Permission to Leave

The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, set out to prepare for hijrah. ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said that one day at midday, in the house of Abū Bakr, they saw a man approaching, and he was masked — he covered his face. So Abū Bakr saw that it was Muḥammad, and he said, "Muḥammad would not come at this time except if it is something important," because it was at noon and people usually sleep at noon. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came in and said, "O Abū Bakr, have everyone in your house leave." Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The only ones who are in my house are your family, O Messenger of Allah" — meaning his family is like his own; he could trust speaking in the presence of his family because they were like his own family. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "I was given permission to leave and to make hijrah to Madīnah." Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "O Muḥammad, O Messenger of Allah, can I be your companion?" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Yes." Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may Allah be pleased with him, started to weep. ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "I never saw somebody weeping because of pleasure, because of joy, like my father that day."

This was not an entertaining journey. Abū Bakr knew very well that he was risking his life by being the companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) on hijrah. So how is it that he was crying of joy, when he knew that he was putting his life on the line? This shows the level of sacrifice that Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may Allah be pleased with him, was willing to go to, and it shows that he was so happy to sacrifice for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) — his heart was not trembling, he was not afraid. He was crying because of joy when he knew that he could be killed, but this shows the love that he had for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) appointed ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib to sleep on his bed, and this is another sacrifice, because ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib was also risking his life. But these were the Ṣaḥābah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) — this is how far they were willing to go.