أبو بكر
Abū Bakr
Person
The Prophet’s closest friend and the first caliph (632–634).
What it means
Abu Bakr was among the first to accept Islam and spent his wealth freeing slaves who were tortured for their belief, including Bilal. The Quran refers to him as the Prophet’s companion in the cave during the hijra, “the second of two when they were in the cave” (9:40). The Prophet named him to lead the prayer in his last illness. As caliph he put down the revolts of the tribes and had the Quran’s leaves gathered at Umar’s urging, with Zayd ibn Thabit as scribe (Sahih al-Bukhari).
What the sources say
He was called al-Ṣiddīq, “the truthful”, because he believed the Prophet’s account of the night journey without hesitation. He died in 634 and was buried beside the Prophet.