Abu Bakr was always a very close Companion of the Holy Prophet, he knew him better than any other man. He knew how honest and upright the Prophet was. Such knowledge of the Prophet made Abu Bakr be the first man to follow the Message of Prophet Muhammadsallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam. He was indeed the first adult male to accept Islam.
The Holy Prophet told Abu Bakr what had happened at Mount Hira', he told him that Allahsubhanahu wa ta'alahad revealed to him and made him His Messenger. When Abu Bakr heard this from the Prophetsallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, he did not stop to think, he at once became a Muslim. He submitted to Islam with such determination that once the Holy Prophet himself remarked,"I called people to Islam, everybody thought over it, at least for a while, but this was not the case with Abu Bakr, the moment I put Islam before him, he accepted it without any hesitation."He was titledas-Siddiqby the Prophet because his faith was too strong to be shaken by anything.
In fact, Abu Bakr was more than a great believer, as soon as he became a Muslim, he immediately began to preach Islam to others. Among those who accepted Abu Bakr's invitation to Islam were 'Uthman, Az-Zubayr, Talhah, 'Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf, Sa'ad ibn Waqqas and others who later became the pillars of Islam.
Abu Bakr's love of the Prophetsallallahu 'alayhi wa sallamwas so great that he was willing to sacrifice his life for the sake of protecting and comforting the Prophet saw. Such love and sacrifice were demonstrated when one day the Holy Prophet was saying his prayers in theKa'bah, while some of the chiefs of Makkah were sitting in the court yard of theKa'bah. Seeing the Prophet praying, 'Uqbah ibn Abi Mu'it took a long piece of cloth and put it around the Prophet's neck and twisted it hard in an attempt to strangle the Prophetsallallahu 'alayhi wa sallamto death. At that moment Abu Bakr happened to pass by from a distance, he saw 'Uqbah trying to strangle the Prophet to death. Immediately Abu Bakr ran to the help of the Prophet, he pushed 'Uqbah aside and took the cloth from aroundthe Prophet's neck. Thereupon the enemies of Islam came down upon Abu Bakr and beat him unmercifully, although Abu Bakr with faith like a rock did not care for his own suffering, he was glad that he was able to save the Prophet of Allah, even at the risk of his own life.
Abu Bakr with the wealth he had, also had a major role in freeing some of the Muslim slaves, who were barbarically tortured by their heartless Mushrik masters to give up the faith and return to their masters' beliefs. The heartless monsters tried all kinds of torture: they made them lie all naked on the burning desert sand, putting big stones on their chest, as well as other kinds of torture. Here Abu Bakr's wealth came to the rescue, as he bought the poor helpless slaves from their inhuman masters and set them free, Bilal al-Habashi, the slave of 'Umayyah ibn Khalaf, was among those who were set free by Abu Bakr. Bilal became afterwards themu'adhinat the Prophet's mosque.
Migration to Madinah
Islam was growing rapidly in Makkah, the enemies of Islam were getting frustrated by this rapid growth. The chiefs of Makkah found that it is necessary for them to get rid of the Prophetsallallahu 'alayhi wa sallambefore Islam can cause a real threat to them, so they planned to kill the Prophet. Allahsubhanahu wa ta'alarevealed to his Prophet the intentions of the non-believers and ordered him to migrate to Madinah. So the Prophet quickly went to Abu Bakr's house who was among the few that were left in Makkah with the majority of Muslims having already migrated to Madinah.
The Prophet informed Abu Bakr that he was commanded to migrate to Madinah that night and that he has chosen him to have the honor of joining him on his migration. Abu Bakr's heart was full of joy,"I have been looking forward to this day for months,"he exclaimed.
The Makkans were so eager to find the Prophet they were searching for him like mad hounds. Once they came to the mouth of the cave, Abu Bakr grew pale with fright, he feared not for himself, but for the life of the Holy Prophet. However, the Prophetsallallahu 'alayhi wa sallamremained calm and said to Abu Bakr,"do not fear, certainly Allah is with us". Such words quickly calmed down Abu Bakr and brought back tranquility to his heart.
Participation in Battles
Abu Bakr, being the closest of Companions to the Prophetsallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, took part in all the battles that Prophet Muhammad had fought.
At 'Uhud and Hunayn, some members of the Muslim army showed signs of weakness, however, Abu Bakr's faith never wavered, he always stood like a rock by the side of the Prophet.
Abu Bakr's faith and determination to raise the banner of Islam were so great that at Badr, one of his sons, who had not yet embraced Islam was fighting among the enemies, Abu Bakr was so eager to find his son in the battle that he was searching for him amongst the enemies in order to slay him.
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