Who was Abu Bakr?

Answer 1

Abu Bakr was the father of Muhammad's (PBUH) Beloved wife Aisha.

AnswerAbu Bakr was the First Caliph in Islam. Abu Bakr"No one has been a better companion to me than Abu Bakr," said the holy Prophet in his last sermon. A great reward indeed! Abu Bakr had earned it. All his life he stood by the side of the Prophet. He did not care for his life. He did not care for his riches. He did not care for what others said about him. His only ambition was to serve the Prophet more than anyone else. The cost did not matter. The ambition was fulfilled. And Abu Bakr got his reward in full. The Messenger of Allah was well pleased with him. He gave him the first place among the Companions. Abu Bakr was to be the first man to fill the place of the Prophet. He was also to lie in eternal rest by the prophet's side.

Abu Bakr was two years younger than the Prophet. His parents named him Abdul Kaaba, which means the servant of the Kaaba. When he became a Muslim, the Prophet changed his pagan name to Abdullah. Howevr, in early youth he had adopted the surname of Abu Bakr. He had come to be known by this name among people. Even to this day, the world generally knows him as Abu Bakr.

The name of Abu Bakr's father was Uthman, but he was known as Abu Qahafa. Salma was Abu Bakr's mother. She was also known as Umm-ul-Khair. Abu Bakr belonged to a branch of the Quraish.

From early years, Abu Bakr was known for good and upright nature. He was honest and truthful. He came of a noble family. These things won him respect among the people. His goodness also won him the friendship of young Muhammad (Peace be Upon him). The two became fast friends in early boyhood. The friendship was to prove lifelong and history-making.

When he grew up, Abu Bakr became a rich merchang. But he used to be very kind-hearted. When he saw someone in trouble, his heart melted. He did his best to help him. If his money could remove suffering, he did not care home much he had to spend. Once he gave away thirty-five dirhams out of his total fortune of forty thousand. He was so honest in his dealings that people kept their money with him. Above all, Abu Bakr had a sincere heart and a firm will. Nothing could stop him from doing what he thought was the right thing to do.

These great qualities were soon to serve the noblest cause known to the world. Abu Bakr was to become the strongest supporter of the Redeemer of mankind. He was to become the first among the Companions. He was to make Arabia and thereby the world safe for Islam after the Prophet has passed away.

Answer:

The Shaikhayn, i.e. Hadrat Abû Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar 'radiy-Allâhu 'anhumâ', are the highest ones of the Ashâb-i-kirâm. Concomitant to a recent increase in the number of holders of bid'at, i.e. heretics, doubts have been being voiced concerning their superiority. So dreadful is the decaying trend that the correct tenets of belief taught by the Salaf as-sâlihîn (the early Islamic scholars) are being forgotten gradually. Indeed, it is an open fact based both on narrations and on logic that the Shaikhayn are the highest. Narrations come to us through three different courses. Allâhu ta'âlâ promised to His beloved Prophet in the fifty-fifth âyat of Nûr sûra that He would give him believing and pious Khalîfas and reinforce the Islamic religion through those Khalîfas. This fact is confirmed by the dreams which the Messenger of Allah had as well as by the dreams that the Ashâb-i-kirâm had and which the Messenger of Allah explained. Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi WA sallam' stated several times both directly and indirectly that the Shaikhayn would succeed him as his Khalîfas (caliphs) after him. His statements, which are documentary sources, have been conveyed to us through (an authentic chain of narrations and reports termed) tawâtur. Then, the Shaikhayn are the highest Muslims. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf reported by Tirmuzî and Hâkim: "After me, follow Abû Bakr and 'Umar!" This hadîth-i-sherîf was reported by Huzayfa and ibn Mas'ûd. Hâkim's book quotes Enes bin Mâlik as having related: The tribe of Benî Mustalâq sent me to the Messenger of Allah to ask him to name the person to whom we were to pay our zakâts after him. When I came to Rasûlullah 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi WA sallam' and asked him, he said, "Give them to Abû Bakr!" They sent me again. When I reported their question who would be the person to receive our zakâts after Abû Bakr, he said, "'Umar!" I came to him once again with the message asking for the name of the person to take our zakâts. The Prophet's answer was: "(You will be giving them to) 'Uthmân!" As the Messenger of Allah had to repair to bed during his last fatal illness, he appointed Hadrat Abû Bakr 'radiy-Allâhu ta'âlâ 'anh' as the imâm (to conduct the public prayers called salât, [or namâz,] in jamâ'at). He explicitly rejected the question if someone else could be the imâm. This was the event from which the notables of the Sahâba such as Hadrat 'Umar and Hadrat Alî inferred that Abû Bakr was to be (the first) Khalîfa. None of the Sahâba was opposed to their inference. According to a narration in Bukhârî, Abû Bakr as-Siddîq was conducting the morning prayer in jamâ'at with the command of Rasûlullah, when the blessed Messenger slightly raised the curtain hanging in the doorway and, seeing his Sahâba performing the namâz, he gave a happy smile. Thinking that the Messenger of Allah intended to come in and conduct the namâz, Abû Bakr as-Siddîq moved aside, which made the Sahâba rejoice with the same expectation. Motioning with his blessed hand, the most beautiful human being commanded, "Complete your namâz!" Then he let the curtain go down. He passed away that day. According to a narration unanimously reported by the scholars of Hadîth, one day a woman asked Rasûlullah a question. "Come back later and ask (the same question)," was the blessed Prophet's reply. The woman asked again, "O Messenger of Allah! What do I do if I can't find you here?" Rasûlullah stated, "If you can't find me when you come here, ask Abû Bakr!"

Abu Bakr:

Born to a wealthy family, Abu Bakr was a successful merchant with a reputation for honesty and kindness. Tradition has it that, having long been a friend to Muhammad(p.b.u.h), Abu Bakr immediately accepted him as a prophet and became the first adult male to convert to Islam. Muhammad married Abu Bakr's daughter Aishah and chose him to accompany him to Medina.

Shortly before his death, Muhammad asked Abu Bakr to offer up a prayer for the people. This was taken as a sign that the Prophet had chosen Abu Bakr to succeed him, and after Muhammad's death, Abu Bakr was accepted as the first "deputy of the Prophet of God," or caliph. Another faction preferred Muhammad's son-in-law Ali as caliph, but Ali eventually submitted, and Abu Bakr took over governance of all Muslim Arabs.

As Caliph, Abu Bakr brought all of central Arabia under Muslim control and was successful in spreading Islam further through conquest. He also saw to it that the Prophet's sayings were preserved in written form. The collection of sayings would be compiled into the Quran (or Q'uran or Koran).

Abu Bakr died in his sixties (between 60 & 69 years old), likely from natural causes. Before his death he named a successor, establishing a tradition of government by chosen successors .....And Uthman ibn Affan was chosen.

Hope this hepled :)

Answer 2

He was named Abdulkaaba before the Islam (Jahiliya), and Abdullah after becoming muslim.