Abubakr

In some of our previously published researches, we proved how he collected five hundred

ahadith of the Prophet, burnt them, then delivered a sermon in which he said, "Do not quote

any hadith of the Messenger of Allah; whoever asks you, say: `Between us and you is the

Book of Allah; so, act upon what it permits and stay away from what it prohibits.'" We also

indicated that he violated the Sunnah of the Prophet in recording the Book, supporting Umar

in his statement in which he said, "The Messenger of Allah is hallucinating, and the Book of

Allah suffices us."

Among the Prophet's statements which he violated is this one: "Fatima is part of me; whoever angers her angers me." Fatima died angry with Abu Bakr according to al-Bukhari. Another is the Prophet's statement saying: "The curse of Allah be upon anyone who lags behind Usamah's army." He said so when they challenged his appointment of Usamah over them and refused to go to war with him and under his military command. Abu Bakr, despite such admonition, lagged behind Usamah's army under the pretext of taking care of the issue of caliphate.

Among his actions in violation of the Sunnah is what the Messenger of Allah used to do with

those whose hearts could be won towards Islam; he was very kind to them and even gave

them a portion of the zakat as commanded by Allah, the Most Exalted One. But Abu Bakr

deprived them of that right which the Holy Qur'an had already mandated, and which was

carried out by the Prophet, only to please Umar ibn al-Khattab who said to them, "We have

no need for you."

Add to all the above the fact that he was ignorant about many Qur'anic injunctions. He was,

for instance, asked once about the rule with regard to one who dies leaving some wealth but

neither a will nor dependents. He answered by saying, "I shall state my own view in its

regard; if it is correct, it is by the Grace of Allah; but if it is wrong, it is my own error and that

of Satan."[143]

How can you help being amazed about the caliph of the Muslims who is asked about an

injunction which Allah explains in His Book and which the Messenger of Allah has clarified

in his Sunnah, so he sets aside both the Book and the Sunnah to state his own personal view,

then he admits that Satan may over-power his mind?!

All this comes in the light of the fact that Muslim scholars had already decided that anyone

who expresses his own view with regard to the Book of Allah commits apostasy. We have

also come to know that the Prophet never stated his own personal view, nor did he ever

employ qiyas. Add to all this the fact that Abu Bakr used to say, "Do not force me to act upon

the Sunnah of your Prophet, for I can not bear it." If Abu Bakr could not bear the Sunnah of

the Prophet, how can his followers and supporters claim to be the followers of the same

Sunnah?

He may be unable to tolerate it because it reminds him of his own deviation therefrom and his

distance from the Messenger; otherwise, how can you interpret the verses saying, "He (Allah)

has not laid upon you any hardship in the religion" (Holy Qur'an, 22:78), "Allah desires ease

for you, and He does not desire for you any hardship" (Holy Qur'an, 2:185), "Allah does not

overburden any soul with more than what it can bear" (Holy Qur'an, 2:286), and "Whatever

the Messenger brings you, accept it, and keep back from whatever he forbids you" (Holy

Qur'an, 59:7)?

Abu Bakr's statement that he cannot bear the Prophet's Sunnah is his response to the above

verses. If Abu Bakr, the first caliph after the Prophet, was unable to bear his Sunnah, during

that time and age, how can Muslims of our time be asked to uphold Allah's injunctions as

embedded in His Book and act upon the Sunnah of His Messenger?! But we have found Abu

Bakr violating the Prophet's Sunnah even in easy matters which can be undertaken by poor

and ignorant people:

Abu Bakr abandoned the offering of sacrifices which the Messenger of Allah used to do and

stress, and all Muslims came to know that to offer such sacrifices was a highly recommended

and emphasized Sunnah; so, how could the caliph of Muslims abandon them?!

In his chapter on the mother, al-Shafi`i, as well as others, has said:

Abu Bakr and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, never offered sacrifices because

they hated others to follow their example and consider doing so as being obligatory.

This is an erroneous and a groundless justification; all the sahaba had by then come to know

that offering sacrifices was a Sunnah, a commendable act, not an obligation. Even if we

suppose that people thought that they were obligatory, what harm could have resulted

especially after having seen how Umar invented the Taraweeh prayers which were neither a

Sunnah nor an obligation; rather, the Prophet had prohibited them, yet most "Ahl al-Sunnah

wal Jama`a" nowadays think that they are obligatory?

By abandoning the Prophet's Sunnah with regard to offering sacrifices, Abu Bakr and Umar

may have desired to mislead the people into thinking that not all what the Messenger of Allah

had done was obligatory, and that it could be abandoned and ignored. This may explain their

statement: "The Book of Allah suffices us," and so will the statement made by Abu Bakr

wherein he said, "Do not quote any of the Prophet's ahadith and say: `Between us and you is

the Book of Allah; so, act upon what it permits and stay away from what it prohibits.'"

Thereupon, had someone argued with Abu Bakr about the Prophet's Sunnah relevant, for

example, to offering sacrifices, Abu Bakr would probably have answered him by saying, "Do

not talk to me about anything relevant to the Prophet, and show me where the Book of Allah

refers to offering sacrifices."

Thus can a researcher understand why the Prophet's Sunnah remained unknown to them,

forsaken, and why they altered the injunctions of Allah and His Messenger to fit their own

views and qiyas and whatever they liked of matters agreeing with their own inclinations.

The examples which we have put forth here are only a drop in the bucket compared to what

Abu Bakr had done to the revered Sunnah of the Prophet and to the insults, burning,

negligence with which he meted it. If we wished, we could write a separate book discussing

them.