“Your state was such that you would drink water from wayside gutter and
your food was unclean hides (of animals) or leaves. You were humiliated and degraded from among masses, fearing that people would carry you away by
force. Then Allah delivered you through His Messenger.”1
Perhaps, on that day, he was such as Mawardi has narrated from Malik bin
Anas in Elamun Nubuwwah2 that:
“The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) entered the Masjid and found Abu Bakr
and Umar there. He asked: What has brought you out of your homes? Hunger,
they replied. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) said: Hunger has made me also
leave. Then they went to Abu Haitham bin Taihan and ordered him to prepare
bread from wheat or barley…”
Furthermore, when did Ayesha live during the period of Ignorance, while
she was born in the 4th or 5th years after proclamation of prophethood?3 And
whether during the period of Islam they pride through the wealth, which was
exhausted during the period of Ignorance and its owners are hungry at present?
I don’t know what happened to that wealth of the period of Ignorance and
how all of it was lost and its owners became destitute; so much so that they have
nothing at all. If someone had spent one-hundredth of that wealth, his fame
would have spread in the whole world and during those days, he would have been
considered as the greatest philanthropist of the world. But in pages of history, we
don’t find mention of these thousands of Awqiya, thrones and robes.
Supposing that Dhahabi says regarding the tradition of Ayesha: A thousand
Awqiya is correct and not a million. [And in the text: A thousand, thousand and
thousand is invalid and it is mentioned wrongly.] because one million was not
even available for the kings of that time and Ibne Hajar in Tahzubut Tahzib4 has
accepted the statement of Dhahabi. But in any case, where in history is it
mentioned that the story of a thousand Awqiya is correct?
If these dreams were correct and these imaginative stories are proved true
and Abu Bakr had so much of that imaginary wealth, his father would not have
been a lowly servant of Abdullah bin Jadan to earn his meager livelihood as
Kalbi has written in Al-Masalib.
As will mentioned later,5 it is narrated that: On the day Abu Bakr fled to
Medina, all the wealth he possessed was with him: that is four or five or six
thousand dirhams. How it can be equal to a million Awqiya and those sofas and
robes costing 360 dinars and other facilities? And what is the relation between
one having this wealth with one, who has such few dirhams?
And what is the relation between this wealth and days that she and his father
spent in Mecca? During that period in Medina he was selling cloth in lanes and
markets; and he used to carry them on his shoulders, without having a permanent outlet.
Ibne Saad has narrated through the channels of Ataa that: When Abu Bakr
became the Caliph, in the morning he set out towards the market with a bundle of
cloth on his shoulders.
Umar bin Khattab and Abu Ubaidah Jarrah met him and asked: “O Caliph of
Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.), where are you going?”
“To the market,” he replied.
They asked: “Now, that you have taken over the rule of Muslims, why are
you doing this?”
He asked: “Then how should I earn livelihood of my family?”
They replied: “Come, so that we may fix something for you.”
So he went along with them and they fixed half a sheep per day for him and
what was sufficient for him to dress and satiate his hunger with.
It is narrated from Umair bin Ishaq that a man saw a robe on the neck of
Abu Bakr Siddiq and asked: “What is this? Give it to me and I would make you
needless of this.”
Abu Bakr said: “Go away from here, you and the son of Khattab should not
deceive me regarding my family.”
In other words, it is narrated from Ibne Saad that when Abu Bakr became
Caliph, he carried cloth for selling in the market and said: “Don’t deceive me
with regard to my dependants and don’t make me negligent about them.”
In the words in Halabi, it is mentioned that: When allegiance was effected in
favor of Abu Bakr, he went to the market in the morning carrying cloth on his
shoulders. Umar asked: “Where are you going… till the end”6
Then in which period did he spend his exceeding wealth in way of Prophet
and in charitable venues that through these spendings they should have been
indebted to him? And how did he spend when no one saw it and no one narrated
it? And why history has not mentioned a single instance of his spending, while
this incident is recorded in history that he gave a mount to the Prophet and the
latter returned it, yet Abu Bakr took its cost from the Prophet.7
Whoever contributed in important issues of Prophet and donated for battles
and welfare of Islam and Muslims, his or her name is recorded in history. In
Mecca and before Hijrat and in personal matters, the Messenger of Allah
(s.a.w.a.) was not in need of any monetary assistance; because his uncle, Abu
Talib (a.s.) before his marriage to Khadija was bearing these expenses. And after
this marriage, the wealth of Khadija was under his control and Khadija was
obedient to him. After the Hijrat, the limits of Islam and his mission expanded and there was need to arm and provide for fighters.