IQBAL AND ABU BAKR SIDDIQ

In his poem, “The mystries of Selflessness”, iqbal says that one night he saw Hazrat Abu Bakr in a dream. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq was the most generous of mankind. He was the first to believe in Islam. He shared the cave with the Holy Prophet peace be upon him when they escaped from Mecca, and was referred to in the Holy Quran as “the second of the two”. In the battle of Badr, he stood guard over the Holy Prophet peace be upon him. When he died he had the honour of being buried by the  side of the tomb of the Holy Prophet peace be upon him.

Seeing the great patriarch, Iqbal said, ” Respected Sir you set new standards of love, you established the fabric of our Commonwealth on a firm basis; please prescribe some remedy for the woes that plauge us”.

Thereupon Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq said:

“Get guidance from ‘Surah Ikhlas’ in the Holy Quran. The remedy for all your maladies lies in holding fast to the doctrine of the Unity of God. God wanted all the Muslims to be one ‘Millat’(community), but you have created divisions amongst youselves, and labelled yourselves as Afghans, Iranians, Turks and so on. By such divisons you have undermined your own strength. You are like the fruit that has fallen unripe from the tree. The remedy of your woes is that you should discard these divisons. The Muslims should be integrated into one community, and should thus be a manifestation of the Unity of God. It is no use paying lip service to the doctrine of the Unity of  God, when you do not observe it in spirit and resist divisive tendencies. Faith is purposeless without action, and that faith is a dead creed which is not put into practice.”

The message highlighted in this story is the message of Tauhid— Oneness, One God, One Prophet, One Holy Quran, and One Muslim Community. Under the impact of nationalism, the Muslims have come to group thenselves as Afghans, Iranians and Turks. This is repugnant to Islam. Islam demands of us that all the Muslims throughout the world should regard themselves as one Community regardless of considerations of countries or colours.

Source: Stories and Biographies From Iqbal By Prof. Masud-Ul-Hasan