History of Islam : Caliph Abu Bakr (632 - 634 AD)

Muhammad died without a message of who should replace him as leader of the people . Some relatives of the Apostle argue that Ali ibn Abu Talib - the son and daughter-in-law whom Muhammad maintained since childhood-most deserved. But some of the Ansar, the natives of Madinah, gathered at the Saqifa Hall of Bani Saudah. They will appoint Saad bin Ubadah as leader of the people.

Tension occurs. Abu Bakr, Umar and Abu Ubaidah came to remind them. The debate occurred, until two figures of Muhajirin and Ansar -Abu Ubaidah and Basyir's son Saad-bait Abu Bakr. Umar followed suit. Similarly, others. The dispute is over. Tuesday evening before the Isha prayer-after Muhammed was buried-Abu Bakr went up to the pulpit in the Nabawi mosque. He pronounced his first speech as caliph. Brief and memorable speech among the people. It happened in June 632, or 11 Hijri.

Abu Bakr was the first person outside the relative of the Apostle who embraced Islam. He is known as a person who always justify the words of Muhammad. When people blaspheme Muhammad for saying that he had experienced Isra 'Mi'raj, Abu Bakr expressed his confidence in the event. He prepared the journey and accompanied Muhammad when he migrated to Medina. He also married his daughter, Aishah, to the Apostle.

But Abu Bakar's leadership does not mean smooth. The death of Muhammad caused a massive defection of the various tribes that had just converted to Islam. They were no longer obedient to the government in Medina. Some even declare themselves to be Prophets. Aswad Al-Insa in Yemen who declared himself to be a Prophet and allowed people not to pray and to commit adultery, had been killed by a close man when the Messenger of Allah sicked. Now there are Tulaihah and Musailama who do the same.

In Madinah, Abu Bakar disagreed with Fatimah, Muhammad's daughter, about the way the country's money was managed. The Apostle's family-including Ali ibn Abu Talib-only acknowledged Abu Bakar's leadership six months later, after Fatimah's death.

Abu Bakr's first task was to carry out the Messenger's mandate: to dispatch Usama bin Zaid's troops toward Palestine and Sham. He himself - at the age of 61 years - then led the army pounded Tulaiha. His military operation was a success. After that, Abu Bakr formed 11 squads to conquer the tribes who refused to pay zakat. Namely from Tihama in the Red Sea, Hadramaut at the end of the Indian Ocean, to Oman, Bahrain, Yemen to Kuwait in the Persian Gulf.

The fiercest battles took place against the forces of Musailama who had 40 thousand troops. The army of Medina was destroyed. Thanks to the ingenuity of commander Khalid bin Walid, they hit back an opponent. A soldier of Khalid, Al-Barak, managed to jump over the Al-Hadikat fortress and open the door from within. Musailama was killed.

Khalid troops then moved to the North, toward the Iraqi valley which was then controlled by the great empire of Persia. At 8 Hijri, the Persian King Kisra tore up the letter Muhammad sent. The Apostle then mentions Allah will tear up the Persian kingdom anyway. The moment came through the hands of Khalid bin Walid who only brought a few troops. In the war at Allais recorded 70 thousand people were killed. After that the Kingdom of Hira was conquered. Be all the territory of Iraq is now included in the territory of the Caliphate of Abu Bakr.

After that, the Caliph Abu Bakr sent 24,000 troops towards Syria, under the command of four warlords. They prepared for the 240,000 Roman troops - the world's greatest force of the time-ruled by Heraclius. Abu Bakr established Yarmuk as their base. He also commanded Khalid bin Walid-who was in the Iraqi territory-to go to Yarmuk and become Commander-in-Chief there. As many as 9,000 troops carried.

Abu Bakr noted many successes. In the Arabian peninsula, he has successfully reunited Muslims who broke out after the death of the apostle. In the same time, Islam began to spread beyond the Arabian peninsula. Nevertheless, he is still known as a simple man. He lives like the people. Keep going alone to the market to shop, and remain a priest of prayer in Nabawi mosque.

For two years and three months leading the people, he only issued 8,000 dirhams of state money for the benefit of his family. Very little amount for that time size though. He also ordered the collection of records of the Quran from the Apostle's secretaries. The records were collected at Hafsha's house, Umar's daughter. Abu Bakr died at nearly the same age as the Apostle, 63 years old.