Jami' al-Saghir / Jam' al-Jawami' (al-Suyuti) 4-702b

Translation

Machine translation, not reviewed

"On the authority of Usayd ibn Safwan, a Companion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said: When Abu Bakr died, they covered him with a cloth, Madinah shook with weeping, and the people were stunned as on the day the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away. 'Ali ibn Abi Talib came hastily, weeping and saying, 'Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un,' and he was saying: 'Today the caliphate of prophethood has ended,' until he stood at the door of the house in which Abu Bakr was. Then he said: 'May Allah have mercy on you, Abu Bakr! You were the first of the people to accept Islam, the most sincere of them in faith, the most certain of them, the greatest in aid, the most compassionate of them toward Islam, the most protective of them over the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the most trustworthy of them toward his Companions, the best of them in companionship, the greatest of them in virtues, the most abundant of them in precedence, the highest of them in rank, the closest of them to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the one most resembling him in guidance, bearing, character and manner, the most honored of them in station, the most esteemed by him, and the most trusted by him. So may Allah reward you on behalf of Islam, His Messenger and the Muslims with the best reward, O truthful one. Allah the Exalted said: {And he who brings the truth and believes in it} (39:33), meaning Muhammad, and {those who believe in it} meaning Abu Bakr. You consoled him when they withheld, you were with him when they sat back. You accompanied him in hardship with the most honorable companionship, the second of two in the cave and in the dwelling. You were his companion in the emigration and in times of hardship. You succeeded him in his community in the best manner of succession when the people apostatized. You stood for the religion of Allah with a standing no successor of a prophet before you had stood. You drew near when his companions were weakened, you emerged when they lost heart, and you rose when they were feeble. You adhered to the path of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and you were a true caliph, not disputed by the pretense of the hypocrites, the slander of the envious, the hatred of the wicked or the rage of the disbelievers. You took up the affair when they faltered, you proceeded by the light of Allah when they halted, and they followed you and were guided. You were the lowest of them in voice, the highest of them in standing, the least of them in speech, the most correct of them in speech, the most certain of them, the bravest of them in heart, the best of them in intellect, and the most knowledgeable of them in affairs. By Allah, you were for the religion a first leader when the people scattered from it, and a last one when they fled. You were a merciful father to the believers when they became your dependents; you bore burdens they were too weak to bear, you preserved what they lost, you guarded what they neglected, you exerted yourself when they were humbled, and you were patient when they despaired. So you attained the traces of what they sought, and they obtained through you what they did not expect. You were a pouring punishment upon the disbelievers and rain and abundance for the believers. You took away its virtues and secured its precedence. Your proof was not weakened, your insight did not falter, your soul did not turn coward, and you did not betray. You were like a mountain that the storms do not move and the violent winds do not shake. You were, as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, the most generous of people in your companionship and in your wealth. And as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: weak in your body, strong in the affair of Allah, humble in yourself, great in the sight of Allah, exalted on earth, and esteemed in the sight of the believers. No one had a flaw in you, no speaker had a point against you, no one had special favor with you; the weak was strong with you until you restored his right to him, and the strong was weak with you until you took the right from him. Near and far were equal to you in this. Your conduct was truth and sincerity, your word was a judgment and a decree, and your command was gain and resolve. You made Islam firm, you outstripped everyone by Allah's own outstripping, you exhausted those after you with a severe exhaustion, and you triumphed in goodness with a clear triumph. You were above weeping, yet your loss was great in the heavens, and your calamity shook mankind. By Allah, the Muslims will not be afflicted after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with the like of you. You were a might and a shelter for the religion, a security and a comfort for the Muslims, and a harshness, rage and restraint of anger against the hypocrites. May Allah join you to your Prophet ﷺ, may He not deprive us of your reward, and may He not lead us astray after you. Indeed we belong to Allah and to Him we return.'"

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