Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
It is the belief of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa’ah that from all the people in the world, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddeeq (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) holds the highest rank after the rank of the Ambiyaa (‘alaihimus salaam).
There is absolutely no doubt that Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) is from the people of Jannah, as Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) himself gave him the glad tidings of Jannah in this world.
In fact, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) gave him the glad tidings that he will be the leader of a group of people in Jannah, and Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) also conveyed to him the glad tidings that his name will be called out from all the gates of Jannah. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “The first person to enter Jannah, from my ummah, will be Abu Bakr.”
Despite all these virtues, Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) used to say, “I wish I was a tree that would be cut and done away with…”
At times, he would say, “I wish I was a blade of grass, whose life ended with the grazing of some animal.”
At other times, he would mention, “I wish I was a strand of hair on the body of a mu’min…”
Once, Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) went to a garden where he saw a bird. He sighed deeply and said, “O bird! How lucky you are! You eat, you drink and fly under the shade of the trees, and you will face no reckoning on the Day of Qiyaamah! If only Abu Bakr was just like you!”
Hazrat Rabi’ah Aslami (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) narrates:
Once, I had some argument with Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) during which he uttered a word that I did not like. He realized it immediately and said to me, “Brother, please say that word back to me in retaliation.”
I refused to do so, at which Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said, “Either say that word back to me, or else I will go to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and mention the matter to him.” However, I still refused to utter that word, after which he got up and left me.
A few people of the Banu Aslam clan then came and remarked, “How strange! The person who has erred mentions that he will go and complain about it to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)!”
I said, “Do you know who this person is? He is Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu)! If he is displeased, then the beloved of Allah Ta‘ala – Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) – will be displeased, and if Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) is displeased, then Allah Ta‘ala will be displeased, and in that case, what doubt is there that Rabi’ah will be in ruin?”
Thereafter, I went to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and narrated the whole story to him. He said, “You were quite right in refusing to utter that word to Abu Bakr, but you could have said this much in reply, ‘O Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu)! May Allah Ta‘ala forgive you!’”
Look at the fear of Allah Ta‘ala in Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu)! He is so anxious to clear his accounts in this world that as soon as he has uttered a slightly unpleasant word to a person, he immediately regrets it and becomes greatly concerned and worried about it, to the extent that he requests him to say that word back to him in retaliation. He is so particular in this that he even wishes to have the retaliation done through the intervention of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).
We are in the habit of saying offensive words to others all the time, but neither do we fear punishment nor reckoning in the Hereafter.
(Fazaaa’il-e-A’maal [English] pg. 39-40, [Urdu] pg. 30-31)
