Abū Bakr << uh BOO BAK uhr >> (573?-634) was one of the earliest leaders of the Muslims, the followers of the religion of Islam. He was the first caliph (ruler) of the Islamic empire after the Prophet Muhammad’s death in 632. The title caliph comes from the Arabic title Khalifat Rasul Allah, which means successor of the messenger of God. Many Muslims called Abū Bakr al-Siddiq, which means the honest one or the righteous one.
For most of his time as caliph, Abū Bakr dealt with the ridda. The ridda were political and religious uprisings that followed the death of Muhammad in territories his armies had conquered. Leaders of the ridda refused to pay taxes to the Islamic government. Some leaders even claimed to be prophets themselves. Muslim troops defeated the leaders of the ridda. But Abū Bakr showed mercy, and many of these leaders accepted Islam. Abū Bakr also pursued Muhammad’s intended plan of expanding the Muslim community from the Arabian Peninsula into what is now Syria and Iraq.
Abū Bakr was born in Mecca, in what is now Saudi Arabia. He was a member of the Prophet Muhammad’s own tribe, Quraysh. Abū Bakr was a friend of Muhammad’s and an early convert to Islam.
In 622, Abū Bakr accompanied Muhammad as he migrated north to the city of Yathrib. Yathrib came to be called Medina and became the political center of the Islamic community. While in Medina, Muhammad married Abū Bakr’s daughter A’ishah. Abū Bakr joined Muhammad on military campaigns. As the Prophet’s most trusted adviser, Abū Bakr led the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) in 631 and led public prayers in Medina when Muhammad was dying. Abū Bakr died on Aug. 23, 634, and was buried next to the Prophet Muhammad in Medina.
