Acceptance of Islam
On his return from a business trip from
Yemen, he was informed by friends that in his absence Muhammad had declared himself the Messenger of God, and proclaimed a new religion. Abu Bakr was the first
baligh (post-puberty)
free male to accept Muhammad's prophethood (though Shias maintain Abu Talib and other adult members of Muhammad's immediate blood family were, i.e. the Hashemites). Scholars, as well as other Sunnis and all Shi'a Muslims maintain that the second person to publicly accept Muhammed as the messenger of Allah was
Ali ibn Abi Talib, though to Shias Ali always knew of Muhammad's status through pre-knowledge.
[22] However, 'Ali was still a pre-pubescent child when he accepted Islam, and therefore may have been excluded from the duties of a Muslim. Also Abu Bakr was the first person outside the family of Muhammad to openly become a
Muslim.
[edit] Life after accepting Islam
His wife
Qutaylah bint Abd-al-Uzza did not accept Islam and he divorced her. His other wife,
Um Ruman, became a Muslim. All his children except
Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr accepted Islam, and Abu Bakr separated from his son Abdu'l-Rahman.
His conversion brought the most benefit to Islam. Abu Bakr's brought many people to Islam. He persuaded his intimate friends to convert to Islam.
[23][24] and presented Islam to others in such a way that many of his friends accepted Islam.
Those who converted to Islam at the instance of Abu Bakr were:
[4]
Abu Bakr's acceptance proved to be a milestone in Muhammad's mission.
Slavery was common in Mecca, and many slaves accepted Islam. When an ordinary free man accepted Islam, despite opposition, he would enjoy the protection of his tribe. For slaves however, there was no such protection and they commonly experienced persecution. Abu Bakr felt compassion for slaves, so he purchased eight slaves(four men and four women) and then freed them, paying 40,000
dinar for their freedom.
[25][26]
The men were
The women were:
Most of the slaves liberated by Abu Bakr were either women or old and frail men.
[27] The father of Abu Bakr asked him to for why doesn't he liberate strong and young slaves who could be a source of strength for him, Abu Bakr replied that he was freeing the slaves for the sake of
Allah, and not for his own sake. According to Sunni tradition the following verses of the
Qur'an were revealed due to this:
[citation needed]
