The First Caliph of RasulAllah ﷺ - PART 13 (Accomplishments & Departure)

Accomplishments & Departure

He was the first to accept Islam, the first to collect the Qur’an together, the first to name it as a mushaf (written copy), and he was the first to be named khalifah. He was also the first to make a bayt al maal (a building where zakat and other revenues were stored whilst being distributed).

Imam al-Hakim narrated that Sayyidina ibn Umar said, “The cause of Abu Bakr’s death was the passing away of the Messenger of Allah. He was distressed and his body continued to suffer until he died.”

Another report from Imam al-Hakim relates that Sayyidina Abu Bakr and Sayyidina al-Harith bin Kaladah were eating broth which the former was given, and Sayyidina al-Harith said, “Lift your hand (from the dish), khalifah of the Messenger of Allah. By Allah, in it there is a year’s poison. I and you will die on the same day.” He took his hand away. They both became increasingly sick and died on the same day at the end of the year.

Imam Ahmad narrates that Sayyida Aisha said, “When death came to Abu Bakr, he said, ‘What day is it?’ They said, ‘Monday.’ He said, ‘If I die tonight, do not wait until tomorrow (to bury me), because the most beloved of days and nights to me is the closest to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.”

Sayyida Aisha said that prior to his departure he had a fever for fifteen days.

He departed this world before the end of Jumada al-Aakhira in 13AH, and he was sixty-three years old.