Abu Bakar Siddiq was the son of Abn Quhafah, the first caliph of the series of al-Khulafa 'al-Rashidin, ruling in 632-634 (11-13 AH). He was among the first prominent Quraysh to accept the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. The first Caliph was known in history, with many names and nicknames. His real name is Abdullah Ibn Uthman (the title of Abu Quhfah) ibn Amir ibn Ka`ab ibn Sa`ad ibn Taim ibn Murrah al-Taimy. During the Jahiliyah he was called Abdul Ka'bah, then was exchanged by the Messenger of Allah with the name Abdullah. His nickname is Abu Bakr because from the very beginning he converted to Islam. His title was al-Siddiq because he very soon confirmed the Messenger of Allah in various events, especially the events of Isra 'and Mi'raj of the Prophet Muhammad from being sent as an Apostle to the end of his life occupying two important positions, namely as Head of Religion and Head of State. After he died, there were disputes among the Muslims about various major problems. Among the big problems is about replacing the Apostle as Head of State.
Finally, the name of Abu Bakr emerged as a candidate that was generally accepted in all circles through various debates of the Muslims at that time. Abu Bakr was chosen to maintain the status quo, preserve all the relics brought by the prophet Muhammad, and make use of them. The election of Abu Bakr showed good political awareness in the ummah and the rapid election showed that they were determined to unite and continue the work of the prophet Muhammad. As Caliph Abu Bakr had a dual function, namely as a religious leader and concurrently the head of state. Its appearance as a leader is an ad hoc decision (temporary because it is pressured by circumstances) taken by the ummah during a leadership crisis. The Ummah has named the Khilafah system "the righteous Khilafah" or al-Khilifah al-Rashidah. These are the words that explain that this method is the only correct way to replace the position of the Prophet in the view of the Muslims.
The Khalifah Election Process Although the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) knew that his end was near, he did not inform him about how the ummah would continue after his death. He explained that there would be no other Rasulullah as his successor. In accordance with Arabic tradition, he opened the door for the emergence of a new leader. This proves that his distant view and also evidently his followers have learned how to apply the Arab tradition to their new situation. With the death of the prophet Muhammad, a very unique situation in Islamic history ended, namely the presence of a single leader who possessed spiritual and temporal (worldly) authority based on prophecy and inspired by Divine revelation.
Meanwhile, he did not leave a will or message about who among his friends should replace him as the leader of the Ummah. With regard to his successor as Head of State, there was a disagreement among Muslims at that time. This situation endangered the Islamic Ummah in Medina, so the problem of changing leadership was tried to be resolved on the day of the Prophet's death. An urgent meeting conducted by the Khazraj tribe was a major challenge to the integrity of Medina. The issue led to the effort to find the most acceptable candidates for all groups. Each group nominates the Caliph candidate and claims that their candidate is most entitled to the Caliphate. These candidates include Abu Bakr, 'Ali bin Abi Talib and Sa'ad bin' Ubadah. Another dispute took place in Saqifah, namely the Bani Sa'idah meeting hall. This dispute ended with the burning of Abu Bakr as Caliph, after going through various debates.
Actually the nomination of Abu Bakr was met with great resistance from the Ansar and 'Ali bin Abi Talib and his followers. The 'Ali group is the seed of the Shiite group. They argued that 'Ali was the more entitled to hold the position of Caliph. Their reason was that 'Ali was a nephew as well as the Prophet's son-in-law. In addition, it is based on a history known as the hadith Ghadir Khum, that the Prophet had narrated it. They submitted a number of narrations about the virtues of 'Ali. It is said that "I am a city of knowledge while 'Ali is the door'. Or "Me and 'Ali is like Moses and Aaron." The famous Shi'ite teachings, which state that the Messenger of Allah appointed Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor while in Ghadir Khumm, did not need to be seriously considered. Such an event is inherently impossible because there is a tradition among Arabs not to hand over great responsibility to young people and whose abilities are unknown.
While the Ansar group had a meeting at the Balai Rung Bani Sa'idah. They want to appoint Sa'ad bin Ubadah as Caliph. The meeting was finally known by the Muhajirin group. Then Abu Bakr, Umar and Abu 'Ubaidah bin Jarrah went to the meeting room of the Bani Sa'idah. A lot of debate took place at the meeting. Then Abu Bakr offered two Quraysh figures to be chosen as Caliph, namely Umar bin Khattab or Abu 'Ubaidah bin Jarrah. This candidate from the Quraysh was asked to maintain the integrity of the ummah and to avoid longstanding hostility between the two big tribes in Medina, the Khazraj and Aus. The Ansar people seemed very impressed by Abu Bakr's words. Umar did not waste that excellent momentum. Umar began to talk about the profile of the leader they hoped to maintain the integrity of the ummah. Then Umar took Abu Bakr's hand and took his allegiance and declared his loyalty to him as the Caliph. Umar's actions were followed by Abu 'Ubaidah bin Jarrah. But before the two Quraysh leaders recited bai'at, Bashir bin Sa'ad, an Ansar figure from the Khazraj tribe found out saying bai'at to Abu Bakr.
Then the bai'at was followed by the Muhajirin group and the Ansar group present there, including Asid bin Khudair, an Ansar figure from the Aus tribe. There are two main factors that underlie the election of Abu Bakr as Caliph. First, in the general opinion of that era, a caliph (leader) must come from the Quraysh tribe. The two friends agreed on the personal figure (profile) of Abu Bakr as the caliph because of some virtues he had. These virtues include being the first adult male to embrace Islam, he was the only companion who accompanied the Prophet (s) during the Hijrah and while hiding in Sar Cave, he was often appointed by the Messenger of Allah to lead the prayer when he was elderly. He is of royal descent, intelligent and of good character.
As the Caliph, Abu Bakr suffered twice bai'at. First in the Bani Sa'ifah Saqifah, known as Bai'ah Khassah. The second is the Nabawi Mosque in Medina, known as Bai'ah 'Ummah. In essence, the election of Abu Bakr in the Bani Sa'idah Assembly Hall was not much followed by other senior friends, such as Ali bin Abi Talib, 'Uthman bin' Affan, Abd. al-Rahman bin 'Awf, Zubair bin Awwam, Sa'ad bin Abi Waqash, and Talhah bin' Ubaidillah. But their abandonment is not intentional. Instead, the meeting was not planned in advance and only driven by circumstances. The situation was very precarious time, so it requires fast and decisive action. But these senior friends one by one, except for Zubair, volunteered to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr. Zubair needed pressure from Umar to be willing to take Bai'ah. As for Ali bin Abi Talib, just took Bai'at to Abu Bakr, after 6 months his wife Fatimah died. Apart from the disagreement about who has the right to occupy the position of the Caliphate, clearly history has proven that Abu Bakr was democratically elected to be the First Caliph in Islamic history.
The Problems Faced by Abu Bakr The early period of Abu Bakr's reign was marked by a variety of chaos and rebellions, such as the emergence of apostates, active people who claimed to be prophets, rebellions from several Arab tribes and many people who denied paying zakat. The emergence of apostates due to their belief in the teachings of Islam has not been so steady, and the death of the prophet Muhammad shook their faith. The problem of false prophets actually existed since the Prophet (PBUH) was still alive, but the authority of the Prophet (PBUH) shook their hearts to carry out their activities.
The problem of the tribal rebellion was caused by their assumption that the peace agreement was made with the Prophet personally and the agreement ended with his death. They consider that they no longer need to obey and submit to the new Islamic authorities. Whereas those who deny paying zakat are only due to the weakness of their faith. They do not want to pay zakat because they think that zakat is only an improper tribute required by every independent person. This happened because according to the customs of the Arabs, they did not want to submit to anyone other than those who held religious authority. It is in this mounting difficulty that Abu Bakr's magnanimity and fortitude, he expressly stated while swearing, that he would fight all groups who had deviated from the truth, except those who returned to the truth, even though he had to fall in the fight for the glory of Allah's religion. They thought that Abu Bakr was a weak leader, so they dared to make chaos.Â
All groups that rebel and rebel Abu Bakr took decisive action. This assertiveness is supported by the majority of the Ummah. To quell the entire rebellion he formed eleven troops led by a formidable warlord. In a short time, the whole mess can be crushed successfully. Before Abu Bakr sent each of the troops to various destinations, he first sent a letter to the group of people who deviated. In the letter explained that there are flaws that arise in their minds, and called on them to return to the teachings of Islam. Also be warned, what will happen if they still remain in that error.
