Abu Bakr, the father of the camel's calf, became Islam's first caliph
As a boy in Mecca, Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa loved playing with young camels so much that he was nicknamed Abu Bakr, father of the camel's calf. He grew into a cloth merchant, Muhammad's closest friend and father-in-law, and in 632 the first caliph, whose two-year rule set the stage for one of history's largest empires.
Abu Bakr was born in Mecca around 573 to a wealthy family of the Banu Taym, a clan of the Quraysh, and shared a distant ancestor with Muhammad. Like other merchant sons he could read, loved poetry, attended the poetry gatherings at the Ukaz fair, and was known for his memory of Arab tribal genealogies. One story has the boy asking the idols at the Kaaba for clothes and food and, getting no answer, threatening one with a stone.
He was among the earliest converts; the historian Ibn Kathir counts him as the first free adult man to accept Islam, and many companions, among them the future caliph Uthman, joined through his persuasion. Muhammad called him al-Siddiq, the Truthful. He spent heavily buying the freedom of persecuted slaves, including Bilal, later the first muezzin, and chose mostly women and frail old men, saying he freed them for their own sake.
In 622 he shared Muhammad's escape to Medina, hiding in a cave on Jabal Thawr south of Mecca while his son brought news of the Quraysh and his daughter Asma carried food. In Medina he restarted his cloth trade, and his daughter Aisha joined Muhammad's household as his wife. He guarded Muhammad's tent at Badr in 624, took part in the campaigns that followed, led prayers in Muhammad's absence and led the pilgrimage as its first commander.
After Muhammad's death, companions gathered at Saqifa chose Abu Bakr while Ali was attending the funeral; Shia Muslims hold that Muhammad had earlier named Ali, and the division between Sunni and Shia traces back to this moment. As caliph, Abu Bakr put down the uprisings known as the Ridda Wars, united Arabia, and launched the first campaigns against the Byzantine and Sasanian empires, which his successor Umar carried much further. He is also credited with compiling the Quran. He died of illness on 23 August 634 and is buried beside Muhammad in Medina.
Source: Abu Bakr
