1- When the Muslims were offering the Fajr prayer on a Monday and Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was leading them in prayer, suddenly the Prophet, , lifted the curtain of ‘Aa’ishah's room and looked at them while they were praying, and smiled. The Prophet, , was delighted when he looked at the fruits of his many years of toil and sacrifice. He was looking at the people of his Ummah (nation), who were devotedly performing congregational prayer both in the presence as well as the absence of their Prophet, . This scene, which was an unprecedented success, delighted the Prophet, , and assured him that the attachment between his Ummah and this religion and worship of Allah The Almighty would continue and that his death would not affect it. Hence, on seeing this, he was very pleased and his face was bright.
His Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, said, “The Prophet lifted the curtain of the room of ‘Aa’ishah and started looking at us while he was standing. His face was extremely beautiful, and he smiled cheerfully. We were about to leave our prayer out of the delight of seeing the Prophet . We thought that he would come out and lead the prayer. However, he beckoned to us to complete the prayer and he let the curtain fall.”[Al-Bukhari]
After the prayer, some of the Companions left for their work and Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, visited his daughter ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, saying, “I feel that the sickness of the Messenger of Allah has now gone, and today is the day of Bint Khaarijah [one of his two wives].” She was living at As-Sunh, so, he mounted his horse and went to his house there.
2- To the Highest Companion:
The agony of death became severer on the Prophet, , and Usaamah bin Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him, visited him while he was silent and unable to talk. He raised his hands towards the sky and then placed them on Usaamah, may Allah be pleased with him, who understood that the Prophet, , was supplicating to Allah The Almighty for him.
‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, held the Prophet, , and made him rest his head below her neck. ‘Abdur-Rahmaan bin Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, visited the Prophet, , while he had a Siwaak (wooden toothstick) and was cleaning his teeth with it. The Prophet, , looked at it, so ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, took the Siwaak from her brother, cut it, chewed it with her teeth, and made it soft and then gave it to the Prophet, , who cleaned his teeth with it as best as he could, while repeatedly saying: “Let me be with the Highest Companion.” [Al-Bukhari]
As he was dying, the Prophet, , would put his hand in a cup of water which was close to him and wipe his face with it, saying:“There is no god truly worthy of worship but Allah. Indeed, the agonies of death are severe.” Then, he raised his hand and began saying: “With the Highest Companion,” until he died and his hand flopped.[At-Tirmithi] In another narration, the Prophet, , said: “O Allah, help me overcome the agonies of death.” [At-Tirmithi]
In another narration, ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, heard the Prophet, , before dying saying: “O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me, and let me join the Highest Companion.” [Al-Bukhari]
It was also narrated that Faatimah, may Allah be pleased with her, the daughter of the Prophet, , exclaimed, “Oh, the distress of my dear father!”He , replied: “There will be no distress for your father after today.” When he died, she said, “O my father! You responded to the call of your Lord. O father! The Garden of Firdaws [the highest level in Paradise] is your abode. O father! We announce to Jibreel your death.”When he was buried, she said to Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, “How could you have put earth over [the grave of] the Messenger of Allah ?”[Al-Bukhari]
3- How the Prophet, , left this world:
The Messenger of Allah, , left this world while he was ruling all of Arabia and was feared by kings all over the world. His Companions were willing to sacrifice their souls, children and wealth for him. Upon his death, the Prophet, , left nothing except a white mule, his weapons and a piece of land, which he bequeathed to be given in charity. [Al-Bukhari]
Moreover, the Prophet, , died while his (iron) armor was mortgaged to a Jew for thirty Saa‘s (handfuls) of barley.
The Prophet, , died at the age of sixty-three, just after midday on Monday, the twelfth of Rabee‘ Al-Awwal, in 11 AH. [Muslim]
The day of his death was the darkest and saddest day that the Muslims have ever witnessed, just as the day of his birth was the happiest day ever on earth.
Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “On the day the Messenger of Allah reached Madeenah, everything in it became illuminated. On the day he died, everything in it became dark.”[At-Tirmithi]
After the death of the Prophet, , Umm Ayman, may Allah be pleased with her, wept. When she was asked why she wept, she said, “I always knew that the Messenger of Allah was going to die [one day]; however, I weep because the revelation has ceased.” [Muslim]
4- The calamity and Abu Bakr’s stance:
Ibn Rajab said, “When the Messenger of Allah died, the Muslims were shocked, bewildered, and confused. Some of them were stunned and became disoriented; others sat down and were not even able to stand up; others lost their ability to speak; and yet others were in complete denial, refusing to believe that the Prophet had really died.”
Imaam Al-Qurtubi, may Allah have mercy upon him, illustrated the seriousness of this calamity and its consequences, saying,
“The greatest afflictions a person can ever suffer from are those related to religion. The Messenger of Allah said: “If any of you is afflicted with a calamity, then let him remember his affliction with my death, for indeed, that is the greatest of all calamities.” [Al-Albaani - Saheeh]”
Indeed, the Prophet, , spoke the truth because, until the Day of Resurrection, no Muslim can be afflicted with a calamity that is greater than the calamity of the death of the Prophet, . It is no wonder, as the death of the Prophet, , meant the cessation of revelation and the end of prophethood. After the Prophet's, death, the first manifestation of evil was the apostasy of many Arabs, which signified the first decline of goodness.
The death of the Prophet, , stunned ‘Umar bin Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, who began to threaten whoever claimed that the Prophet, , had died. He said, “He has not died. Rather, he has gone to his Lord, just like Moosa bin ‘Imraan, may Allah exalt his mention, who returned to his people after remaining absent for forty nights. By Allah, the Messenger of Allah will indeed return [to us], just as Moosa returned [to his people], and he will then cut off the hands and legs of those who claimed that he had died."
When Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, heard about the death of the Prophet, , he came from his house at As-Sunh by horse. He dismounted and entered the Mosque, but did not speak to anyone until he had gone in to see ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her. He went straight to the Messenger of Allah, , who was covered with a Habarah cloth (i.e. a kind of Yemenite cloth) and uncovered his face. Then, he bowed over him, kissed him and wept, saying, “Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you! By Allah, Allah will never cause you to die twice. As for the death which was written for you, it has come upon you.” [Al-Bukhari]
Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, then went out while ‘Umar bin Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, was talking to the people. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Sit down, O ‘Umar!” But ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, refused to sit down, and continued speaking angrily to the people. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, after praising Allah, “Whoever among you used to worship Muhammad, then Muhammad is dead, but whoever of you used to worship Allah, then Allah is Alive and shall never die. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Muhammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allah at all; but Allah will reward the grateful.}[Quran 3:144]” On hearing this verse, ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “By Allah, when I heard Abu Bakr reciting it, my legs could not support me and I fell down at the very moment I heard him reciting it, declaring that the Prophet had died.” [Al-Bukhari]
Imaam Al-Qurtubi said,
Reciting this verse [in this situation] was the strongest proof of the bravery of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. Bravery means having a steadfast heart at times of hardship and calamities, and there was no calamity greater than the death of the Prophet . Some people, including ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah had not died. ‘Uthmaan, may Allah be pleased with him, was unable to speak and ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, did not come out of his house. Utter chaos was about to break out, but Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, brought calm to the situation when he recited this Quranic verse.
May Allah have mercy upon Abu Bakr! who helped save this Ummah from many hardships and who solved many of the problems that afflicted the Muslims. It was Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, who discovered the truth depending on proofs from the Quran and the Sunnah on occasions when no one else (including ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him,) did. Hence, every Muslim must acknowledge the status of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and love this close friend of the Prophet, , because loving him is a sign of strong faith, whereas hating him is a sign of hypocrisy.