FROM THE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

from the city. Abu Bakr took part in all these defensive battles. He was always with the Prophet and accompanied him on all his campaigns. He never showed any weakness, always standing like a rock by the side of the Prophet. Tabuk was the last expedition of the Prophet of Islam. He asked people to give generously in aid of it. Abu Bakr was the only person to give all he had to the cause of Islam. The Prophet asked him whether he had anything left for his wife and children. He replied that God and His apostle were enough for them. No one could surpass him so far as selfless service to Islam was concerned. Not only was he the first man to accept Islam, but he was also the foremost among the Muslims to uphold the cause of God. After Makkah was conquered, the Prophet sent Abu Bakr in 631 to Makkah to lead the Hajj on behalf of the Prophet. Abu Bakr read the customary sermon (Khutba) of Hajj. Ever since the Prophet had arrived in Madinah, he had been in the habit of leading the prayer himself. During his last illness, the Prophet became so incapacitated that he could not come to the mosque for this purpose. The Prophet then asked Abu Bakr to conduct the prayer in the mosque and to lead the Muslims in his stead. Aisha, who was Abu Bakr’s daughter and the wife of the Prophet, thought that her tender-hearted father would not be able to bear this burden. She therefore requested the Prophet to ask someone else to perform this duty. But the Prophet did not change his mind. Thus, in the lifetime of the Prophet, Abu Bakr came to fill the highest office. This distinction made it possible for Umar and his friends, after the Prophet’s death in 632, to propose Abu Bakr as the head of the community. Abu Bakr thus became Caliph (the successor of the Prophet) by the general consent of the people. Thanks to his simple but firm character, he was able to lead the young Muslim community successfully through the most difficult times. After the death of the Prophet, a number of the Arab tribes revolted. Most of them had embraced Islam after the conquest of Makkah in AD 629630 and had not had the opportunity to undergo any proper training by the Prophet. Being used to a free and easy life, they found such Islamic injunctions as zakat (compulsory alms-giving)) and jihad more If an ignorant person is attracted by the things of the world, that is bad. But if a learned person is thus attracted, it is worse. — Abu Bakr