** This is how he won the race **
No human being after the Prophets and Messengers was, or ever will be, greater than Abū Bakr. He occupies a category of his own and his rank will never be surpassed until the end of time. But has the question ‘why?’ ever crossed your mind? What was it that made him so different from everyone else?
Consider the following:
He was not as poor as Abu Huraira and Abu Tharr, yet he was greater than them.
He was not tortured like Khabab, Bilal, Sumayya, or Yasir were, yet he was greater than them.
He was not wounded in the battles with the Prophet ﷺ like Ṭalḥa, Abū ʿUbayda, or Khalid were, yet he was greater than them.
He was not even martyred in the path of Allah as ʿUmar, ʿUthman, ʿAlī, Hamza or Musʿab were, yet he was greater than them.
So what is the secret that raised Abu Bakr to a level which surpassed that of every scholar, worshipper, and warrior of his time and times to come?
The mystery was solved by one of our predecessors, Bakr ibn ʿAbdillah, who said:
ماسبقهم أبو بكر بكثرةِ صلاةٍ ولا صيامٍ ولكن بشيءٍ وقرَ في قلبه
“It was not abundance of prayer or fasting which raised Abū Bakr beyond all others, but it was because of something which had settled within his heart.”
This is what raised him to the number one position. It was something inside.
We are all aware that Iman (faith) is made up of several components:
1: Speech with the tongue
2: Actions with the limbs
3: Certainty within the heart
The majority have focused almost entirely on the outward manifestations of Iman – the actions of the limbs – without putting any real emphasis on its essence; the actions of the heart. This results in frail religiosity that is constantly at risk of falling.
Every act of worship has an outward appearance and an essence. For example:
The outward appearance of prayer is standing, bowing, and prostrating, but its essence is Khushu [inner humility].
The outward appearance of Ḥajj is circulation around the Ka'ba, standing at ʿArafah, throwing the pebbles, and so on, but its essence is the glorification of Allah.
The outward appearance of Du'aa is the raising of the hands and calling upon Allah, but its essence is a sense of desperation before Allah.
Similarly, fasting has an outward appearance; abstinence from food, drink, and other nullifiers, but what is its essence? The Qur’an has explicitly answered this :
لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُون
“ .. so that you may attain Taqwa (cautiousness of Allah)”
That's its essence!
A third of Ramadan has almost passed, so measure your success so far according to the Ayah above by asking;
Is my heart still latched onto certain sinful habits?
Is my heart not letting go of shady conversations behind closed doors?
Is my heart still not getting better at resisting laziness?
Is my heart finally losing interest in impermissible sources of finance?
Is my heart now allowing the Hijab its proper place in my life?
Most importantly, is my heart intending on keeping this up after Ramadan?
Assess your success so far this Ramadan by taking a very deep look within; What am I looking like inside?
After all, Taqwa resides there, Taqwa was Abu Bakr’s hallmark, and Taqwa is the purpose of your fast.
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