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Anecdotes, Sayings, Sermons and Interpretation of DreamsAnecdotes of Abu BakrAnecdotes. In the various accounts about Abu Bakr that have come down to us, we come across some anecdotes that illuminate certain aspects of the life of Abu Bakr. We refer to some of these anecdotes in this Chapter. Reaction to praise. Once, someone highly praised Abu Bakr. After the man who praised him had left, Abu Bakr prayed to God: "O Allah, You know me more than myself, and I know myself more than these people who praise me. Make me better than what they think of me, and forgive those sins of mine of which they have no knowledge, and do not hold me responsible for what they say." Milking the goats. Before becoming the Caliph, Abu Bakr used to milk the goats of the widows in the neighborhood. When he passed through the street after becoming the Caliph, one of the widows remarked, "Now, he would not milk the goats for us". Addressing the widows, Abu Bakr said, "No, the Khilafat would make no change. I would continue to milk your goats." The two lions. On an occasion when Abu Bakr was busy with the preparation of plans in connection with the campaigns in Syria and Iraq, a companion presented a case concerning his tribe for the decision of the caliph. That irritated Abu Bakr, and he said: "I am busy considering plans to crush the two lions who are waiting for an opportunity to destroy the Muslims and you are diverting my attention to petty matters." Revelations of Musailima After the death of the false prophet Musailima, a deputation of Banu Hanifa waited on Abu Bakr. He inquired of them what were the teachings of the false prophet. As a specimen of his teaching they recited the following verse, which was alleged to have been revealed to him: "O frog! Holy are you. You do not prevent the drinker, nor do you make the water dirty. Half the world belongs to us, and half to the Quraish, but the Quraish are a cruel people." On hearing this, Abu Bakr remarked: "God be praised. Is this the divine word? It has no sublimity of divinity. To what depths he had dragged you". Necklace of his sister. On the occasion of the conquest of Makkah, the necklace of his sister was wrenched from her neck by one of the horsemen. To the people assembled in the mosque, Abu Bakr said, "I call for the necklace of my sister in the name of God." He repeated this three times, and when there was no response he said, "O sister, reckon upon your necklace as a present to God, for by Allah there is little of honesty among men now-a-days." Veterans of the Badr. On one occasion, Abu Bakr was asked, "O Vicegerent of the Apostle of God, will you not employ in service those who fought at Badr?" Abu Bakr said, "I know their dignity, but I am loath to defile them with the world?" Doing things himself. Once when Abu Bakr was riding a camel, the reins of the camel dropped from his hands. He came down from the camel to pick up the reins. He was asked why he had not asked other persons to pick up the reins for him. He said, "My Prophet has ordered me to do my things myself, and not beg anything from any human being." No distinction. Once Abu Bakr was sitting with a number of persons. A person came, and he said, "Peace be to you, O Caliph of the Prophet". Abu Bakr felt irritated and said, "There is no distinction between the Caliph and other Muslims; why have you wished peace to the Caliph alone and not to the other members of the assembly?" No train of followers. In the second year of his caliphate, Abu Bakr went to Makkah on pilgrimage. On this occasion many persons gathered around him and began to follow in his train. Abu Bakr wanted them to disperse for he did not want to be given any undue importance to himself. Head of defeated enemy. Once a commander sent to Abu Bakr the head of the defeated enemy. Abu Bakr deprecated the practice as unlslamic. He issued instructions to all concerned that in future the heads of the defeated enemy should not be cut for dispatch to him. He urged that due respect should be shown to the dead, even though they were enemies. Hunting of game. Once a hunter hunted a raven with large wings. It was presented to Abu Bakr. He turned it over and said, "No game is hunted and no tree is felled, save it has neglected the praise of God". Holding the tongue. Once in anger, Abu Bakr said something which he later regretted. He held his tongue and said, "This it is which has brought me to that to which I have come". More poisonous than poison. Abu Bakr was critical of women's passion for gold and perfume. He said, "The most deadly of things, more poisonous than poison, are the two that are red, gold and saffron." Unfulfilled hopes. When Abdullah a son of Abu Bakr was on deathbed, he kept looking towards the cushion. When he was dead, the persons who were attending him said to Abu Bakr that at the time of death, his son had been looking towards the cushion. When the cushion was moved, some dinars were found thereunder. Seeing them, Abu Bakr wrung his hands and said, "Verily we belong to God, and to Him is our return". Thereafter he recited the verse: "You shall not cease to announce the death of a friend until you are as he is; And verily, the youth cherishes a hope and dies without attaining it." His reputation and decorum. Once Abu Bakr was asked whether he ever drank wine during the days of Ignorance. He replied, "God forbid, I never touched wine even in the days of Ignorance". He was asked "why"' and he said, "I sought to preserve my reputation and retain my decorum, and verily he who drinks wine destroys his reputation and his decorum". Joy which is not fleeting. Once the poet Labid had a sitting with Abu Bakr when he recited the verse "Is not everything but God unprofitable?" Abu Bakr said, "You have spoken truly". Then Labid recited, "And every joy is surely fleeting". Abu Bakr said, "This is not correct. There is with God a joy which is not fleeting." Freedom from accountability. Abu Bakr used to say that accountability was a great challenge for man. Once he entered a garden where he saw a ringdove sitting on a tree. Seeing the bird, Abu Bakr heaved a deep sigh, and said: "Happy you are O bird, that eats of the trees and seeks shelter beneath them, and are not called to account. Would that I were like you?" His father's seat. Once Abu Bakr was addressing the congregation in the mosque from the pulpit. Imam Hasan, the son of Ali came to the pulpit and addressing Abu Bakr said, "Come down from the seat of my father." Abu Bakr said, "You speak the truth; this is your father's seat". He put up the child on his lap and wept. Ali intervened to say, " This was not said at my instance". Abu Bakr said, "I know that". His love for the Holy Prophet. Once, addressing the Holy Prophet, Abu Bakr said, "O Apostle of God, if you were to ask me to kill myself, I will do that." The Holy Prophet said, "Yes, I know that. I feel proud of you." Distribution of the spoils of war. Whenever the spoils of war came, Abu Bakr would distribute them equally among all the people. Some of the companions suggested that he should recognize precedence in faith as a ground for preference in distribution of spoils. Abu Bakr said, "The recognition of precedence in faith is for the Lord. It is for Him to reward the piety of such persons who have excelled in faith. These gifts which I distribute are but an accident of the present life." Honor comes from Allah. In the second year of his caliphate, Abu Bakr went to Makkah to perform the pilgrimage and stayed there with his father Abu Qahafa. On that occasion, the notables of the city came to wait on him. Referring to these notables, Abu Qahafa said, "They are the notables of our city. Make much of them, and honor them." Abu Bakr said, "I will certainly make much of them, but as for honor there is none save that which comes from Allah." Precedence for Islam. In the Battle of Badr, Abdul Rahman a son of Abu Bakr who was yet a non-Muslim fought against the Muslims. Later Abdul Rahman became a Muslim. He told his father that at the battle there were occasions when he could strike at him, but then out of love for him he turned aside. Abu Bakr said, "If I had such an occasion, you being an infidel, I would not have spared you". He asked his son to divorce his wife. Abdullah another son of Abu Bakr was so much lost in the love of his wife Atika that he did not participate in the battles against the non-Muslims. He even neglected his prayers. Thereupon Abu Bakr asked him to divorce his wife. He was asked to sheathe his sword. At the Battle of Uhud, Abdul Rahman a son of Abu Bakr again fought against the Muslims. Before the battle began Abdul Rahman stepped forth from the ranks, and threw a challenge to the Muslims to let some one step forward and have a duel with him. Abu Bakr accepted the challenge, and was about to fight a duel with his son, when the Holy Prophet commanded, "Sheathe your sword and do not make us anxious about your person". He slapped a Jew in the face. Finhas, a Jewish rabbi said; "We are rich but your Allah is poor. We are independent of Him but He needs us, Had He been independent of us, He would not have given us interest, which He has denied to you." Abu Bakr felt outraged at this blasphemy. He slapped the Jew in the face and said, "Were it not for the treaty between the Muslims and the Jews, I would have cut off your head O enemy of Allah." Fight for the Prophet. When the Muslims encamped at Hudaibiya, Urwa b Masud came to see the Holy Prophet on behalf of the Quraish. He insinuated that at the time of crisis, the followers of the Holy Prophet were likely to abandon him. Thereupon Abu Bakr flared up and said, "May God curse you; how dare you think that we will abandon the Holy Prophet. Rest assured, we will fight to the last for him." Hold fast to the stirrup of the Holy Prophet. Umar regarded the treaty of Hudaibiya as humiliating to the Muslims. He saw Abu Bakr and wanted him to persuade the Holy Prophet to withdraw from the pact. Abu Bakr said, "The Holy Prophet knows things more than we do. What the Holy Prophet has done is in the interests of the Muslims. Do not be critical. Hold fast to the stirrup of the Holy Prophet." Judging what he did not know. In the case of the ordeal of falsehood, after God had revealed to the Holy Prophet the innocence of Ayesha, she said to Abu Bakr, "Father would you not have pardoned me if there had been no revelation." Abu Bakr said, "What heaven would cover me, and what earth would carry me if I judged that which I did not know?" He wanted God to forgive him. Mistah was a relative of Abu Bakr whom Abu Bakr used to pay an allowance. Mistah took active part in spreading the calumny against Ayesha. Thereupon Abu Bakr swore that he would no longer help Mistah. Thereupon the verse descended on the Holy Prophet, "Let not those in affluence swear not to aid poor kinsmen. Let them forgive. Do you not wish that God should forgive you?" Hearing this Abu Bakr restored the allowance to Mistah saying, "Yes, I wish Allah to forgive me." His feet became dusty in the service of God. When Usamah's army left for Syria, Abu Bakr walked for some distance along with the army to see it depart. Usamah was riding on horseback, and he requested Abu Bakr that he should be permitted to dismount or the Caliph should also ride on a horse. Abu Bakr said, "No, neither shall you dismount nor shall I mount a horse, for according to a tradition of the Holy Prophet, he whose foot becomes dusty in the way of God will be preserved from hell fire." He excelled all in the matter of generosity. For the financing of the expedition to Tabuk, the Holy Prophet invited contributions from all his followers. Umar made a liberal contribution. When the Holy Prophet asked him, how much he had left for himself and his family, he said that he had given one half of his wealth for the cause of Allah and had left one half for himself and his family. Then Abu Bakr came loaded with his contribution, and the Holy Prophet put him the same question as to how much he had left for himself and his family. Abu Bakr said, "I have brought all that I had. I have left Allah and His Prophet for myself and my family". Thus Abu Bakr excelled every one in generosity. He anticipated Umar. It is related that a blind old woman lived in a suburb of Madina and had no one to support her. Umar used to go in disguise to the house of the old woman, but was always surprised to find that someone else had anticipated him and had supplied the wants of the old woman. One night Umar went to the house of the old woman earlier than usual and hid himself to watch as to who attended to the wants of the old lady. He had not to wait long for soon a man arrived who attended to the needs of the old woman, and this man was Abu Bakr. Foremost in breaking glad tidings. Once in the presence of Abu Bakr and Umar the Holy Prophet said that the recitation of the Holy Quran by Ibn Masud was the most perfect, and had been approved of by God. Later, Umar went to the house of Ibn Masud to tell him of the approval of God. He thought that he would be the first man to give the glad tidings to Ibn Masud. When Umar reached the house of Ibn Masud he found that Abu Bakr had already been to the house of Ibn Masud and has informed him of the glad tidings. Sweet dish. It is related that one of the wives of Abu Bakr once wished for a sweet dish. The Caliph said that he had no money for such a luxury. She said, "Then permit me to save something daily, and then have a sweet dish when sufficient amount has been collected". This he permitted and in the course of a few days she saved some amount. Abu Bakr deposited the amount in the treasury. He had his daily allowance reduced by the amount of the saving, holding that if something could be saved it meant that the allowance sanctioned in his favor was excessive to that extent. The physician. During the course of his last sickness, some companions who visited him said, "O Caliph of the Prophet, should we call a physician to examine you?" He said "The physician has already examined me". What did he say, they asked. He said that the physician had said that he would do with the patient what he would will. Encomium for the Prophet. During the course of his illness while looking at Abu Bakr, Ayesha recited: "That bright face whose freshness gives water to the clouds, is affectionate towards the orphans, and protects the honor of the widows." Abu Bakr opened his eyes and said, "No, the Holy Prophet alone deserves this encomium." The coffin. When at the point of death, Abu Bakr desired that the two pieces of the cloth that he was wearing should be washed and used for his coffin, while the third piece could be purchased. Ayesha said that they were not so poor as to be not able to purchase all the three pieces. He said, "New pieces of cloth can be better utilized for the living than for the dead. The cloth that covers the dead body is for absorbing blood and pus only." Sayings of Abu BakrThus spoke Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr was of a contemplative bent of mind. He often expressed his thoughts in words conspicuous for their wisdom. A number of his sayings has come down to us, and these show the depths and dimensions of his thought and philosophy. Some of the sayings of Abu Bakr which have assumed the character of proverbs are given hereunder: Greatness. About greatness, Abu Bakr said:
Good actions. About good actions, Abu Bakr said:
Death. About death, he said:
Knowledge. About knowledge, he said:
Advice. In the matter of advice, he said:
Kindness. About kindness he said:
Self-control. About self-control he said, "If you want to control other people, first control your self." Patience and confidence. With regard to patience and confidence, he said: "Patience is half faith, and confidence is full faith." Society of evil persons. About the society of evil persons he held, "Solitude is better than the society of evil persons." Honesty. About honesty he said, "The greatest truth is honesty, and the greatest falsehood is dishonesty." Treatment of Muslims. About the treatment of Muslims he said, "Do not look down upon any Muslim, for even the most inferior believer is great in the eyes of God." Help and cooperation. About help and cooperation, he said:
Jihad. About "Jihad", he said:
Intentions. With regard to intentions, he said, "Intentions count in your actions". Sadaqah. In the matter of the offering of "Sadaqah" he said, "When you offer any Sadaqah to a beggar, do it with humility and respect, for what you are offering is an offer to Allah". Mosques. With regard to mosques he said: "He who builds a mosque in the way of Allah, God will build a house for him in the paradise." Way of life. About the way of life he said, "Follow the way of life, which the Holy Prophet has shown you, for verily that is the right path". Prayers. With regard to prayers, he said, "He who prays for five times a day is in the protection of God, and he who is protected by God cannot be harmed by any one." Neighbors. About neighbors, he said, "You should not quarrel with your neighbor, for he will remain where he is, but your high handedness will become the talk of the people". Appearance of things. About the outward appearance of things he said:
Love of God. About the love of God, and the love of the world, he said, "He who comes to take the love of God can have no taste for the love of the world". Becoming a Muslim. About becoming a Muslim, he said, "He who becomes a Muslim does so in his own interest". Falsehood. About falsehood, he said "He who indulges in falsehood will find the paths of paradise shut to him". Boasting. About boasting, he said, "He who boasts lowers himself". Pride. About pride he said, "Pride in the case of a rich man is bad, but pride in the case of a poor man is worse". Elation. In the matter of elation, he said, "Do not get elated at any victory, for all such victory is subject to the will of God." Avoidance of complaints. With regard to the avoidance of complaints he said, "He who avoids complaints invites happiness." Attraction of the things of the world. About the attraction of the things of the world, he said, "If an ignorant person is attracted by the things of the world this is bad, but if a learned person is thus attracted, it is worse." He also said, "O man you are busy working for the world, and the world is busy trying to turn you out". Justice. About justice, he said: "In the matter of justice, all should be equal in your eyes". Deception and faithlessness. About deception and faithlessness he said, "Do not deceive or be faithless even with your enemy." Measure. About the use of measure he said, "Use same measure for selling which you use for purchase". Sin. About Sin, he said:
Evil. About evil he said "Cursed is the man who dies himself, but the evil done by him survives." Dyeing of hair. In the case of the dyeing of hair he said, "Youth is not restored by the dyeing of your hair". Early rising. About early rising, he said, "It is a matter of shame that in the morning the birds should be awake earlier than you." Piety. About Piety he said: Piety is the most solid goodness, and the vilest of what is evil is vice. Truth and falsehood. About truth and falsehood he said, "Truth is a trust, falsehood a treason." Vain desires. About vain desires, he said, "Do not follow vain desires for verily he prospers who is preserved from lust, greed and anger." The best. Abu Bakr prayed, "O Lord, render You the best of my life its close, the best of my deeds as the last, and the best of my days the day of Your meeting." "O God verily I ask of You that which may be the best for me in the end. O God vouchsafe that the last good that You bestow upon me, is Your approbation." Deadly things. Abu Bakr said, "The most deadly of things are the two that are red, gold and saffron." Reward of the believer. Abu Bakr said, "The true believer is rewarded in every thing, even in affliction." Life of the world. About the life of the world, Abu Bakr said, "Our abode in this world is transitory. Our life therein is but a loan. Our breaths are numbered, and our indolence is manifest. " Condolence. While condoling the death of a companion, Abu Bakr said to the bereaved family: "There is no harm in patience, and no profit in lamentation. Death is easiest to bear than that which precedes it, and more severe than that which comes after it. Remember the death of the Apostle of God, and your sorrow will be lessened. " Prayer for a dead man. When praying for a dead man. Abu Bakr said: "O God his people and his goods and his kindred have forsaken this servant of Yours. His sin was grievous, but You are Merciful and Compassionate." Sermons of Abu BakrAbu Bakr's eloquence. Abu Bakr was known for his eloquence and oratory. He used to address the faithful every week on Fridays. His sermons and addresses were the specimen of masterly eloquence, every word thereof vibrated with superb faith and appealed directly to the heart. All his sermons and addresses have not been preserved. Only a few of his sermons and addresses have come down to us, and these classical addresses which are veritable gems of literature evoke our admiration. Inaugural address. On assuming office, he delivered the following address, which is a unique document for the guidance of all rulers "Gentlemen, I have been placed in authority, though by Allah I was averse to the assumption of authority. I would have been pleased if any of you had taken over the office, and I would have assisted him. I have been made to rule over you though I am not the most worthy among you. If you expect me to act as did the Holy Prophet of God, know that I cannot do so, for the Apostle of God was a servant whom the Lord honored with His inspiration and preserved him thereby from error I am an ordinary mortal and not better than any of you. Therefore, watch over me. When you see that I am steadfast and obey Allah and His Prophet, then obey me when you see that I turn aside from the right path do not obey me. Help me if I am in the right; set me right if I am in the wrong. Know that I have a devil that seizes upon me. Therefore, when you see me enraged avoid me for at that time I cannot be influenced by your counsels or glad salutations. We have the Quran for our guidance. We have also with us the instructions of the Holy Prophet. These will be our unerring guides. Know O men that piety is the most solid goodness, and the vilest of what is evil is vice. Truth is a trust, falsehood a treason. The weak among you shall be strong with me till God willing his rights have been vindicated; and the strong among you shall be weak with me till, if the Lord wills, I have taken what is due from him." Guidelines for the faithful. In the following sermon, Abu Bakr set the guidelines for the conduct of the faithful: "Beware you of following vain desire, for verily he prospers who is preserved from lust, greed and anger; and beware you of pride for what pride belongs to him who is made of earth, and whom the worms devour after death, To day you are alive; tomorrow you may be dead. Therefore act uprightly from day to day and hour to hour. Be you patient for every work is accomplished through patience. Be you watchful for watchfulness is profitable. Act uprightly for a good act is acceptable to God. Refrain from things against which the Lord has warned you under pain of His wrath. Vie you with one another in hastening to obtain the things that the Lord has promised you in His mercy. Be heedful and in fear for the Lord has declared to you things for which He destroyed those that were before you and things through which He delivered those before you. Verily He has manifested to you in His book His commands and His prohibitions, the works He approves and that He abhors. God is He Whose assistance should be implored. There is no power or strength but in the Lord. Obey God, preserve your portion of excellence. Make your charitable donations even when you are poor. O Servants of God, think of your brethren and companions who have departed. Verily, the Lord has no co-partner, and between Him and any of His creatures there is no mediatory influence that can bestow good upon him or avert from him evil save in His worship and obedience to His commands for verily there is no good after which comes hell fire, and no evil after which comes heaven". The light of the Book of God. In another sermon, Abu Bakr said: "I commend to you piety to God. Praise Him as befits Him. Mingle desire with fear, for God praised Zikriya and the people of his house and said, "These strove to excel in good works and called upon Us with love and with fear and humbled themselves before Us". Therefore, know, O servants of God, that the Lord holds your lives as a pledge for what is due to Him, and has taken your compacts regarding it, and has purchased of you a little that is perishable, in exchange for eternal abundance, and this Book of God is among you, whose light cannot be extinguished, nor its wonders end. Therefore, seek you illumination from its light, and accept counsel from His Book and seek light from it in the day of darkness. Verily He has created you for His worship and has appointed for you guardian angels honorable in the sight of God writing down actions, who know that which you do. And know O servants of God that you proceed and draw nigh to an appointed time, the knowledge of which, verily, is hidden from you. Vie you with one another in fulfilling the obligations of your appointed times before your appointed periods are completed, lest they cast you upon the evilest of your works, and verily there are some who have made over the obligations of their appointed times on others, and have taken no heed of themselves. Therefore, I forbid you to be like them. Then haste, flee, flee for behind you is a nimble pursuer, swift of deed. Where are the comely, beautiful of countenance, exulting in their youth? Where are the monarchs who built cities and entrenched them round about? Where are they who boasted of victories on fields of battle? Verily their pillars were overthrown when fortune betrayed them, and they went down into the darkness of the grave. Haste, haste, flee, flee." Abu Bakr and the Interpretation of DreamsImportance of dreams. Before the Holy Prophet was commissioned as the Messenger of God, the truth was generally revealed to him through dreams. His dreams were always true, and cast a shadow of the events to come. The Holy Prophet accordingly attached great importance to dreams. Dreams were regarded as a species of revelation, and the interpretation of dreams became a matter of spiritual exercise. Abu Bakr's expertise in the interpretation of dreams. According to a tradition, the Holy Prophet said that he was enjoined by God to relate his dreams to Abu Bakr. Whenever the Holy Prophet had a dream, he would relate it to Abu Bakr. Whenever Abu Bakr had a dream, he would likewise relate it to the Holy Prophet. They would then exchange views, and arrive at an agreed interpretation about the dream. In early Islam, interpretation of dreams was regarded as a spiritual exercise, and it was held that only those who had pure hearts and possessed an inward vision could have meaningful dreams and interpret their significance. According to Ibn Sirin, who is regarded as the Imam of the science of the interpretation of dreams, Abu Bakr was the best interpreter of dreams after the Holy Prophet. Battle of Uhud. On the eve of the Battle of Uhud, the Holy Prophet saw in a dream, that he was driving some cows, and some cows out of these were slaughtered. He also saw a dent on his sword. Abu Bakr interpreted this dream to signify that some of the companions of the Holy Prophet would be martyred in the Battle of Uhud. The dent on the sword signified that one of the relatives of the Holy Prophet would be martyred. Siege of Taif. When after the fall of Makkah, Taif was besieged, the Holy Prophet saw in a dream that he had with him a bowl of butter. A cock pecked at it and spilt it. Abu Bakr interpreted the dream to mean that the siege of Taif would have to be raised without actual conquest. Expedition against Banu Jadhima. When Khalid was sent on an expedition against Banu Jadhima of Kinana, the Holy Prophet saw in a dream that he swallowed a morsel of dates mixed with butter and enjoyed their taste. Some of them, however, stuck in his gullet when he tried to swallow them. Then Ali thrust in his hand and pulled them out. Abu Bakr interpreted the dream to mean that something would happen in the campaign against Banu Jadhima at which the Holy Prophet would be happy as well as unhappy, and that he would send Ali to put matters right. In the campaign against Banu Jadhima, the tribe was overpowered, and at this the Holy Prophet felt happy. The Holy Prophet, however, felt unhappy when he learnt that Khalid had killed some Muslims as well. The Holy Prophet said, "O God I am innocent before Thee of what Khalid has done". Ali was then sent to the tribe to pay blood money. Herds of black and white sheep. On one occasion, the Holy Prophet saw in a dream that he was driving a herd of black sheep. Then he found himself driving a herd of white sheep. After some time the two herds were inextricably intermingled and all attempts to separate them were of no avail. Interpreting the dream, Abu Bakr said that the black sheep signified the Arabs while the white sheep signified the people of other regions. The dream indicated that Islam would spread to other regions beyond considerations of color and creed. Hudaibiya treaty. On the occasion of the Hudaibiya treaty, the Holy Prophet saw in a dream that he was shaving his head after the pilgrimage. Abu Bakr interpreted the dream to signify that the main Hajj would have to be deferred to the following year. Two and a half steps. Once the Holy Prophet saw in a dream that he and Abu Bakr were walking together side by side. Then the Holy Prophet outpaced Abu Bakr by two and half steps. Abu Bakr interpreted the dream to mean that the Holy Prophet would be the first to be summoned to God, and that Abu Bakr would follow him after two and a half years. Drawing water from a well. On another occasion, the Holy Prophet saw in a dream that he was drawing water from a well. Then he stepped aside and asked Abu Bakr to draw water. Abu Bakr was able to draw water for two to three rounds only, and then he showed signs of exhaustion. Umar then took up the job, and he was able to complete ten rounds. Abu Bakr interpreted the dream to signify that after the passing away of the Holy Prophet; the caliphate would vest in Abu Bakr whose period of office would be two to three years only. He will be succeeded by Umar whose period of office will be ten years. Wading through night soil. Once Abu Bakr saw in a dream that he was wading through the night soil of the people. He related the dream to the Holy Prophet who interpreted it to mean that after the death of the Holy Prophet, Abu Bakr would be called upon to undertake apostasy campaigns. Three moons. Once, Ayesha saw in a dream three moons descend on her house. She related the dream to Abu Bakr, and he interpreted it that her house would be the burial place of three luminaries of the world. Subsequently the Holy Prophet, Abu Bakr, and Umar were buried in her house. Urinating blood. Once a person waited on Abu Bakr and asked for the interpretation of his dream. In the dream he had seen himself urinating blood. Abu Bakr addressing him said, "God curse you. It appears that you go to your wife even when she is with monthly course. Desist from that." Opening of the sky. Mahrz b Nuzlah, a companion saw in a dream that the sky had opened for him and that he had reached the seventh heaven. Abu Bakr interpreted the dream to signify that he would meet the death of a martyr, and that his abode would be in paradise.
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