A Great Example of Love for the Holy Prophet (sa)

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) states:

“In the ahadith it is mentioned that on one occasion, Hazrat Umar (ra) and Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)had a disagreement about something which intensified. Hazrat Umar (ra) had a rather impassioned nature and for this reason, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)thought it wise to leave the place, lest the matter worsened. When Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)tried to leave, Hazrat Umar (ra) stepped forward and held on to his cloak, demanding an answer from him. When Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)managed to release himself, his cloak ripped. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)left from there and went home. However, Hazrat Umar (ra) suspected that perhaps Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)would complain about him to the Holy Prophet (sa), and so he followed him, so that he could present his viewpoint.

“Along the way, Hazrat Umar (ra) lost sighting of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra). Hazrat Umar (ra) thought that Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)went to the Holy Prophet (sa) to complain about him and so he went straight to the Holy Prophet (sa). But when Hazrat Umar (ra) went to the Holy Prophet (sa), Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)was not present. However, since Hazrat Umar (ra) regretted what he had done, he submitted, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah! I have committed an error and I treated Abu Bakr (ra)harshly. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)is not to blame, it is all my fault.’

“When Hazrat Umar (ra) went to see the Holy Prophet (sa), someone informed Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)that Hazrat Umar (ra) went to complain to the Holy Prophet (sa) about him. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)thought to himself that he should also go and clear the matter, lest only one side of the case was presented; therefore he decided to go and present his side of the story as well.

“When Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)reached the gathering, Hazrat Umar (ra) was saying, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah! I have made a mistake, I quarrelled with Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)and ripped his cloak.’

“When the Holy Prophet (sa) heard this, anger could be seen in his expression and he said, ‘O people! What is the matter with you! When the entire world rejected me and opposed me, including all of you, at that time it was only Abu Bakr who accepted me and helped me in every way.’ He then said in a sorrowful tone, ‘Will you not let Abu Bakr and I be even now?’ The Holy Prophet (sa) was saying these words when Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)entered.”

“This [i.e. what occurred thereafter] is the example of true love; instead of saying that it was not his fault and was all Umar (ra)’s fault; when Abu Bakr (ra)entered and saw that the Holy Prophet (sa) was displeased, as his true lover, he could not bear to see the Holy Prophet (sa) in pain because of him; for this reason, as soon as Abu Bakr (ra)came, he sat down on his knees before the Holy Prophet (sa) and submitted, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah! It is not Umar’s fault, but it is my fault.’”

(Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 27, pp. 313-314)