Muslims Without a Leader
From the very beginning, Allah (SWT) sent many, many prophets in our world so that they
could teach us how to be good and follow Allah (SWT)’s orders. Before the Prophet Muhammad (s)
all of the prophets told only their people about Allah’s law and order. But when our last prophet
Muhammad (s) came, he didn’t come only for the Arabian people. He came to guide the whole world
to follow Allah (SWT)’s last book, the Quran. When his job in this world was finished, Prophet
Muhammad (s) took his last breath in this world. It was the 12th of Rabi' Al-Awwal, of the 11th
Hijri, or on Monday, June 8, in the year 632. The Muslims were very sad and heartbroken when they
heard the news that the prophet Muhammad (s) was gone forever from this world.
For the Muslims that was the saddest day in their entire lifetime. As
soon as the prophet’s close friend, Abu Bakr (r) heard the depressing news, he started to cry.
He immediately went to the prophet and kissed the prophet's forehead out of respect.
After he calmed down, he went to the mosque to give other Muslims mental support. Many Muslims
could not believe that the Prophet Muhammad (s) had truly passed away. Even Umar (r)
could not believe that the Prophet had died. Then Abu Bakr (r) got up in front of all the people
and told the Muslims about Surah Imran verse 144, where Allah (SWT) specifically
said that Muhammad (s) was a prophet and just only a human. So, he had to pass away just like
all of the other prophets that came before him. But only Allah (SWT) will never ever die and
that’s why we should always follow Allah (SWT)’s law and order every single moment. Then all the
Muslims realized that the prophet Muhammad (s) really did pass away, but they weren’t alone
because Allah (SWT) would always be with them. During this sad time, the Muslims were thinking,
the prophet (s) was the leader for all the Muslims, but after his death who would be their
leader and how could Islam exist without a leader. Who would collect and distribute zakat, or what
would they do if anyone attacked Medina, or what would they do if someone doesn't follow the Quran.
We need to understand one thing. At that time there was only the Quran. There were no
Hadith books. Like today we have Bukhari or other hadith books. So, the Muslims needed a new leader
to lead the Muslim ummah. So, in that situation, every tribe in Arabia including the good Muslims
were trying to take the leadership position, because that was a lifetime opportunity.
Unfortunately, some of the Ansar, the Medina’s Muslims met in one place and talked about how
they wanted someone from their tribes to be the next Muslim leader. But the Ansar had two groups,
the Aus tribe, and the Khazraj tribe. Before Islam came, they were enemies and did not like each
other. At that time even though there were only a few Muhajirin, the Makkah’s Muslims in Medina,
they were powerful and in charge of taking care of many different things. So, the Ansar had an idea
to have two leaders. One leader would be a Muhajirin and the other would be an Ansar. They
decided if the Muhajirin did not like the idea, then the Ansar would kick the Makkah’s Muslims
out from Medina and would be ready to fight against them. In that meeting, the evil Shaytan
tried to break the Muslims' unity and friendship. A very big angry argument started to happen,
between the Muslim Ummah. Right away one of the sahabas went to Abu Bakr (r) to solve the problem.
Abu Bakr (r) was very smart and intelligent. Whenever there was a problem, people would come
to him to solve their problems. At that moment, Abu Bakr (r) was getting ready for the prophet’s
burial preparations, but the people begged him to come and solve the big chaos in order to protect
Islam. Then Ali (r) was in charge of taking care of the prophet’s funeral preparations.
At that moment, it was very important for someone to take control of the situation to keep the
Muslim's unity because the Muslims' unity was the prophet’s entire life of hard work. Bringing
together Muslims from many different backgrounds and to live in peace and harmony. The problem was
that Prophet Muhammad (saw) didn’t even tell his people directly who their next leader would be.
But the Prophet gave some clues and hints to his people, so they would know who was going to be
the next ruler. Muhammad(s) said that the next leader should be from the Muhajirin,
the Mecca's Muslims. Another clue was that when the prophet was sick, he chose the great Abu Bakr
(r) to lead the prayers. In total Abu Bakr led the prayers 17 times when the prophet was sick.
In that huge argument, Abu Bakr (r) tried to calm everyone down and reminded the
people that the prophet himself said the next leader should be from the Muhajirin
and the Ansar should be their helper and advisor. When they remembered the prophet’s advice,
they all realized their mistake. To solve the problem Abu Bakr (r) told the people
to choose their leader from two of the great Quraysh Muslims, Umar or Abu Ubaidah (r)
because they were with him at that moment. Immediately Umar (r) refused, saying that
Abu Bakr (r) should be the next leader because he was the best Muhajirin and one of the best
Muslims. When Abu Bakr was just a little boy his father told him to worship the idols at the
Kabbah. But little Abu Bakr knew the idols could not hear him or speak. He then took a rock and
threw it and the idol that broke into pieces. He knew for sure that was not god, because
idols can’t even protect themselves. So, from a young age, Abu Bakr never worshipped the idols
and believed in only one God, Allah (SWT). Abu Bakr was only 2 years younger than the prophet,
and the two little boys soon became best friends following the path of Allah their whole life.
Even when Makkah was filled with evil, Abu Bakr spread kindness and helped the weak and the poor
and that’s why the people loved him. He was one of the first people to believe in the prophet and was
always ready to sacrifice everything for Islam. He was with the prophet in the cave when escaping
from Makkah. He was with the prophet from the very beginning and the end. During the prophet’s last
days on earth, the only person that the prophet picked to lead the prayers was, Abu Bakr (r). And
prayer is the highest level of Iman. When the people remembered that Abu Bakr was truly
one of the best Muslims amongst themselves, everyone became very happy and easily accepted
Abu Bakr (r) as their new leader. Soon the news spread, and all of the Muslims rushed to see
and accept him as the new Muslim leader. On that Monday, the Muslims couldn’t get
the Prophet’s funeral ready. So, the next day, on Tuesday morning Abbas and Ali (r) and a few
other Muslims helped wash the Prophet’s body. But no one had any idea where the Prophet’s graveyard
would be. Abu Bakr (r) then said that before all of the other Prophets were buried where they
passed away. So, the Muslims moved the Prophet’s bed and started to dig his grave at that place.
There was no Imam for the Janaza prayer, but every ten Muslims went into the room and prayed for the
Prophet. Group by group, first all the Muslim men prayed their Janaza prayer. Then all the
women prayed their Janaza prayer. And finally, all the children prayed their Janaza prayer for
the prophet. It took the whole day for everyone to finish the Janaza prayer. Finally, at the end of
the day, on Tuesday night Prophet Muhammad (s) was buried at his house where he took his last breath.