Bakr the first of you to accept Islam?” He said, “No. More than five people accepted Islam before him, but he was the best of us in Islam.”

Ibn Kathir said: It is clear that the people of his house, believed before anyone, his wife Khadija, his freed slave Zaid, Zaid’s wife Umm Ayman, “Ali and Waraqah.”

Source: Jalaludin Suyuti, Tarikh ul-Khulafa (History of the Caliphs) pg. 18-19.

updated to v1.2