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Abu Bakr
Biography
*Abu Bakr was the first Caliph of Islam *Sufis regarded him as a central religious personage and a spiritual authority *Sunnis regarded considered him affectionate because he was the first muslim leader *The Shi'i object to any Caliph except Ali, but Abu Bakr is one of those they tolerate most *Bakr is Muhammad's companion and first to convert to Islam *Abu Bakr (father of the virgin) was given to him after he gave his 7 year old daughter Aisha, to Muhammad as a wife * Abu Bakr was exceptionally successful in commerce and acquired immense wealth *Abu Bakr promoted his power, was via both his great wealth and knowledge of the genealogies and histories of the Arab tribes *Conflict spurred when Ali, Muhammud's son believed he was suppose to be the new Caliph *This caused the division of Sunni, Sufi, and Shi’i sects of Islam to form *Bakr tolerated Christians and Jews as long as they submitted to the political power of Islam *Upon the death of Muhammad, some tribes rebelled, and in return he fought the Ridda wars against these Arab tribes to establish Islamic rule over all of Arabia *He also conquered the lands of Syria and Iraq
573-634 A.D.
"Our abode in this world is transitory, our life therein is but a loan, our breaths are numbered and our indolence is manifest."
*Companion of Muhammad *Led the Hajj in 632 A.D. (Pilgrimage to Mecca) *Led the congregation in the public prayers in Madina *Abu Bakr is said to have taken the first steps in making Islam the strongest power in the world
Significance
Lyrics in English
*Iftitah* O Allah, I begin the glorification with praise of Thee; Thou, from Thy bounties, gives out freely the truth and salvation; I know for certain that Thou art the most merciful in disposition of forgiveness and mercy, [but] very exacting at the time of giving exemplary punishment and chastisement to wrongdoers, the Omnipotent in the domain of absolute power and might. O Allah, Thou has given me permission to invoke Thee and beseech Thee, so listen, O Hearer, to my words of praise, and give a favourable reply to my supplication, and minimize my falling into misery, O the often-forgiving. O my Allah, many a trouble Thou hath removed; many a sorrow hath Thou dispelled; many a misery hath Thou mitigated; and at all times Thou spreadeth out mercy, and cutteth short the tightening circles of misfortunes. All praise be to Allah, Who has not taken unto Himself a wife, nor a son, and Who has no partner in sovereignty, nor any protecting friend through dependence. Magnify Him with all magnificence. All praise be to Allah, with full gratitude for all his bounties. All praise be to Allah, Who has no opposition to His rule, nor any challenge to His commands. All praise be to Allah, Who has no counsel to meddle with His operation of creation, nor is there anything similar to Him in His greatness. All praise be to Allah, Whose commandments operate in Creation; His glory is evident through love and kindness. His distinct overflowing generosity is freely available through His unlimited bestowals which do not exhaust His resources, and He does not swell the numerous benefits except because of generosity and kindness. Verily He is mighty, generous. O Allah, I ask for some from much, in the midst of my very many needs for which I entirely depend on Thee, and, since eternity, Thou art able to do without it but for me it is a titanic effort and for Thee is very easy and simple. O Allah, truly, when Thou pardon my sins, overlook my mistakes, take a lenient view of my disorderly conduct, cover up my foul actions, show consideration in spite of my many transgressions committed willfully or negligently, I am tempted to ask for that which I do not deserve, from Thee Who, through Thy mercy, gives me the daily bread provides me with that which is suitable for me, through Thy control; and distinguishes me with a favourable reply to my requests. So I persist in calling out, believing in Thee, and I invoke Thee, talking familiarly, not afraid, nor shy, but assured of Thy love and kindness whenever I turn to Thee A temporary setback, and I, out of ignorance, begin to despair, although perhaps slowing down may be a blessing in disguise. because Thou alone knows [all] the consequences. I know no generous master who is more accommodating to dissatisfied servants that Thou art to me. O Lord, Thou giveth an invitation but I turn it down. Thou becometh familiar with me but I do not care for Thee. Thou loveth me but I do not correspond to Thee as if Thou are overreaching me. Yet Thou doth not abstain from bestowing favours and blessings on me from Thy mercy and generosity so have mercy on Thy ignorant servant Verily Thou art generous and kind. Praise be To Allah the owner of sovereignty, Who sets the course of the skies and the stars controls the winds, causes the daybreak, and administers authority, the Lord of the worlds. Praise be to Allah for His indulgence in the wake of His all-awareness. Praise be to Allah for His amnesty ensuing from His omnipotence. Praise be To Allah for the respite He allows In spite of provocation. He is able to do what He wills. Praise be to Allah, the creator of all the created beings, Who makes sustenance freely available, starts the day, the owner of glory, might, favours, and bounties, Who is far away, invisible, and nearest, so near that He is fully aware of the whispered secrets, the Blessed, the Praised. Praise be to Allah, Who has no equal to challenge Him, nor is there an image comparable to Him, nor a helper to assist Him. He tames the powerful by His force, and disgraced are the terrible before His greatness; so He, through His power, fulfils that which He wills. Praise be to Allah, Who gives answer to me whenever I call Him; covers up my shortcomings yet I disobey Him; gives me the largest part of the bounties yet I want more. Many favours He has sanctioned; many terrible dangers He has averted; and many blossoming joys he has made available for me. Therefore, I sing His praises and recite His glorifications. Praise be to Allah. None can disclose anything hidden by Him; none can shut the doors kept open by Him; no one who makes a request is sent away disappointed by Him; and no one who looks long and attentively is deluded in his hopes. Praise be to Allah, Who gives protection to the frightened; comes to the help of the upright; promotes the cause of the weak and the enslaved; annihilates the autocrats; destroys rulers and appoints the ‘awaited savours’ in their place. Praise be to Allah, Who breaks everything belonging to the oppressors; puts an end to the tyrants; watches over the fugitives; brings assistance to those who cry out for help; meets and clears up the demands of the needy beseechers; supports the faithful. Praise be to Allah. In his awe-inspiring fear the heavens and its dwellers tremble and shiver; the earth and its inhabitants shake and quiver; the oceans and all that floats and swims in its waters flow together in excitement and tumult. Praise be to Allah, Who has guided us to this. We could not truly have been led aright if Allah had not guided us. Praise be to Allah, Who creates but is not created; gives subsistence but needs no provisions; gives food to eat but takes no nourishment; makes the living dead and brings the dead to life; and He is the everliving, there is no death for Him; in His hands is all the good. And He is able to do all things. O Allah, send blessings on Muhammad, Thy servant, Messenger, confidant, friend, beloved intimate, mercy unto all the created beings, bearer of Thy sacraments, quotient of Thy messengers, the most superior, the exquisite, the most handsome, the most perfect, the upright, the more prospering, the more pleasant, the thoroughly purified, the sublime; who has more and better blessings, advantages, mercies, affections and salutations than Thou made available to any one of Thy servants, prophets, messengers, friends, and those honoured by Thee from among Thy created being. O Allah send blessings on ‘Ali the Leader of the Faithful, the successor to the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds, Thy servant, Thy beloved representative, brother of Thy Messenger, Thy decisive argument over mankind, Thy most important sign, the great news from Thee. O Allah, send blessings on the truthful pure Fatima, the chosen leader of the women of the worlds. O Allah, send blessings on the sons of ‘the mercy unto the worlds’, the leaders and guides, the Imams al-Hasan and al-Husayn, the leaders of the dwellers of Paradise. O Allah, send blessings on the Leaders of the Muslims, ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn, Muhammad ibn ‘Ali, Jafar ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Jafar, ‘Ali ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn’Ali, ‘Ali ibn Muhammad, al-Hasan ibn’Ali, and his son, the rightly guided Guide, Thy decisive argument over Thy servants, Thy trustworthy confidant on Thy earth; blessings, numerous, and for ever. O Allah, send blessings on the Custodian of thy commandments, the vigilant Guardian, the reliable Patron, the awaited Justice, surrounded by Thy favourite angels, assisted by the Holy Spirit. O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, send him to call the people unto Thy Book for establishing Thy religion, and make him succeed in the earth, as Thou caused those who were before him to succeed, and establish for him his faith which Thou has approved for him, and give him in exchange safety after fear. He serves Thee. He ascribes nothing as partner unto Thee. O Allah, give him power and authority, and through him strengthen the people. Give him the necessary assistance, and through him support the people, and make him prevail over allya final decisive victory, and delegate him Thy controlling authority. O Allah, give currency to Thy religion, and the way of life of Thy Prophet, through him till nothing which is just and genuine is kept concealed from any human being. O Allah, we ardently desire that in [his] kind, just, and fair era, Thou should reactivate Islam and stimulate its followers, and humble and humiliate the imposters and their double-dealing, and include us among those who invite people unto Thy obedience, and lead them to Thy approved path, and give us the good of this world and the world to come. O Allah, let us bear out and hold up that which Thou maketh known to us as the truth, and let us be fully aware of that which we fall short of doing. O Allah, through him, set in order our disorder; gather and unite our flock; stitch together our sundered separation; turn our want and poverty into sufficiency; lift us up from our degradation; free us from our misery; pull us out from our debts; help us to get out from the ditch of cares and sorrows; fill the gap created by confusion among us; let our difficulties be easy to deal with; refine our substance and style; untie our ropes and straps; let our efforts succeed well and secure success; make us fulfill our promises; give answers to our prayers; listen to our requests; cause us to obtain the good of this world and the hereafter; give us much and more than our expectations, O the best of givers and bestowers; and cleanse our hearts, unburden our emotions from hate and anger, and, in the event of dispute in the matter of truth, show us the right path. Verily, Thou guides whoever Thou will to the right path. Let us, through him, get the better of Thy enemies and our opponents, O True God. Be it so. O Allah, we feel uneasy about and are disturbed by the departure of our Prophet, Thy blessings be on him and on his family, the absence of our guardian-friend, too many enemies, our numerical scarcity, widespread disorder, and the vicissitudes of time. So send blessings on Muhammad and on his family, and help us to overcome this state of affairs at once. Disperse the ominous clouds hanging over our heads; lend a helping hand to achieve success; bring in the rule of justice and fair play; make us bright, free from grief; and take care of us. Through Thy mercy, O most Merciful.
Bibliography
*Biography*
http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/bios/b1bakr_abu.htm
http://i-cias.com/e.o/abubakr.htm
SCROLL
http://www.islamicdigest.net/v7core/2007/09/11/dua-al-iftitah-english-translation/
